TERRA launches Lunch Rapido

Pause during your frantic work week and make time for a lovely lunch break with TERRA’s newly launched Lunch Rapido menu where you can enjoy 2 courses + drink for RMB 98.  Available Tuesdays-Fridays from 11-2PM.

See the menu selection here:

For a full review of TERRA, click here.

Meet Holistic Practitionner: Marianne Niederer

A featured guest of Kocoon Spa Lounge, Holistic Practitionner and Founder of Shanghai-based holistic center In-Touch, Marianne Niederer will be hosting a free talk and interactive demonstration on Wednesday, September 1 from 7:00-8:30PM at Kocoon Spa Lounge.

RSVP: kocooninfo@kocoonspalounge.com

From September 1st-19th, 2010, you can also sign up for private sessions and the following workshops:

• Private Session: Energy therapy, Tarot cards reading, pendulum consultation
• Tarot Cards Workshop
• Pendulum Workshop
• Spiritual Development Workshop
• Meditation Class to train your 6th Sense

LumDimSaying: Happiness

“Happiness is not a destination, it’s a journey.

Happiness is not tomorrow, it is now.

Happiness is not a dependency, it is a decision.

Happiness is what you are, not what you have.”

- Author Unknown

May we all be choose happiness in every waking moment of our lives.

Thank you to Asupa Motuapuaka for introducing me to these words of wisdom.

*What is a LumDimSaying? A quote I find worth noting. And sharing.

Sundays on Top with Syndicate’s Dan Stephenson

Sunshine – check.

Music – check.

Drinks – check.

BBQ – check.

If that’s not enough reasons for you to come out, Syndicate’s Dan ‘the man’ Stephenson will be on the DJ decks with his “super eclectic music selection”! Expect live musical surprises from some old and new friends, and of course, the one and only, DJ Patrick Yu, will be playing some Sunday Soundtracks.

What more could you want on a lazy Sunday afternoon?

• Date: Sunday, August 29
  
• Time: 4PM-late
• Location: Kokomo
  

LumDimSummary: Hatsune’s 9 Year Birthday Bash

After a month of rallying and putting the word out calling anyone and everyone who loves Hatsune to come out and show their love and support for this beloved restaurant group, we were joined by over 450 friends and fans in celebrating our 9 year anniversary party.

Gathering over free-flow sake, cocktails, legendary sushi rolls, brilliant sumo wrestling entertainment and Japanese drumming shows along with old school tracks courtesy of DJ Patrick Yu, Hatsune’s 9 year party exceeded not only our max capacity but our expectations.

On behalf of Alan Wong and the entire Hatsune Team, I want to give a giant bear hug and sincerely thank everyone for their continued support and for making Hatsune a Beijing legend.  It was an overwhelming turn-out, thank you to everyone for making this party such a memorable event!

What’s next for Hatsune?

Get ready for an awesome new Hatsune menu coming soon featuring new salads, new steak and seafood dishes along with over a dozen new sushi rolls including the five winners of the Hatsune sushi contest (click here to view winners).

LumDimSum Snapshots of Hatsune’s 9 Year Anniversary Party:

Hatsune Sushi Winners Pose with their winning rolls:

Hatsune sushi winners pose with Alan (L to R: Lexie, Charles, Max, Lisa, Alan & Candy)

Japanese Drum Show:

Some Serious Sumo Wrestling Action:

Hatsune Friends & Family:

Hatsune Contest Winners Announced!

Out of the 15 entries I received, Alan and I decided there were too many good creations to choose from so we selected our top 5 favorite.

Officially introduced at Hatsune’s EPIC 9 Year Anniversary Party last night, let me announce the winning sushi rolls from Hatsune’s sushi roll contest.

A BIG thank you to everyone who took the time to submit their genius creations, and for anyone who has always wanted to make their dream roll a reality, feel free to submit me more suggestions as we will continue to add to Hatsune’s ever-growing list of delicious sushi rolls. (contact me directly: kristen@lumdimsum.com).  Winning roll creations will be rewarded with a complimentary dinner for two including your new creation, RMB 1,000 Hatsune gift card and a lifetime of bragging rights.

Without further ado, let me present these incredible new additions to Hatsune’s new menu (in no particular order as each of these creations are all winners!):

1.  Flory Hand Roll by Charles Chan

Shiso mint leaf, scorched salmon and raw quail egg with black tobiko

Flory Hand Roll is made for an adventurous palate

2. Megatron Roll by Lisa Qin

Tempura jalapeno, spicy tuna, masago topped with avocado, chopped spicy unagi and shichimi chili powder

Megatron guarantees to knock your senses out with some serious spice!

