Right on cue

As the clock hit 9 pm on Thursday, the lights were killed and the candles on the tables lit.

Tables were moved aside to create a stage, and by the time the band began to crank out the opening bars of Love You Like A Love Song, the transformation from restaurant to bar was complete.

This is all part of the routine at Cue restaurant and bar, which sees a jazz band drop by on Wednesday, the A-one Band pick up their residency the following evening, and the stage given over to DJs on Friday and Saturday nights.

Opening in May, Cue offers a relaxing space for busy Beijing office workers to kick back in and enjoy their food and drinks, and a balcony for people to enjoy the sunset and views over the city.

The cocktails at the restaurant are listed in chronological order from the date of their invention, from 1803's Old Fashioned－a mix of bourbon, brown sugar, bitter soda and orange peel－to 1987's Cosmopolitan－a blend of vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice, yellow lime juice and syrup, topped off with a cherry.

"The youngest three drinks on our cocktail list are lighter and sweeter, and more suitable for ladies," says Yuan Xiaodong, the founder of Cue.

A group of female friends once ordered every cocktail on the list－from the oldest to the youngest. According to Yuan, Cue is creating a new original cocktail list which will shortly be released. "Some of our regular clients have already tried our new cocktails," he says.

The food at Cue is the same style whether it is operating as a restaurant or a bar－fusion cuisine. Chef Wu Jiabing has worked with Western cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine for 18 years, and he specializes in mixing different cuisines and creating his own style of dishes.

"None of the dishes on the menu are cooked in the traditional way. Each one has a new flavor or seasoning added to it, whether it's from Asian or Chinese cuisine," Wu says.

The boneless grilled spring chicken is one of the most popular dishes at Cue. Wu debones the chicken breast and thigh, and then marinates the meat with Greek yogurt and a dozen Indian spices for 12 hours. "The yogurt is to counter the fattiness and seal in the juices of the meat," he explains.

He uses two bamboo sticks to flatten out the meat and allow it to cook evenly. He first grills the chicken to leave a beautiful pattern on the skin before placing it in the oven. Wu makes a tomato and cashew nut sauce to pair with dish.

For his smoked pork ribs, Yuan uses Iberian pork, which looks like an American-style barbecue but actually has a Thai flavor. Similarly, he uses traditional Western cooking methods for his pan-fried Australian scallops but he replaces the traditional sauce with an Indian red curry paste.

His casserole dishes are stewed slowly over a low heat and also surprise diners with their unexpected flavors－the roast lamb leg is stewed for 24 hours with homemade rendang paste and coconut syrup to lend it a Southeast Asian flavor, while his beef brisket is stewed for 30 hours with Korean bean sauce.

Wu always carries a pen and tweezers in his sleeve pocket, a habit he developed more than a decade ago. He uses the tweezers to adjust the plating before serving, or dips it in a sauce to taste it. Wu uses the pen to jot down inspiration and ideas for new dishes.

Each of his dishes is tested with different flavors many times until he finds the best pairing for the ingredients.

His silver codfish with cabbage salad is a dish that evolved out of a lot of experimentation with different flavors. "At first, I used a creamy sauce and asparagus to pair with the codfish but the traditional flavor did not wow the diners. So, when I tried out using miso and teriyaki sauces to match with the codfish, everyone loved it," Wu recalls.

For the traditional cabbage salad, he adds butter-fried instant noodles and almond slices for added crispiness.

A dish he dubbed Chengdu Tofu in Paris is also popular among diners. It's Wu's Western take on the traditional mapo tofu. He puts a layer of white cream sauce at the bottom of the pot and then pours in cooked mapo tofu, which he tops with cheese before placing the pot in the oven.

When it is ready to serve, Wu adds a layer of fried Sichuan chili and peanuts for extra crispiness.

"When you pick up a piece of tofu, it is covered with cheese and minced pork which is creamy and flavorful, and it's like a combination of flavors from Chengdu and Paris," Wu says.

When it comes to creating staples, Wu presents typical Chinese cuisine noodles－traditional Beijing noodles with sesame paste and Shanghai-style noodles with scallion oil.

The sesame-flavored noodles are mixed with handmade noodles and shreds of cucumber, carrot and chicken meat are added along with bean sprouts. Wu then adds fried garlic slices, sesame seeds and shreds of nori on top to give it a more stronger flavor.

One bite of the noodles packs a powerful punch thanks to the Sichuan peppercorn oil.

Before joining Cue, Wu worked in Shanghai for a decade, which helped him to master the famous traditional Shanghai dish－noodles with scallion oil.

His version sees him add a spring egg, caviar and pork floss. "I use the caviar and pork floss to boost the umami, and when you break in the spring egg and mix it with the noodles, it gives the noodles a more creamy texture," he says.

Wu's signature dessert, which he names Boom Boom Boom, also features Southeast Asian flavors. He covers coconut ice cream with pandan sauce and milk foam and tops it with boom boom rice.

Wu was invited to prepare the menu for Cue last November, and it took him six months to create the first version of the menu in time for the official opening of the restaurant in May.

His appetite for creating new dishes never ceases, and he spent the next six months updating and refining the menu－adding more new dishes and upgrading the flavors of the existing ones.

The latest version of the menu was launched just this week. Wu is training his chefs how to make the new dishes and has also started creating a new seasonal menu.