EAT: Forno Grand Opening, New Menu at Cinker, Great Leap Chili Cook Off, Burger Deals

EAT: Your bite-sized guide to the best eats to be had in Beijing this week.

Sep 12: Forno Sanyuanqiao Grand Opening

Forno, the latest restaurant from the team behind Bottega and El Barrio, will host a Roman empire-themed official grand opening party on Sep 12. Expect DJs, giveaways, and 50 percent off tasty Roman-style pizza. You'll have to break out your best white bedsheets, too, as the dress code is togas and gladiators. Want to drink like a Roman for the party? Try the genuine Roman beer on tap, Baladin Nazionale.

Since our first visit during their soft opening in late June, we've been hearing great things about Forno, especially since they shrunk their pizza offerings back to just six or so to focus on quality. That means you can enjoy tasty options like the cotto e funghi (with mushrooms and cooked ham) and the tartufo (with fennel sausage, truffle paste, and porcini mushrooms), alongside some truly great baked-in-house Ligurian-style focaccia (available in plain, tomato and olive, and pesto versions) and crispy grissini breadsticks. 

New Eats for your movie night out at Cinker Pictures

Cinker Pictures, Beijing's central dinner-and-a-movie combo joint is currently on a roll showing spooky classics for ghost month, but what will really have you howling is their new menu of fine cuisine for your pre-film feast – not to mention the delectable finger foods meant to be enjoyed as you watch.

If you do make it in for dinner, expect to be filled up as you start out with homemade focaccia and a healthy helping of Burrata cheese on top of cherry tomatoes in olive oil and balsamic glaze. There's plenty to choose from for the main course, but a large group of hungry seafood fans might be satisfied by the grilled seafood platter with Argentine prawns, scallops, mussels, fried squid, clams, and seabass. True carnivores, though, will enjoy the Australian grain-fed T-bone steak, served with chimichurri sauce. Rather eat during the film? Don't worry, the private theater includes a small table for each pair of comfy chairs, and you can't go wrong with the pig toasties: toasted sandwiches with smoked ham, bacon, pulled pork, and cheddar cheese.

Due to ongoing construction, the entrance may be a bit difficult to locate for first-timers, so be sure to study up so that you don't miss the start of the movie: Enter Taikooli North Plaza through the right side of the Opposite House, walk through the plaza and go down the escalator next to Velentino. Enter the building through the glass doors to the right of Let's Burger and take the elevator at the end of the hallway to the fourth floor. Find more detailed directions here.

Enter Great Leap's Back Alley Chili Cook-Off

In a true sign that things are getting back to normal in Beijing, Great Leap's annual chili cook-off is back, Sep 19, at their Doujiao Hutong No. 6 location. Think you've got Beijing's best chili recipe? Now is the time for budding chili cooks to sign up for the cook-off. The competition is free to enter – you just need to bring 15 liters of delicious homemade chili (anything goes chili-wise, you just need to make sure your imported ingredients don't exceed one). You'll get free beer all day and the chance to win the People’s Choice Award and an RMB 888 Great Leap Brewing voucher, or the Judge’s Choice Award, chosen by a panel of hand-picked foodie folks, and an RMB 588 Great Leap Brewing voucher. Find out more here.

Take a bite out of these burger deals ahead of the 2020 Burger Festival

As you may have heard (and if you haven't, where have you been?!), the Beijing Burger Festival is back for 2020, taking place at 望京小街 Wangjing Walk on Sep 18-20. Starting Sep 18, you'll also have the chance to have your say on Beijing's best burger by voting in the Burger Cup (follow the Beijinger on WeChat (ID: theBeijinger) for more info). 

If you're anything like us, you'll want to be well informed ahead of the vote, so as well as trying burgers at the Burger Festival itself, why not take this time to get out there and try what the city's restaurants have to offer? For example, you could start your week at Side Street, where burgers are buy-one-get-one-free on Mondays (from 6pm, dine-in only with the purchase of an alcoholic drink), then keep the gluttony going with buy-one-get-one-free burgers at Burger Box on Tuesday. Alternatively, take a long lunch and sample one of Slow Boat's new burger-centric lunch deals.

READ: Out With the Stale, In With the Fresh: It's Been a Crazy Year for Beijing's Burger Scene

Images courtesy of the restaurants