Meat matters

Summer means it's time to get dinner from the grill. Ye Jun explores restaurants that get fired up for the season.

One of the best things hot summers have to offer is an outdoor barbecue, a cool way to spend dinnertime with a few friends, over beers and roasted meat. The Garden Court at St. Regis has the advantages of a green garden view and a complete set of BBQ equipment. The fresh ingredients trigger appetites at once - fresh beef, lobster, silvery pomfret, oyster and prawn.

Salmon, sausages, lamb and chicken kebabs are grilled on an iron plate, while seafood is prepared over charcoal. The foods look fresh and tempting, especially because the chefs are making them on the spot.

To give your BBQ meal a healthy balance, proceed to the indoor area for a buffet of salads.

Right at the entrance there is an ice pool with at least 100 bottles of beer inside. The 22 options include beers from China and Europe.

Besides Tsingtao from Qingdao of Shandong province and Harbin from Heilongjiang province, there is green barley beer from Tibet autonomous region. The largest number of beers comes from Belgium - a total of nine.

The BBQ at Garden Court continues until Sept 30. Cost is 368 yuan ($60) per head, plus a 15 percent surcharge. It is available from 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm from Thursday to Saturday.

The thing about Yang Yang Yang, a Chinese grill restaurant by South Second Ring Road, is the reasonable price.

The menu indicates a plate of Chinese rib-eye beef (200 grams) costs just 42 yuan. Imported beef slices cost 38 yuan a plate, while a helping of imported beef rib costs 68 yuan.

Other parts of lamb and beef are priced from 28 to 38 yuan a plate. A plate of prawns costs just 38 yuan. Vegetables and mushroom cost from 10 to 18 yuan.

Besides the beef, a must try at the restaurant is a very tender tasting fish imported from Vietnam. Another regular order is German-style sausages, and lamb slices taste quite good.

Waitresses will grill your meats for you, accompanied by a bottle of Oranjeboom beer from the Netherlands.

Right now, Yang Yang Yang offers outdoor grilled meats at the gate. (They hang a lamb leg on the wall to show the genuineness of the meat.) Spend 80 yuan per head and can get your fill at the restaurant. Hot pot is also available.

Comparatively, La Vie Restaurant at Mercure Beijing Downtown Hotel offers a small-scale BBQ, with fish, squid, chicken wings, sausages and pork ribs. They have American-style charcoal-roasted pork ribs and lamb, besides beef and chicken kebabs.

When the restaurant is busy, you can wait half an hour to get the barbecue. But you can take the time to get what you want from the bountiful buffet.

That includes oysters, sashimi, Chinese-style boiled vegetables on kebabs, besides regular hot dishes. They offer freshly baked breads, Italian and Chinese noodles made a la minute.

A French chef makes crepes, the French-style pancakes, with ice cream on the spot. If you still have an appetite, try an array of desserts. La Vie has a special French station for the French national holiday period which ends on July 14.

The restaurant serves a free flow of soft drinks, red and white wines. The buffet costs 288 yuan plus 15 percent surcharge. Every customer gets a Boston lobster.

La Vie Restaurant offers a small-scale barbecue, with fish, squid, chicken wings, sausages and pork ribs. Photos provided to China Daily