Despite its dry climate, Beijing is saturated with spots for lakeside dining.

So, those hoping to dip their toes into the capital city's wonderful world of waterfront eateries have plenty of places to choose from.

Dine on a boat on Shichahai

At Sichahai, visitors reserve a meal at one of the restaurants lining the banks of the lake, board a boat and have their meal delivered to them via yacht.

A dozen four-passenger wooden boats and one 10-seater dock on the southern shore of Houhai, near Prince Gong's Palace.

Seats cost 160 yuan per person per hour, and the boats can be rented until 11pm.

Recommended restaurants for making reservations include the Zhejiang-style Kongyiji Restaurant and the Muslim-style Kaorouji, which is famous for roast mutton.

1. Kongyiji (孔乙己)

Recommended dishes: boiled kidney beans (茴香豆), braised bamboo shoots (油焖笋), braised flour gluten (四季烤麸), fried beef with deep-fried dough sticks (油条炒牛肉), steamed sea bass (清蒸鲈鱼) and rice wine (黄酒). A2 Dongming Hutong, Deshengmennei Dajie, Xicheng District. 6618-4915. 西城区德胜门内大街东明胡同甲2号

2. Kaorouji (烤肉季)

Recommended dishes: roast mutton (烤羊肉), braised beef tail (红烧牛尾) and fried green pea bean curd (麻豆腐). 14 Qianhai Dongyan, Shichahai, Xicheng District. 6404-2554. 西城区什刹海前海东沿14号.

Docks at Qianhai (6615-0989), Houhai (6616-2868), Shuaifu (6616-4098), and Di'anmen (8402-2106).

With good views of Houhai

There are some other restaurants along Houhai with a good view of the lake. Four places worthy of recommendation are Xiao Wang's Home, Nuage, South Silk Road and Yuelu Shanwu.

3. Xiao Wang's Home's Houhai branch (小王府后海店) occupies a large stretch of real estate along Qianhai's northern bank.

The restaurant comprises different sections, including a public area, a pavilion decorated in traditional Chinese style, a transparent glass room and a rooftop pavilion for open-air dining. Both the daytime and nighttime views from the location are superb.

Recommended dishes: roast duck (烤鸭), braised diced eggplant with nuts (茄鲞), pan-fried chicken slices with Hawaiian nuts in brown sauce (夏果炒鸡丁), braised beef with potato (土豆烧牛肉), braised pork ribs (飘香排骨). Average spending is 300 yuan, or more, in a private room. 15 Qianhai Beiyan, Xicheng District. 6617-5558. 西城区前海北沿15号(荷花市场附近)

4. The 2nd and 3rd floors of Nuage (庆云楼) offer a view of Qianhai and the lake area near Yindingqiao Bridge. In fact, the environment here is almost better than the dishes. Nuage serves Vietnamese cuisine in an elaborate, stylish decor.

Recommended dishes: Vietnamese spring rolls (越南春卷), green pawpaw salad (青木瓜沙拉), spicy chicken slices with citronella (香茅辣鸡柳) and beef roll in seaweed (牛肉卷). 22 Qianhai Dongyan, Shichahai, Xicheng District. 6401-9581. 庆云楼, 西城区什刹海前海东沿22号.

5. Window seats at South Silk Road (茶马古道) proffer a beautiful view of Qianhai. There is also a large outdoor area in front of this Yunnan-style restaurant that is nearer to the lake.

Recommended dishes: Cross-bridge sea bass (过桥鲈鱼), three chopped vegetable slices (黑三剁), lemon chicken breast (柠檬鸡), steamed chicken soup (汽锅鸡) and rice wine (米酒). Average spending is 100 yuan. 12-13, A19 Lotus Market, Qianhai Xiyan, Shichahai, Xicheng District. 6615-5515. 西城区什刹海前海西沿荷花市场甲19号12-13室

6. Yuelu Shanwu (岳麓山屋) is a Hunan restaurant that is also located inside the Lotus Market with an outdoor seating area and good view to the lake. Recommended dishes: fish head with preserved chili (剁椒鱼头), hand-torn small turtle (手撕小鳖), dry-pot tea tree mushroom (干锅茶树菇), yellow millet bean curd (米豆腐) and rice wine (米酒). 10-11, A19 Qianhai Xiyan, Shichahai, Xicheng District. 6617-2696. 西城区什刹海前海西沿甲19号10-11

Restaurants at Qingnianhu Park Lake (青年湖公园)

Private rooms at Yuzhuantang Tanjia Restaurant (玉馔堂食府) provide a good view of Qingnianhu Lake. The restaurant specializes in Tanjia cuisine, a genre known for fusing the delicacies of different cuisines and for its good presentation and taste.

Visitors must make reservations here. Average spending ranges from 300-2,000 yuan per person. Some typical dishes include seasonal vegetables with chicken sauce, deer tendon with rice, soup with dry scallop and shrimp, and apricot tea. Enter from east gate of Qingnianhu Park, Andingmenwai Dajie, Dongcheng District. 8413-2035. 东城区安定门外青年湖公园东岸

Lakeside at Worker's Stadium

This lake has been drained temporarily to clean up its bottom but is expected to be refilled at the end of June.

Le Quai (有景阁) is an ingeniously conceived restaurant with a genuine, 300-year-old Chinese house encased within the structure. The modern section of the restaurant offers a view of the lake and an outdoor seating area.

The food here is a fusion of Chinese and Western styles, created with artistic vision and gourmet taste. Opposite No 12 stand inside Workers?Stadium, Chaoyang District, enter from the east gate. 6551-1636. 朝阳区工人体育场内12号看台对面 (工体东门进入)

Kunyu River cuisine (昆玉河)

Dream of the Origin of Peaches (梦桃源湘粤酒楼万寿路店) is a restaurant located along the banks of Kunyu River, which flows north to south through Beijing. The river's mouth is Kunming Lake inside the Summer Palace, while it empties out into Yuyuantan Park. You can visit the restaurant on a tour of the river.

Most private rooms here offer a grand view of the Kunyu River. The eatery serves delicious Hunan and Cantonese dishes, but some diners might find some Hunan dishes to be a little spicy. Recommended dishes are goose liver with abalone sauce (鲍汁鹅肝), fish soup that turns your head (回头鱼汤), dry pot duck (干锅黄鸭) and small fried shrimps (小炒河虾). Average spending is 160 yuan. A2 Wanshou Lu, Haidian District. 8812-6512. 海淀区万寿路甲2号

(China Daily 07/04/2007 page4)