There is a trio of Middle Eastern restaurants on Beijing's Gongti Beilu strip near the Sanlitun village, and it can be tough to choose among them.
Another cozy Italian restaurant has opened on Julu Road in Jing'an district, where dozens of stylish eateries as well as designer boutiques are already gathered. But Il Bambino, with only 30 seats, is an intimate experience.
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.
When you enter Cha's Restaurant in Shanghai, it feels like a step back in time to 1960s Hong Kong, where people wait for hours just to get a seat.
It was the name that first caught our eye. Another new steakhouse didn't seem like news, but would Strip House offer something different?
The new French bistro Libertine opened recently in Hong Kong.
Alfie's by KEE is hidden inside the Dunhill flagship store at Plaza 66, a commercial and office complex in downtown Shanghai, where top fashion brands from around the world rub shoulders.
Australian chef David Pooley says being a chef is 50 percent cooking and 50 percent bringing ideas together.
Right at the top of the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Hong Kong is a long corridor of restaurants that take advantage of the view outside the windows.
To stand head and shoulders above the many good Italian restaurants in Beijing, the food must be truly exceptional - and memorable.