Fast on the heels of some exciting fast-food news come reports of a more unappetizing nature. CCTV recently outed the McDonald’s Sanlitun branch for a whole host of food fouls that ranged from leaving cheese out for too long to serving hamburger patties that had fallen on the floor. That branch has been shut temporarily, leaving drunken bellies grumbling a little louder in the early morning hours.

Love is … in the air, although you might not be able to see it among the particulate matter.

Who do we want to be our Valentine? Take a guess.

We Heart Beijing. How do we love thee? In our Cover Feature we count the ways.

Popcorn chicken in spicy soup? Beans in a sesame and garlic sauce? Err, ‘Zinger’ tofu? Has the whole word gone crazy? Yes, actually. By next week, Little Sheep, the hot pot chain with 458 restaurants in China and a scattering in the US, will be a “93.2% wholly owned unit of US-based Yum! Brands,” the Louisville Kentucky based owners of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. The takeover deal, ongoing for some time and valued at around USD 580 million, apparently represents the first time a US company has purchased a Chinese food brand.

Happy New Year, Beijing!

This month greets not one but two turns of the year. To mark that unusual fact, we've dived into our dressing-up box and come up with ... our third annual live-action animal-costume comic-strip Cover Feature. This one is all about a dragon and the trials and tribulations he faces in the Beijing property market. We've all been there – trouble with the landlord, noisy neighbors, overzealous baoan – so here's a tale for the ages. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be in a state of frenzied anticipation for next year's Snake comic strip.

OK, pub quiz fans. See that building in the photo above? Ten points if you can tell us what it's going to be used for ...