Foreigners expressed bafflement at a list of the top 20 foreign restaurants announced by the official Beijing Western Food Association on Saturday.

Instead of contemporary restaurants consistently voted among the best by foreigners themselves, the official 20 names the Moscow Restaurant, Weilan Restaurant and Der Landgraf.

"We think the 20 restaurants best represent the foreign flavors that Beijing has to offer," said Xu Meng, secretary-general of the association Sunday.

Few would make it onto the radar of any actual foreigner, said the dining editor of the Beijinger magazine.

"Those restaurants are not close to being voted the best in the city," said Tom O'Malley.

The magazine's readers include a sizeable number of expats who vote for the best foreign restaurants every year.

None of their choices made it onto the official Beijing Western Food Association list except for Hannashan, a Korean barbecue chain.

The 20 restaurants were picked according to four criteria: qualification, management, service and food quality, according to the all-Chinese official website of the Beijing Western Food Association at www.xcxh.org

One thing all the top three restaurants on the list have in common is a long history.

Moscow Restaurant, Beijing's first foreign restaurant, has been around since the '50s.

The Weilan Restaurant, Beijing's first private foreign restaurant, was opened in 1981 by Zheng Weizhi, who used to cook for ambassadors before he opened up his own restaurant.

"We have a lot of history here," said Xu Tong, manager of Weilan. "Some of our customers have been coming here since they were kids."

Expats prefer their dining experience a little more trendy and contemporary, O'Malley said.

"They're not a part of that history."

The Beijing Western Food Association is an organization of managers, chefs, owners and scholars of the foreign restaurant industry that has close to 200 members, including most of those named on the list, according to Xu Meng.

Although some members are foreign - like the German owner of Der Landgraf - most are Chinese.

Asked why restaurants typically rated by expats, such as Salt or Maison Boulud à Pékin, did not make their list, Xu said, "They're really good as well. We will consider them next year."

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