Dining Out: Karaiya Spice House And Meeting Point

Bring the Family: Meeting Point

With complexes like Pingod, Fuli City and Landgent International in the vicinity, the Shuangjing Qiao area just south of Guomao has become a haven for young expat families. To meet the demand, a host of new dining venues have opened in the Viva shopping mall and the new outdoor food court at Landgent City Mall across the street. The latter is home to the new location of Meeting Point, a family-friendly space specializing in cucina Italia with an Abruzzese touch. This is quite simply, a no-
nonsense, no-fail option for family dining – you can’t go wrong with Italian food. Kid-friendly menu items include calzone (tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, rocotta ham and salami, RMB 69), sugo alla bolognese (pasta with a sauce made from beef, pork and cheese, RMB 36-46 depending on type of pasta), lasagna (RMB 59), and a range of pizzas (margherita, RMB 42; napoletana, RMB 49; siciliana, RMB 69). The ambience is upscale, but not pretentious, and the friendly staff and owner are always happy to accommodate families with small children. High chairs, delivery and takeout are available. Jerry Chan

Daily 11am-10pm. B103 Landgent Center, 20 Dongsanhuan Donglu, Chaoyang District. (6775 8063) 朝阳区东三环中路20号（双井乔）乐成中心美食广场B103

Hire a Baby Sitter: Karaiya Spice House

Alan Wong’s upscale venues (such as Hatsune) are definitely not the type of places where you see screaming toddlers running about – his latest venue in Sanlitun is no exception. Spicy Hunan cuisine with a Western twist is the specialty here; but while most Hunan-style restaurants in Beijing offer no-frills when it comes to their food (think paojiao yutou – fish head with pickled chilies – and hongshao rou – braised fatty pork) and environment, Karaiya sticks to its owner’s tried-and-true formula of success: quality food plus snappy service and a swish atmosphere. Signature dishes include mandarin fish with yellow and red peppers (RMB 128), sizzling spice-roasted duck (RMB 78) and Fred Flintstone-sized hot and sour pork ribs. The fire factor is somewhat attenuated for Western palates. An extensive wine and drinks list include a few custom cocktails designed to cut through all that spice. The sound service and laidback ambience make dinner dates a pleasurable experience. Tom O’Malley and Jerry Chan