The Gigantic New Great Leap Brewing Brewpub

New Great Leap Brewing Brewpub Grub

Though I’m still heart-broken over the sudden close of The Taco Bar, Great Leap Brewing‘s new Brewpub on Xinzhong Street (north of Workers Stadium) has helped me ease through my withdrawal pains. It’s not the same, but it never really is.

The beginning of May 2013 saw the first soft-opening tasting-trials where the limited number of open seats were swooped up almost instantly, but I was lucky enough to snag a table of 10 at the last available time on the last Monday, May 6th at 9:30PM.

I gotta say, this new Great Leap spot totally caught me off-guard.  I was astonished when I first walked up their steps and through their front doors.  Expecting something more similar to their original space, I was almost embarrassed at how wrong I was. This new brewpub is nothing like their original space.  Not only is it gigantic (it’s more than 500 square meters), it’s kind of fancy!  Not that their original space isn’t absolutely lovely, but I always attributed that to its tucked-away space in a tree-filled hutong courtyard. This new location is actually just as down-to-earth as the original (the decor is minimal, the lighting is dim and there’s almost nothing in terms of “decor”), but there’s something about the open layout that seems to make everything a little more visible (people included). Perhaps it was the just-left-the-office-work-dress crowd that made me feel like a bum showing up straight after a sweaty, back-to-back double session of HeyRunning and Heyrobics.

Since my first visit, I’ve already been back for seconds and there have already been some noticeable changes on the menu and the place has had a steady turn-around of customers both nights I’ve come in. Housed in a giant space with plenty of room to go around and a lovely outdoor deck, Great Leap really opened just in time to take full advantage of the long summer nights ahead.

The past few weeks have required customers to make advanced reservations, but they’ve just announced that spontaneous walk-ins are now welcome. *Note that their opening hours are still limited to 6PM-midnight with a last call for kitchen orders at 10:30PM.

“Our new brewpub isn’t officially open, but we’re offering limited hours from Tuesday through Sunday 6PM-midnight until May 30th! Order some food and grab some beers. Walk-ins are totally welcome!” - Liz Phung, Media & PR Director of Great Leap Brewing

 Still in Soft Opening with Limited Hours but Finally No Reservations Required!

LDS Snapshots of The Gigantic New Great Leap Brewing Brewpub:

New Great Leap Brewing Brewpub Entrance

Where the Brew Magic Happens

F

 Perfect-for-Summer Outdoor Brewpub Deck

Switching from tacos to burgers, Culinary Genius Kin Hong has shared his magic touch with Great Leap’s Brewpub Menu.

Still in soft-opening, I foresee plenty of future additions and changes, but for now the menu features pub grub basics from burgers to sharing salads and sides to pair alongside their current line-up of 8 brews (soon to be 15 beer taps headed up by brew master Tobias Palmer).

I’m not the biggest beer drinker, but after cheeky sips of everyone else’s beer, I quite liked their Pale Ale #6. In any case, enough about beer, I came for a feast of Kin’s burgers that I’d been anxiously waiting to taste for what seems like ages!

We knew there’d be plenty of food, but we were surprised to be served a tasting of their entire menu broken up into three courses:

1. First up: Appetizer Sampler included a basket of Mixed Raw Veggies and another mixed basket of fried goodness (onion rings, fried chicken nuggets and chicken wings).  Both baskets on opposite ends of your health spectrum, which balances us out to neutral. Brilliant!

2. Second came the Trio of Salads:  Classic Caesar but with Mantou croutons (so much better than croutons made from normal bread), a Hard Boiled Egg sliced down the middle and a charred lemon to squeeze all over the bowl. This is the crowd pleaser, but I quite liked the “Chop Salad” (a mix of everything from Smoked Gouda cheese to diced salami) and the “Garden Mix”, which is really what I should be eating every day.  It’s a beautiful vegan spinach salad with a light citrus dressing, a layer of sunflower seeds and a handful of mantou croutons.

