International Food Warehouse

Try lunch as dinner's still rough around the edges

In the basement of the fancy mall beside the Park Hyatt is this restaurant disguised as a well-stocked modern pantry, bordered by takeaway counters offering juice, sushi, cured meats and cheese.

Once inside, five strategically placed kitchens provide captivating live-action views. It’s certainly stylish and an interesting concept, but part of its strength is also its weakness – there’s simply too much to choose from on a menu which mixes Texas fried chicken or burgers with sushi, pork shank jelly and Chinese noodle dishes.

The Shanghai lettuce stems in shallot oil (24RMB) are a good start; crisp and clean, if short on shallots. The garlic bread (toasted ciabatta) (10RMB) arrives with small garlic specks swimming in too much butter.

The crispy pork ribs (75RMB) are a let-down too – bland and buried under almost-burnt garlic bits. However, the steamed bamboo clams with glass noodles (98RMB) taste as good as they look.

The wok-fried noodles with beef and bean sprouts (43RMB) are sadly commonplace: by now, diners expect more, in flavour and presentation.

For dessert, mango with pomelo and sago is a delight, but the cappucino is watery. This place will surely improve with time, and is a great spot for a quick lunchtime meal. But as a dinner destination, it could do better. Zhou Ruiting

International Food Warehouse B1 Park Life, Beijing Yintai Center, 2 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang district (8568 1568). Open 11am- 2.30pm; 5pm-10.30pm daily (no dinner Sundays). Meal for two around 300RMB. 朝阳区建国门外大街2号 银泰中心B1层