Restaurant News: Time Zone 8 Sushi Bar & Q Mex

In case you missed my article last week on Time Zone 8′s newly opened sushi bar serving Hatsune Sushi (hoorah!), check it out here.

Still in soft opening, this back-to-basics exposed brick and cement design is already showcasing a basic menu including some of Hatsune’s classic sushi rolls disguised under new names. Example: their “Red Dinosaur” Roll is actually Hatsune’s legendary 119 Roll.

After a week of traveling in Southern China with the entire LumDimFamily, the first stop once we were back in Beijing was straight out to 798 Art District with two very specific goals: to show off the new Time Zone 8 Sushi Bar space to my Lum-tourage and seek out old propaganda posters for my brother to bring back home as souvenirs for his friends.

A true 798 expert, Time Zone 8 owner Robert Bernell not only gave us a tour of his new space, he shared his top picks for must-see exhibitions and sights in 798.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Time Zone 8 Sushi Bar: 

Time Zone 8 Sushi Bar Entrance Reception Area

Time Zone 8 Sushi Bar Dining Space (Now Open)

Time Zone 8 Sushi Bar Main Dining Room (Finishing Up Final Touches)

Time Zone 8 Sushi Bar

The new Sushi Bar space is tucked in just behind the original Time Zone 8 Western Restaurant and Bar area.

With the sun shining and their trademark bright yellow umbrellas open, the space was crammed packed even at 5PM in the late afternoon with a buzzing ambiance of happy diners and even the bar area was bustling! (See pic below) 

More exciting news in Beijing’s ever-growing restaurant scene:

Beijingers can look forward to the upcoming opening of Q Mex, a new project by the great people behind Q Bar.

“Q Bar owner Echo Sun was at the vanguard of bringing quality creative cocktails to Beijing; with Q Mex she will be building on her strengths, focusing her palette on nuanced pleasures of both food and drink.  The restaurant will feature a contemporary setting, innovative menu, and open kitchen showcasing gourmet Mexican food; the bar will feature an Agave-inspired bar design, a cool lounge setting, and Echo’s artistry in mixology, including refreshing variations on the margarita and one of the largest Tequila collections in Asia.”

- Chris Ruggles, Chief Marketing Officer of the Q Enterprises

The opening of Q Mex is planned for early June 2012 and they will be located just below Kro’s Nest, across from D Lounge in the Sanlitun Courtyard (South Sanlitun).

My mouth is already watering at the thought of sampling their scrumptious tacos, salsas, and tamales alongside some guaranteed-to-be-awesome-and-creative cocktails and margaritas.

Stay tuned for more updates!

A Spanish Gastronomic Wine Experience at Niajo

Previous Spanish Wine Dinner at TRB Feat. Ignace Lecleir

Last time this “Spanish Wine Dinner Visit” took place at Temple Restaurant Beijing where they introduced a phenomenal 5-course menu paired with 5 Spanish wines and a presentation of 5J Iberico ham.

Spanish Iberico Ham is Irresistible

Click here for LumDimSummary of A Spanish Visit at TRB.

This week, DS Wines brings this unique wine and dine event to Niajo Spanish restaurant serving a 10-course tasting menu featuring their new Spring/Summer Menu complemented by 5 Spanish wines explained by wine expert Alfonso Cabezas and let’s not forget to mention they will again feature the ever-popular 5J Iberian ham cutting demonstration.  A Spanish Dinner hosted at a Spanish Restaurant (versus a French Restaurant like TRB) is bound to be very authentically Spanish for all you traditionalists who believe “fusion” cuisine is a sacrilege.

Seating is limited, price is RMB 398 per person. To book your seat, email rsvp@niajo.com or call 135 2262 0132.

