Get Your Claim to Fame on Hatsune’s New Menu

Alan Wong is a culinary genius with his delicious sushi roll creations, but he didn’t do it alone.  He had help.

Ever notice the Amy Roll?  The Paster Roll? The Lydia Roll?  The Moto-Roll-Ah?  These sushi rolls were either created by or for specific people.

If you’ve ever dreamed of trying your own sushi creation, here’s your chance.

Hatsune’s 9 Year Anniversary will also mark the launch of the new menu, featuring many of Hatsune’s secret menu items together with a few more new sushi rolls guaranteed to knock your socks off.

To Enter:

1. Create your ideal sushi roll combination – what ingredients you’d like to use inside and outside the sushi roll. You can also suggest creative means of presentation.
2. Submit your & sushi roll name to me directly: kristen@lumdimsum.com
3. Deadline: August 12, 2010.

Prize:

• Your genius creation will earn it’s spot on Hatsune’s new menu (starting August 26, 2010)
• We will reward you with a dinner for two where you will be the first to try the sushi roll you invented.

Riviera Makes a Splash: Beijing Pool Party

For the third year running, Riviera’s annual pool parties are back in Beijing.

If it’s anything like the past two years, you can expect a day of sunshine by the pool, bumping house beats, popping bottles of champagne, and Beijing’s most beautiful people congregated into one space.

Who Needs a Beach When There’s a Pool?

Event Details:

• Date: Saturday July 24th
• Time: 1 pm to 9pm
• Location: I-O Spa Roof Top Pool (150 meters south of GongTi east gate)
• Price: 120rmb with a drink
  
• Table: 1600rmb include 1 bottle of Mumm Champagne + 4×1 liter of coktail towers + 4 entries

LumDimSum Discovery: Hatsune’s Q Roll

Sushi Samurais:

It’s your lucky day – I’m revealing another one of Hatsune’s secret menu sushi rolls: 

The Q Roll

Inside: Fresh Shrimp Salad & Deep-fried Gobo Age

Outside: Avocado, Unagi, Shiso Leaves, Tobiko & Unagi Sauce

RMB 85

For those of you unfamiliar with Hatsune’s Secret Menu, it is a menu full of Hatsune’s most exotic and complex sushi rolls.  This special menu was created by owner Alan Wong for all his sushi fanatics who have tried every single one of Hatsune’s regular menu rolls 10 plus times and want something different, something new.

(Click here for another secret menu item: The G-Roll)

*LumDimSum Discovery Explanation: Whenever I try a dish worth sharing, I will post this find as a LumDimSum Discovery.  Just click tagged LumDimSum Discovery articles for more recommendations.

**Note to Sushi Fans:

Hatsune’s 9 Year Anniversary will be held on Wednesday, August 25 at Hatsune Sanlitun Village.

Party will take place at Hatsune Sanlitun Village and we will be celebrating with anyone and everyone who loves Hatsune.

A Ticket to enter a wonderful world of free flow sake, dangerously good cocktails and Hatsune‘s legendary sushi rolls is RMB 150 at the door.

Expect nothing less of Epic.

Party details:

Date: Wednesday, August 25

Time: From 9PM-1AM

Location: Hatsune Sanlitun Village

Reservations: kristen@lumdimsum.com

Hallelujah for Telihana

My dear friend, the very talented Telihana will be hosting her launch party at Block8′s rooftop, The Beach this Friday, July 23.

Telihana’s Official Album Launch will be releasing her three latest songs and clip from her ‘All Night’ music video in New York.

Together with DJ Chozie, Telihana will be creating tunes and beats to “make your feet ROCK and your heart BUMP!”

• Date: Friday, July 23
• Reservations: 13521882889
• Location: The Beach, 4th floor of Block 8
• Time: 10PM- late

Raw Goodness: Round 2

After my first raw foods class at the World Health Store with Raw Food Chef Jennifer McClelland, I was hooked.

I never knew eating healthy could be so simple and more importantly, taste so good.