3.   candy&caviar Roll by Candy Lin

A creation by candy&caviar fashion label: deep fried sweet potato, crab salad, avocado and cucumber topped with yellowtail, wasabi mayo and caviar

candy&caviar roll is the perfect balance of playful purity and dark sophistication

4. Maximus Prime Roll by Maxime Pourrat

Prime Rib Steak Tartare and avocado rolled with sweet amaebi shrimp sashimi

Upgraded Deluxe Version: Kobe beef steak tartare and avocado rolled with live lobster sashimi

Maximus Prime is the ultimate roll that will take you to the max!

5. Lollipop Handroll Trio by Lexie Morris

#1: Filled with sweet coconut rice and slices of mango and papaya, garnished with twists of lime and grated coconut

#2: Filled with black sesame ice cream, garnished with toasted black sesame seeds and sliced kiwi

#3: 2 blended mini vanilla cupcakes with lollipop garnish

Hatsune Winners from L to R: Lexie, Charles, Max, Candy & Lisa

Cheers with Cava: Spanish Wine Tasting

Hosted by MPC Wines and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, enjoy 4 pours of selected Spanish wines paired with Spanish tapas from 7:30PM-9:30PM on Thursday, Aug.26 at the Westin Chaoyang.

Learn about the exotic wines from Tierra de Granada, the sweet crispiness of our cavas, or the mineral and peach notes of Spain’s most representative white: albariño. A unique opportunity to explore and compare the top Spanish wine regions.

Event Details:

• Date: Thursday, 26th August, 2010
• Time: 19:30-21:30PM
• Wines: Cava Oriol Rosell Rosé (90 pts RP), Cava 1+1:3 (87 pts RP), Lagar de Bouza (Albariño), Almaraes (Tierra del Norte de Granada)
• Price: 100 RMB net. Includes 4 pours of selected wines from Spain plus Tapas to pair the wines.

• Location: MIX @ The Westin Chaoyang (7 North Dongsanhuan Road Tel: 5922-8880)

LumDimSummary: Indulged for a Cause @ ROOM

Beijing Foodies 2 Year Birthday Bash was my very first time dining at ROOMbeijing and needless to say, I was absolutely blown away!

When I signed up for this event, I was stoked to see such a good valued meal – a 3-course menu + 2 glasses of wine for only RMB 150 per person. With 3 dishes listed under starters, mains and 2 desserts, I was expecting everyone to pick and choose their selections out of the set menu but then every single item on the menu came out family-style so we got to try everything!

For starters, we were served a 42-ingredient salad, tuna tartar with avocado and Italian ham with arugula salad.  While I was most intrigued to try the 42-ingredient salad, the tuna tartar won me over with the giant chunks of avocado and marinade for the tuna.

For mains, the rack of lamb and BBQ pork noodles were both tasty, but the star dish of the night was by far the Whole Roasted Baby Chicken.  Slow-cooked and soaked in whiskey for 24 hours, the chicken was incredibly tender and juicy and I was also a big fan of the sticky rice.

Ending on a sweet note, the ti-ROOM-isu was a giant block of goodness and the Milk Chocolate Mousse Bars were attached to a pile of POP Rocks!  Been ages since I’ve had pop rocks crackling in my mouth; it was such an unexpected treat!

LumDimSum Snapshots of the 8-dish Meal by ROOM:

OVERALL:

Serving 8 amazing dishes all family style, I applaud ROOM for offering this incredibly generous menu selection, for their very professional and efficient service for a packed house of 152 hungry diners, and hats off to owner Brian McKenna for doubling the total funds raised (RMB 12,759.70 + $50CND) with proceeds all donated to the featured charity group of this event: Compassion for Migrant Children (CMC).

This dinner was such a treat, I’d like to give a shout out and say thank you to Xixi Cheng & the BJ Foodies Group for organizing such a spectacular dinner event!

Review of ROOMbeijing: 301-302, 3/F, PARK LIFE, Beijing Yintai Center, 2 Jianguomenwai Street, 建国门外大街2号, 银泰中心3层 , Tel: 8517-2033

Best Part:

• Chef Brian McKenna’s innovative food creations and playful dishes. This is definitely a place for major foodies who appreciate creativity.
• You can count on quality ingredients and beautiful presentation.
• Very professional waitstaff and service was surprisingly efficient for a relatively new restaurant.
• Table set-up is as innovative as their cuisine – they have submerged lazy susan’s!  Each setting also has a unique utensil holder that fits everything from your chopsticks, fork, knife and spoon to your dessert utensils when you flip it over!  Love little details like that.  Very creative.
• The bathrooms are AWESOME.  My favorite part was the illusion mirrors ie. the “skinny” lengthening mirror.

