O Sole Mio: Four Seasons Does Italian Right

Shazam. Luxury hotel chain Four Seasons has arrived in Beijing, and they're aiming to be the best in the city. After the fantastic meal we had last night at Mio, the hotel's Italian restaurant, it's clear they're off to a great start.

We tried a menu of some of Chef Marco Calenzo's creations, which are available now by request an will be on the menu proper in mid-January.

For starters, we had a lightly fried shrimp on top of avocado and tomato. Each of the ingredients stood on its own, and the combination of the three was excellent. We moved on to an amberjack with an orange sauce, capers and artichokes. The fish had a meatiness to it while still being tender.

Sea urchin spaghetti cooked in tomato water was flat-out amazing. The tomato water infused the pasta with a nice balance of acidity and flavor, while a marvelous sea urchin sauce clung to the noodles like a qipao.

Miso marinated black cod was very good, but it was outshone by the very memorable dish that followed it. Sous vide Foie gras with grains and a mushroom consommé. The use of the consommé to cut the richness of the liver was genius, and the grains added a welcome texture to the dish.

We moved on to a pork neck with apple sauce and mustard seed sauce, but we couldn't stop thinking about the foie gras and consommé.

Dessert took us out on another high note. Precise layers of hazelnut and chocolate with a fragrant vanilla ice cream capped everything off quite nicely.

Chef Calenzo's Italian roots clearly come through in his cooking at Mio, as does his impeccable technique and inventive spirit. It's too early to answer whether Four Seasons has succeeded at truly being the best, but we'll happily go back as often as we can to find out.

Photos: Josh Ong