With Jennifer’s raw food cooking classes, you’re guaranteed to learn some easy-to-make recipes that are so tasty and so healthy, you’ll want to immediately start incorporating raw foods into your daily diet and hopefully begin your journey towards a healthier lifestyle.

This past Saturday, Jennifer hosted her Great Raw of China Cooking Class spotlighting refreshing summer treats – a Yellow Bell Pepper Bisque with Basil and a Berry & Cream Tart with Bitter Sweet Dark Cacao in a Walnut Crust.

A combination of blended tomatoes, bell peppers, cashews, olive oil and basil, the bisque was both satisfying and refreshing – a great summer alternative to soup and the berry tart was seriously too mouth-watering delicious to be healthy, but it absolutely is.  The crust is made from walnuts, coconut flakes and raisins, the cream was made from cashew nuts, vanilla and pure maple syrup and the chocolate sauce made from coconut oil, raw cacao powder and cinnamon.

If you’re wondering how complicated it must be to make a summer bisque and a berry tart out of raw food, it’s really quite simple as everything was made using just a blender! And an extra bonus – recipes are vegetarian-friendly, plus dairy and gluten free!

The highlight was the chocolate sauce which reminded me of the amazing chocolate mousse Jennifer made in her previous raw foods class.

Did you know that raw cacao (chocolate) is one of the richest sources of Vitamin C?  But all heat processed chocolate loses vitamin C and other nutrients the body needs to stay in prime health.

- Jennifer McClelland on Raw Cacao

Watch the Master at Work:

Finished Products:

Jennifer regularly hosts raw food cuisine courses at the World Health Store in SOHO Shangdu where she educates her classes on the health benefits of incorporating more raw foods into their daily diet and providing mouth-watering recipes to prove to you just how good “healthy” meals can be.

Next raw food class on Saturday, August 14, “Make Raw Not War” will feature Raw Vegan Burgers and Dairy-Free Chocolate Milkshakes!

• Date: Saturday, August 14
• Time: 2:00PM-4:00PM
• Location:  World Health Store in CBD
• Price: RMB 150 per person
• Contact:  5900-2209, www.worldhealthstore.com.cn

If you are interested in learning more, I recommend the “Raw for Life” viewing at Kocoon Spa and a Green Smoothie Demo! Hosted at Kocoon Spa, Jennifer will be giving an introduction to the health benefits of a raw food lifestyle along with a free green smoothie demo!

For more information about raw foods & the health benefits of eating “living” foods, visit Jennifer McClelland’s website and the World Health Store Blog.

Opposite House: Feng Shu’s Art Exhibition

Last Thursday was the cocktail reception for Feng Shu’s solo exhibition in the lobby gallery of the Opposite House boutique hotel.

Hosted by F2 Gallery, the exhibition showcased an assortment of Feng Shu’s incredibly beautiful, over-sized ornate porcelain insects featuring a blinged out scorpion to a variety of colorful dragonfly-type insects with long-stretching silver wings and even a gigantic floral skull.

A very unique exhibition, I was most impressed by the mutant winged insect creations and I was curious to learn more about this artist’s fascination with insects and his motivation to create such imaginative creatures.

In an article posted by Ling-Yun Tang about Feng Shu’s artistic background and insect creations, he explains:

The fantastic scale and ergonomic forms of the creatures transports them out of the world of everyday human nuisance and shifts the conceptual reference point from the entomological (?) to historical and philosophical concerns. Giant mosquitoes suck blood from their victims through piercing syringe proboscises; muscular spiders perch atop threatening needle sharp legs; scorpions armed with hefty pincers raise their venomous tails ready to subdue their prey; and beady-eyed flies at rest, at once beautiful and instinctively repulsive, await their next meal. The finely painted surfaces of the insect and arachnid bodies-some in Ming-Qing blue and white and pastel floral patterns, and others in abstract geometric triangles and irregular blobs-paired with contrasting metal limbs give the overall impression that these ancient creatures are science-fictional mutants, part animal, part robot. Do they represent the inevitable intrusion of outside change in Feng Shu‘s imagined historic past? Or are they the odd by-product of a Chinese modernity that is looking to move forward in the 21st century by openly embracing the agents of technological progress? The answers can go either way. It is this interplay between tradition and transformation that typifies Feng Shu‘s interpretation of contemporary society, where the mutual struggle between predator and prey can never be disaggregated from the larger question of evolutionary survival.

