French chef shows off skills on edge of Forbidden City

He once cooked up a storm in St. Tropez, the French seaside holiday resort, with all its glitterati, and later served the patrons of one of the oldest restaurants in Paris, a stone's throw from the River Seine and the Champs-Elyees, with all its glitter.

But while the surroundings of his new workplace in Beijing may not have quite the sparkle of grand European cities and their waterways, it has its dyed gold left all over the place by fallen ginkgo leaves. And across from the moat in Donghuamen where the restaurant is located is a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) gate of the Forbidden City.

Thus French chef Johnny Pham may well feel at home, and more importantly, these are the kinds of surroundings likely to appeal to any diner at TRB Forbidden City, which opened nine months ago.