The word “Bei” in Chinese means North. Chef Max Levy hails from New Orleans but clearly, (north-) Asian blood flows through his veins. He has worked in places from Tokyo’s famous Tsukiji fish market to Craft in NYC. At this sleek restaurant in the basement of Beijing’s hippest boutique hotel, The Opposite House , his real inner Asian is revealed. The sister restaurant to Sureno serves up adventurous Asian cuisine that is perhaps not for everyone’s taste, but those open to dining as an “experience” will certainly find a meal at Bei to be tantalizing and rewarding in terms of both atmosphere and taste.

Bei was redecorated in early 2010, the design is now sleeker and art-deco inspired. The earlier bright lighting has been replaced by candles and dim ceiling lights that give the restaurant a far more intimate feel. Centrepiece of the restaurant is the sushi bar at the far wall, striking against a backdrop of purple and lit by delicate, beautiful paper-encased lamps. The tables and chairs are minimalistic with a touch of art deco, and service is (almost always) attentive but subtle. However, the restaurant is rarely completely filled, especially for diners that prefer to eat late.

We decided to sample the basic Bei set menu, with two to three choices available for each of the three courses, as well as an appetizer, entrée and dessert from the a la carte menu.

On the table was Bei's typical appetiser, unchanged from my last visit, and still slightly bizarre – crackers with three kinds of buttery spread, minimalistically presented in a plain wooden box: one supposedly made of crab roe, but which tasted suspiciously like pure fat, another made with something green and slightly wasabi-tinted, and finally, the best-tasting one, made of a buttery corn spread. Unfortunately the English of the waiter that introduced these was unintelligible.

The chef then sent us out a chili-tinged tuna sashimi amuse bouche, which I found to be a very welcoming and enjoyable gesture. Fresh fish at Bei is flown in several times a week directly from the source, which explains why the sushi almost melted in our mouths with freshness.

I started out with the grilled salmon sashimi, made from a deliciously fresh Australian king salmon with XO sauce, broccoli rabe and, interestingly enough, sausage. Though I was a little surprised to see the word “grilled” and “sashimi” in the same description as I had been under the impression that sashimi was always raw, the slightly grilled-on-the-outside, seaweed-wrapped salmon was delicious and complemented the bed of broccoli and Asian sausage it was served on. Sprinkled along the edges was a very Southeast-Asian tasting serving of blachan – this crab-based garnish added a touch of home for the Singaporean in me.

G’s appetizer was the uzakaya two-day steamed and grilled freshwater eel with sweet vinegar, salted cucumber and ground black sesame. Though served quite unremarkably in a plain white bowl, this simple dish was traditional eel prepared at its best. Grilled to the perfect consistency, not too oily and not too dry, it was a basic but delicious start to the meal.

Next up on the set menu was a piece of wagyu tenderloin served on a bed of fried rice, watermelon and bang lasug, a spinach-like Asian vegetable. The serving of wagyu was generous, and its medium-rare preparation was much improved in my opinion, since the last time, the wagyu had been almost too soft for my liking. The fried rice again tasted extremely Singaporean, and not at all Northern Asian. While the vegetable was a little overcooked, it overall was a satisfying and surprisingly large main course.

The black pork belly from the a la carte menu was served smoked with black sugar miso with baby taro and another Asian vegetable. The pork skin was deliciously crispy and almost made me wish we had ordered the suckling pig, but the taro unfortunately was a little tasteless. Overall, the entire dish tasted a little plain and could have done well with a little more chili or pepper.

My set menu was rounded off by the absolutely delicious guanaja chocolate and walnut ice cream. The chocolate was covered in cocoa powder and tasted a lot like my favourite South American plantation-grown Rausch chocolate. The ice cream tasted very fresh and home-made, and the chocolate was meltingly soft and not overwhelmingly sweet.

G’s dessert was the mochi trio, consisting of red bean, date and black sesame mochi with home-made strawberry, pear and sesame ice cream. The inclusion of mochi creams in the menu was a nod to the up-to-date-ness of Max Levy’s cooking, whose other Beijing creation, the modern but retro-inspired cocktail bar Apothecary was featured in Food & Wine magazines Worldwide best new food and wine experiences 2010. Mochi creams are made with steamed mochi rice formed into balls around different fillings.G very much enjoyed them, and even I found the contrast between the cold ice cream and warm mochi pleasantly surprising, although I am generally not a fan of typical Asian desserts and anything red bean-filled.

I paired my set menu with a lovely glass of the light telmo rodriguez de hesa gago cosecha tempranillo (2008) from Toro, Spain.

Perfect for: adventurous eaters with a sense of style

Order recommendations: any of the set menus is (relatively!) good value for money and gives a great overview of the dishes on offer

Honourable mentions: the guanaja chocolate dessert and all the fresh sushi. Bei is also the only place in Beijing that to my knowledge serves wasabi freshly ground off the wasabi root.

Not-so-honourable mentions: soggy vegetables and unintelligible English of some of the waitstaff.