Poutine. A dish this eater knew little of before Beijing, which is, admittedly, an unlikely city to find folks obsessive over fries swamped in gravy and cheese curds. Nevertheless, the Montreal-born snack has acquired a sort of cult status here because it's hard to find. Folks in the know will send homesick Canucks to The Box (RMB 35, previously co-run by a Canadian but it’s still on the menu), Grinders (RMB 45), or American Steak & Eggs (RMB 29). But there’s another, better option … from a Chinese restaurant! And it’s been here all along.

“He’s a terribly good chap, but he always forgets to pass the port.” News to me, but this is what you say (presumably in the voice of General Melchett from Blackaddder goes Forth  - needs VPN) at an English dining table if someone makes the cringe-worthy culinary faux-pas of not passing the decanted bottle of fortified wine to the next diner after they’ve filled their goblet. Phew. But thanks to the China Daily’s My China Story section of their website, I won’t be falling into that hilarious trap ever again. Well, ever.

Is everyone having a good Friday? In a festive mood? Yes? Excellent. Today we're bringing you a roundup of Dining In options this Christmas: hams, turkeys, geese and Christmas hampers. Hampers are great – they double as a picnic basket after Christmas and are usually full of very tasty things. We've got one of Agua's delish house-made Christmas hampers to give away too. Are you feeling lucky?

Thirteen days 'til Christmas, folks! If you don't have your act together - no presents bought, no decorating done and no recipes Googled, you ought to get on that. On that last front, we can help you out. Today's post is the first of three Christmas-themed posts, with a focus on Dining Out during Christmas. We've rounded up the jolliest Christmas Eve dinners for you to sink your merry little teeth into, and we've even got a free dinner to give away. For your chance to win a Christmas Eve dinner for two to the St. Regis, read on.

It's that time of year again! Or, rather, ten days before that time of year. Keep in mind that Thanksgiving  has proven to be a pretty hot ticket here in the Beej, so if I were you, I'd want to start planning. "Planning" being the loose term it is - personally, I consider making reservations plenty of planning. For those with aspirations a little higher than picking up the phone, we'll have a post on take-away turkeys tomorrow. Today, however, we look at Thanksgiving dinners out. We're even giving one of them away! Keep reading to win.