Country Kitchen's old-world charm(3)

Handmade noodles are tops here.

The knife-cut Shaanxi flat variety with braised beef brisket and handmade Bejjing-style noodles are hot tickets. The open kitchen allows diners to interact with resident noodle-making chefs who make noodles in front of you right, and right from the start. Pliable, chewy and smooth noodles with sauces such as eggplant, mushroom and tomato are worth trying at Country Kitchen.

For soups, don't miss the black- chicken soup with yam. The soup is refreshing with a mild sweetness. According to Chai, black chickens are sourced from local farms in Shunyi in northeastern Beijing, which highlights Rosewood's "Partners in Provenance" culinary philosophy.

Chefs are committed to working closely with local farmers and producers who deliver the finest homegrown ingredients to the hotel's kitchens.

This bounty includes everything from fresh eggs from Shungyi Farm, to premium poultry, meats and vegetables from Ronking Farm and even local-made French-style goat cheese, produced by Le Fromager de Pekin, he says.

Among all the dishes I tried, my favorite was fried prawns with tomato sauce. Before I went to Country Kitchen, I had heard a lot of compliments for that dish being paid by Beijing's media foodies, and as I discovered to my delight, it wasn't hype. The prawns were indeed delicious, even if they were served with their shells on them. Since the prawns were deep-fried, the shells turned crunchy and tasted yummy with the accompanying sweet-and-sour seasoning.

Fried prawn is a typical dish of eastern China's Shandong province. Prawns are deep-fried in very hot oil and then put aside to draw out the oil. They are then quick-fried in a new wok preheated with oil and seasonings, and prepared tomato sauce.

Desserts at Country Kitchen blaze new trails in combining local Chinese flavors with Western style.

The crispy peanut pancake topped onto a silky banana ice cream made a good pairing. You could try the rice wine-stewed fruits paired with Soy-milk ice cream and discover the fun of fusion desert. Hawthorn fruit jelly, almond tofu and the Beijing snack lvdagunr (glutinous rice roll with sweet bean flour), are among the Traditional Chinese desserts you will find here.

If you just want to have a quick lunch before heading back to work or want to take away, try the Country Lunch sets, which offer four different set menus to choose from, in the themes of oven-braised main course (130 yuan, $18.43), dumplings (110 yuan), noodles (110 yuan), or wok-seared dishes (130 yuan).

IF YOU GO

Country Kitchen

Third floor, Rosewood Beijing, Jingguang Center, Hujialou, Chaoyang district.

Monday to Sunday; lunch: 11:30 am to 2:30 pm; dinner: 5:30 to 10:30 pm.

010-6597-8888