If you're looking for a classic Beijing restaurant that combines traditional architecture, furniture and decor with authentic and delicious Chinese food, you can't go wrong with a meal at Dazhaimen, which has several branches throughout the city.

The restaurant's Chinese management maintains a consistently excellent level of service at each location.

The newest branch, on Wanliu Donglu, may look average from the outside, but inside its dining halls are finely decorated with wood, brick and stone carvings. It is almost as if the restaurant had moved an entire traditional Chinese home into a modern building.

The cuisine is what the Chinese would call 'private official style'. The recipes were created in ancient times for high officials and merchants, who insisted upon the best regional ingredients.

A selection of several hundred dishes on the menu allow diners to sample foods from each of the major Chinese cooking centers, including the cities of Beijing and Hangzhou, and the provinces of Sichuan and Guangdong.

Your can order to suit your tastebuds, and your wallet. Dishes range from moderately priced Beijing-style snacks and Peking duck to the exquisite and expensive abalone and bird's nest soup.

In addition, most locations also feature live nightly performances of Peking Opera excerpts, martial arts, acrobatics and magic tricks.

Dazhaimen Wanliu Donglu branch: 1/F Wanliu Xingui Dasha, 28 Wanquanzhuang Lu, or enter from Wanliu Donglu, Haidian district
Open: 11 am-2 pm, 5-10 pm; Nightly performances: 7-8 pm
Tel: 010-5872-0188

Chaoyang branch: Bldg 3, Huixin Beili, Chaoyang district
Open: 11 am-2 pm, 5-10 pm; Nightly performances: 7-8:45 pm.
Tel: 010-6495-0188

(China Daily August 19, 2008)