An old fave of mine from my school days at Shida, Asian Star was one of the first places in Beijing to offer Indian or Southeast Asian grub. Dining environment feels more like a big Chinese restaurant than international cuisine. I always go for the spicy sesame chicken strips, a curry or two, and a couple of servings of naan.

There are other places with better Indian or SE Asian, but Asian Star definitely qualifies as a nice, reasonable change of pace. It's right by Tuanjiehu Park too.

A BJ legend - I used to spend entire afternoons at the Bookworm, now I generally go there for events. Sandwiches are solid, wine list is hai keyi. I haven't been to the Suzhou or Chengdu locations, but I'd imagine they're worth checking out too