Sundays at Sureño

If I’m not recovering from a rough weekend in bed, chances are you’ll find me at Vineyard Cafe, The Orchard, Chef Too or SALT.

For the first time this past weekend, we switched it up for Sunday brunch at Sureño (The Opposite House).

On Sundays, Sureño offers a Mediterranean 4-course set menu (RMB 188 or RMB 298 with free flow bubbly):

Veal Tenderloin

1. Antipasti Selection (fried mussels, swordfish sashimi, egg omelet, fried rice ball, diced oxtail and white beans) – 1 of each appetizer per person, and still quite filling. While the mussels were dry, the swordfish sashimi was the highlight
2. Minestrone Soup – standard minestrone soup
3. Choice of 6 different main entrees (seabass, risotto, veal tenderloin, cheese & spinach capelle, suckling pig, etc.) – Veal Tenderloin was served with cheese sandwiched in between two slabs of meat with mashed potatoes and veggies beneath.
4. Choice of Cheese Selection or Dessert Selection (Apple tart, lemon tart & tiramisu) – I recommend cheese selection over desserts (soft brie and blue cheese were delicious)

Review of Sunday Brunch at Sureño: Located next to Punk & Bei, B1 floor of The Opposite House, Sanlitun. 三里屯路11号三里屯Village1号楼; Tel: 6410-5240

Best Part:

Risotto

• Venue design – Sureño is stunning with its wood-fired oven and open kitchen.  The space is absolutely beautiful.
• Veal Tenderloin was excellent – well-cooked, nice presentation, and great quality & taste
• Cheese platter was a nice ending to the 4 course meal
• A great brunch for those who want to escape a big hotel all-you-can-eat brunch

Comments:

• Sureño is always full, if not packed.  But this Sunday was relatively quiet, which was a bit unexpected and the empty atmosphere took a bit away from the experience that I know Sureño normally has to offer.
• Cheese portions were a bit skimpy and call me crazy, but I do not like Sureño’s desserts (in my defense, I just don’t like tiramisu dessert, but people do rave that Sureño’s is the best in town).
• Quality and quantity of the Sureño Sunday brunch menu was satisfactory, and I love the restaurant (pizza is great), but Sureño will remain at the bottom of my list of Sunday brunch destinations because there was nothing in particular about this Sunday brunch experience that was worth returning for in comparison to other Sunday brunch venues around town.

Rating: (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best)

• Food: 7
• Atmosphere: 8
• Service: 8
• Overall Experience: 7
  

Cheese Platter

Dessert Platter

Let’s Get It Foodies

Ok Foodies, it’s that time of year again – CityWeekend’s Gourmet Month!

Get your gym memberships ready because for the entire month of April, you can pretty much eat out every single day of the month with 26 different venues to choose from.  With some gourmet month favorites returning from previous rounds along with a few newbies in the Beijing dining scene, this month’s line up provides quite a diverse range of restaurants to please all your foodie preferences.

For those of you who don’t know, CW holds two annual Gourmet Months (April & November) where some of Beijing’s top restaurants are selected and placed into 3 categories (RMB 99, 150, and 250) and each restaurant provides a set menu available for the entire month that is worth more than double the set menu price they offer.

It’s brilliant marketing for restaurants and for foodies, it’s amazing value and an opportunity to try many restaurants you normally would not think to try out.

With 13 of the participating 26 restaurants located in hotels, I figured a good way to divide the selection would be to separate hotel venues from stand-alone restaurants.  While there are a few hotel restaurants that are the exception, I tend to avoid most hotel venues due to lack of atmosphere (most tend to be pretty empty) or lack of value (most are overpriced and some even tack on additional service charges *ahem* Caffe Marco and Prego).

See below for a complete list of participating restaurants, broken down into two categories: Restaurants & Hotel Restaurants.

**I have highlighted my recommendations in red text with italicized comments.

For a list of all restaurant’s gourmet month menus, prices, and reservation details, click here.

List of participating Non-Hotel Restaurants (13 total):

• Casa Latina (RMB 99 for 4 course menu) – Newly Opened Authentic Mexican Restaurant in Solana
  
• Enoteca (RMB 150) for choice of wine carafe with Chef’s Tapas Platter (Cheese, Delicatessen, and Antipasti)
• Brasserie Flo (RMB 150 for 4 course menu)
• Ganges (RMB 99 for 10 dishes)
• Invito (RMB 150 for 3 course menu)
• Kagen (RMB 150 for 6 course menu) – One of my all-time favorite gourmet month restaurants: BEST VALUE (click to read last gourmet month review of Kagen)
  
• Karaiya (RMB 150 for 7 dishes)
  
• Lantung (RMB 99 for 4 course menu)
• Mosto (RMB 250 for 3 course menu) – A bit pricier, but you can always count on Mosto to deliver a beautiful meal
  
• Mughal’s (RMB 99 for 8 dishes)
• Purple Haze Bistro (RMB 99 for 4 dishes plus glass of wine) - I hear the new location is a must-see
  
• SALT (RMB 99 for 4course lunch menu or RMB 250 for 5 course dinner menu) - Also a favorite from last run’s gourmet month. I recommend going for the RMB 99 lunch menu
  
• Taj Pavilion (RMB 99 for 11 dishes)

Participating Hotel restaurants (13 total):

• Lunar 8 (Fairmont Hotel) – RMB 99 for 3 dishes (salmon, squid sashimi, unagi)
• Dragon Palace (Kempinski Hotel)  – RMB 150 for 8 dishes
• Caffe Marco (Marco Polo Parkside Hotel) RMB 99 + service charge for 4 courses and 1 drink
• Choy’s Seafood (Marriott Northeast Hotel) – RMB 150 for 10 dishes
• Tamarind (Marriott Northeast Hotel) – RMB 150 for 12 dishes – Excellent Indian cuisine
  
• Jaan (Raffles Hotel) – RMB 250 for 4 course menu plus wine pairing
• Daccapo (Regent Hotel) – RMB 250 for 4 course menu
• Crystal (Emperor Hotel) – RMB 150 for 4 course menu
• Village Cafe (Opposite House) – RMB 99 for 3 course menu- I was thrilled to find Village Cafe as a participating restaurant. Menu looks fantastic and only for RMB 99 is great value!
  
• Grange (Westin Chaoyang Hotel) – 2 menus set at RMB 250 for 3 course menu - Without Meat & Wine Co. as a participating restaurant, Grange looks like a top pick for a quality carnivorous meal
  
• Prego (Westin Financial Hotel)  – RMB 250 + 15% service charge for 4 course menu
• The Astral (Tangla Hotel) – RMB 150 for 4 course Australian menu - Menu features all Australian menu – I’m interested to try Kangaroo Loin or Crocodile Fillet (main dishes)
  
• Momo Cafe (Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in Lido) – RMB 150 for 3 course menu

Bon Appetit LumDimSum Foodies!