2009 Jun 20 Recipe for Success
The Opposite House’s stylish venues have bagged quite a few gongs throughout the listings magazine awards season. Not that we were surprised to see Sureño among the winners – its Mediterranean fare and fantastic wine list have been winning plaudits almost from the day the restaurant opened last fall.
At some venues, complacency could become an issue, but that doesn’t seem likely at Sureño: They have recently introduced a freshened-up summer menu and opened the “Sunken Garden” terrace. We sat down recently with two of the people behind this Mediterranean hit; general manager, Roberto Pettinau and chef de cuisine, Marino D’Antonio.
What brought you to Beijing?
Roberto Pettinau: When I first came to China, I was working in Shanghai for a company based in Abu Dhabi. They asked me to move to Beijing to open another restaurant in November 2007. I came to Sureño in February 2009.
Marino d’Antonio: I was working on an international cruise line, where I opened an Italian restaurant on the ship. In September 2006, I came to Beijing to open another Italian restaurant. After a little time here, I moved to Guangzhou. I was called back in August 2008 to open Sureño.
How did you get started in the restaurant business?
RP: When I was young, I worked in Sardinia, Italy, during the summer season. After I finished studying, I was working a part-time job at the seaside. Eventually, it became more of a professional career.
MD: My father had a restaurant, and my brother also had one near Rome. When I was young, I started working in the restaurants. Eventually, I went to hotel school.
What are your favorite places in the city to eat and drink?
RP: I like Maison Boulud, Hatsune, and Agua. We try to go everywhere.
MD: I enjoy Aperitivo for a drink and The Meat & Wine Co. for dinner. I also like Hatsune.
What is the concept behind Sureño?
RP: We want to have a really cozy and friendly Mediterranean restaurant. It’s not formal – we like our guests to be relaxed and have fun. Sureño is a warm place to come to enjoy simple and delicious Mediterranean food. It’s an exciting time for us right now, because we have just opened our “Sunken Garden.” Our customers can enjoy live Latin music with our new summer menu or the chef’s tasting menu or any of our dishes with white and red Sangria. We have a huge wine selection here at Sureño as well, and it’s not expensive, which is one of our good points. Sureño is always exciting!
What characterizes good Mediterranean food? What are the most commonly used ingredients?
MD: For food to be simple and good, you must have very good ingredients. For a Mediterranean kitchen, good olive oil is key. The fish must be good and fresh. You need good flour and good mozzarella cheese. "
Where do you get your ingredients?
MD: We fly in a lot of stuff from Italy, France, Spain, Greece and other places. We use imported Italian pasta, Spanish rice for paella and Australian meat. We buy locally for vegetables and live fish. We have a very good supplier who brings us some of the best fish in town.
Marino, what is your signature dish here at Sureño?
MD: You have to try our wide selection of tapas and our ravioli.
How does the Chinese palate differ from what you’re used to?
MD: Chinese guests like their pasta a bit more cooked. We like it Mediterranean-style, al dente.
How did you recruit your staff?
RP: We have two operational managers with five-star hotel experience. Our staff is very young; we train them here. They grow up with that Sureño feeling.
How was training the staff on service? What did you have to focus on?
RP: It was a bit different because a Chinese restaurant is very different from a Mediterranean one. Since they are very young and fresh out of school, we have the opportunity to train them from the ground up. They really are so friendly, talking with the guests; they’re doing what we like to see.
What is the ideal meal at Sureño?
MD: We suggest sharing a selection of tapas and pastas. We’ve [also recently] launched our summer menu, with new dishes such as the Catalan Lobster Salad. Our bartenders have designed several new drinks for the menu. You must end your meal with the tiramisu.
Roberto, how is it managing a restaurant in China? What sort of particular characteristics or customs do you have to pay attention to?
RP: There are definite differences [between Western and] Chinese culture, and we pay attention to this at Sureño. At the end of the day, managing a restaurant here is just like anywhere else in the world. You have to spend time with the customer and talk to them.
How is it working inside The Opposite House alongside the other restaurants and bars?
RP: Very cool. After work, we go for a drink in Punk or Mesh. From our general manager to our restaurant staff to our bar director, everyone is very cool. It’s not that formal; we like to have fun.
What are the plans for the northern part of The Village at Sanlitun, currently still under construction?
RP: It’s owned by the same management group [as The Opposite House], Swire, from Hong Kong. The plans are for a high-end shopping mall with shops like Versace. We think it will open at the end of 2009.
And what are your future plans?
RP: When we are satisfied with working, we’d like to retire to the beaches of Thailand or Bali with a little grill. Open a little kiosk. That’ll be the life.