Event Details:

• Date: Thursday, May 10, 2012

• Time: Starts at 7PM

• Price: RMB 398

• Location: Niajo Spanish Restaurant

• Address: 3rd Floor Nali Huayuan (Nali Patio) 81 Sanlitun Beilu Chaoyang District 朝阳区三里屯北路81号那里花园三层

• RSVP:  rsvp@niajo.com or call 135 2262 0132

A Dose of Sample Pleasure by Jesse Rose & Oliver $

Presenting “Sample Pleasure” in Beijing for 1 Night Only at Haze

From Miami to LA, Zurich to Burmingham, Moscow to Berlin, Paris to Amsterdam, Lausanne to Tokyo, Jesse Rose & Oliver $ are literally traveling the world for the “Sample Pleasure” tour and stopping through Beijing for one night only at Haze Club on Saturday, May 5 (tomorrow night)!

Brought to you by M Agency and 110%, Jesse Rose, the man who helped spearhead the fidget house movement through his Dubsided and Made to Play labels, weaves a tapestry of eclectic house beats alongside Oliver $, who’s fresh off winning Beatport’s track of 2012 with the potent “Doin’ Ya Thing” which rightfully won the titles of ‘#1 Downloaded Song on Beatport,’ ‘#1 Most Charted Track of All Time’ and ‘Mixmag’s Top 10 Track of 2011′.

“Come watch Jesse Rose viciously throw down some dirty beats to jack a groove to and get ready for Oliver $ to bring his signature dirty groove!” - The M Agency

Here are a few videos to give you a taste of both Jesse Rose & Oliver $ on Youku.com:

Sound Cloud Bites:

Jesse Rose & Oliver $_Walkie Talkie_Dub

Jesse Rose & Oliver $_Park My Car

Two more videos can be seen here:

• Jesse Rose Documentary

• Oliver $ Video 

The party gets started thanks to DJ Saul D, Bitesize Buddha & Liz.

Tickets are RMB 120 (includes a bottle of Vedette Beer until supplies last) and Pre-sale tickets are RMB 80 at sendmetickets.com.

Event Details:

• Date: Saturday, May 5, 2012

• Time: 10PM to late

• Tickets: RMB 80 (Pre-Sale at sendmetickets.com) or RMB 120 at the door (includes a Vedette Beer)

• Location: Haze Night Club

• Address: 22 Guanghualu SOHO A101

• Website: Click here.

Step Back into Ancient China at Yao Qin 瑶琴

I first heard about Yao Qin 瑶琴 through a great e-newsletter I received ever-so-often called the Expatpackage (you can subscribe here to receive their witty and informative email updates). The way they praised Yao Qin as the perfect destination to bring out-of-town visitors made me all the more eager to try it out myself.

“Introducing Yao Qin. The interior feels like the China foreigners wish existed, with its stone sculptures, wood paneling, subdued lighting and well-spaced couches all giving a modern nod to the China of old. One can even order from an iPad (at least until it’s seized by authorities for trademark infringement).” – Expat Package

Recruiting a family of foodies, we made our way over to the little strip of restaurants across from Yu Yang Hotel.  The entrance is a massive scribed wooden wall which houses a two-story space. The first floor is a beautifully set-up tea room with well-lit block displays of ceramic and clay tea sets and a chunky wooden table top where I assume is used to pour their teas. This room was empty upon our arrival and exit, but I hope this room is functional.  It would be a shame if it was just an unused display for guests to walk past on their way up the stairs into the main restaurant dining area.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Yao Qin 瑶琴:

Wooden Scribed Entrance

Yao Qin’s First Floor Tea Room

The second floor was pretty desolate with only 2 tables of two and one other group of foreigners in the entire space. The space with spread out with loungey couch seating in the center dining space, a stage area for their regular seven-stringed guqin performance that takes place every day from 7-9PM, and an entire section of the restaurant devoted to tea pouring with a wall of traditional Chinese tea supplies behind a dedicated tea brewer sits at an elaborate wooden table.  As we were a bigger group of diners, we opted to sit in curtained booth seating encircling the exterior of the room.

