Coming from Brugge in Belgium, Ignace Lecleir ate French cuisine - such as foie gras, snails and steak with fries - on a daily basis when he was growing up.

For two years, around 20 years ago, he also worked in the kitchen of a French restaurant in Paris.

"I was responsible for preparing all of the vegetables required for any of the dishes," Lecleir recalls. "Since it was a high-end restaurant, there were many positions (in the kitchen). Dealing with vegetables sounds simple, but it's actually a very complicated station."

Lecleir recalls having to use a paintbrush to clean the dirt off a mushroom, because if it was washed, it would absorb the water and affect its flavor.

"Sometimes you have to do as little as possible to get the real flavor, and you want to make sure you can serve them at the prime time," says Lecleir.

He moved to Beijing in 2007 and is now owner and founder of the TRB Restaurant Group in the capital. After considering the idea of opening his own French restaurant for years, when the two-storey open space at Chaoyang Joy City became available, Lecleir knew it was time to make that dream a reality.

"This section of Joy City actually looks European. It's like a courtyard somewhere in Europe," he says. "There are not many French bistros in Beijing right now, so I thought that, maybe, this is a good opportunity."

Merci opened at the end of April and, as the French have strong culinary traditions that often begin in the home, Merci is a bistro focused on providing the joy and family atmosphere that surrounds great French home cooking.

The menu is dedicated to classic country-style dishes, like homemade pate, escargot, steak tartar, foie gras and TRB's signature souffles.

The snails at Merci are prepared in three different ways - one is with garlic, butter and herbs; another is French Burgundy snails with chives; and the last one sees the snails served with parsley foam and beef bone marrow. Diners can pull the snail from the shell with a special fork.

There are four dishes based on foie gras - the French country style pate with pork belly, foie gras on toast with cherry jam, a mixed French style pate platter and a foie gras terrine - that have been all designed for easy sharing.

The white wine clam and mussel pot is made in the authentic French style, but with a little twist by the chefs. To cater for local Beijing tastes, the flavor has been made a bit spicier.

The roasted chicken with potatoes and rosemary is a signature dish which is carved and served at the diners' table.

"I think in Europe, we eat roast chicken once or twice a week," says Lecleir.

The French style lamb leg is a must-try for gatherings of family or friends, as it's a whole lamb leg roasted with garlic, parsley, several different spices and served with courgette - its crispy flavorful skin belies the succulent, tender meat underneath.

When it comes to desserts, Merci's lemon cake is a fun treat. It's crafted in the shape of a lemon, but with passion fruit inside.

One of the signature souffles, however, is the perfect choice to end a meal at Merci - whether it's the milk chocolate flavor, passion fruit flavor or grand marnier flavor - each is cooked to order and has to be served and eaten at the right time, otherwise the puffy top will collapse.

After more than 10 years of living and working in Beijing, Lecleir has noticed that Chinese customers are very excited and curious about new flavors. Even though most of his experience is with fine dining restaurants, Lecleir has decided to do something casual to serve the culinary curiosity of his Chinese customers.

He notes that, now, 70 percent of the customers at TRB restaurants are Chinese - and they keep coming back.

"Sometimes, they will come back with their parents, which we get excited about, as it is like the ultimate confirmation that we were able to pass the final test," he says.