NaiFen Dessert Cafe: Powdered Milk Sweetens Beixinqiao

With their second location, located just south of Fangjia Hutong, NaiFen proves that a Chinese café can exist without chintz, overstuffed furniture and cutesy wall decals. Instead, this coffee-and-cake spot has opted for a minimalist design and large windows, making it a light, bright oasis amid a lane of drab concrete.

As you might expect, the menu at NaiFen consists of cakes, puddings and various other delectables. The regular cheesecake (RMB 28) was lighter than its New York cousin but didn’t skimp at all on the best part, the finely crumbed cookie crust. The walnut pie (RMB 22) was a blend of nutty butteriness and just enough syrup to be sweet but not cloyingly so (a concession to Chinese tastes that we all benefit from). Western palates may prefer the more familiar treats, but the adventurous can try durian cake and green tea sponge. The usual range of coffee drinks (RMB 15-28) are available, as are bottled juices and beers.

What will keep café-dwellers returning to this spot is the design: more airy and spacious than nearly anything else in this neighborhood. While the days are still warm, get the last bit of heat out of the sun on the third-floor terrace. Once the chilly weather sets in, there are two floors to choose from with large front-facing windows that let in enough of the outside to keep feelings of wintery cabin fever from setting in.

Also try: Café Zarah, Beiluo Bread Bar

NaiFen Dessert Cafe. Daily 10am-midnight. 28 Jiaodaokou Beiertiao, Dongcheng District (5623 4485) 东城区交道口北二条28号 http://nai-fen.com

By subway: 500m northwest of Beixinqiao station (Line 5)

Photo: Lauren McCarthy