THE coastal province of Shandong in eastern China is home to Shandong Luneng, currently the defending champion in the national soccer league; to Shandong Bangzi, a popular form of Beijing Opera; and to Tsingtao Beer, originating from the city of Qingdao and famous the world over. It is also home to Shandong cuisine, known as shandongcai (山东菜) or lucai (鲁菜) in Chinese, which is one of the “Eight Culinary Traditions” of China.

The cuisine, known for its wide variety of ingredients and cooking methods, mainly comprises two styles: Jinan style from the inland, which encompasses dishes from Jinan, Dezhou, Tai’an and surrounding regions and is famed for its soup; and Jiaodong style, which encompasses dishes from Qingdao, Yantai and other coastal cities, and is characterized by seafood and light flavors.

A good place to try Shandong food, which is not that commonly seen in Shenzhen, is in Yanqing Restaurant, on Dongyuan Road. Located behind the old Jusco store, next to True Color bar and within one of Shenzhen’s most popular entertainment areas, Yanqing is fairly crowded during lunchtime, full of red-faced diners downing shots of baijiu (liquor) to go with their meal in (what I was told is, anyway) true Shandong style.

The restaurant itself is designed in a rather unusual way. I don’t know if they planned on a fast-food restaurant initially and then decided halfway to aim for a more traditional look, but Yanqing has elements of both. Thus you will be eating under the bright lights and on the kind of utilitarian furniture that every self-respecting fast-food restaurant is proud of, while at the same time, there are private dining spaces superficially partitioned by brick walls and the sight of two traditional Chinese musical instruments called guzheng placed on the wall. Funky pictures on the wall, and a hanging clock just add to the confusion.

Now to the food, the most important part of any restaurant. Yanqing serves its food in the traditional Shandong way: the dishes are clear, pure and not greasy, characterized by an emphasis on aroma, freshness and crispness.

The dishes use condiments and seasoning like shallot, garlic and onions, which provide a pungent taste to the food. As Shandong cuisine places a great deal of emphasis on soups, we sampled the soup made from dough lumps (16 yuan, US$2.1), which, despite its rather uninspiring name, was light and clear, adding a certain amount of freshness to the other dishes on the table.

Two items I would recommend you try on a visit to Yanqing are the Shandong-style roast chicken (22 yuan for half of a chicken), a delicate little concoction served with the mildest of seasoning, and the stewed croaker fish (30 yuan). The stir-fried bean sprouts (18 yuan) proved that there are ways to even make bean sprouts tasty, although I have less to praise about the stewed pork in earthen pot (22 yuan) which comprised a lot of fat and could surely have used some heavier cooking methods.

All things considered, it was a more than satisfactory meal, and the restaurant is worth another visit. However, be warned that there is no English menu, so you’ll have to take a Chinese-speaker along; if he or she is from Shandong Province, you could get a good idea of what exactly Qingdao people drink their Tsingtao with.