Looking around, you can’t help but notice the details and efforts put forth by Yao Qin to recreate the feel of ancient China using old-fashioned décor in every corner of the restaurant.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Yao Qin Restaurant Decor:

Yao Qin specializes in Zhejiang cuisine. I’m not as familiar with this type of Chinese cuisine relative to others, but the presentation was elaborate and I was not expecting to be ordering dishes off an iPad screen. (Click here to see PDF for Chinese names of dishes recommended by Expat Package).

Most of the dishes were quite pricey ranging (RMB 40-200), but we selected a decent range of dishes and were most satisfied with the DIY crispy pork buns and mustard prawns.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Yao Qin’s Dishes:

Review of Yao Qin 瑶琴: No. 6 Xinyuan Xili Dongjie (diagonally across the street from Yu Yang Hotel) 朝阳区新源西里东街6号, (渔阳饭店北门的斜对面); Map: Click here. Tel: 8451-7877, 8451-2633

Best Part:

• The venue’s detailed decor is sure to impress out-of-town visitors with its “ancient China” feel

• Every evening from 7-9PM, Yao Qin features a lovely guqin performance on the restaurant’s centered stage. This adds an additional touch of authenticity and elegance to Yao Qin.

• The restaurant has a dedicated tea brewer who has an area I presume is his own “performance stage” devoted to the art of traditional Chinese tea.

• The bathroom sink faucets are lion heads. So badass.

Comments:

• This venue was recommended by Expat Package and although I was pleased to have checked it out, I was much less impressed with the food than with the restaurant decor and ambiance. The food was also beautifully presented, but everything was very pricey and really not that memorable.

• I can definitely imagine out-of-town visitors loving this place, but I would prefer to bring them to venues like Dali Courtyard for great Yunnan in a phenomenal courtyard setting or Karaiya Spice House for authentic Hunan food that makes this place a must-try destination whether you like spice or not.

• It was a shame how desolate the restaurant was. We went on a Thursday evening and there was really no one else there.

• Regardless that we were among the only diners in the entire restaurant, the service was painfully slow and rather unfriendly. No smiles, no encouragement, just the bare minimum or coming over when called and serving food as it come out of the kitchen. 
  

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

• Food: 6

• Atmosphere: 8

• Service: 6

• Overall Experience: 6

On the Hunt for Beijing’s Best Afternoon Tea: Sofitel

A Pyramid Set of Afternoon Tea by Sofitel Wanda Beijing

Another stop along my journey to uncover Beijing’s Best Afternoon Tea, LumDimSum and CityWeekend are ticking off the hotels one by one from afternoon tea at the Ritz Carlton Beijing to Park Hyatt, the third stop is to see how Sofitel Wanda fares in comparison.

The Sofitel Wanda Beijing branch is the flagship Sofitel in Asia Pacific region, which is why this branch is so lavish and grandiose with super-high ceilings, oversize décor and let’s not forget to mention that the first thing you see when you step inside is a finely crafted, $2 million set of three Swarovski peony flowers on the wall of the main hotel lobby.

Sofitel Wanda Beijing’s Mural of Three Swarovski Crystal Peony Flowers 

Once you manage to move your feet past the wall of giant Swarovski crystals and quite possibly one of the biggest bling-ed out chandeliers I’ve ever seen, hang a left (opposite to the reception area) and you step inside Sofitel’s Vous Lobby Lounge where you can enjoy afternoon tea all day every day from 7am-midnight.

Considering the Sofitel is a hotel with strong French influences, it’s understandable why Afternoon Tea wouldn’t be traditionally English in either the service time or the form it’s served in.

“The striking design draws on Sino-French influences and accentuates the strong cultural links between France and China reflected in the overall theme and décor.”  - Sofitel Wanda Beijing

LumDimSum Snapshots of Sofitel’s Vous Lounge: 

Afternoon Tea may be an English time-honored tradition, but creativity ought to still be encouraged, especially in a cosmopolitan city like Beijing.

