A popular Beijing eatery has been a lakeside delight for more than a decade, offering tastes of Southeast Asia one floor above a traditional Shandong restaurant. Liu Zhihua savors some popular bites.

Taking up the second floor of a historic Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) building by the Shichahai lake shore, Nuage is quite a famous spot on Beijing's dining map for providing diners with a distinctive Vietnamese dining experience and beautiful lake views.

Its name, meaning "cloud" in French, is based on the building's name, Qing Yun Lou-literally "celebration cloud building".