Dining experience fit for a king

A decent meal in a beautiful imperial style house is what you can look forward to at Mei Wei Zhen, or The Royal Restaurant.

The restaurant has been operating for nearly 20 years. It has made its reputation by specializing in the "complete Manchu and Han banquet", or the royal cuisine of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

One dish representing imperial luxury is fotiaoqiang, "Buddha jumps over the wall" soup, a seafood soup with 21 ingredients that is simmered for several hours. The restaurant has more than 10 versions of this famous soup, with the various versions ranging in cost from 128 yuan ($21) to more than 2,000 yuan a pot, depending on the value of ingredients used.