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Tourists flock to this teahouse, attracted by the sing-song orders of the waiters, the old-world ambience and a simple serving of tea.
The idea of using tea leaves or tea infusions in food is so intriguing that many chefs have adopted it.
Chefs, too, need to do their homework to keep up to date. And as Ye Jun reports, some even go on excursions to learn more about ingredients and food trends in regional cuisine.
No meat, but the dishes are exotic, unique and right royally delicious. Ye Jun visits a new restaurant in Beijing that is raising the bar.
Australian chef David Pooley says being a chef is 50 percent cooking and 50 percent bringing ideas together.
Seafood and roasts
To stand head and shoulders above the many good Italian restaurants in Beijing, the food must be truly exceptional - and memorable.
Metropolitan cities like Beijing and Shanghai are seeing a lot of wine-tasting events, organized by major wine-producing countries.
Ye Jun has been working with China Daily since 1997. After covering entertainment and health, he turned to write about Chinese food and restaurants in 2004. In the last eight years he has tried hundreds of restaurant in Beijing and throughout China, discovering its thousand-year old culinary culture and tradition.
Empresses and royalty used to dine in the Summer Palace, an extravagant park built for the sole amusement of the last rulers of the Qing Dynasty.
Drinking Taiwan tea has become a "culture" in the Chinese mainland, according to Lin Chien-chung, general manager of Chuan-Shang Tea.
Wu Huaxia arrived at Du Yi Chu Shaomai Restaurant confident about her skills in making shaomai, but her master told her to sweep the floor instead.