Beijing is huge, and sometimes you can find delightful meals in the most unexpected places. Pauline D. Loh explores Haidian district and finds some choice southern offerings.

It was after a family wedding and the gathered clan had spent an exhilarating afternoon catching up on family gossip and helping our sister-in-law harvest her grapes. When it came time for dinner, we decided to eat local, quite literally. Haidian district is one of the fastest developing in Beijing, with a gathering of young technology start-ups, and the universities from which their bosses had come from. It has excellent malls selling all kinds of geek gadgets, and still enough room left over for tree-lined avenues full of 20-year-old residential estates.

With such a thriving demographic mix, it stands to reason that the dining options are just as lively.