Havana haven

China's President Xi Jinping is flying to Cuba this weekend, but the rest of us can stay here in the capital and enjoy good Cuban food and perhaps one of those legendary cigars. Chef Osmani Castillo has tweaked his pork-chop marinade, adding a splash of soy sauce to the garlic, lemon, cumin and fresh black pepper before the dish is flash fried to be crispy on the outside and succulent inside. The perfect accompaniment may be the Hemingway, a bright-yellow rum-and-pomelo cocktail, but there is plenty of Cuban beer and rum, too.

1/F South Tower, China Overseas Plaza, 8 Guanghua Dongli, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-5977-2789

- Mike Peters