New song at Aria

Fresh tasting scallops come with abalone, Iberico ham, truffle, hazelnut and dehydrated cauliflower. Seared foie gras is matched with sour and sweet cherry, raspberry, crisp wild rice, honeycomb, dark chocolate and brioche.

Natural, tasty and sophisticated. That's how Phillip Taylor, Aria's 28-year-old new chef, designs his food.

At a recent media tasting, pairings are generally innovative and well thought out. Very nice and tender lamb loin and braised lamb shoulder, for example, are served with carrots, pistachio crumble and kale.

Aria at China World Hotel Beijing is considered a "contemporary European" style restaurant. Taylor thinks that means cooking with inspiration, evolving dishes constantly, offering seasonal foods and using techniques that enhance the flavor and texture of ingredients－especially the local ones he likes to find.

"I can get mushrooms from France, dried or frozen," he says. "But it is better to use fresh ones from Yunnan."

Recently he found custard apple, a sweet tropical fruit resembling litchi, in Beijing's market. The chef plans to use it in a coconut sago pudding along with white peach, all of which are just coming into season.

Previously he has imported pork from Australia, but he's found that black pig in China is of good quality at a cheaper price.

He had thought he wouldn't get fresh seafood like he was used to in coastal Australia. But with water tanks to keep live seafood at hand, he can offer lobster, turbot fish and crabs.

It is not the first time the young Australian has worked in Beijing. Three years ago, Taylor worked at the same restaurant as junior sous chef with chef de cuisine Matthew McCool.

In his eight years as a professional, he has worked in Australia, Europe and Asia. He came to work in Beijing in 2010, he explains, because his wife, a Beijinger, missed her family.

"I came back to Beijing because I love living here. Every day is exciting; it has amazing culture, friendly locals and plenty of new ingredients for me to discover," he says.

In between his stints in the capital, he spent a year and a half working in two Michelin-starred restaurants in London. At Pied a Terre, a two-Michelin-star restaurant, he made all the sauces and prepared meats. After a year he went to Galvin at Windows, a one-Michelin-star eatery, as a senior sous chef.

The young chef then moved on to the Shangril-La in Sydney to work with McCool again for nine months, before he returned to Beijing three months ago to take the position of chef de cuisine at Aria.