Capital Bites: Nobu but No Burger King

Nobu, the renowned Japanese fusion restaurant, is coming to Beijing. Though yet to be officially announced, the recently closed Pinot Brasserie at the JW Marriott is rumored to be relaunching as the Beijing branch of Nobu Matsuhisa's restaurant group, part owned by Robert De Niro. Nobu restaurants already span the globe from Hong Kong to New York to London, where it's maintained a Michelin star since it's opening in 1997.

Another rumor mill rumble is that refined steak emporium the Meat & Wine Co., who recently celebrated their official opening (view photos here), may well have another to celebrate soon - a new restaurant in the Sanlitun area in November (under a different name), so stay tuned for more information. Also, their Steak Appreciation Evenings have had to be postponed due to Saturday closures leading up to the October holidays, but will be rescheduled towards the end of the year.

Yet more openings, this time of the deli(cious) kind. Simon Gauthier, the culinary brains behind No More Bunz Hot Dogs, has opened a deli within the new April Gourmet on Xingfu Zhonglu. Called A Food Affaire, it offers well-presented take-away salads and warm dishes like lasagna, salmon, chicken, ribs and grilled veggies with free delivery if you live in the neighborhood.

Finally, loyal burger fans have been eagerly anticipating the imminent opening of Beijing's first downtown 'King', so I went to Joy City Mall in Xidan to check out the building work for myself. The billboards heralding the opening of the world's 11,888th store worldwide looked promising.

But how is work progressing inside? Only one way to find out - try to sneak in...

Aha, where there's a Whopper, there's a way ...

is

Look, here's a hidden door behind this huge greasy patty. So what's inside?

Oh. Sacks of cement, a few dusty boxes and not a sesame bun in sight. Probably going to be another few weeks at least ... sorry folks.