Yang Jinma, better known by her Han name, Han Hong, and famous for her Tibetan songs, has followed the lead of celebrities around the world by expanding into the food business. Her new Yang Jinma Tibetan Culture Restaurant serves Tibetan food a la Qinghai, and boasts A multi-talented team of sersvers that not only do a great job of waiting, but also put on spirited performances of Tibetan dance and song.

The décor in Yang Jinma is refined, with colorful Tibetan art objects in typical bright greens, yellows and reds, as well as woodcarvings and furniture with tasteful traces of gold.

One popular dish here is the small roasted yak rib (58RMB) presented beautifully in a wooden lacquered box accompanied by Tibetan sharp dagger--this is no ceremonial knife, but sharp enough to slice through the meat. The rib is seasoned lightly with ziran and salt, making it deceivingly taste like lamb. It's tender and delectable, and the generous portion is plenty for a party of four.

Steamed chicken soup, 38RMB, is highly recommended as winter approaches—the clear broth is unbelievably tasty and the chicken delicious. The strong flavor of the chicken exudes from the broth, which comes in a small bowl also filled with bulb-like tiny roots and wolfberries, as well as bitter snow lotus and a piece of the brownish flower juema. Both the snow lotus and juema are medicinal plants indigenous to Tibetan grasslands at 3000m above sea-level.

Xiaguo tangjie ban jingu, a veggie dish, consists of golden mushrooms mixed with xiaguo tangjie, a grassland herb available only in April and May. The distinctive flavor might put off first timers, but it can grow on you.

Highly recommended are the beef strips with shredded carrots--a popular Tibetan dish—and the best rendition of this dish we've had in Beijing. It’s at once sour, spicy, sweet, and salty, whilst still being well balance.

Try geda tang, nips of dough, as an alternative staple. Similar to a small pasta shell, cooked in beef broth with a crunchy radish. It takes a long time to prepare as each morsel is hand pinched, then cooked al dente.

The perfect accompaniment to a meal here is Lhasa Beer with its boast that it’s brewed on the ‘Beer from The Roof of the World’.

Yang Jinma 29 Zaoying Lu, (next to Café Constance on Lucky Street) Chaoyang district, (tel 5867 0228) Open 11.30am-12.30am. Meal for two 200RMB

央金玛藏文化餐厅 朝阳区枣营路29号