Yes! I'm talking about fresh fruit becoming ingredients of delicacies, which make your table a palette and satisfy both the eyes and the taste buds.

If you are looking for an exquisite, healthy dinner with a quiet, romantic ambience, the Swallow's Nest at the five-star Nanhai Hotel is right for you.

As its name indicates, the French restaurant perches on the top of the hotel. With a huge glass wall stretching around this narrow, somewhat semicircular restaurant, you are offered a marvelous view of the deep blue sea and the green mountains beyond, which gradually merge with the sky and clouds. In the evening, you can appreciate the dazzling Sea World area nearby and the dim lights dotting the boundless dark sea.

Possibly one of the oldest Western restaurants in Shekou, the 22-year-old Swallow's Nest restaurant is demonstrating its creativity by serving a selection of fresh fruit dishes.

To start your innovative fruit banquet, you can try the chilled tropical fruit soup (42 yuan, US$6) or the black bean soup with tostones (42 yuan), which help you forget the heat outside and whet your appetite.

For the salad, select either the crabmeat and tropical fruit salad with sweet potato and coconut (78 yuan) or the salmon tartare with avocado and papaya (72 yuan).

The main courses offer a rich diversity of choices. The fresh fruit matches perfectly with the seafood and guarantees good nutrition and health. Recommendations are the scallop and prawn seared served with squash and mango salsa (178 yuan), codfish with coconut vermicelli, served with banana ponzu dipping sauce (138 yuan), and conch in layers with fresh fruit (118) yuan.

As a perfect end of your banquet, try the key lime pie (48 yuan) or the chef's mixed cheese platter with seasonal fresh fruit (62 yuan per person).

The restaurant also hass authentic French dishes in its well-chosen menu, among which some are award-winning dishes from a recent citywide cooking contest, including the codfish with mint green risotto with herbs ( yuan), foie gras and mushroom served with morel sauce ( yuan), and fresh crabmeat in layers ( yuan).

Add: Swallow's Nest Restaurant, Nanhai Hotel, beside the Shekou International Ferry Terminal, 1 Industrial Road 1, Shekou

(蛇口南海大道工业一路1号南海酒店)

Tel: 2669-2888 ext. 394

Add: Swallow's Nest restaurant, Nanhai Hotel, beside the Shekou International Ferry Terminal, 1 Industrial Road 1, Shekou (蛇口工业一路1号南海酒店燕巢厅)

Tel: 2669-2888 ext. 394

(Shenzhen Daily July 7, 2008)