The Boardroom scales the heights of Beijing dining

Sometimes street meat really is as good as it gets. But whereas low-end small eats may have reached their most "democratic" pricings, with the opening of Alan Wang's new restaurant, The Boardroom, just around the corner, it looks like sophistication is about to become even more exclusive.

Calling it schizophrenic might be going too far, but Beijing's dining scene is definitely a grab bag of extreme highs and extreme lows. The best restaurants split along two lines: either they're serving high-end foreign fare for a pretty penny, or cheap eats of the didao-down-and-dirty variety will have to suit.

According to Sebastien Noet, general manager of The Boardroom, this new "intimate" 16-seater lounge will be hidden somewhere in the depths of the Block 8 complex. Once past a secret and unique pin-code locked 800-kg door, guests can choose to dine at either a massive mahogany boardroom table or surround a 1200-kg stainless steel teppanyaki table—the city's largest. A private and (scandalous!) fully-mirrored bathroom, top-end A-V system for business meetings, and exclusive staircase to a VIP table at outdoor venue The Beach, round out the trappings of this bastion of elitism. Donald Trump would be proud.

And though the menu and pricing are negotiable, costs will of course tend toward extreme luxe, featuring a modern Japanese and Teppanyaki menu broken down in three distinct levels (¥1000, ¥1500, ¥2000).

I asked Sebastien what this upward push might mean for Beijing. As far as his team envisions it, the Boardroom provides a "necessary sanctuary" from the noise, buzz and tension of our fair capital. Maybe these high-end enclaves really are a necessary respite from the renao of life in Beijing. Maybe that is the natural response our city inspires. And it's nice to know we have somewhere to run to should we need to divorce ourselves from the surroundings. At least we have a nice view from the top available—especially when that "top" we aspire to is spiraling ever higher.

It's reassuring that there are ever fewer limits to what Beijing cuisine might offer. Now, however, I'd like to see local fare reach upward, too. A mid-range local spot that attempts creativity, invention. A middle tier in terms of quality, and coziness, and price.

I wouldn't even mind if I had to pay a bit more ... as long as street meat stays cheap.

–Manuela Zoninsein