As summer temperatures heat up, restaurants and cafes across the country unveil new seasonal menus packed with vibrant, refreshing dishes perfect for warm weather. Diners can look forward to a culinary journey featuring the best of summer’s bounty from imperial-inspired creations to cool, creative coffees.

Judelou Restaurant, renowned for its distinctive Beijing and Shandong cuisines and imperial court dishes, opened a new location in Sanlitun, Beijing. The restaurant’s design echoes the elegance of imperial palaces, utilizing space-planning techniques like scenic construction, light borrowing and perspective changes to convey the beauty of Eastern aesthetics.

The menu features many recreations of imperial dishes and classic Shandong specialties. A must-try is the braised sea cucumber with pork, made with sea cucumbers from the coastal areas of Fujian province. The delicacy is cooked with diced pork, allowing it to fully absorb the savory meat broth, resulting in a dish that is salty, fresh and delightfully chewy.

Chef 1996 Restaurant in Beijing is unveiling a new lunch menu in honor of the Paris Summer Olympics. While some of the restaurant’s chefs are in Paris at the China House to showcase Chinese cuisine to the world, the restaurant offers fresh interpretations of classic Sichuan dishes.