Min Jiang

While impressive at lunch, the splendid views across the treetops of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, as seen from up on the 10th floor of the swanky Royal Garden Hotel, are less of a draw at dinner in this high-end destination dining Chinese. When night draws a veil over London's green lungs, attention turns inward at Min Jiang, where a scarlet-painted wall hung with black-and-white photos, and a collection of blue-and-white Chinese ceramics are set against a neutral décor of muted creams and darkwood. Contemporary Chinese cuisine is the name of the game here on a compendious menu majoring in Cantonese and Szechuan dishes. If you're up for the signature wood-fired Beijing duck, consider ordering in advance to avoid a 45-minute wait, and expect the bird to be served in a traditional multi-faceted workout, starting with crispy duck skin dipped in sugar, and on through variations involving garlic paste with radish and Tientsin cabbage, and lettuce-wrapped spicy minced duck among others. Elsewhere, a platter of steamed dim sum might get you off the blocks, ahead of stir-fried tiger prawns served in spicy rice wine sauce, or something like wok-fried neck fillet of lamb in osmanthus soy sauce. Desserts are creative east-meets-west fusions such as cinnamon cheesecake with green tea ice cream, or chocolate-coated lychees with ginger parfait.