Taking into consideration their diverse range of regular customers, Sofitel likes to keep things fresh and in season with an afternoon tea theme menu that changes each month. I was gutted to hear I just missed last month’s tea set, which was a fresh strawberries theme, incorporated luscious, giant strawberries in each of their savory and sweet snacks on display.  This month’s theme is Green Tea, which you will see explained below.

Although the next few months are yet to be confirmed, they anticipate the month of May to follow a Spanish theme serving sangria and margarita drink options and possibly even flying in a guest chef from Spain, who will be responsible for creating an authentic tapas menu.

With each afternoon tea set including a choice of green tea, English Breakfast tea or Coffee together with a pyramid of treats, the set is priced at RMB 198 for two people + 15% service tax.  This is considered moderately priced among Beijing’s afternoon tea sets at 5-star hotels for an afternoon tea set for two.

Beyond the ridiculously extravagant mural of Swarovski flowers, I was impressed with the plush furniture and I love the triple-tiered pyramid presentation of Vous Lounge’s afternoon tea.

Once again, my fellow taster and I varied in what we chose to sip on – he got a black coffee while I went for the featured Longjing tea set recommended by Sofitel’s PR manager Thomas Jouan. *Note that to order this Chinese speciality tea, the price would be inflated to RMB 258 + 15% service charge for two.

Sofitel’s Traditional Chinese Longjing Tea Set

Sofitel’s Coffee comes with three cookies

LumDimSum Breakdown of the Sofitel’s Afternoon Tea Pyramid:

Sofitel’s Triple-Layer Pyramid Afternoon Tea Set

Top Tier of Green Tea Panna Cottas:

Although I love drinking green tea, I generally avoid anything green tea-flavored including green tea ice cream, green tea, frappachinos, you get the idea. So I can safely say that I’ve never had Green Tea Panna Cotta before, but I was a big fan of this dessert. The green tea flavor was subtle and the panna cotta texture was perfectly creamy and light.  The twirl of white chocolate perched on top was a nice touch to complete this very well-executed dessert.

Middle Tier of Savory Snacks: 

We were off to a promising start with the green tea panna cotta, but the quality plummeted the next round.  None of these three savory canapes looked appetizing and, to be perfectly honest, they tasted even worse. Everything was stale and bland and although I generally will eat anything and everything you put in front of me, I didn’t take more than one bite out of each of these and that was just enough to get a taste to write it up for this review. It was all really low quality and I’m surprised that a 5-star hotel would allow this to be served to guests.

Cream Cheese with Pistachio Canape / Shrimp with Scallop Canape / Chicken Breast Sandwich

Bottom Tier of French Sweets:

I was slightly traumatized after the middle tier, but Sofitel was almost able to redeem itself with this bottom tier.  Back up to the same quality as the green tea panna cotta, these sweets were indulgently rich and excellently executed. Their macaroons are perfect and I was very much impressed with the green tea opera cake. The contrast of consistencies between the crispy wafer biscuit at the bottom with the soft cake and creamy chocolate mousse was a lovely compliment to each other. The only dessert I didn’t like was the green tea mousse with red bean cake. While it looked like it had a muffin consistency due to its exterior coat of powder, it was actually very slippery and disintegrated at your touch, which made it very difficult to even pick up.  A very odd dessert in my opinion, but Sofitel boasts this particular dessert as one of their most requested desserts as it is very popular among their Chinese clientele.

Green Tea Opera Cake / Green Tea Macaroon

Green Tea Mousse with Red Bean Cake / Green Tea Muffin

I am no Goldilocks, but I was secretly hoping that this third tea review (after trying the Ritz-Carlton and Park Hyatt) would be “just right”. To my dismay, this third try at Sofitel missed the mark and was not the “third charm” as I had hoped it would be.  The combination of indulgently rich French desserts paired with practically inedible savory snacks left both of us feeling sick to our stomach. I actually really liked the sweets that were served as I thought they were exceptionally well done, but it was just way too much sugar to stomach in one sitting.

