Red Ocean Butterflies

For a restaurant that describes itself as a musical restaurant, Red Ocean Butterflies hits all the wrong notes.

For a restaurant that describes itself as a musical restaurant, Red Ocean Butterflies hits all the wrong notes. Its cuisine reflects the chain's origins in South East Asia and the lengthy menu, which includes curries, banana leaf and stir-fries, makes one wonder how the cooks can prepare so many dishes successfully. The answer is, they can't. Out of five dishes, only the chicken curry (58RMB) pleases in both flavours and authenticity. Most off the mark is gado gado chicken salad (18RMB), a bowl of shredded cabbage, chicken and copious chillies that bears no resemblance to the Indonesian, peanut sauce-drenched salad of its name. Stir-fried tea leaves and prawns (58RMB) is an oily pile of leaves and fishing out the flavourless prawns is akin to finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. One hopes the live music performances are better composed. PS

Red Ocean Butterflies Third Floor, 301 China View, Gongti Dong Lu, Chaoyang district (tel 6505 7737). Open 10am-4am daily. Meal for two 200RMB.