A is for Austria

The kitchen takes quality ingredients－Australian beef, jumbo king prawn and scallop, proscuitto, mussels and potato gratin－and converts them into edible art.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Pastry seems to be an Austrian gene, so it's no surprise that desserts are stars here. Strudel, the baked sheath of seasonal apples and winter-warming cinnamon, arrives on a recent visit with a splash of Oma's (Grandmother's) Secret Strawberry Sauce, a rosy delight we liked much better than the colorful but out-of-place kiwi drizzle the kitchen had favored earlier. Not so Austrian but the in-demand chocolate dessert of the moment, a rich lava cake pleases with its accompanying flourishes of pumpkin parfait and raspberry sauce.

If that's your closing sweet of choice, Lampersberger is likely to appear at your elbow and suggest matching that with his Marielle apricot liqueur.

Don't hesitate for a moment.

Contact the writer at michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn