Beyond their daily lunch (11.30am-2pm) and dinner (5-10pm) service, Great Leap Brewpub in Sanlitun has rolled out a new late night bar snack menu (Sun-Thu 10pm-midnight, Fri-Sat 10pm-1am). You'll find the fried chicken, wings and onion rings from the daytime menu, but also look for new additions like hand-cut sweet potato fries (RMB 25), carrot hush puppies (RMB 25) and a pale ale chili with a classic white bread American grilled cheese sandwich (RMB 40).
Each month, we ask noteworthy Beijingers to imagine their final meal before leaving the city for good.
The venue
Dali Courtyard off of Gulou Dongdajie. I really like the environment there. It’s a typical Chinese courtyard restaurant with outdoor seating. Dining there in the summer is very pleasant and comfortable. The menu is simple and doesn’t change often. But it’s the kind of food that you crave from time to time.
The starters
We’d begin with avocados stuffed with shallots, tomatoes, baked plantain and then dressed with ginger and garlic infused olive oil. This is a dish I had by the Great Wall at a very small and hidden private kitchen in 2009. It’s run by a friend of a friend, and you wouldn’t know about it unless someone tells you. There is no fixed charge; you simply leave what you want to pay on the table.
When Umberto Bombana opened his first restaurant, the name he chose was after the Fellini film, 8½. It’s a veiled autobiography – the self-referential tale of the trials of an artist, a director coming into his own. If 8 ½ in Hong Kong and Shanghai have been Bombana’s ateliers, places of process to mature as an independent chef, then Opera Bombana is his playground.
Back in late March, Modo was forced to close due to new enforcement of fire and safety regulations in Tai Koo Li. The team behind Modo and Mosto embraced this as a positive move in a direction they had been eventually intending to move and used the opportunity to remove the mezzanine (as required), but also to give the space and concept a fresh look.
And so, three months later, here we are with Modo Urban Deli.
The official opening is today, June 18 at 6pm. From tomorrow, regular hours will be daily from 10.30am-11pm, with last orders at 10pm.
The Beijinger Burger Cup is back for another year and this your chance to vote for your favorite burgers before we arrange a face-to-face cook-off in August to determine the winner.
This year, we begin with Burger Battles: a series of face-offs pitting Beijing beef patties against each other. These will not necessarily reflect the ultimate match-ups in our Burger Cup bracket, but give burger fans and burger chefs an idea as to how the product may fare in the final competition.
Visit our website often for Burger Battles, updates on the Cup, and more on how you can participate in voting and other burger activities.
For Round Five, we take the fight westward to the hutongs, pitting Will Yorke against Will Yorke: Vineyard Cafe vs Stuff'd.
As we announced late last week, Brussels' identity crisis finally came to a head and they changed their name to better reflect their non-Belgian influences. Owner Kenn Bermel had been promising a new menu for the past few weeks and it's finally out under the restaurant's new moniker. You can sneak a peak at the new menu (both food and drink are available) on The Local's website here.
But what deals can you actually sink your teeth into right this minute? Bermel is sticking to his word and continuing on the solid specials Brussels has been known for. Today, and for a limited time, other Tuesdays upcoming, The Local is offering half-price steaks– a filet mignon (now RMB 80), a grilled rib-eye (now RMB 94) and a 450g grilled T-bone (now RMB 240).
Classical cuisines abound in wine-soaked fare: boeuf bourguignon and coq au vin in the West, the “drunken” variety of shrimp, crab or chicken here in China. But beyond the classics? Beijing is filled with boozy bites. Here’s our guide to the tastiest ways to eat your drinks.
“Going Underground” is a regular magazine column in which we explore the neighborhoods surrounding subway stations.
Selling point
The western terminus of Line 1, Pingguoyuan station arrives at the foot of Beijing’s Western Hills. It’s an easy jaunt out of the city for a restorative day trip to take in some historical and cultural sites.
The Rug has a new summer menu and brunch specials to round out their already extensive selection. I went to the Chaoyang Park space last week for the first time since it has been open. The interior is beautiful, airy and full of light. I can see why the Time Out dudes are always brunching there. I just might have to join them.
