4 Best Restaurants in Haidian District, Beijing

Staff dressed in richly hued, Qing-dynasty attire welcome you at this grand courtyard house, the Bai family mansion. Featured delicacies (ordered via an iPad) include bird's-nest soup, braised sea cucumber, abalone, and authentic imperial snacks.

Hotpot restaurants are plentiful in northern China, but few do it better than Ding Ding Xiang, a self-proclaimed "hotpot paradise." Diners order a variety of meats, sliced paper thin, as well as seafood, mushrooms, tofu and vegetables to be cooked at the table in a wide selection of broths (the wild mushroom broth is a must for mycophiles), or, better yet, order a partitioned pot to accommodate multiple soup varieties. The dipping sauces, used in the final stage of eating, are thick and delicious. Despite the surly service and gaudy decor, this place is perennially crowded.

Few restaurants in the capital are able to approach the level of refinement found at this Japanese haven, set in the restored imperial grounds of the Aman Resort at the Summer Palace. The set menus introduces diners to chef Naoki Okumura's multi-course meals (kaiseki), which marry French cooking techniques to Japanese traditions, such as seared foie gras served on steamed egg custard. If the weather is fine, sit outside by the reflecting pool for a calming, romantic experience.