International Food Warehouse (IFW) is now more Chinese than ever. After a menu revamp by executive chef Ouyang Qinglong at the Park Hyatt Beijing, the restaurant has begun to place more emphasis on "creative Chinese dishes".

This new creativity garners whatever is popular and tasty in Chinese cuisine, regardless of its regional origins. For example, a Chinese appetizer platter has Sichuan "mouth-watering chicken", and Jiangsu poached bamboo sprouts in it, garnished with a green salad.

Sichuan and Hunan, popular regional cuisines in China, are featured as well. For example, you get the rare offering of black stinky tofu, Hunan-style, served with a saucer of red chili sauce - something previously unthinkable at a restaurant affiliated to a five-star hotel. The bean curd is actually not too pungent and quite delicious.

Spicy fried preserved pork slices and garlic sprout is another tasty Hunan specialty.

Bullfrog is deep-fried and served in a porcelain pot with tasty-looking red chili and fresh green mint.

IFW also provides Cantonese and Shanghai-style dishes, besides a very nicely done Peking roast duck. There are hybrid dishes, such as turbot prepared in Hunan style, tenderly steamed with bean curd and chili.

If you want a quick bite, try peppery beef noodles served with bamboo shoots and fresh coriander. A bowl of noodles will cost 55 yuan ($8) and if you order a la carte, expect to spend about 150 yuan a person. IFW also offers good draft beer.

IFW has a comfortable and neat ambience where you can watch the chefs work through the glass windows of the open kitchens.

China Daily