3. Saving the best for last, we couldn’t wait to stuff our faces with their Griddle selection of GLB Burgers.  They’ve launched their menu with 4 burger options – a Classic Beef Burger called “The Old Fashion”, a gluttonous double patty, double Cheddar Cheeseburger, a Lamb and Tzatziki burger called their “GLB Burger” and my favorite of all them all is their “Knife and Fork Sandwich” which is a vegetarian patty made from mushrooms and barley cushioned by a thick brioche bed and topped with garlic aioli, arugula and tomato.

LDS Snapshots of Great Leap’s Brewpub Grub:

Beginning Our Feast with a Pint of Pale Ale

Beer Battered Onion Rings

Raw Veggie Basket with Green Goddess Dressing (RMB 25)

Mixed Basket of Beer Battered Fried Chicken Nuggets and Crispy GLB Wings with Garlic Aioli

The Chop Salad with Romaine, Iceberg, Mixed Beans, Shredded Mozzarella, Smoked Gouda, Diced Salami, Grape Tomato, Shallot, Oregano Dressing (RMB 45)

Caesar Salad with Romaine Lettuce tossed with Caesar Dressing, Parmesan, Mantou Croutons, Hard Boiled Egg, and Charred Lemon (RMB 40)

Garden Mix Salad with Spinach, Tomato, Cherry Radish, Red Onion, Carrot, and Cucumber Tossed with a light citrus Dressing and topped with Sunflower Seeds and Mantou Croutons (RMB 35)

Great Leap Brewing Brewpub Salads

Great Leap Brewpub Menu: The Old Fashion Burger (RMB 40)

Attack of the Great Leap Brewpub Grub 

Though we were delighted by everything we tasted, we couldn’t get enough of their chicken wings and burgers.  While everyone else seemed to drool most over the massive Cheeseburger, I much preferred the lamb and vegetarian patties.  Their veggie burger is actually getting rave reviews (mostly by women), but I think men like it just as much without being as vocal about it.

Prices are reasonable with appetizers ranging from RMB 25-40 for a fries to a basket of wings, salads between RMB 35-45 (for a very generous portion big enough to share) and burgers between RMB 40-50 each.

The only thing missing now is sweet potato fries (coming soon as a part of their late night menu) and a dessert menu. I’m desperately missing Kin’s rum-soaked cornbread dessert from The Taco Bar, so I was excited when he offered for me to taste his new cornbread creation made from beer pulp (or as he likes to call “beer poop”), which was spicy thanks to the jalapeño topping, but nothing comparable to his winning Taco Bar cornbread.  Word on the street is that they’re working on an “apple pie-like dessert made from spent grain cake”.

If I could have my wish, my dream dessert menu would include a range of cheesecakes and homemade pies. (Kin, if you can hear me, please consider a trio of cheesecakes: strawberry, blueberry and…marble cheesecake!)

Kin Testing Out Beer Cornbread Made from Beer Spent Grain (see photo below) *Not on menu*

Beer Poop Pulp

LDS Snapshots of Great Leap Brewing Brewpub: 

Pretty Princess Pose by Kin Hong: Head of Great Leap Brewing’s Kitchen

Great Leap Brewing Contact Details:

New Brewpub:

• Address: Xinzhong Street #12, Dongcheng District, Beijing
  北京市东城区新中街乙12号

• Tel: 6416-6887

The Original Great Leap Brewing:

• Address: Doujiao Hutong #6, Dongcheng District, Beijing
  北京市东城区豆角胡同6号

• Tel: 57171399

Email: contact@greatleapbrewing.com

 Photo by Great Leap Brewpub

Save-the-Date: Beijing Craft Beer Festival

June 21 & 22

“We’re stepping it up for the Second Annual Beijing Craft Beer Festival! This year the festival will take place over two days, and we’re expecting 10 craft breweries from China, 8 food vendors, live music and an awesome kid’s play area!” – Great Leap Brewing

Other Great Leap Brewpub Articles:

• The Urban Edit by Bespoke Beijing: A Great Leap for Beijing Bars

• Beijing Boyce

Other Suggested LDS Articles:

• Goodbye Taco Bar, Hello Great Leap Flagship Brewpub!

