[Photo provided to China Daily]

The show stoppers, however, were the generously plated mains. Pan-seared and lemon-marinated mountain trout, sustainably sourced, showcased the restaurant's flair with freshwater fish and seafoods. Bavette flap steak is normally served rarer than many Chinese like beef, but the servers are alert and will instruct the kitchen with your preference. Roasted whole baby chicken with root vegetables and gravy, meanwhile, is so yummy that it will induce memories of Sunday dinners with your French granny - even if you never had one.

Dessert options include a WA standard, caramelized vanilla mille-feuille. We were more tempted by the banoffee, a stack on a shortbread base with soft caramel, caramelized banana and Chantilly cream. Then there was that red-velvet cake, which the kitchen gives a Chinese edge with bits of candied hawthorn.

If you go

Brasserie 1893 at the Waldorf Astoria Beijing, 1/F, 5-15 Jinyu hutong, Dongcheng district. 010-8520-8931.