Fine-dining restaurant Domus is back, this time keen to prove it has a lifespan greater than a fast-growing supermarket chicken. The location is the same - just east of the Forbidden City - but the new management have roped in big name chef Dan Segall to design the menu, which promises French food at once “resolutely epicurean yet simple” - a description, incidentally, I wouldn’t hesitate to confer upon myself. Well, it’s half accurate, anyway. Expect classic fare like bouillabaisse, steak frites and duck confit, with starters in the RMB 80-100 range, and mains RMB 180+.

Bon vivants should certainly make an effort to attend the Beijing International Food & Wine Experience at the Hilton on Saturday, which promises gourmet food (coffee, chocolate, New Zealand lamb, Australian beef), seminars, cooking demonstrations, auctions and, most importantly, a lot of wine tasting. More details can be found here.

At the lower end of the food spectrum, McDonald’s new extra value lunches – just RMB 15 – are a desperate bid to win over the local market once and for all. With the advent of Burger King opening its first Beijing city store and Fatburger on the way, fast food chains are upping the ante. Apparently, value meals at the “golden arches” are now the same price they were 10 years ago, according to franchise manager Hou Shengyong, as reported in the Global Times yesterday. Go party like it’s 1999, fatties.

Finally, Gongti-based Thai restaurant Pink Loft, winner of our “outstanding Thai” award for three years straight, has closed. Apparently it’s for refurbishment ... Worry not though, new restaurant Laburnum, a huge Thai place at Gongti west gate, should take care of all your green curry needs.