Welcome Winter With These Seasonal Foodie Offerings
As winter begins to creep in across Beijing, a few spots are embracing the season with hearty new offerings. From a new burger to American Chicken Noodle Soup, warming pasta dishes and more, these are sure to help beat those winter blues.
Side Street
To welcome in the season, Side Street recently added five new winter dishes to the menu at their Jianguomen branch. They've got two new pasta dishes, Truffle & Wild Mushroom Tagliatelle and Spicy Chili-Cream Chicken Pasta, and they've expanded their curry bowl options, adding the Signature Butter Chicken with Basmati. Any Brits reading will also be excited to hear they've now got Taproom Fish and Chips on the menu. Finally, a perfect winter warmer is the new Hearth Tomato Soup. You can read more details about Side Street Jianguomen's winter menu here.
Side Street Jianguomen branch
Bldg N28 2/101-102 17 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District (behind Nola)
朝阳区建国门外大街17号楼2/101-102（Nola后面）
Hours: 11am-midnight
Phone: 135 2195 8643
Great Leap
Great Leap has added an American winter classic to their menu to help warm you up: American Chicken Noodle Soup (RMB 58). They've carefully crafted the recipe to try and make it as authentic as possible. Fresh chicken broth is made daily, with whole chickens simmered with fresh herbs for six hours, to which are then added fusilli and fresh-cut carrots, celery and onions. The soup is only available at Great Leap No.12, and as it's prepared fresh daily, there are only limited supplies each day, so be aware of that.
Along with the noodle soup, Great Leap has also announced the return of their annual Drunken Hot Pot Feast. They provide the pot, utensils and other equipment and then you bring the meat, veggies, broth and dipping sauces. Each dining group must have a minimum of four people, and the meal needs to be booked in advance. If each person your group spends around RMB 100 on beer, Great Leap will waive the RMB 50 cleaning fee. The feast is available at all four Great Leap locations.
Blue Frog
Blue Frog has added a range of new offerings for winter, with a key focus on cheese. A standout new addition has to be the Smoky Beef Cheese Burger, which features a grilled beef patty layered with smoky brisket, a parmesan cheese crisp, cheddar cheese, caramelized onions and a smear of barbecue sauce. Other new dishes include Cheese-Stuffed Beef Roulade with Winter Vegetables, Smoky Beef Cheese Pasta with Braised Beef Short Rib, Crispy Mozzarella Sticks with Cheese Sauce and a Mushroom Beef Brie Cheese Salad. The new dishes are available at all Blue Frog locations. You can read more about them here.
blue frog Solana branch*
A131, 1/F, Solana, 6 Chaoyang Gongyuan Lu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区朝阳公园路6号SOLANA蓝色港湾1层A131
Hours: Sun-Thu 10am-11pm, Fri-Sat 10am-midnight
Phone: 010 5905 6796
*Search on Dianping for details of other branches
Plan B
Plan B's winter menu is in full swing, and they have some great meaty mains up for grabs. Back by popular demand, their Angry Meatballs (RMB 75) have made a return, seeing beef and pork meatballs smothered in marinara sauce and melted cheese all finished with diced jalapeños. Another is the hearty Meatballs and Mash (RMB 75), which pairs meatballs with a mound of mashed potato, plenty of gravy and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. They also have a special deal only available on Tuesdays, where you can get a Chicken Parm for RMB 30. It features a breaded chicken breast covered in marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese and then baked to perfection. You can read more about the winter options here.
Plan B
2-012, 22 International Art Plaza, Pingguo Community, 32 Baiziwan Lu, Chaoyang District
(east of Today Art Museum and behind 7/11)
朝阳区百子湾路32号苹果社区22院街艺术区2-012（今日美术馆东侧）
Hours: 11.30am-11.30pm
Contact: 010 5826 4575
READ: Winter Warmers: More Cozy Drinks for the Season
Images: the Beijingers, courtesy of the venues
