Do you know the muffin man that lives down Guanghua Lu? It’s Frank Siegel, and he’s just opened a new branch of Sequoia Café in the Kerry Centre next door to Papa John’s Pizza. They’re giving away free muffins from now until the end of November, so pop down for a bite and one of Beijing’s better cups of Joe.

A further two new restaurants have opened their doors in Sanlitun’s Nali Patio. Bali Papaya on the 2nd floor bills itself as “the only authentic Indo-Thai food in town”, whilst La Sushi, a conventional-looking sushi bar is right next-door. They join new Nali residents Niajo, Let’s Burger spin-off Let’s Seafood, and cocktail bar Apothecary (also serving Creole and Cajun food).

A culinary clash of the titans is seconds away from round one at the Shangri-La Hotel. Sparks (and probably forks) will fly as Blu Lobster chef de cuisine Jordi Villegas Serra from Spain welcomes French maestro Nicolas Le Bec into his kitchen to concoct a bit of cross-culture culinary magic. A gala dinner takes place this Thursday 19th November, followed by a la carte dinners on Friday and Saturday.

All-Star Bar and Grill rolls out their new winter menu on Sunday, featuring (amongst others) Southwest tortilla soup (RMB 45), beef borscht stew (RMB 42), and California cobb salad (RMB 65). As a special Beijinger promotion, readers can get 20% off any new menu item next week from Monday 23 to Thursday 26. Just bring a printout of this post.

Finally, for something a little out of the ordinary, this Saturday the newly refurbished Hutong hosts a Shanxi Wine and Cheese Night. Grace Vineyard will provide their excellent Shanxi-made wines, whilst Yellow Valley Cheese is donating their delicious Gouda and other varieties (also made in Shanxi province – more info here). Advanced tickets are RMB 150 and funds raised will be donated to The Library Project Charity – call 159 0104 6127 for details and booking.