The Beijinger Blog - Bridget McCabe

Andromeda's Galaxy: Centro’s Guest Entertainer Andromeda Turre

Jerry — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:00:00 +0800

Born in New York City to musical parents, Andromeda Turre developed a love for the arts at a young age. At age five, she started to play piano and began composing. However, she first started at dancer. At a studio in Harlem, she studied classical dance and moved on to Alvin Alley to study world dance. She decided to make music her career when she received a call asking her to perform backup for Ray Charles. From there she became involved with Grammy nominee J.C. Hopkins. She has also dabbled in the performing arts; from acting in Woody Allen play Murder Mystery Blues to working as a makeup artist in Phantom of the Opera. After spending a year and a half performing with a big band in Tokyo Disney, Andromeda decided to give Beijing a try. We sat down to chat about her past endeavors, future aspirations as well her experience at Centro.

Metro Ride

thebeijinger — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:00:00 +0800

Beijing is awash these days with Italian restaurants and pizza diners. Some of these are good, some of them are great, and some are just, well … you know. Few, however, have been around as long as Marvin Lau’s Metro.

Still going strong on Gongti Xilu after 14 years, Lau’s classy restaurant prides itself on a choice of pasta-and-sauce combinations unlike any other in Beijing. Here’s what Marvin had to say when agenda caught up with him recently.

Art With Your Cash: Meet Tamsin Roberts, the savior of art buyers on a budget

thebeijinger — Thu, 28 May 2009 11:57:42 +0800

Tamsin Roberts got involved in Beijing’s art scene as soon as she moved here in 2004. Her gallery, Red T Space, was demolished in 2007, but Red T survives as a platform for supporting and promoting the work of emerging talents. Affordable Art Beijing (AAB), which Tamsin launched in 2005 with Tom Pattinson of Time Out Beijing, is one of Red T’s key projects. Though Tamsin is no longer based in Beijing, the initiatives she set up are still going strong – here’s what she had to say ahead of AAB 2009.

Refined Dining: Claudio Sadler and Gianluca Fusetto From Ristorante Sadler

thebeijinger — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:00:00 +0800

Claudio Sadler is the two-star Michelin chef behind Ristorante Sadler, one of Beijing’s top-ranking fine dining establishments. Mastery of the kitchen is one thing, but a good chef needs someone reliable keeping things ticking over out on the floor. Sadler’s man in that department is General Manager Gianluca Fusetto. We asked the pair about their experiences with Ristorante Sadler in Beijing and where they like to sit down to dinner.

Claudio, what inspired your love of cooking?
Claudio Sadler: The kitchen is about creativity and art, so I have always been devoted to it. It is a challenge every day.

What challenges did you face along the way to becoming a renowned chef?
CS: The style of the kitchen evolves every day, following the culture and the lifestyle of the people. In order to satisfy guests’ expectations, you need to continually evolve with their tastes.

Model Networker - Oriented's Alexander Rivan Ronalds tells us how to make the right connection

thebeijinger — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:44:53 +0800

Moving to a new city can be tough, especially when you don't know anyone. That’s one reason why so many networking groups have sprung up in Beijing, hosting events aimed at everything from helping newcomers meet new friends to hooking people up with potential employers. Alexander Rivan Ronalds from Oriented tells us it’s never too late to expand your circle of friends and contacts, and offered us a few tips on how to make networking work for you.

What is Oriented?
Oriented is a global network of international professionals with a focus on doing business in Asia. Right now we have more than 30,000 members worldwide. Here in Beijing, we host a monthly networking Happy Hour at different venues. The focus of this is to meet business contacts and make new friends.

Review: José González at Yugong Yishan

thebeijinger — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:00:13 +0800

Jose Gonzalez
RMB 150.
8pm. Yugong Yishan (6404 2711)

Last night’s snow didn’t stop hundreds of Beijingers from heading over to Yugong Yishan to catch Swedish indie icon, José González. The crowd paid little attention to the soothing melodies of the acoustic guitar/harmonica playing opener, Wu Zhuoling, choosing instead to catch up with one another over a drink in anticipation of the main act. However, the crowd hushed in expectant silence as the lights dimmed and Gonzalez - who proved not to be a big fan of on stage chit chat, saying very little throughout the show aside from the occasional polite xie xie - dove right into his first song.