For those who fancy a delicious Christmas dinner out, but are not a huge fan of hotel buffets filled with dancing, entertainment and lucky draws, there are some fabulous alternatives – check out these Christmas Eve set dinner menus presented from some of the most popular restaurants in town. Sure, they’re pricey, but hey, it’s Christmas and shouldn’t we treat ourselves? Make your reservations early.

Crab dumplings, or xiefen xiaolongbao (蟹粉小笼包) in Chinese, gather all the flavors of crab and pork into one ball of dough.

Technically, xiefen is a general term encompassing xierou (蟹肉 crab meat), xiehuang (蟹黄 golden roes) and xiegao (蟹膏 fatty sperm).This trio goes well with pork, especially with a certain portion of fat. Along with these, a chunk of head cheese is a key ingredient, dissolving into liquid form and drawing the essence out from the solid fillings.

Caffè iI Sole 太阳咖啡

Coffee Nerikiri (煉り切り) is a typical traditional Japanese sweet. The coffee-flavored kidney bean layer is as dense as a brownie, a nice contrast to the snow-white sweet bean paste stuffing. It can be a bit oversweet, but the equally sugary-voiced waitress explains that it was originally paired with green tea in the Japanese tea ceremony. 
RMB 18

Many a writer finds his muse at the bottom of an empty bottle. Sometimes the third bottle. With so many scribes in town for the Bookworm's Literary Festival, we consider where some of history’s famously tipsy scribblers might get inspired in Beijing?

Ernest Hemingway
Mojito

Very macho, that Hemingway. Shooting, fishing, bullfighting, womanizing … but drinking a minty highball? Centro is a long way from Papa’s more adventurous moments, but it’s unlikely the bearded one would object to their quality mojitos.

Centro. Daily 24hrs. 1/F, Shangri-La’s Kerry Centre Hotel, 1 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District (6561 8833)
朝阳区光华路1号嘉里中心饭店1层

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, but not all of us are lucky enough to have a lover, wife, "special friend" to share meals with. Need a table for one? Don’t wither under the smirks. Hold your (sniveling) head high and tuck in at one of these singles-friendly establishments.