And as it turns out, the reason behind the huge inconsistency in the quality of sweets vs. savory is that Sofitel’s French pastry chef follows a Lenotre standard for all desserts and bread and they have a different chef who is temporarily handling their savory canapes until their new executive chef comes in. So until their new chef comes in, I would avoid trying any of the savory options in the afternoon tea set.

That being said, although I may not recommend ordering the afternoon tea set, I would still encourage interested parties to visit Sofitel’s sumptuous Vous Lounge for at least a drink. The entire lounge spewing luxury out of every corner was impressive on its own, but with the added touch of soft lighting just after sunset, I turned camera-crazy with each shot coming through picture perfect.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Sofitel’s Vous Lounge by Night:

Review of Sofitel’s Afternoon Tea: Located west of Wanda Plaza on Jianguo Lu, 93 Jianguo Road , Tower C Wanda Plaza , Chaoyang District Tel: 8599 6666. Afternoon Tea available daily, 7:00am-midnight

Best Part:

• The triple-tier pyramid display is slick and well-designed
• Stick to their sweets as their chef for all sweet treats served follows the famous French Lenotre standard for pastry and breads. 
• The sumptuous French dessert spread is exceptional, try their macaroons.  
• Atmosphere is especially quiet, I don’t even recall hearing any background music now that I think about it, but Sofitel did mention that they will have someone playing the piano during some events. 
• The menu switches out once per month so it never gets old and there is always a reason to come back and try something new. I definitely would have liked to try the strawberry themed menu.
• Afternoon tea at Sofitel is offered all day, everyday. Literally, you can have it any time between 7AM and midnight. 

Comments:

• There is a huge lack of consistency just within the triple-tiered pyramid. I’ve confirmed the savory snacks are done by a different chef than the French pastry chef and it’s very obvious. The sweets are very well done while the middle layer of savory snacks were practically inedible. Really should not be good enough to serve to customers. 
• While Sofitel’s Vous Lounge is lovely, it is clear that the afternoon tea set is just used to compliment the available menu for in-house guests and business men chatting away rather than something you’d go out of your way for. 
• Sofitel’s afternoon tea is more about the presentation of serving something tall and elegant to impress guests or business partners rather than honoring the tradition of a proper English afternoon tea ritual. 
• Ambiance was quiet on a Friday afternoon with few people throughout the lounge. 
• I hate to say it, but out of the three afternoon tea sets I’ve tried, Sofitel’s afternoon tea stands as the worst of the bunch (Ritz-Carlton and Park Hyatt).  The sweets were good, but the savory snacks really did kill the entire spread beyond the point of redemption.  I hope they get their new exec chef ASAP!  

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

• Food: 5
• Atmosphere: 7
• Service: 7
• Overall Experience: 5

• Click here for previous review of the Ritz-Carlton Beijing’s Afternoon Tea.  

• Click here for previous review of the Park Hyatt’s Afternoon Tea.

Fear not, LumDimSum is fiercely determined to push forward on my mission to hunt down Beijing’s Best Afternoon Tea!

Stay tuned for more Afternoon Tea reviews to come…!

Rechenberg Spring/Summer ’12 Runway Fashion Show

Presenting Rechenberg’s Spring/Summer 2012 Collection (photography by Jennie Kang)

I first had the privilege of meeting courtier designer Kathrin von Rechenberg almost two years ago in an interview set up by 360fashion.net. It was a chance to sit down, face-to-face with Kathrin herself and gain a better understanding of the painstakingly meticulous detail that goes into each of her creations and the value of her signature fabric, tea silk. A rare and unique fabric, tea silk dates back to the Ming dynasty where the creation process alone is a 30-40 step process used with organic plant ingredients and uses nature’s very own water, sun, and sand to create it’s natural luster, that only becomes more beautiful with time. (Click here for LDS’s previous introduction of Rechenberg Fashion Line)

“Sublety and understatement are the hallmarks of Kathrin von Rechenberg’s style, combined with the technical excellence and meticulous attention to detail that are evident in every shaped, supple garment produced in her Beijing atelier.”

