2011 Nov 05 Last Chance to Buy Chi Fan for Charity Tickets!
Foodies and do-gooders unite – tonight’s the night you’ve all been waiting for. The third annual Chi Fan for Charity dinner will kick off citywide at 7.30pm, with the Hatsune after-party to follow at 10pm.
As expected, there is only a limited quantity of tickets left for both events. Just two days ago there were twice as many, so the few that are left will also probably be snatched up fast:
5 seats at Karaiya, hosted by Xixi Cheng of Beijing Foodies. RMB 600/person
3 seats at Oden, hosted by Tian Yuan. RMB 500/person
If by the time you read this, there are no seats left, you can still try and reserve a place at the after-party here. The last time we spoke to someone at CFFC (yesterday around 5pm) there were only about 16 tickets left. You can always take your chances and show up at the door, but we're told to try this earlier on rather than later. Only a handful will be available for RMB 300 a pop.
For the 500 others who prepared for this event well in advance, Beijing silent auction packages and early bidding are now available, as is the Chi Fan for Charity Plastered T-shirt.
And to give you all a taste of what the table hosts will be like … here is Round Three of our Q&As. See here and here for the previous posts.
Nicky Krieger-Loos, who calls herself a "trailing spouse," will be hosting at Vasco's at Hilton Beijing Wangfujing with her husband Carlo Kriger (Ambassador of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg to the PRC, Mongolia and Pakistan). Meanwhile, Gady Epstein, a correspondent for the Economist, will be entertaining at Made in China.
What makes you a “Beijing personality”?
NKL: I am only a person living in a Beijing hutong!
GE: The usual qualifications: Hang around long enough, don't kill or seriously maim anyone.
What do you bring to the table? (Literally.)
NKL: To our table at home? I love to cook, so anything from Luxembourg specialties to homemade pasta or Russian borscht.
GE: An appetite.
What are your favorite dinner conversation topics?
NKL: Anything but diet, politics or religion.
GE: The menu, the wine list.
How do you work up an appetite?
NKL: Power walks and cooking.
GE: See above.
Where do you like eating around town?
NKL: I'm always open to try new restaurants, but Maison Boulud is my absolute favorite.
GE: Susu.
What do you look for in a dining companion?
NKL: Somebody fun, interesting and who doesn't move excellent food around the plate, but actually enjoys eating it.
GE: Good taste.
If you could bring anyone in the world to CFFC as your dinner date, who would it be?
NKL: Famous chef and cookbook author Julia Child or Emeril Lagasse.
GE: Excellent question.
Photo: Kristen Lum
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Chi Fan With Alan Wong, Kristen Lum and Stacey Lee Mitchell
The event on everyone’s lips still has seats left for purchase, though perhaps not for long. Chi Fan for Charity 2011 held its press party last night at the Westin Chaoyang’s Touch Bar to bring together the restaurateurs, media, table hosts and 2011 beneficiaries. They noted that they were not far from reaching their target goal of RMB 300,000, and that there remains a range of prices (from RMB 500 to 1000) and cuisines (from Spanish tapas at Carmen to Indian at Punjabi) to choose from.
If you’re still on the fence, we’ll let the CFFC table hosts and organizers do the talking. (See our earlier post for founder Michael Crain’s responses.)
Last Orders: Ignace Lecleir, General Manager of Temple
“Last Orders” is a regular magazine column in which we ask noteworthy Beijingers to imagine their final meal before leaving the city for good. This month’s host: Ignace Lecleir, general manager at Temple Restaurant Beijing (TRB).
The venue
Preferably, the feast would begin at 11am in the morning, if not at dawn, and last all the way until midnight. I’d want to have the focus on the Chinese cuisine I’ve grown to love over the years. The menu will contain a selection of Chinese and Western dishes that would awaken my taste memory. I’d like to have my entire team, some friends and family to join me. The venue of my choice will be Temple Restaurant Beijing, where I’m currently working.Be Merry, Do Good: Spotlight on Michael Crain, Organizer for Chi Fan for Charity
Former Chief of Staff to the United States Ambassador to China, Michael D. Crain launched Chi Fan for Charity in 2009. The event raised RMB 100,000 for a local charity. This year his idea continues to grow (see related post) With the committed involvement from more than two dozen of Beijing’s most highly-regarded restaurants, Chi Fan for Charity offers Beijingers a rare chance to make a difference simply by having a good time with old and new friends. (Register for the November 6 event at chifanforcharity.org) Mr. Crain chats about the event and some of his Beijing experiences.
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