The Beijinger Reader Restaurant Awards 2012: Experts' Panel – Part One
This is part one of a three-part series. Read part two here.
Every year we ask you, the readers, for your opinion on the best in Beijing dining at the Reader Restaurant Awards. We value your opinion very highly but we thought you'd also value the opinion of the experts so we canvassed a select few. Here's part one of their picks (and a little introduction as to why we consider them to be experts). Bon appetit.
RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR (NON-CHINESE)
Temple Restaurant Beijing
RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR (CHINESE)
Da Dong
BEST NEW RESTAURANT (NON-CHINESE)
Temple Restaurant Beijing
BEST NEW RESTAURANT (CHINESE)
Nanjing Impressions
BEST AMERICAN
Union Bar & Grille
BEST BEIJING DUCK
Da Dong
BEST BREAD
Kempi Deli, Kempinski
BEST BRUNCH (STANDALONE)
Maison Boulud/Vineyard
BEST BURGER
Union Bar & GrilleE
BEST BUSINESS LUNCH
Alameda
BEST CAFE
Cafe Zarah
BEST DECOR (CHINESE)
Duck de Chine (Jinbao Jie branch)
BEST DECOR (NON-CHINESE)
Capital M
BEST DIM SUM
Lei Garden
BEST DUMPLINGS
Xian Lao Man
BEST FAMILY –FRIENDLY RESTAURANT
The Orchard
Who are these experts? Let us tell you.
Dong Keping
A renowned Chinese food critic with years of industry experience and unique opinions about Chinese and Western food. He also consults for many Beijing restaurants and Beijing chefs.
Emily Young
A former assistant dining editor for the Beijinger, Emily now covers the local food scene for DailyVitamin.cn.
Tom O’Malley
A former dining editor and contributing writer to the Beijinger, Tom is a battle-scarred defender of British food and cooking.
Xixi Cheng
Xixi is the founder of Beijing Foodies, whose charity dinners with food-crazed Beijingers have raised over RMB 100,000 for good causes.
Jim Boyce
Putting up with bad service daily so we don’t have to, Jim wields great influence through his nightlife and dining blog, BeijingBoyce.com. He is also the founder of Grapewallofchina.com, one of China’s best wine blogs.
Edward Ragg
Edward Ragg is co-founder, with Fongyee Walker, of Dragon Phoenix Fine Wine Consulting and an associate professor at Tsinghua University. He writes for the world’s top wine magazines and a number of prominent wine sites.
Vincent Tung
This top food blogger, also the owner of Cafe de Sofa at Houhai, reviews Beijing restaurants using his own rating system, bestows his own annual awards, and has thousands of followers.
Michael Crain
The founder of Chi Fan For Charity.
Zhao Ziyun
The food editor at the Beijing News, Zhao is always looking for great food news, great restaurants, and even better experiences.
Richard Xu
Xu is Editor-in-Chief of New Western Cuisine magazine and a Fellow at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA).
Shu Qiao
Shu is among the most renowned food columnists in China, having published several collections of her essays and even a novella, which was made into a food- and revenge-themed motion picture.
Jen Lin-Liu
Lin-Liu is the author of Serve the People and founder and owner of Black Sesame Kitchen. Her upcoming book details a culinary journey along the Silk Road.
Ye Jun
As chief food writer at China Daily, Ye Jun has penned articles on everything from the unstoppable rise of Sichuan food in Beijing to roundups of bargain-basement noodle restaurants.