Comments:

• This BJ Foodies 2 Year Birthday Bash was my first dining experience at ROOM, so my impressions of the food, decor and service may be unique to the average dining experience.  And while the 8 dish set menu + 2 glasses of wine was a steal at RMB 150, I have no idea what that price would have been normally.  But overall, in terms of food, ROOM delivered beyond expectations, the staff was very professional and everyone seemed to have a great night!
• While I liked the sofas and was a BIG fan of the table set-up (lazy susan & utensil holder), I was not a fan of the colorful chairs, the colorful walls and the giant, vibrant posters that look like movie advertisements.  I felt like I was sitting in a kindergarten classroom.

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

• Food: 9
• Atmosphere: 6
• Service: 9
• Overall Experience: 8

LumDimSum Snapshots of this BJ Foodies event:

Countdown: 3 Days Until Hatsune’s 9 Year Celebration!

Hatsune Friends & Fans:

Don’t forget it’s Hatsune‘s 9 year anniversary party on Aug. 25 from 9PM-onwards.

The more the merrier, so please feel free to help me spread the word and invite all your friends to join the fun!!

If you can make it, please RSVP with me directly: kristen@lumdimsum.com.

Event details here:

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.

    * Date: Wednesday, August 25
    * Time: From 9PM-1AM
    * Location: Hatsune Sanlitun Village
    * Tickets: RMB 150 per person
    * Reservations: kristen@lumdimsum.com

LumDimSummary: Migas Soft & Grand Openings

A newly opened Spanish restaurant on the 6th floor of Nali Patio, Migas celebrates their restaurant opening with both a private soft opening party on Wednesday, August 18 and a grand opening launch party on Friday, August 20th.

Despite the pouring rain on Wednesday night, Migas still managed to pack the house serving everyone Spanish wines and cava (sparkling Spanish wine) together with a wide selection of giant Spanish and Mediterranean tapas.

While the rooftop lounge opened this weekend, the restaurant will officially be opening on Tuesday, August 24, 2010.

• Address: 6/F, Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun North Road, 三里屯北街81号那里花园6层
• Tel: 5208-6061

Snapshots of Migas’ Invite-Only Soft Opening Party on Wednesday, Aug. 18:

Rooftop Lounge Opening Party on Friday, August 20:

Migas Grand Opening Party

After a soft-opening party on Wednesday, Migas launches its grand opening party in style TONIGHT with Riviera Events getting the word out:

“Expect some beautiful people, champagne, cocktails, fine food and quality house music from the famous DJ Betoko (get physical) !”

Party starts 6PM-late.

Date: Friday, August 20, 2010

Location: 6th floor of Nali Patio, Sanlitun

Check it out:

Rock Out This Weekend at Max Star Music Festival

If you haven’t left work early this week to head down to Ditan Park to check out Max Star Music Festival, then make sure you head down this weekend to check out live sets from the country’s top rock bands from Omnipotent Youth Society (Wang Neng Qu Nian), Pet Conspiracy, New Pants, Brain Failure, Carsick Cars, Twisted Machine and Rustic.

Visit www.t3.com.cn or call 400 818 3333/6406 8888 for tickets.

• Time: 4PM-late

• Price: Fri-Sun 80RMB; 60RMB (presale), 40RMB (students)

• Location: Ditan Park

• How to get there: subway to Lama Temple, walk west along the north side of the second ring, you will come to the south gate of Ditan park which is the closest gate to the main Stage. Also there’s an electro stage near the north gate.

Weekend Schedule:

August 20
Rock day 2

Alt Senior
Maze
The Bigger Bang
Si Wu
Omnipotent Youth Society
Subs
Pet Conspiracy
New Pants

August 21
Rock Day 3

Lao Ya & Band
Steely Heart
Ourself Beside Me
Nancheng Erge
Brain Failure
Carsick Cars
Twisted Machine
Xie Tianxiao

August 22
Rock day 4

The Reason
Velvet Road
DH & Chinese Hellcats
Tookoo
Zhang Mengmeng
Long Shen Dao
Yaksa
Tang Dynasty

Introducting: Wang Du’s Art Exhibition Opening Party

Hosted by Hadrien de Montferrand Gallery, check out the opening party for Wang Du’s “Top Secret – Flying Carpet III“ Art Exhibition on Saturday, August 21 from 3:00PM to 6:00pm.