If you are interested in checking out these unique creations in person, you can visit Feng Shu’s art exhibition until September 30, 2010.

LumDimSum Photo Gallery of Feng Shu’s Exhibition at the Opposite House’s lobby gallery:

Featured Masterpieces:

I thought this exhibition was meant to be a solo exhibition for Feng Shu, but four paintings by Jin Yu were also displayed on the side of the lobby. All four paintings display the same two women in motion, with their bodies pressed against a glass surface. Interesting paintings, but I did not get the relationship with Feng Shu’s exhibition of large, porcelain insects.  Photos displayed below:

DJ Nu-Mark Makes His Mark on Beijing

Jurassic 5′s DJ/Producer Nu-Mark made a big return to Beijing at Yugong Yishan this past Saturday, July 12.

The place was packed as DJ Nu-Mark effortlessly fused different music genres together from soul, funk and hip-hop to samba and rock.  And of course, the show’s highlights are his funky musical toys.  My favorite is the cheeky monkey playing cymbals.

**Shout out to one of my most favorite people on this planet, Dan Goodman, who I gotta give credit to for dragging me to Yugong on his last night in Beijing.  You will be truly missed.

Sundays on Top with Wordy

Hosted by BLINK Events, Sunday on Top is topping their usual set this Sunday, July 18 with special guest DJ & 3x DMC China Champion, DJ Wordy & DJ Doc J from thePark hip-hop show on FM 88.7 alongside the one and only, Mr. Patrick Yu aka one of my all-time favorite dancing DJs.

Extra bonuses: Enjoy summer cocktails & BBQ will be fired up with hot dogs, burgers, and cheesesteaks!

Event Details:

• Date: Sunday, July 18
  
• Time: 4PM – Late
• Location: Kokomo’s Rooftop Terrace
• Free Entrance

LumDimSummary: Usher Pre-Party @ BLING

Apologizes for the delay in getting these photos posted, but better late than never right?

Pictures speak a thousand words, so this photo gallery should give you plenty to take in.

Here’s the LumDimSummary of this awesome event @ BLING last weekend:

*Special thanks to 8th Round and Street Hustle for making this event such a success!

Don’t miss Da Real Hip-Hop Party TONIGHT! DJ Noodles & Beatbox Double’s mad skillz will be on display tonight @ BLING!

theBeijinger.com: iPhone 3GS Giveaway Challenge

Now here’s some encouragement to take a few minutes out of your day and post some reviews on theBeijinger.com – a super easy way to win an iPhone 3GS or a pair of quality Chilean El Toqui wines.

Instructions to Participate in theBeijinger.com Reviewer Challenge:

• Click here for theBeijinger.com online directory
• Search for venues or organizations you’ve recently visited and have something of substance to write about
• Click the “Add a Review” link on the right-hand side of each venue listing
• The more you write, the more you increase your chances of winning.  Every 5 reviews get you 1 ticket, limit is 4 tickets in the draw to win(20 reviews).
• Deadline: Midday, Tuesday, July 20, 2010
• Full list of house rules here, but the regulations boil down to this: only reviews submitted from now to July 20 are eligible for the draw, you can review any venue or organization listed in our directory, and only serious reviews will be counted (refrain from writing jibberish, people).

Prize:

• iPhone 3GS

• Chilean El Toqui wines (Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, both 2007)

PUNK: Beijing Zoo 1 Year Party

Together with the Superstars who made it happen from the very beginning – DJ LOMANG & DJ SAUL D are now teaming up with 3x DMC world champion KID FRESH & HK premier female DJ/actress/model/TV personality DJ Miss Yellow for Beijing Zoo’s blow out 1 year birthday bash @ PUNK.

