Legal Evening News of Beijing held restaurant awards on Jan 15 at the Park Hyatt Hotel. The awards, dubbed the Chinese "Michelin awards", went to 100 "exemplary" restaurants in Beijing.

Preliminary selection for the awards started on March 15, 2013, with industry experts, senior gourmets and food critics serving as judges.

The awards are categorized into "most guaranteed quality", best service, "most thrifty", top signature dishes and best chefs.

Some of the top restaurants chosen were Summer Palace Chinese Restaurant at China World Hotel, Maxim's de Paris Beijing, Dadong Peking Roast Duck Restaurant and In & Out Yunnan Restaurant.

Some top dishes were Dadong's braised sea cucumber with shallot, Ding Tai Fung's crab roe bun, Tang Palace's roast pigeon and Yanlanlou's mutton.

Haidilao Hot Pot, Huajia Yiyuan and Meizhou Dongpo won best service awards.

Xu Meng, secretary-general of the Beijing Western Food Association, said the awards were based on anonymous visits by gourmets and can be a good guide for ordinary diners.