Tiandi Yi Jia is a legendary Beijing restaurant that has served Imperial Chinese cuisine to the princes of Saudi Arabia, the King of Spain and director Oliver Stone. The restaurant serves specialties not only from Beijing but Shandong and Guangdong provinces including chilled goose liver with sake. Master Chinese Chef Li Qigui designed dishes such as braised shark’s fin soup with hairy crabmeat and Peking duck with ganoderma mushrooms. But the exquisite gastronomy is only part of the appeal of Tiandi Yi Jia, which is housed in the former imperial storehouse. The Ming dynasty courtyard has been covered over with glass and there are elegant, white Chinese paper parasols adorning the ceiling. In the center of the restaurant are four stone pillars with carved sculptures of a blue dragon, a white tiger, a red phoenix and a black turtle: the four traditional holy animals of China. If you want to dine like an emperor, this is the place for you – just make sure you have the wealth of nations.