Originally from Munich, Kathrin von Rechenberg was trained under top Paris couturiers such as Jean-Louis Scherrer, Emanuelle Khan, Christian Dior, Christian Lacroix, and Chanel.

Having her own label in Beijing for over a decade, Kathrin von Rechenberg most recently released her Spring/Summer 2012 Collection at the Residence of the Embassy of Luxembourg.

The Residence of the Embassy of Luxembourg

Rechenberg presented her latest couture Spring/Summer 2012 collection in the refined gardens of the charming Embassy residence. Her newest collection features “gossamer light” fabrics – stone-washed silk, blends of silk jersey with linen, transparent tea-silk organza and her trademark signature fabric, tea-silk.

“This collection is all about innovation. Directional seams, contrasted over-stitching and fine leather piping all find their place in the latest couture collection. The colour palette is rich in contrasts drawn from the earth and sky. Cinnamon and powder blue extend to shades of the desert…to bright Summery orange and cool blue.” - Rechenberg Spring/Summer 2012 Collection Press Release 

Rechenberg’s style is consistent throughout her collections and this most recent runway is no exception. Stylishly simple and elegant, her brand’s faithful followers will appreciate that this collection carries all the trademark signatures that define the Rechenberg brand.

Rechenberg Spring/Summer 2012 Runway Fashion Show:

(Photography courtesy of Jennie Kang)

Rechenberg’s Invited Guests & Friends (Center: Photographer Jennie Kang)

Visit Rechenberg at their studio to take a closer look at this new SS 2012 collection

Rechenberg Atelier Showroom (by appointment only):

• Address: Xinyuan Xili Dongjie (yard behind building no.12), Chaoyang  District, Beijing

• tel: 0086 10 64631788

• m: 0086 136 81294294

• Email: info@rechenberg.cn

Eat Hatsune in 798: The New Time Zone 8 Sushi Bar

Anago Tempura with Salt n Peppa Dip

Have you heard the news?!?  The new Time Zone 8 Sushi Bar will be serving up Hatsune sushi in 798 Art District!

A collaboration between Hatsune Restaurant Group owner Alan Wong and Time Zone 8′s Robert Bernell, these guys are bringing the F&B scene in 798 to new heights.

I only recently met Robert at Alan’s Chefs Dinner at Hatsune Guanghua Lu branch a few weeks back and he is easily one of the most friendly, easy-going guys I’ve met in a long time. His story from Texas to China is fascinating, but a brief introduction goes something like this-

Originally from Texas, Robert has been in Beijing since 1995 and before that he spent 2 years in Nanjing and 3 years in Hong Kong. He originally opened the ever-popular Time Zone 8 in 798 Art District as a bookstore that happened to serve coffee (the trend back then linked coffee to bookstores), but people wanted food so the cafe quickly expanded into a full-blown Western restaurant. Last year, Time Zone 8 took it up another notch and evolved the space to also include a bar.

From this breakdown, it’s easy to see the reasoning behind Time Zone 8′s ever-evolving expansion, but to jump from a bookstore cafe to a Western restaurant and bar to serving Hatsune sushi is a big leap.

When I asked Robert about his choice to add sushi and how he linked up with Alan Wong of the Hatsune Restaurant Group, here’s his story in his own words -

RB: I’ve always been a fan of sushi, but when I discovered Hatsune, I discovered sushi rolls and what contemporary Japanese cuisine and sushi rolls was all about. My love affair with Japanese food really caught fire with Hatsune.

LDS: And how did you link up with Alan Wong?

RB: When we set up Time Zone 8′s bar and restaurant, I worked with Bill Gibb, previously the Executive Chef at Capital Club who was an outstanding chef and, in my opinion, one of the best in Beijing. Just from this experience, I knew that I needed to work with the best of the best so I tracked down Alan and kept after him until he eventually relented and agreed to work together with me to make this sushi bar.

