But culinary innovation is ramping up in Beijing
There was a time when El Bulli, the world’s most famous restaurant, couldn’t have been farther from Beijing’s culinary reality than the geographical distance that separates its mountainous Spanish Costa Brava home from the hutongs of our home city ... Read More
The race for Sanlitun pizza supremacy heats up
Dear readers, it’s time for us to draw a line in the sand. With The Kro’s Nest’s audacious invasion of Den/Tree/Rickshaw territory, expect the tomato sauce to fly. In the interests of trying to keep the peace ... Read More
Southeast Asian restaurants take Beijing by storm
Has anyone else noticed the huge number of Southeast Asian restaurants that have opened of late? You’ve got Singaporean Secrets in the—for lack of a better word—bowels of The Place, the Malaysian restaurant Awana giving Nuren Jie a touch of ... Read More
Bring the taste of empire to Beijing
I might not make any friends by pointing this out, but British, Australian and New Zealander don’t crack anyone’s “best cuisines” list. French, Italian, Chinese and Thai are favorites, but the local nosh produced in what was once the British Empire ... Read More
Beijing restaurants please take note: wilted lettuce, a watery tomato and fat dollops of sweet mayonnaise do not a salad make. It’s enough to give a girl a case of salad-rage, knowing there are but a handful of people in town who understand the art of salad. But where ... Read More
So you’re a wanna-be Olympian? Daily training and getting enough sleep are, of course, top priority, but what should you munch on to maintain your energy? Well, if you’re listening to the sponsors of the International Olympic Committee that’ll be one juicy Big Mac washed down by ... Read More
Beijing is all about food: We live in a city of bottomless hot pots, greasy treats and blow-out champagne brunches. On top of battling wine waists and “baibai rou” (the bits that jiggle when you wave goodbye), I was just told by a Chinese doctor that I have to worry ... Read More
It may not be obvious through all
the smog, but summer is here. No
better time to celebrate the three
“S’s”: sun, sand and seafood.
Okay, the sun is a no-show
and we’re three hours from the
nearest beach, but at least there
are plenty of places serving ... Read More
I don’t think there’s any place in the world that sees more change than Beijing. One minute, you’ve found the restaurant of your dreams, only to find that on your next visit it has been replaced with a pile of bricks. I guess you can’t really ... Read More
I know it’s an unusual and somewhat self-indulgent problem to have (and slightly problematic if you’re a dining columnist) but occasionally I get tired of eating out. Deciding where to go, agonizing over what to wear, dealing with the often indifferent fuwuyuan; even the appeal of takeout wanes ... Read More
Dear reader, we live in worrying times. No, not the chaos in Iraq or the leadership drama in Britain, something more insidious and closer to home. I am, of course, talking about service charges in Beijing restaurants.
When friends back home ask what I like about life in the Chinese ... Read More
Shaking my wallet upside down to see if any ¥100 notes would magically appear, I began to doubt the wisdom of last month’s holiday fling to Thailand. The thought of reigning in my food budget. however, makes my heart sink and stomach grumble. It’s a hard life for ... Read More
Live music can be the kiss of death for a restaurant. This may be a personal prejudice, but I tend to believe it’s a bad sign when a restaurant relies on something other than the quality of the food to attract customers. While I can almost understand a quiet ... Read More
"Oh," says my companion, "this is the best soup I have ever had." I have not even lifted my spoon, but the aroma of black truffle has already hit the back of my nose; clearly there is astonishing flavor in this small cup of white bean and truffle soup. I ... Read More
You know, sometimes it’s difficult to like the French. Beijing is now full of wonderful, new, stylish eateries, from swish bakeries to elegant wine bars, all with a French flair. But is it just me or does anyone else feel inadequate in these places? I was at Café de ... Read More
At eight a.m. on Tianping Lu crowds of people are wolfing down steaming doufu hua, youtiao, jianbing and baozi. As always, Madhur Jaffrey had her notepad out, assiduously recording the flavors and cooking methods of each dish. "Oh, that's the flower tofu," she exclaimed, spotting the drum of ... Read More
Whether it’s cancer-causing chemicals in turbot, food warnings over contaminated pork or farmers feeding banned chemicals to ducks, I’m getting sick of food scares−quite literally.
Director General of Beijing's Health Bureau Jin Dapeng recently reported that the capital city does indeed have hundred of food poisoning ... Read More
He's wearing a revealingly short yellow tank top, blue pants, an ear-to-ear smile, and he’s kicking up his legs for sheer joy—meet the Aisen pig, the dancing mascot for some of the finest pork I have ever tasted.
Aisen is raised on fine feed, in a scrupulously ... Read More
Not so long ago, there was a straightforward choice when it came to eating minority food: Ambience or authenticity. Here in Beijing, each of the country’s provinces and autonomous regions have a local government office serving up bona fide versions of local dishes from Sanya to Sichuan. Delicious and ... Read More
Bill Murray put it best in “Lost in Translation”: “What kind of restaurant makes you cook your own food?” Anyone who’s spent time in Beijing can easily answer: "Hot pot." I know, I know. Not another hot pot feature. Sure, we all love the stuff, but how much can ... Read More
Certain pairs of words always inspire anxiety: bird flu, nuclear showdown, Britney’s comeback and Valentine’s Day. As this holiday approaches, men panic while women wait with dread to find out if their significant other is a knight or a jester. It’s an irony that a day dedicated ... Read More
“All-you-can eat” provokes either instant salivation or sudden pained grimaces. Sometimes both. Buffets are great in theory. I mean how can you not like the idea of letting loose your inner glutton in a socially acceptable setting? Yet buffets also bring to mind jerky-like meat drying under heat lamps and ... Read More
Nature and plain, old common sense dictate that creatures capable of flying should travel to warm climates during the colder months. There were some odd beings, however, who did the opposite this winter, flocking from sunny California to snowy Beijing. Those crazy animals would be my relatives. During their trip ... Read More
“Out with the old and in with the new” is a phrase thrown about over and over this time of year. It’s a cliché but it’s true in Beijing’s ever-changing food and drink scene, where venues open and close faster than access to Wikipedia. Beijing patrons are ... Read More
William Bolton is a man with a mission: to put tasty, home-style, western food made in his kitchen at Chaoyang Park's west gate on your table. And he is well on his way to achieving that mission, with the help of his mentor in this venture, Wang Jianping, better ... Read More
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Middle 8th: The New Sanlitun Village Location Has Creative Zest
By JPDM
I tried the new Middle 8 location last night. We tried to make a reservation... >>