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Review | Chinese fare is star at sexy Hakkasan

A family trip to China last fall left me craving most of all the drop-of-a-hat elegance of the family-style dining we enjoyed -- relaxed yet ritualized banquets with a dozen friends and acquaintances in which we were served a multitude of dishes in a kind of formal order I never fully understood.

I found a taste of that languorous pacing and fine, fresh fare at Hakkasan, the Fontainebleau's sexiest new restaurant. The London import is the creation of Michelin-starred Alan Yau, a Hong Kong native whose restaurants are known for exquisite food and a nightclubby vibe.

Hidden away on the fourth floor of the hotel, the gorgeous dining room is actually a maze of rooms divided by delicately carved teak screens that lend a seductive privacy. A clutch of pretty hostesses in hot pink Alexander McQueen dresses will help you find your way.

3 family-friendly places with worthy fare

If you're in the mood for international fare, consider these casual restaurants in the Coral Gables-Pinecrest area. Each is family-friendly but comfortable for a couple.

CREPE CUISINE

South Miami's Crepe Cuisine offers that happy blend of good food, affordable pricing and a stylish décor.

Packing lunch: New ideas for an old dilemma

It's back-to-school time, and so commences the eternal challenge: finding an easy-to-make healthy lunch kids will eat and not trade for a Lunchable.

We consulted with local nutritionists and chefs to find fresh lunch-box ideas. Their first suggestion? Involve those who eat the lunches in the packing experience.

``Have your kids be part of the process,'' says nutritionist Patricia Restrepo of Key Biscayne. ``Making fun things with them helps. Kids who have never touched a vegetable will suddenly eat them.''

Review | Las Olas Le Café de Paris lovely as ever

When Le Café de Paris opened on Las Olas Boulevard in the 1960s, it quickly became the place for fashionable ladies and Fort Lauderdale power brokers to meet over classics like escargot bourguignon, beef Wellington and duck l'orange.

In 47 years, the boulevard has shifted from haute to hip, but the café has remained a fixture with its familiar French food, quaint atmosphere and reasonable prices. A pianist plays delightful music to dine by each night, and you can find a bottle of French wine for $22.

The café's reign seemed over last summer when longtime owner Louis Flematti sold the Las Olas building, but the café part of the deal fell through, and Swiss native Flematti decided he didn't want to give up the restaurant business after all.

Kiddie foodie movement is bent on broadening young palates

Before she was a year old, Zoe LoSasso was introduced to the sharp, earthy taste of white truffle purée. Now 10, she doesn't remember that, but it hardly seems an accident that she loves yuca-crusted snapper with kimchee aioli, roasted broccoli with garlic and pizza topped with crushed red pepper. Like a growing number of American kids, the fifth grader is being raised as an adventuresome eater.

``It's a fatal mistake to assume kids like bland food,'' says Zoe's father, Dewey LoSasso, chef-owner of the North Miami restaurant North One 10. ``Just the other day, I ordered steamed clams for my kids at a little place on the Hollywood Broadwalk and the waiter acted like I was a crazy. He was expecting me to order mozzarella sticks.''

Judging from a wave of new books and an increasing number of restaurants with creative children's menus, a junior foodie movement is coming into its own. It's all about thinking outside the Happy Meal box.