The Temple Restaurant is down the crowded Shatan Beijie hutong (alley) in the 600-year-old Songzhu Temple complex. The main dining room in a more recent building that once was a television factory where Beijing's first black-and-white sets were made. What's created today is impeccable modern French cuisine served by waitresses wearing pearls. A set three-course lunch - which takes about an hour and a half with extra douses thrown in - costs 158 RMB (US$24). Reservations required.

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