• Two Guys and a Pie Contest: Aussie Pie Showdown

• Capital M: Spring Menu + Food Revolution Week

• Mao Mao Chong Starts Up Sunday Pie Nights

Mao Mao Chong Starts Up Sunday Pie Nights

Mao Mao Chong’s Newest Homemade Creations

From a distance, these could be confused for egg tarts (or maybe I just have a thing for egg tarts). But look a little closer and they’re actually homemade beef and veggie pies by Mao Mao Chong (MMC) 毛毛虫. 

Known for their creative house-infused cocktails and late-night pizzas that some would argue are the best in Beijing, Mao Mao Chong is as crafty with their food creations as they are with their drinks.  Most recently, they’re proud to announce the arrival of their newest homemade recipes - “homemade chunky red wine beef pie (45RMB) and Veggie Pie (40RMB)”. 

The initiation of these newest items will begin this Sunday and I have no doubt these these chunky pies will fit right in to their current menu selection of pizzas and brunch spread of homemade fruit bread and sausage rolls.

Continue Reading » Mao Mao Chong Starts Up Sunday Pie Nights

CANDY&CAVIAR: 48hrs to Snag Limited Edition Pieces

Time to Shop: A Short 48-Hour Window of Opportunity

“IT’S QUITE SIMPLE WHAT WE DO – OUR WORK AT CANDY&CAVIAR HAS TO MAKE A STATEMENT.

WE ARE BORN FROM THE DESIRE TO CREATE A KNITWEAR BRAND THAT IS CRAFTED TO GIVE A FRESH TAKE ON TRADITIONAL, ICONIC CONCEPTS. THE CREATIVE MINDS HERE STRIVE TO COMBINE DESIGN, ART AND INNOVATION INTO EVERY ASPECT OF OUR IDENTITY ALL WHILE MAINTAINING THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF QUALITY.

OUR ULITMATE MISSION IS TO REDEFINE THE AESTHETICS OF ALL THINGS CASHMERE.”

Continue Reading » CANDY&CAVIAR: 48hrs to Snag Limited Edition Pieces

The Hutong’s New Ningxia Bike Expedition Journey

Bike through the rolling hills of Ningxia to remote outposts in Inner Mongolia

I am beyond excited to introduce The Hutong’s New Expeditionary Bike Trip to Ningxia (to give you a visual, just imagine me doing what I always do when I’m too excited to contain myself – clapping my hands super fast while leaping up and down simultaneously).

And I can speak confidently about how absolutely awesome this bike trip will be because I had a hand in it (I’m allowed to brag because I’m proud).

And I’m not going to bore you with the entire story of how I came to be involved but it’s actually quite simple: I signed up for The Hutong’s annual Yunnan Bike Adventure through Xishuangbanna last October holiday for a little bit get-away adventure and very quickly became the trip’s biggest PR machine because I was a paying customer and I was so impressed by everything about the trip from the stunning landscape scenery, the food, the people, the activities, etc. etc. that I wouldn’t shut up about it (you can see my recap of the trip on LDS here).  Just a month or so after, The Hutong recruited me for the specific task to help them develop their bike repertoire of biking destinations beyond their already existing Yunnan bike trip (which they will continue to run annually over China’s October holiday).

Continue Reading » The Hutong’s New Ningxia Bike Expedition Journey

Capital M: Spring Menu + Food Revolution Week

Taste M’s New Spring/Summer Menu 

From a vibrant green organic salad sprinkled with pretty pink petals to a “Variety of Eggplant Dishes” or as I like to call “a party of eggplants and everyone’s invited”, Capital M‘s new Spring/Summer menu is a delightful new addition of sure-to-be-new-favorites on their classic menu of modern European cuisine.

