A gem tucked inside Zhongshan Park on the west side of the Forbidden City, Lai Jin is known for its Red Mansion banquet, based on dishes from Cao Xueqin's classic novel, The Dream of the Red Chamber, written circa 1760. The two-story restaurant sits beside a small pond amid willow and peach trees. The two daily dishes are qie xiang (eggplant with nuts) and jisi haozigan (shredded chicken with crown-daisy chrysanthemum). To sample more than 40 dishes made famous in this novel, you must order a banquet meal (from Y300-Y440) three days in advance. After your meal, take a lazy stroll across the park to the nearby teahouse with the same name, where you can enjoy a cup of tea in the courtyard surrounded by ancient cypress and scholar trees.
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