Eat Well, Do Good: Chi Fan for Charity

We all enjoy having dinner with old friends and look forward to making new ones. It’s even more enjoyable when that dinner is delicious, and there are a few glasses of wine involved. The best however, is when you can do all this AND help out worthwhile causes in the meantime.

The Second Annual Chi Fan for Charity event will be held November 6. The format is simple – diners can buy a seat for a dinner at a well-known Beijing restaurant, and the table will be hosted by a Beijing personality. As the tables are donated by participating restaurants, all proceeds from this event are going to charity. Last year, this event raised RMB 100,000 for The Dandelion School.

This year, three charities will benefit from all this feasting and merriment. The Dandelion School, which provides education for the children of low-income migrant workers; Prevention Through Education, which promotes HIV/AIDS awareness; and Rural Women, which works on education projects for rural Chinese women.

Some of the best and most popular restaurants in Beijing have donated tables, and some of the city’s more interesting people have offered to host. For instance, CCTV presenter and UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador James Chau is hosting at Jaan, art critic Karen Smith and photographer H.S. Liu are hosting at Sureno, journalist Gady Epstein is hosting at Duck de Chine, and restaurateur Alan Wong is hosting at Capital M.

There are currently 32 restaurants participating (see list below), and the price for a seat ranges from RMB 500 (Scarlett, Carmen) to RMB 1000 (Maison Boulud, Capital M). If you’d like to participate, but aren’t hungry, there is an after-party at Hatsune (RMB 150, or RMB 180 at the door). But hurry, many tables are selling out – act fast if you want the chance to do some good while doing nothing more than eating a great meal in fantastic company. Go to their website chifanforcharity.org to register.

  • Bei
  • Black Sesame Kitchen
  • Café Sambal
  • Capital M
  • Carmen
  • Chef Too
  • Courtyard
  • CRU
  • Duck de Chine
  • Fuel
  • Grange
  • Hatsune
  • Hercules
  • Jaan
  • Kagen
  • Kagen Teppanyaki
  • Karaiya
  • Lan
  • Maison Boulud
  • Modo
  • Nola
  • Oden
  • Paper
  • Red Capital Club
  • Ristorante Sadler
  • Room
  • Scarlett
  • Sureno
  • Taverna
  • Tavola
  • Toro Bar
  • Vasco's