Gathering a table of foodies together, we sampled our way through a medley of M’s proud new menu additions including 4 different starters and 3 mains before  topping it all off with their marvelous Grand Dessert Platter (as if we weren’t being spoiled enough)!

Continue Reading » Capital M: Spring Menu + Food Revolution Week

Sunday Salon: Violinist Chai Liang + Wings of Music

This Month’s Time Out Critic’s Choice Event

Time Out Beijing/Shanghai’s Classical and Performance editor Nancy Pellegrini couldn’t be more delighted about her newest catch for this month’s Sunday Salon Classical performance (and I’m pretty stoked myself!). This Sunday at The Bookworm, classical music lovers have the chance to appreciate some of China’s top musical talent – internationally recognized violinist Chai Liang 柴亮 together with classical guitar virtuosa Li Jie.

An all-star event proudly organized by Nancy together with music critic and impresario Sam Su and promoter Zhang Kexin, they take you behind China’s music in an interactive lecture series and intimate performance by both of these star musicians together with a few of their select students from their Wings of Music Programme, a non-profit organisation linked with the conservatory that provides free instruments and high-level music lessons to children of migrant workers and the rural poor.

Continue Reading » Sunday Salon: Violinist Chai Liang + Wings of Music

Black Eyeliner + REPHLEX (Mike Dred UK) at DADA

Mike Dred aka REPHLEX headlines Black Eyeliner at Dada this Friday, May 10th

Respected as a true pioneer of acid techno, REPHLEX (Mike Dred) is a UK legend and “master of the Roland TB- 303 Bass Line synthesizer” and he has touched down in Beijing this weekend to headline Hipster DJ Trio, Black Eyeliner (Sound Spade, Attacks Unicorns and DJ Ost), also Dada Beijing‘s premier dark music dance party.

“Mike Dred, AKA the “Jimi Hendrix of the 303”, an “Acid (music) Genius” (The Rough Guide to Techno) Kosmik Kommando, Machines Codes, Chimera, DJ Judge Dred and Space Avenger, has a profile to make the pretenders weep.” - Benjamin Leeland Bacon aka DJ SoundSpade

Beijing’s dark, dancey DJ party, Black Eyeliner was created back in March 2012 by co-founders Alex Chow and Benjamin Bacon to “make the emo kids cry”, they used to hop between different Gulou Bars but now they’ve found their home at DADA Bar Beijing.  Now the DJ Trio includes DJ SoundSpade (Benjamin Bacon), Attacks Unicorns (Kyle Page) and DJ Ost (Hua Dong).

Continue Reading » Black Eyeliner + REPHLEX (Mike Dred UK) at DADA

Magnificent Mothers: Spoil Your Mom this Sunday

Time to Treat the Most Important Lady in your Life

Better not forget the date, mark your calendars twice, set your alarms because this Sunday is Mother’s Day and it’s time to start planning something worthy of your family’s Queen Bee.

Pretty much every hotel is on it when it comes to brunch options this Sunday. From complimentary roses to champagne to free spa massages, these guys are pulling out all their stops to prove that they know exactly how to properly spoil mom. If you bring your mom to Barolo Italian Restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton, they’ve prepared chocolate carnations and sweets for all moms, The Hilton Beijing’s One East is serving up their organic brunch and they’re treating all moms to a 40-minute massage in their Jing Chen Spa, and if you bring your mom to Café O2 at InterContinental Beijing Beichen, she dines for free! (offer limited to “one mom per table” so you’re out of luck if you were planning to bring your grandma or aunts along for the freebie deal)

Though the hotel deals above are pretty sweet, a few of my top picks for Mother’s Day include a few experiences I’m pretty confident will “WOW” her:

Continue Reading » Magnificent Mothers: Spoil Your Mom this Sunday