Makye Ame (Maji Ami)
Cuisine
Tibetan
Hours
Daily noon-2am
Address
Xiushui Nan Jie A1 2/F
Location
Behind Friendship Store on Jianguo Men Wai Dajie, Chaoyang East
Transportation
Metro: Jianguo Men (120/211); walk east 3 blocks, then north half a block
Phone
010/6506-9616
Prices
Meal for 2 „100-„140 ($12-$18)
Credit Cards
AE, DC, MC, V

The newest of Beijing's many ethnic theme restaurants combines a folk cabaret with decent but pricey food and surprisingly enjoyable decor. Paper lamps glow in the corners, grimacing wooden masks stare down from the beams, and traditional furniture somehow lends color to the dark lit room. Fare is "Tibetan" -- lots of yak and mutton with gourmet accents. Recommended dishes include tashi-delek (beef braised in brown sauce with carrots, cheese, and yak marrow) and the chicken with corn and juoma (a vegetable reminiscent of black bean that grows on the Tibetan plateau). Tibetan-style nan bread is good for sopping up sauces.

The English menu also features several grain spirits, commonly mixed with yogurt and served in silver goblets. Nightly shows start at 8pm.

Nuage (Qing Yun Lou)
Cuisine
Vietnamese
Hours
Daily noon-2pm and 6-10pm
Address
Qian Hai Dong Yan 22
Location
East of the Yinding Bridge, at the intersection of Qian Hai and Hou Hai, Back Lakes & Dong Cheng
Reservations
Reservations required
Phone
010/6401-9591
Prices
Meal for 2 „200-„300 ($25-$38)
Credit Cards
AE, DC, MC, V

Lake views from this restaurant's upstairs windows are matched only by its hallucinatory Hanoi-inspired interior. A long silver dragon snakes up the rear staircase to the main dining room, where the low light from red lanterns flickers on reed curtains and finely crafted wooden tables.

The first floor has China's most improbably stylish bathrooms, divided by an elaborate cut-glass pool. Food is not quite as impressive -- portions are small and prices absurdly inflated -- but there are some worthwhile gems. The xiangcao cuila yu (crispy-skin fish with lemon grass and hot pepper) has to be among the city's best fish dishes; and the pho (Vietnamese beef noodles in soup) has a smooth, flavorful broth, but at a price 10 times higher than in Vietnam.

Owned by Bai Feng, the Buddha-like hipster who pioneered the Back Lakes gentrification, this is the closest thing Beijing has to a "hot" restaurant in the New York City sense, complete with a long-legged hostess who seems to take pleasure in turning people away. (Make reservations well in advance.) An attached dance club is coming soon.