This post is sponsored by Sanfine International Hospital, offering state-of-the-art care and world-class service in the heart of Sanlitun.
Every month, we like to shine a spotlight on the most delicious dishes we’ve stumbled upon recently. Chow down!
Sichuan spicy diced chicken
VIC, RMB 68
Unlike many hotel restaurants, the menu at Sofitel Wanda Beijing’s newly launched VIC Bistro doesn’t tiptoe around big flavors or spice. The Sichuan spicy diced chicken from the “Hutong Kitchen” section of the menu is as big and bold as you’d find at any hole-in-the-wall Sichuan joint, with the added bonus of boneless chicken.
Dazhalan's creative crowd has one more place to stay caffeinated with the opening of Living Room Coffee, a small cafe set in a converted 70-year-old hutong courtyard just north of Yangmeizhu Xiejie.
The space features a large communal table as you enter, before opening out into a corridor/coffee bar area underneath a glassed-in roof. There is a small, plant-filled courtyard for smokers (or, you know, for good weather).
Drawing upon numerous influences including shangaan electro, free improv, and disco, these weirdos from Wellington, New Zealand, have been thrilling people into ecstatic dance frenzies around the world since 2009. We had the pleasure of exchanging some questions with Baba Rossa, inventor of the biscuit tin guitar and occasional lead vocalist of the group, to learn more about what makes these outsider musical artists click, oink, boing, and burp.
McDonald's ventures off-menu into localized, limited-edition products has produced some very mixed results. Unlike rival KFC, which boldly goes into Chinese-style items as if it's actually a Chinese restaurant, McDonald's is keen to retain its foreignness.
As the Beijing days start to get colder and darker, what better way to break up the doldrums of being stuck inside alone than to invite a group of friends over and be stuck inside together? Take some of our tips on how to infuse a little more swagger to your hosting game, and make your next night in one that will remain the talk of the long, cold winter ahead.
I'm from Boston, and the lobster is to Bostonians what Roast Duck is to Beijingers. And with all due respect to Australians, this is not a lobster worth eating:
Simply put, it's missing the most succulent parts: the meaty front claws.
Nut butters – and by that we mean almond and cashew rather than passé peanut – have become the snack du jour for healthy eaters. Packed with antioxidants, protein, and healthy fats, they make for a sensible and delicious alternative to processed snacks. Realicious Nut Butters’ Irene Mulkerin was determined to bring a slice of this healthy lifestyle with her when she moved to New York from Shanghai and through Realicious she is helping others to do the same.
It has been said many times, by this magazine and others, that eating in malls and food courts in Asia is a vastly preferable experience to what it would be in Europe or the US. The opening of Crystal Jade La Mian and Xiaolongbao at Indigo Mall seems only to reinforce this theory.
Taciturnli is more than just a mysterious name; it’s also a new clothing store in Dazhalan selling some pretty smart men's workwear. They are a part of a recent surge of interest for clothes made using classic techniques and quality materials. Let's face it: sometimes the old ways are the best ways. But what's the deal with calling it heritage fashion? That sounds like a TV program about Bob Vila’s collection of flannel shirts and naturally distressed Wrangler jeans. We’ll just call it Huckleberry chic from now on.
