Dinner at the top

A spread of dishes at China Grill include Canadian scallops wrapped in pancetta with roasted wild mushrooms, wax gourd soup and a variety of seafood. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Every salad in the grill has at least eight types of leafy vegetables; my choice was a fresh salad with savory roasted goat-cheese toast, bacon and baby potatoes. The accompanying vegetables, including green, red, yellow and purple tomatoes, chrysanthemum, purple cabbage and lettuce, were cold and crisp, a good balance in color, texture and flavor to the warm and slightly salty roasted bacon, cheese toast and potatoes.

The grill also serves Chinese-styled dishes with a Western touch, among which the seafood winter-melon soup is a standout.

Inspired by a similar soup popular in Guangdong province, the dish features seafood, mainly scallop, fish maw, conpoy, sea conch and prawns, as well as chicken and caterpillar fungus, a highly nutritional-valued traditional Chinese medicine. These are slowly braised with chicken stock, and served at table in a particular species of steamed small winter melon.

Our dessert, caramelized nectarine crumble with vanilla ice cream, is a recent creation of the chef, using star anise and cinnamon to flavor melting sugar, fruit and ice cream.

The restaurant now provides a 180-yuan ($29) set business lunch menu from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm on Monday to Friday, plus 15 percent service charge. Each has three courses, including dessert, and costs 258 yuan if pairing with wine.

My only regret is that I didn't have the chance during the visit to see the restaurant at night, when the view of the capital must be a spectacle.

IF YOU GO

66th floor, Park Hyatt, 2 Jianguomenwai street, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-8567-1099.