Hidden behind a car park next to BTV, this bar is worth the trek. Enticing single malts line the wall behind the dark wood and cork bar, so settle into a leather chair and decide how to spend your dough. Whiskeys range from a mere ¥60 to ¥30,000+ for ... Read More
We were expecting top rate Hunan food from a restaurant owned by the granddaughter of Mao Zedong, but what Jusong offers is a rather timid mishmash of Chinese cuisines in an impeccably designed environment.
The food is nicely presented and inoffensive but lacks a strong concept to hold it together ... Read More
Manny Nieto’s name hovered like a bit of juicy gossip on the lips of Beijing’s music community for weeks before he arrived. His name came up at shows, in emails, on Facebook, always followed by the same, bewildered question: “Have you heard of this Manny guy?” Allegedly a ... Read More
Little Nyonya’s second branch serves mostly authentic and very affordable Malaysian dishes. Service and décor are both pleasant, making it a good choice for those who live in the villas nearby. With light yellow as its main tone, and decorated with banana plants, Little Nyonya looks like a typical ... Read More
After years in downtown Beijing helping local Chinese acquire a taste for classy fast food (with still-popular sandwich and seafood joints in Sanlitun), Let’s Burger has branched out to the city’s fringes with a new location on Shunyi’s Pinnacle Avenue.
The suburban vibe is fairly obvious, with ... Read More
Siif Hotel Bar is artistic and quaint, everything a cozy bar should be—except that it doesn’t really do booze. A visit on a Thursday evening saw the place empty save the manager, and the whiskey-based specialty cocktail If… (¥40) was delivered from the Siif bar two doors down ... Read More
The Vine Leaf is being heralded as Beijing’s first gastropub, but while we get the “gastro” part, we’re not sure this cozy hutong venue qualifies as a “pub.” There were only five bottled beers available the night we visited, and not much of a pub atmosphere. But as ... Read More
“They could serve poop, and we’d still love it,” we declared in the weeks before Hello Kitty Dreams opened. Unfortunately, it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. The décor at Beijing’s first Hello Kitty-themed restaurant will send any Sanrio fan into a state of ecstasy, but the atrociously bad food ... Read More
The dragon is the most mysterious of all the creatures in the Chinese zodiac. As its only mythical animal, it leaps out from the rats and roosters as the most savage, regal and decidedly enigmatic character in the cycle. It's traditionally associated with passion, intellect, nobility and sometimes violence ... Read More
Last year for Chinese New Year, I viewed the fireworks from Atmosphere, on the 80th floor of the China World Summit Wing. Though the view of dusty Beijing looking like a warzone was unlike anything I’d ever seen before, I was really craving traditional Chinese dishes that I’m ... Read More
Wudaokou isn’t known for classy establishments, but new nightclub Wu is set to change that. Once you descend the stairs from street level into the low, red-hued lighting, you’re greeted with a long bar, coat check and dark wood tables. The space is a concrete S-shape which winds ... Read More
When Le Petit Gourmand stopped making galettes over a year ago, we worried that Beijing had become a city devoid of the savory French crepes. But now, there’s a restaurant entirely dedicated to crepes and galettes, and doing a great job with both. Ouest is located in the former ... Read More
It’s New Year’s Eve, the night of the last big show at D-22, and all the house bands—Birdstriking, Snapline, Carsick Cars, Chui Wan—are holed up inside the little bar like kids in a bomb shelter, watching quietly as girl-rock trio Ourself Beside Me does a last-minute ... Read More
New Year’s isn’t just about the passing of another year of wasted potential. Heck no! It’s about making resolutions you’ll never keep. So I ditched the whole “quit smoking” thing in favor of some some new and rarely-visited Beijing music venues. See if you can hit ... Read More
This 24-hour kebab and Chinese staple eatery is completely underwhelming in every way, and the food here is fit only to be consumed in the late hours of the night. The blank gray walls and wooden tables and benches give the space a dark and gloomy feel, and with bamboo ... Read More
Most offerings at Jianwai SOHO have a thrown-together feeling. But Shala, hidden in the west complex, has all the details to make a cozy cafe/bar. With throw cushions galore, and a birdcage and jazz for ambiance, it feels like a friend’s living room. The Japanese owner doesn’t ... Read More
Ring in the New Year and bring on the New Year’s Resolutions! But instead of typical, boring, lose weight kind of goals, I’m setting fun and measurable dining resolutions for myself, so that this year will be one of gourmet growth and indulgence.
The biggest weakness of being ... Read More
This new addition to Beijing’s dessert craze offers loveable Italian pastries, tarts and cakes. The eatery is charming, with a light pink and marble veneer and relaxing Italian tunes in the background. The croissants and pastries range ¥8-12, a meager cost for their large size. We recommend the almond ... Read More
Vics has scaled up with V+ in the old Klubb Rouge space. They’ve replaced cavernous emptiness with maze-like coziness: nooks, lofts, gorgeous lighting and Worker’s Stadium views. Mirrors on the ceiling and big feathered fronds put it in the same league as LAN Club and Spark, but V ... Read More
It should come as a shock to no one that Temple Restaurant Beijing (TRB) is outstanding. Arguably the most anticipated opening of 2011 is helmed by Ignace Lecleir, the man who opened Maison Boulud, and it’s housed in a 600-year-old temple. Unsurprisingly, the environment is ground breaking and the ... Read More
The Lazy Guide to Finding Love
By DRAGONCAKE79
Fabulous article Nikkia! Made me chuckle. The filter option online is definit... >>