*For those of you who know the wonderful and incredible Daniel Goodman, he will be celebrating his last night in Beijing at this event so come by, groove to some great jams, and take the opportunity to treat this good man to a good, stiff drink.

ChinaDoll 3.3 Official Grand Opening

Since ChinaDoll 3.3‘s Soft Sky Bar Opening Party on Wednesday, June 23 (click for review), they are now having their Official Opening Party as they unveil their downstairs lounge this Friday, July 16.

Themed as a “Bite the Forbidden Fruit” party, ChinaDoll 3.3 says:

“Once a month, ChinaDoll Airlines will take you on a journey to an exotic location in search of the forbidden fruit.”

Time: VIP boarding starts at 21:00

Role Play Dress Code: Stewardess uniform & world traveler attire

RSVP: for more info please call 138 1108 1896 / 159 0104 5119 or email ChinaDollEvents@gmail.com

So what do we have?  Everything from an Adam & Eve title to a poster featuring undressed Chinese women in European renaissance costumes and a stewardess-themed dress code.

Not sure how these 3 different themes will be intertwined, but ChinaDoll’s Opening Party should be an interesting ‘journey’ through time and themes (journey by plane will be courtesy of ‘ChinaDoll Airlines’ obviously), so do dress appropriately.  “World Traveler Attire” is suggested…whatever that means.

LumDimSummary: Playboy Party @ ROOMbeijing

Superstar Guest DJ Dimitri from Paris

+

Lots of Bunnies

= A Packed House With Way Too Many Sweaty People

*Note to self: Come earlier to check out ROOMbeijing‘s dinner –> party transition.

ROOMbeijing definitely felt more like a lounge/club than a restaurant/lounge.

See for yourself.

LumDimSum Photo Gallery from Playboy Party @ ROOMbeijing:

BLING: Da Real Hip Hop

Together with Special Guest DMC Champion DJ Noodles & Beatbox Double, Beijing’s Breakdance Superstars – the Forbidden City Rockers, Bling will be bringing down the house to all those with swagger and skillz.

Exclusively @ Bling!

Details:

• Date: Saturday, July 17
• Time: 10pm-late
• Cover: RMB 50 (Free before 11PM)
• Reservations: Contact Hill: 138 1085 8776 or Fei Fei: 13911681599

Best Lunch Deal: Alameda vs. SALT

Alameda and SALT have made their mark on Beijing dining as having great value, and these two restaurants are by far two of my favorite lunch destinations.

They are both so incredible, it’s really difficult to declare which is better when both venues are similar in many ways, yet each have their own unique draw that keeps the business consistently rolling in.

Here’s a breakdown of their similarities:

• Both spots offer 2-3 course set lunch menus (though not at the same price).
• Both serve complimentary bread at the start of the meal, including my all-time favorite mini-cheesey bread rolls.
• Both provide a very clean, contemporary atmosphere that’s always busy. I highly recommend making reservations before-hand for both restaurants
• Both were created and originated by Gabby Alves, who is about to open her third venue called TERRA (which will take over the space known once as The Rickshaw).

ALAMEDA’S SET LUNCH (RMB 60 for 2 courses):

While I too quickly devoured my appetizer at Alameda, here are shots of two main course items – we ordered the duck and the sea bass. Food quality and taste is top-notch and portions are super generous:

SALT’S SET LUNCH (RMB 88 for 2 courses, 108 for 3 courses):

We started off with the yellowtail ceviche with corn and sweet potato chips and pumpkin and coconut soup followed by the broccoli risotto and pork loin with polenta and veggies.  Again, only premium ingredients, mouth-watering delicious and very generous portions for a very satisfying lunch.

CONCLUSION:

While Alameda’s RMB 60 two course lunch deal is pretty tough to beat, SALT’s innovative and constantly changing menu at only RMB 88 for two courses is still a steal.

Details:

• ALAMEDA: Sanlitun Beijie (just 50m south and across street from 3.3 mall),三里屯北; Tel: 6417-8084

• SALT: 2nd Floor (above Frank’s Place), 9 Jiangtai Xilu,将台西路 6437-8457