The Beijinger Reader Restaurant Awards 2012: Experts' Panel – Part Three
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 three of their picks (and a little introduction as to why we consider them to be experts). Bon appetit.
BEST RUSSIAN
Kiev
BEST SALADS
Element Fresh
BEST SANDWICHES
Element Fresh
BEST SERVICE (CHINESE)
Haidilao
BEST SERVICE (NON-CHINESE)
Maison Boulud
BEST STEAK (HOTEL)
The CUT, Fairmont Beijing
BEST STEAK (STANDALONE)
Morel's
BEST SPANISH
Agua
BEST THAI
Spice Factory
BEST VALUE FOR MONEY
Mosto
BEST VEGETARIAN
Samadhi
BEST VIETNAMESE
Susu
BEST WINE LIST
Aria, China World Hotel
BEST XINJIANG
Ju Bao Yuan
BEST YUNNAN
In & Out
Who are the experts? Read on to find out.
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.
