Bei Yuan Jiujia

The Cantonese seem to be the most raucous of all Chinese, and the main restaurant choices for classic Cantonese food, or for dim sum, are bedlam. The Bei Yuan dates from the 1920s, although the current two-story building with courtyards is newer, built around a garden and pond. There's dim sum here all day (about ¥5-¥10 per steamer) and a generous menu of Cantonese classics, with some English translations. Try huadiao zhu ji (chicken cooked in yellow wine -- although some might argue this is really a Zhejiang dish), tang cu su rou (sweet-and-sour pork), and jiuhuang rou si (sliced pork with yellow chives). The typically garish carpets, screens, and chandeliers are in odd contrast to a central green space. There are twin entrances -- the left is for the traditional Cantonese dishes; the right is for a Chaozhou (Chiu Chow) restaurant, with the roast goose dishes typical of that area of northeast Guangdong.

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