Lost Heaven

Yummy Yunnan
38 Gaoyou Lu, near Fuxing Lu
Tel: (021) 6433 5126

This is an extraordinary space. Brought to you by the people behind the gorgeous Thai restaurant Coconut Paradise (also in the French Concession), Lost Heaven one-ups its older sibling with its ornate bar with plush red sofas and tribal masks from southern China and Myanmar, and a dining room that simply needs to be seen. There is a mural made from pressed leaves of Pu'er tea, and a large, smiling Buddha that presides over this chic Orientalist party.

As for the food, Lost Heaven serves what you might call "Yunnan Hill Tribe cuisine". The flavours, and many of the raw ingredients, are sourced from China's southern hills bordering Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar - but the dishes here are updated for the sophisticated (and perhaps a little skittish) clientele. It's a fusion of Southeast Asian and Chinese flavours. As for the bar, there is some fine beer, a well-balanced wine list and great cocktails. Expect to pay about RMB500 for two people, including drinks.

Beijing

SALT Restaurant

A pinch of flavour
Level 1, TRIO Building,
Jiangtai Xi Lu
Tel: (010) 6437 8457
Fax: (010) 6434 9716

Beijing's own "spice" girl Gaby Alves and Venezuelan chef Daniel Urdaneta's SALT Restaurant is the latest addition to the capital's culinary lists. In SALT, Alves replicates much of the simple ornamentation that made her Alameda Restaurant legendary by balancing clean lines with a grey-orange colour scheme. Observe the army of cooks in the open kitchen as they prepare one of your select items from the two- and three-course menu, which changes regularly. Contemporary cuisine is at the core of SALT. The warm shredded beef (looking deceptively like refried beans) with refreshing avocado salsa was a surprisingly tasty pairing. The cod fish was melt-in-your-mouth done, as it should be. And the warm molten-chocolate cake would soften even the coldest hearts of steel. With an intriguing selection of wine - even the Malbec had some fair representation - SALT makes a powerful contender for newcomer of the year. Its obscure location along a lonely lane near the Lido Area may discourage some patrons, but you don't want too much traffic in this neck of the woods. Too many additives would spoil the flavour. Two- and three-course dinners are RMB148 and RMB168, respectively. Wine by the glass starts at RMB35.