EAT: East Canteen Pop-Up at Taco Bar, Pig Out at Arcade, Cheeky Cocktails at Hulu

The team behind Taco Bar have launched a new pop-up concept, East Canteen, serving lunch Tue-Fri, 11.30am-2pm. The menu features four fast casual sets, such as braised pork knuckle with lotus rice or vegetarian crispy mapo tofu, are inspired by early Chinese settlers in Asia adapting Chinese cuisine to the local environment and culture.

All sets are priced at RMB 65 and include a main, rice, pickled cucumbers, grated potato salad, steamed seasonal greens, chicken soup, pannacotta, and a soft drink. I stopped in and ordered the braised pork knuckle (pictured at top) and was impressed with both the flavors and the size of the portion. The food comes out quickly, too – great if you need a quick lunch in the area. As of yet, there is no word as to when the pop-up will finish but get down there ASAP just in case.

This Friday, Mar 9, Jing-A will be smoking a whole hog and rolling it down to Arcade for a beer and barbecue pop-up. Grab a pulled pork sandwich for RMB 45, along with sides of crispy brussels sprouts or sweet potato fries, both RMB 25. You know they'll be making full use of Arcade's ping pong tables, too, so look out for details of a beer pong tournament. Even if you're not in it to win it, all Jing-A beers will be RMB 35 on the night, including the punchy Airpocalypse Double IPA.

Open for barely a month, Hulu seems on track for total domination of people's food-related WeChat Moments with their new Cheeky Cocktail Nights promotion. Every night from 9pm til the lights go out you can get two cocktails and two nibbles for RMB 168. Choose from a selection of five nibbles – cucumber salmon mousse, lobster avocado, sweet potato croquettes, foie gras on toast, and tomatoes filled with prawns – and pair them with a cocktail such as the very photogenic Hulu Colada. Read our full review of Hulu here.

Speaking of late night libations, Home Plate have just launched a new late-night happy hour, running from 11pm til close. They have a selection of drinks priced at just RMB 35, including long island iced teas, pairs of shots, and pairs of mixed drinks – a progressively more dangerous prospect as the week rolls on ... See the poster above for full details.

More stories by this author here.

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Photos: Robynne Tindall, courtesy of the venues