Enjoy Your Veal: Beijing Goes Baby Cow

Wine, cheese, foie gras, white truffles, Maine lobster - and now Dutch veal. With all those Chinese mouths hungry for new culinary discoveries, it was only a matter of time before veal got in on the action. Shines Group, a domestic company with big shiny sheds in Tianjin, claim to be:

"...the first veal producer in China to operate under the high European standard and prides itself on its standing as a green and low carbon organization. This high quality veal is produced by raising calves on a combination of milk powder imported from the Netherlands and the purest drinking water."

The Hilton Beijing are working with Shines Group on a month-long veal promotion through March. Executive chef Christian Bruhns is a big fan of cooking the meat, and in addition to offering a variety of menu items at One East and Elements restaurants (the carpaccio is excellent), he's also running a couple of veal cooking classes (8 and 22 March).

Also, Beijing's roast duck maestro Dadong, no stranger to tinkering with western ingredients, has launched some veal dishes (like the one pictured ... I think) on his menu. Turn to page 4,563 and 4,564 to find them. Only joking.