Three years ago, I taught at a building on the southeast corner of Guanghua Bridge. It was an ugly thing, with peeling maroon paint and dark, musty hallways. There was no air conditioning and in the summer it got so unbearable that sometimes we had to relocate to a nearby coffee shop.

I worked on the eighth floor. Between classes I’d look out the window by the water cooler and watch the construction of the new CCTV headquarters. People called it the Big Shorts but back then it looked more like a pair of assless chaps.

Yi House (formerly known as Fennel) offers a hotel brunch like few others. It’s a more thoughtful, intimate model based on a limited a la carte selection – similar to that of Maison Boulud. The menu is divided into four sections (starters, mains, Asian and desserts) from which diners can order any four dishes. With a larger group you can sample everything, but as long as you’re not dining alone you’re in for a diverse experience.

This month, Acid Live celebrates three years as Beijng’s pioneering acid jazz outfit. In those three years they’ve made an indelible imprint on the music scene in Beijing with their live shows becoming famed across the land. As they come of age (in dog years) and get ready for their big birthday bash, they reveal just how acerbic they’ve become down the years.

“Last Orders” is a regular magazine column in which we ask noteworthy Beijingers to imagine their final meal before leaving the city for good. This month’s host is Billy Kawaja, the owner and executive chef of Switch Grill and Culinary Capers.

The venue
I fell in love with my wife at Hooters over a bottle of Dom Pérignon and chicken wings, so we’d have to start the night there with a toast to our friends.

Squash is best known as something business types do in their lunch hour. That’s not entirely inaccurate, but it doesn’t do justice to a sport whose speed provides such a fantastic workout for both brain and brawn. When we asked the Beijing Expat Squash League a few questions, the answers came back rapid-fire from all directions …