“Just a little spicy please.”

Only concerning Asian cuisine does a simple five-word sentence hold so many diverse meanings. My waiter looked at me, nodded once, and walked to the kitchen, while I sat there and wondered if I was going to get a bowl of primordial, tasteless soup, or a fiery broth that would cause even a condemned soul to blow on their spoon. Adjusting for spice preference is like turning the shower knob in a Beijing bathroom, you’re either going to get hit with icy Antarctic waters or steam that’s hissed straight off the sun’s surface.

With voting for our 2015 Reader Restaurant Awards well underway (vote here), we wanted to take a moment to highlight the 10 restaurants named to the ballot in the category of Best New (Non-Chinese) Restaurants. Each is awesome in its own right, so if you're growing tired of cycling through your old favorites, give one of these 10 a try ... and then come back and cast your opinion on the best in our awards poll here!
 

If you’ve been in China for Spring Festival before, you know the best part is the food. There are few other occasions in the Chinese calendar in which locals’ love of eating and respect for superstition come together in such grand fashion. Chuxi (the eve of Chinese New Year) is traditionally the scene of annual family reunions; common dishes include dumplings, fish, sweet tangyuan, longevity noodles, and niangao – all of which contain or recall homophones for fortune, luck, and health.

The competition to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games heated up on Friday, as inspectors from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) arrived in the Kazakhstan candidate city of Almaty for its official inspection.

The visit is the final and biggest opportunity for Beijing's only rival for the Games to convince the IOC that it's ready to become an Olympic city. Twelve Olympic representatives will spend five days listening to presentations and visiting sites around the former Kazakh capital.

Underneath all the shine and sparkle of the W Hotel, the new luxury boutique digs at the southeast corner of Jianguomen, is a single, no-nonsense gin martini. Its two speared, plump olives are the size of cherries, large enough to hold up to a near goblet of Beefeater 24 and vermouth. Drink more than one, and the saxophone player at X 25 may start looking fuzzy. Head bartender Alex Xie’s creation may even have what it takes to convert James Bond to gin, but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.

So this restaurant doesn’t spell out the entirety of ‘Pizza Hut’, but it is pretty obvious that they nicked the logo. Or, well, only half of the logo.

For those of us living nearby, this place has intrigued for a while now, partially because it could potentially be cheap edible pizza on our doorstep and partially because the door reads ‘cupcakes’, and everyone knows that those fluffy multi-colored delights are the best thing to have ever been invented.

China is planning to create an international tourism zone along its Northeastern border region with Russia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The zone, dubbed ‘Tumen River Delta International Tourism Area’ (read: Gulag, see:picture) will include park of China’s Hunchun City, as well as a 10-square-kilometer plot each from both Russia and the DPRK.

Facilities on the site will be built between the three countries, following interest from authorities of Russia and the DPRK after the Hunchun City government put forth the original idea in 2013.

Do you just know that your chili is the best in Beijing? Get your application in for the Great Leap Brewing Original #6 4th Annual Back Alley Chili Cook-Off. It will take place on April 11, 2-6pm.

We have found you something else to do during Chinese New Year that isn’t drinking or visiting a Temple Fair: shake things up and catch the pilot episode of Passage to China!

A rather great triumph for globalization: California senate has passed a resolution to make Chinese Lunar New Year an official festival of the state, CRI reports.

The senate republican leader of California, Bob Huff, said “The Lunar New year is a time of feasting and renewing of family ties” and “The celebration of this event in communities throughout California illustrates the state’s rich cultural history and commitment to racial, religious, and cultural diversity.”