DOG may be off the menu for the Olympic Games, but adventurous gourmets can still choose from a dazzling array of culinary delights in Beijing - from seal penis to cow stomach, deep-fried scorpions or sea urchins, turtle (really best done as a broth) and brains in hot pot.

The banning of dog from official Olympic eateries, most of which seem to be in the 112 designated Olympic hotels, is just one example of the lengths the authorities are going to make foreigners welcome and safe.

Not only have standard English translations been introduced for hundreds of the most popular Chinese dishes in Beijing, a sophisticated food monitoring system is promising that if a food-borne illness occurs at an Olympic site, the source can be tracked within 10 minutes.

The ban on serving dog, by the Beijing Catering Trade Association, is not binding on the rest of the city's thousands of restaurants, but they too have been urged to take canine off the menu in the interests of not upsetting too many foreigners.

Locals may be grumbling after some of the city's favourite eateries were forced to close for two months because they are considered too close to venues, but others such as Beijing's first specialty penis restaurant is still taking bookings.