Wang Du, a Chinese artist living in Paris, has been exhibited widely, including at the Paris National Museum of Modern Art, at the Venice Biennale and at the Hayward Gallery in London. His works are now part of important collections such as the Centre Pompidou.

All About Avocados

It’s unfortunate that avocados are so pricey in Beijing because they really do make everything taste better – avocados in sandwiches, avocados in salads and even avocados in sushi rolls!

It seems like anything on a restaurant menu that includes avocados will instantly catch my eye.

Here are some recent finds for all you avocado lovers:

Live Well‘s Chicken & Avocado Salad – rocket leaves, spinach and lettuce topped with cherry tomatoes, shredded chicken, thick slices of avocado and pine nuts (RMB 35):

Live Well's Chicken & Avocado Salad

Element Fresh’s Avocado Salad in their new summer menu selection features slices of avocado topped with greens soaked in an amazing balsalmic vinaigrette dressing (RMB 32).  Although you can’t see the avocados, I promise you they are there.  I realize this photo is not the most appealing, but this salad really exceeded my expectations and the dressing is definitely the selling point – the flavor is totally unique so good, you’re going to want to put it on everything else you may have ordered. My only gripe with this salad is that it was not bigger.

Element Fresh's Summer Menu Avocado Salad

And recently on my short trip to Malaysia, I discovered Avocado Smoothies!  I was a bit hesitant to order it, but it turned out to be a new favorite find!  Mixed with mangoes, coconut and condensed milk, avocados make a super smooth, refreshing smoothie!

When I ordered the avocado salad at Element Fresh, I also noticed the Vietnamese avocado smoothie (RMB 32 for small) on their summer menu.  After getting so excited to find avocado smoothies in Beijing, I was sorely disappointed with the result.  Instead of tasting like the smooth combination of avocados and condensed milk I had in Malaysia, I only tasted mint and more mint.  It had so much potential, and yet fell so short.

Instead of being a hit, Element Fresh’s Vietnamese Avocado Smoothie was a BIG MISS.  NOT recommended, but now I am determined to find a proper avocado smoothie in Beijing!  Mark my words, I will let you know once the mission is accomplished.

Element Fresh's Vietnamese Avocado Smoothie

Any tips or suggestions?  E-mail me directly: kristen@lumdimsum.com

Indulge for a Cause: BJ Foodies 2 Year Bash @ ROOM

Calling all Foodies -

Celebrate with BJ FOODIES Group as they celebrate their 2 year birthday bash@ ROOMbeijing.

What can you expect?

“Award winning recipes by Michelin star Chef Brian McKenna & a stunning menu of molecular creations & playful dishes.”

Cost: 150rmb + potential 1 hour of open bar drinks

MENU

STARTERS:

1. 42 Ingredient Salad – Slowly Cooked Egg
2. Tuna Tartar – Marinated avocado / Crisp potatoes
3. Salad of Italian Ham – Arugula / asparagus / vanilla dressing

MAIN COURSE:

1. Whole Roasted Baby Chicken – Glazed whisky & indo spices
2. Backed Rack of Australian Lamb – Coated in Dukkah & saffron
3. Chilli Bean Noodles – BBQ Pork & Apple salad

HAPPY ENDINGS:

1. Ti-ROOM-isu
2. Milk Chocolate POP tart – Flavors of raspberry & herbs

+ 2 glasses of grape juice (wine)

“Indulge for a Cause”

Event Details:

• Date: Sunday, August 22, 2010
• Time: 7:30-10:30
• Location: ROOMbeijing
• Address:

中国北京市朝阳区建国门外大街2号

北京银泰中心三层301-302 邮编: 100022

301-302, 3/F, PARK LIFE Shopping Centre, Beijing Yintai Centre

No. 2 Jianguomenwai Avenue, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China

• Cost: RMB 150 includes 3 course menu & drinks
• RSVP: On BJ Foodies Facebook Group Page, click here.

About BJ Foodies Group:

Organizing monthly group meals at about RMB 100/head with food/drinks included, this group of dedicated foodies is all about “satiating their inner-foodie appetites for good quality food, conversation & fine wining/sake-ing/cocktailing/beering while indulging for a cause.”

BJ FOODIES PURPOSE:
1. Just to eat a nice meal & catch up with real people & friends outside the clubbing-disease we all suffer from called Vics/Mix.
2. Opportunity to contribute our little bits to society while doing something we love – EATING. The Charity aspect is a supplementary & added bonus BUT NOT the main purpose of the group