Towering above the pack

After a recent revamp of its menu and decor, CCTV Tower's rotating restaurant (中央电视塔旋转餐厅) has enhanced its offerings to include more than 300 choices, and also greatly improved the service.

As soon as one takes a seat, the wait staff come forward to ask you to choose two cold starters - mango and seafood salad, goose liver with sake, or eel and bean curd.

There are plenty of Chinese foods - Cantonese dishes, as well Peking roast duck, and some Sichuan spicy dishes. One can also find French-style dishes, Italian noodles and pizza, and Japanese sushi and sashimi. French grill meats and Japanese teppanyaki are prepared on the spot, as are Chinese noodles, at an open kitchen. There are more than 10 cocktails available, including three alcohol-free ones. On weekend evenings, bartenders show off their cocktail-mixing skills.