Last Orders: Nathalie Johnston of Great Leap Brewing

“Last Orders” is a regular magazine column in which we ask noteworthy Beijingers to imagine their final meal before leaving the city for good. This month’s host is Nathalie Johnston, Marketing Director at Great Leap Brewing.

The venue
It may be strange to want a party at your place of work, but the courtyard of Great Leap Brewing has so many good memories for me, with an endless amount of friendly faces. I’d be able to order all my favorite Chinese delivery – and barbecue on our grill.

The starters
We’d start with chuan’r (串) and kao nang (烤馕) from the best Xinjiang restaurant in the whole city – Xinjiang Fengwei (新疆风味). It’s just around the corner, at #0994 on Mao’er Hutong.

The mains
Main courses would come from Dali Renjia, the Yunnan restaurant on Baochao Hutong. I love it because it’s small and intimate, the food is delicious and the staff are super friendly. They have the most amazing Yunnan fried cheese, spicy fish, and jasmine and egg.

The desserts
A cheap ice cream bar from the xiaomaibu around the corner – doesn’t matter what it is, as long it’s chocolate. And if Mao Mao Chong ever decided to deliver their drinks, we’d start with their African Queen. It’s the best! Stephanie Rocard uses rooibos-infused vodka. Rooibos is a kind of South African tea grown on the Western Cape. I visited there a few years ago and the taste and smell always brings me back. Whenever Stephanie sees me coming into Mao Mao Chong, she starts making one for me. (Thanks, Steph!)

Something from your own place?
Obviously Great Leap beer. My favorites will forever be the Little General IPA, the Mocha Stout, The Prosperer and the Banana Wheat.

The music
The Randy Abel Stable and the Beijing Pickers. A lot of those folks all met up in our courtyard and started playing bluegrass together. I’ve gotten to see them at least twice a month since I moved here and I wouldn’t leave without seeing them once more.

The entertainment
If I could get someone to DJ and some of Beijing’s hip-hop artists like Nasty Ray to come through and do a show without the neighbors complaining, I’d do it.

Click here to see the Beijinger July issue in full.

Photo: Judy Zhou