Look for new items like a smoked salmon & poached egg pancake (RMB 98), grilled fresh peach & honey walnut yogurt (RMB 48) or what they are calling the Tapas Fancy Brunch, a bruschetta-style spread of flatbreads with toppings like sauteed mushrooms & cream cheese, parma ham, tomatoes & cheese, and more.
A self-described foodie, Rory Slater has been exploring Beijing’s dining scene since summer 2012. The executive assistant manager of F&B at Ritz-Carlton Financial Street, tells us about his favorite spots in the city and where to satisfy his sweet tooth with jasmine flower éclairs.
American or not, I hope you all managed to scarf down a bit of barbeque, some burgers or at least a few drinks this past week. And if you've got some post-Fourth of July blues, no need to stress because Sanlitun is getting another outpost of classic Americana. A new branch of T.G.I. Friday's has moved into Shimao Department Store. Even if there's no more flair on their suspenders, they should be bringing plenty of Jack Daniel's sauce along with their upcoming opening.
Are the limp lettuce and pallid tomatoes of dabancai tiring you out? Despite China’s culinary prowess when it comes to vegetables, take the flame away and the kitchen’s lost its game. Salads out at the Western joints rack up a bill pretty quick, and for what, just rabbit food? And if you want to take it into your own hands, Jenny Lou’s might have some tired, plastic-wrapped greenery – but what verdant leaves are available at local markets for a fraction of the cost?
Every month, we like to shine a spotlight on some of the most delicious dishes we’ve stumbled upon recently. Dig in!
Rumors have been circulating for some months now, but Home Plate Bar-B-Que officially confirmed with the Beijinger they will open a second location in Sanlitun this fall. The new branch of Home Plate will be on Sanlitun Nanjie in the same building as one of the best new bars in the world, Janes and Hooch. Construction on the space just started and they are looking at a tentative soft opening at the end of September or early October.
It’s that sweltering midsummer heat that Beijing does so well. The air is so heavy with humidity, it already feels as though you’re in the water, so might as well hit up some water parks while you're at it. Here are a few places to take the plunge.
Sweet tooths, take note: Ida Collins of The Fat Bunny Bakery is offering a 10% discount on all large cake orders until July 19. I can tell you from experience that if you want the refined sugar this country is lacking, Collins is your lady to fix that. Visit www.fatbunnybakery.com to check out the options and create your own.
On this Saturday July 27 (4-5.30pm), C!Talk Beijing is hosting their sixth event, "Cooking Passionista." This installment in their series of talks on various cultural topics (see past events here) features a few Beijing chefs telling the stories of how they fell in love with food and cooking. The four speaker have quite varied backgrounds and include Amber Deetlefs of Pinotage, Cherry Li of ABC Kitchen, Hsu and Eric Li of Fatface Dining, and Jerry Guo of 3sums.
It's been a busy year for the team behind Mosto, with the revamp of Modo into Modo Urban Deli. But things aren't slowing down – they officially confirmed to the Beijinger this afternoon the upcoming opening of a third venue, Moka Bros. The new spot will occupy a portion of the former Ciro's Pomodoro space on the ground floor of Nali Patio.
The "bros" behind these are the charming Alex Molina and Daniel Urdaneta, and their vision is to expand the "Mo" brand to round out Mosto's "casual fine dining" and Modo Urban Deli's "casual dining" with a new concept of "fast casual dining" in the form of this new all-day dining venue, Moka Bros.
Moka will take up roughly half of Ciro's old space, with 164 square meters of indoor seating and 22 square meters of terrace on the street. Aimed at a younger crowd than either Mosto or Modo Urban Deli, prices will be lower (RMB 50-110) to reflect the fast, casual approach. Think long benches and communal tables in the seating area.
If you remember the former Horizon, clad in deep reds, you will be surprised at the utter transformation of the space. The main dining room now has a distinctly contemporary feel to it – creamy off-whites and pale wood latticework. Three open kitchens face the seating area with large glass panes allowing a view into the preparation of double-boiled soups, claypot dishes, dim sum and Horizon’s signature offering, Ya Yuan Peking duck.
