Participating diplomats pose with the general manager of the hotel Li Gang (fourth from the right). Photo: Yin Yeping/GT

Diplomats enjoy the food at Rouge Chinese restaurant. Photo: Yin Yeping/GT

Baked rib eye steak with lemongrass and truffles Photo: Yin Yeping/GT

The Global Times Diplomats' Food Tour headed to The Crowne Plaza Beijing located in Haidian district on August 17, where diplomats dined on Cantonese food at the hotel's Rouge Chinese restaurant.

Vatroslav Belan, the first counsellor of the Embassy of Montenegro, Zbyněk Noha, the minister counsellor and the deputy head of mission of the Embassy of the Czech Republic, and Chuvaev Alexey, the first secretary and the deputy director of the Russian Cultural Center of the Russian Embassy, were among those who attended the dinner.

The general manager of the hotel Li Gang welcomed the diplomats and personally chose seven dishes for them.

Starting things off was an assortment of cold dishes, which included roast suckling pig, roast goose, cabbage with dried bean curd, and egg slices. The well-balanced preparation and flavors of the pig and the goose won the applause of the diners.

Following that was a soup featuring braised, tender abalone with scallops and winter melon. Li told the diners that winter melon serves to clear the body's "inner heat" and helps remove toxins.

Then came the sauteed prawns with sweet sauce, steamed grouper with XO sauce, and baked rib eye steak with lemongrass and truffles.

"All of the ingredients are sourced locally and are cooked when they are fresh," said Li. "Apart from Cantonese food, the restaurant also offers other types of Chinese dishes, including Sichuan cuisine and Huaiyang cuisine, all prepared by a chef from the birthplace of these dishes."

The dumplings were served last, but did not fail to capture the interest of the crowd. Some diplomats said they have prepared dumplings at home before. Alexey loved the dish in particular and said there are dishes exactly like Chinese dumplings in Russia and eating them reminded him of home.

The meal ended with mango pudding with sesame balls.

The Global Times Diplomats' Food Tour aims to impress diplomats with Chinese food prepared by popular Chinese restaurants in Beijing. Apart from enjoying the food itself, participating diplomats gain knowledge about the culture behind the cuisine at every meal.