Beijing's most lauded Spanish restaurant a weekend treat

Salmon eggs benedict. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Things got started at our table with a plate of fresh pastries and breads, served with butter and jam. From the first-course list, we chose the pumpkin soup - creamy but not overly sweet thanks to a balsamic kick, a fine smoky lentil soup studded with house-made chorizo and a pork rib, and a chaucuterie-and-cheese plate. A winning choice of eggs came next: Beetroot Alaskan salmon eggs Benedict, sunny-side-up duck eggs served with hash browns and house-made chorizo, and a gorgeous platter of three different homemade sausages with a poached egg, hash browns and roasted cherry tomatoes that gave the plate a sweet kiss of a finish.

The seafood paella was next - a surprise disappointment. The overall aura was a little too fishy, and - perhaps because of the way brunch is served in individual small plates, the rice comes off more like an ordinary risotto. We missed the crispy edge that makes paella a multi-textured treat when it comes straight from the oven in its classic round iron pan. Also arriving in that round of starch plates: a fine crispy ham-and-potato croquette, sided with an elegant chilli reduction with a sweet edge.

Main courses "from the land and sea" were back on firm ground: the chef's beer-and-mustard marinated pork belly was pure delight, served with baked potatoes in a rich Pommery mustard sauce. One of my companions enjoyed the above-mentioned beef tenderloin so much, she ordered a second one - part of the joy of "infinity". But the second arrival came a bit saltier. It was a bit like going back to a much-loved vacation spot: Can it ever be as good after the first time? (Or maybe it can: We'll be back to see.)