Restaurant Week will whet your appetite

The Fourth China Restaurant Week will be held in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou from Feb 28 to March 9.

More than 200 top restaurants, including more than 40 in Beijing, will offer a discounted set menu during the week.

The event, organized jointly by DiningCity.com and Citibank, is about "fine dinning at the best for less".

According to DiningCity's managing director Onno Schreurs, the event will involve more restaurants and offer more seats than ever before. Though officially called a week, the actual event will last for 10 days.

DiningCity's senior account manager Alessia Frisina revealed participating restaurants include those who took part before, namely the Whampoa Club, Brasserie Flo, Mosto and The Cut.

Hotels participating include The Peninsula, Four Seasons, and Hilton Wangfujing. Other are making their first appearance, including Parnas, Provincia, and Italian restaurant Opera Bombana .

The high-end restaurants will provide tasting menus for three or four courses for lunch and dinner, with fixed prices ranging from 78 yuan ($13) for lunch or 168 yuan for dinner.

At Four Seasons Hotel Beijing, for example, a four-course dinner menu has duck foie gras with Alaskan black cod confit or veal cheek for the main course, followed by a dessert of pina colada rum and guanduia parfait. The four-course dinner costs 258 yuan per head.

Reservations can be made on line via www.restaurantweek.cn starting 11 am, Feb 18. Restaurant Weekend guests who leave reviews have a chance to win dining vouchers.

The event will select winners among the participating restaurants with food specialists, guests and "secret" judges comparing notes.