When we learnt that a new branch of a Chaozhou restaurant had opened up at Capitaland Mall, we decided to review both establishments to better grasp its style of cuisine.We arrive first at the original location in Wangjing and find a chandeliered restaurant. Inside, two enormous tables are laden with fragrantly brined meats, dried fish, claypot soups, and seafood freshly flown in from Guangdong, daily.

The chefs transform the fish, chopping and battering them, then deep-frying the pieces with salt, white pepper, garlic and chillies. Every chunk yields easily as our teeth sink into its pudding-soft meat. We also order a poached dayanjiyu (大眼鸡鱼). It arrives before us, butterflied and served with yellow bean sauce, its meat sweet like chicken off a drumstick.At the lushui (soy-brined) meats table, we choose an assortment of sliced goose, goose liver, pig’s elbow and wilted deep-fried tofu, which another cook chops into pieces before us, then drenches the pieces again in the lushui (soy-sauce brine), and reheats the meats to seal in the added flavour. The Wangjing branch is a grand version of the humble dapaidang (street-side food stall where food is cooked, in front of you, to your tastes) and sets itself apart from the other dapaidangs in Beijing.

This branch just doesn’t compare: it’s like an airport franchise of a four-star restaurant – very underwhelming. We might have been charmed if the second location were an actual dapaidang in Chaozhou; we’ll take gritty over a mall eatery with lighting akin to a hospital ward’s. Let this be a firm recommendation to visit the Wangjing original for a proper taste of Chaozhou dining.Address: Building 3, 3 Dongli, Wanghua Lu, Chaoyang District 朝阳区望花路东里3号院3号楼(广顺南大街路口)Source: timeoutbeijing.com