[Photo provided to China Daily]

Like most Chinese, Italians are big fans of the warm sweetness of chestnuts. At Opera Bombana, Chef Marino D'Antonio crafts the seasonal goodies into his Monte Bianco, a small tower of dessert that combines caramel sponge cake, chestnut cream, bits of roasted nut and chestnut ice cream. There's a hint of rum in there, somewhere, too. 128 yuan ($19.40), with one or two spoons.

LG2-21 in Parkview Green (Fangcaodi), 9 Dongdaqiao Road, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-5690-7177