Maison Boulud à Pékin
Daily noon-2pm, 6-10pm. Ch'ien Men 23, 23 Qianmen Dongdajie, Dongcheng District. (6559 9200)
布鲁宫法餐厅, 东城区前门东大街23号
Hatsune
1) Daily 11.30am-2pm, 5.30-10pm. S8-30 (Opposite Element Fresh), Bldg 8, The Village at Sanlitun, 19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District. (6415 3939); 2) Daily 11.30am-1.45pm, 5.30-9.45pm. 2/F, Heqiao Bldg C, 8A Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District. (6581 3939)
隐泉日本料理, 1) 朝阳区三里屯路19号The Village南区8号楼S8-30; 2) 朝阳区光华路甲8号和乔大厦C座2层
Agua
Daily noon-2pm, 6.30-10.30pm. Ch'ien Men 23, 23 Qianmen Dongdajie, Dongcheng District. (6559 6266)
东城区前门东大街23号
Aperitivo
Daily 10am-late. 43 Sanlitun Houjie (next to Tongli Studio), Chaoyang District. (6417 7793)
意式餐吧, 朝阳区三里屯后街43号同里旁边
The Meat & Wine Co.
Restaurant: Daily 11am-3pm (lunch), 6pm-close (dinner, last orders 10pm). Bar: Daily 11am-3pm, 5.30pm-late. Ch’ien Men 23, 23 Qianmen Dongdajie, Dongcheng District. (6512 1761, beijing@themeatandwineco.com) www.themeatandwineco.com
东城区前门东大街23号
Sureño
Daily noon-11.30pm. B1/F, The Opposite House, The Village at Sanlitun, 11 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District. (6410 5240) www.surenorestaurant.com
朝阳区三里屯路11号三里屯Village瑜舍地下1层
Interview by Jennifer Ying Lan
Taken from the June 18th - July 1st edition of agenda, out around town now. To find out where to grab a copy, send an email to distribution@agendabeijing.com
You might also be interested in :
Playfish’s David Fallarme on Leading the Way in Social Gaming
Back when games like Pacman and Frogger ruled the arcade, game geeks spent long hours trying to beat the “high score” that was usually displayed on a static screen between bouts. Nowadays social gaming connects players across the planet bringing the action to real time – technology that makes console-based games seem as arcane as Pong. Agenda interviewed David Fallarme, Marketing Manager of Playfish, a leading social gaming company owned by Electronic Arts with a development studio in Beijing, about how his company is leading the charge in this dynamic industry.
Read the full interview with David on gaming in China and who's the average gamer now at Agendabeijing.com.
Toxic Avenger: Li Yifang, Greenpeace Activist, Detoxing China
Greenpeace is perhaps the best known environmental NGO. It does sterling work throughout the world in measuring and combating environmental degradation and raising awareness of ecological issues. Their activists are dedicated to making the world a safer and healthier place for our children, which is all the more important in the world’s most dynamic country? Agenda was delighted to meet Li Yifang, whose work focuses on toxic pollution and striving to ameliorate its destructive effects, to hear her story.
Read the full interview with Li Yifang at Agendabeijing.com.
The Veggie Table’s Laura Fanelli’s Tips on Eco-Friendly Living
Staying healthy and going green in Beijing might seem like a Herculean task, especially in a city where health and safety guidelines take the back seat to develop the economy. Nevertheless there are those idealistic souls who persevere to do their part in saving the environment and leading a healthier and more natural lifestyle to boot. Laura Fanelli of The Veggie Table is one such stalwart, and gave us some practical tips on going green in Beijing.
For more tips on living green or just staying healthy in Beijing, check out the full interview at Agendabeijing.com.
Model Worker: Danwei Founder Jeremy Goldkorn
South African Jeremy Goldkorn came to Beijing via London in 1995 and has been working in media for virtually his entire time here. As the Managing Editor of Beijing Scene, the creator of Le Magazine (the progenitor to the Chinese version of Time Out) and the Launch Editor for Agenda’s sister magazine the Beijinger (then known as “that’s Beijing”), he helped pioneer Beijing’s English-language media scene before starting Danwei.com, the renowned website covering Chinese society, culture and media, in 2003.
Head to Agendabeijing.com to get Jeremy's insight on how Danwei took shape and what it has in store for 2012 and beyond.
Ask an Entrepreneur: Local Brand, Global Buzz by Dominic Johnson-Hill
Dominic Johnson-Hill shares the Plastered Experience – how one ‘random idea’ became an iconic brand with global sales, whilst remaining a community project with grassroots values
Hard to imagine now, but only five years ago Nanluogu Xiang was a quiet hutong, where the sighting of a foreigner was worth commenting on. Then Dominic Johnson-Hill opened Plastered, selling high quality t-shirts plastered with iconic Beijing designs. Right time, right place, or insightful entrepreneurship? No one knows, but Dominic must have done something right, as Plastered now has six locations, and the founder himself has become an entrepreneurial icon to many. Here Dominic talks about tapping into the need for local creativity, and the importance of karma and keeping it local.
Check out agenda for the full story on Dominic and Plastered's past.
