WHEN you're in the mood for some robust Chinese cooking redolent with spices and rich gravies to be mopped up with rice or buns, Lao Beijing is always a dependable choice. No wonder, then, that the Novena Square outlet is one of the Tung Lok group's best performers, with decent pricing and rib-sticking food.

Now, in addition to its homespun Beijing-style cooking, Lao Beijing's three outlets have added some new items, including some Hunan favourites, to its menu, incorporated from the now defunct House of Hunan restaurant which used to be one level above Lao Beijing Novena. While Beijing cooking is not traditionally spicy, the addition of chilli-happy Hunanese specials serves to give its menu a bit of kick.

Still, the most interesting highlight of the new additions is not Hunanese, but a traditional Beijing braised fish head in a spicy gravy that is served with a special roti prata-like pancake.

It looks just like freshly tossed prata complete with crispy edges, but pick it up and it separates like a coiled spring into strips of chewy crispy dough, perfect for dipping into the savoury broth, or wrapping around morsels of the super fresh gelatinous fish head.

The restaurant doesn't cook a lot of this dish, though, as the Song fish head used is freshly bought each morning at market so if their daily stock runs out, that's it. So go early or call in advance to order. The pancakes are also home-made and they're addictive.

There are also other crowd-pleasers to be had, like the mock Peking duck which features perfectly light and crispy beancurd skin flavoured with prawn paste, sandwiched with a slice of Italian parma ham that's been braised in honey, and a slice of peach between a soft white bun ($24).

This can get pretty messy as the chewy ham refuses to yield to your chomping, but it's got a yummy bak kwa-like flavour that adds more interest to the crispy skin and soft bun combination.

Even if you're a little squeamish about frog's legs, the Hunan version is unrecognisably 'froggy' so you don't think too much about it while enjoying the plump meatiness smothered with whole garlic in a chilli bean sauce ($22). Otherwise, opt for firm beancurd slices slow-cooked in a claypot that's fragrant with chillies and minced meat in a thick gravy.

Of course, after a while the cooking style starts to seem the same as the dishes tend to have that same 'brownness' and different variations of chilli bean sauce, onions, garlic and stock reduction as its flavour base.

But they're all cooked well, and the sea cucumber braised with spicy meat sauce in a claypot, Hunan-style ($22), may be familiar but the firm-textured sea cucumber gets a big flavour boost from the spicy meat sauce and isn't as cloying as in a conventional Cantonese preparation.

End your meal with what else but dumplings - either the ubiquitous xiao long pao ($8) or steamed vegetable dumplings which are coloured green with vegetable juice and are slightly thicker than usual to hold the chunky veggie filling.

For some good old-fashioned dessert, we like the deep-fried red bean pancake here for its crispy chewy texture, which pretty much rounds off a satisfying meal that may not be cerebral but hits close to your heart.

Lao Beijing
#02-11/12 Novena Square. Tel: 6358-4466
#02-12 Tiong Bahru Plaza. Tel: 6376-4466
#03-01 Plaza Singapura. Tel: 6738-7207

This article was first published in The Business Times on Mar 10, 2008.

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