Wudaokou has many universities, and Yan Ming Yuan depends on the campus communities for most of its patronage. In fact, the only relatively low seasons in the year are when the universities have their annual breaks, according to Long.

Food quality, decor and service can generally get seven points out of 10, not perfect but good enough.

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For appetizers, there is a bean with bird-beak clam. Although the bean is nicely fresh, the fishy smell of the clam is a bit too strong. Another cold appetizer of a marinated trio of flavorful bean curd, duck giblets and pork chitterling is more palatable.

The shrimp served with Dragon Well tea is fresh, but I find the rice wine used for flavoring is too overpowering and covers up the sweetness of seafood. Roast beef, boned, with a proper black pepper sauce is really good.

The steamed salted yellow croaker from the East China Sea is very tender, although it will go better with a bowl of white rice as it gets too salty if eaten on its own.

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Also recommended is the eight-treasure soup, a healthy mixture of bamboo fungus, meat balls, egg dumplings, black fungus and cabbage. The freshly sauteed peas and the golden millet cake will also not disappoint a fussy diner.

For those with a lighter palate, the food here may be a little too strongly flavored, and you may want a pot of tea to clean your palate. But generally, Yan Ming Yuan is one of the better choices for an occasional treat for some regional Zhejiang and Jiangsu dishes.

After all, they have done their homework.

Contact the writer at yejun@chinadaily.com.cn.