EAT: Guest Chef Wilco Berends at TRB, New Menu at Q Mex Sanlitun, Last Chance to Sign Up for Cookie Bake-Off

Fresh off the successful opening of Hulu, which has been lighting up our social media since before Spring Festival, TRB Hospitality Group is welcoming its first guest chef of the new year, Wilco Berends, who will be cooking at TRB Forbidden City from Mar 2-4. 

Berends is Chef-Proprietor of one Michelin-starred De Nederlanden restaurant in Vreeland, The Netherlands. According to TRB's press release, Berends' cooking is honest, passionate, authentic, and non-conforming, using mostly organic and seasonal produce treated with care and attention. Should be an interesting way to experience modern Dutch cuisine, which I'm sure most of us won't be that familiar with. Chef Berends will be serving a four-course lunch (RMB 488) and a five-course dinner (RMB 688), both of which include a wine pairing. 

Mar 2 is also the last date to get your recipes in for this year's Cookie Monster Charity Bake-Off. The rules are simple: submit a recipe and then if your creation is selected, you must prepare enough samples to go around (enough for about 80 people) as well as extra bags that you would like to sell (a bag of five cookies for RMB 20, of which RMB 5 is donated to charity). Yours truly entered last year (*cough*) and came second (*cough*) and I can attest that it's a pretty fun way to spend an afternoon and meet other baking fans. If you'd like to enter this year's bake-off, email kristen@lumdimsum.com with your cookie recipe and a photo before Friday, Mar 2. Read more about what the competition entails here.

Finally, Q Mex Sanlitun is welcoming in the Year of the Dog with the launch of a new menu. The updated menu adds around 10 new dishes, including a spicy corn chowder, jalapeño butter shrimp tacos (which made their debut at Q Mex Taqueria), chicken and penne pasta in a creamy and spicy tomatillo sauce, and - we're pretty excited for this one – tres leches cake, a sponge cake soaked in three different kinds of milk and topped with whipped cream and roasted coconut. We'll be going to try the new menu next week so expect a full write-up soon.

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Photos: TRB/De Nederlanden