LDS: Can you share your concept behind the new Time Zone 8 Sushi Bar?

RB: If you look at restaurant, it’s a reductive design of just brick and cement. I wanted to create a very simple, back-to-basics and unpretentious environment that can showcase and really give justice to Alan’s incredible food. I wanted the food to speak for itself and not create any noise that might distract from the food.

LDS: What are you most excited about this new expansion of Time Zone 8?

RB: The food that Alan has created is approaching art, if not art itself.

LDS: How do you think this restaurant will affect 798 Art District?

RB: It brings diversity to 798 for the first time. There must be 35 cafes that are all cookie-cutter copies of each other and a few less-than-stellar examples of Chinese food, but not much diversity when it comes to the art of food so I’m hoping this will lead to other varieties of food and something approaching the art of food in other parts of 798.

LDS: Still in soft opening period, are you already taking walk-in customers today? 

RB: Starting today (Monday, April 30), we’re going to step on balloons and light some incense. We still don’t have our printed menu, but people can come in and order from the basic menu. Our new sushi bar is in the back of Time Zone 8, in the same building around the west side, but it also has its own entrance.  

There you have it! Hatsune sushi has made its way to 798 thanks to Time Zone 8!

Stay tuned for a full LDS Review of Time Zone 8′s new Sushi Bar.

Time Zone 8 Restaurant Details:

• Address: 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, 798 Art District, Chaoyang district 朝阳区酒仙桥路4号

• Tel: 5978 9917

• Website: http://www.timezone8.com/osc/

Last 2 Days to Vote: CW Readers’ Choice Awards 2012

Last month saw theBeijinger’s 9th annual Reader’s Choice Restaurant Awards results which took everyone by surprise with underdog Home Plate Bar-B-Que beating out industry big heads Maison Boulud, Temple Restaurant Beijing (TRB) and Hatsune and totally sweeping the ceremony in every category possible from Restaurant of the Year (Non-Chinese), Restaurant Personality of the Year (Seth Grossman), Best New Restaurant of the Year (Non-Chinese), Best American, and Outstanding for Best Value for Money. Well done to a venue that deserves massive credit for serving the world’s best BBQ pulled-pork sandwich of all time.

*Voting is underway for theBeijinger’s 2012 Reader Bar & Club Awards until May 9th.

Following theBejinger’s Restaurant Awards was Time Out’s Food Awards 2012 just last week where high-end French legend Maison Boulud dominated in all overall categories – Reader’s Choice Restaurant (the only category foodies can vote on), Best International Fine Dining, Best Service, Chef of the Year (Brian Reimer) and Restaurant of the Year.  Other honorable mentions include Temple Restaurant Beijing (TRB) for Best New Restaurant, Runner up for Restaurant of the Year and Best International Fine Dining, Barolo at the Ritz-Carlton for Runner up for Chef of the Year for Gianluca Visani, Best Service and Best International Fine Dining, and Migas for Best Business Lunch and Best International Casual Dining. Click here for full list of 15 restaurant awards.

That leaves the last expat magazine’s Reader’s Choice Awards – CityWeekend’s 10th Annual Reader’s Choice Awards featuring 28 dining categories and 11 nightlife categories.

“The F&B scene has changed immensely in 10 years and we’ve changed along with it. We’re the only game in town that has its own proprietary voting site which makes it easier for us to identify and weed out spammers. We don’t create a million categories so that everyone gets an award. We limit the number of categories so that a win really means something. Cast your vote below and make your voice heard.” – The CityWeekend Team

CityWeekend.com.cn’s Online Voting Ballot

With only a few days left (voting closes at midnight on April 30th), this year is already looking very competitive with Cityweekend reporting that there could potentially be “a lot of upsets in the making”.

Click here for article update on Reader Awards categories.

Here’s how CW’s Categories are looking thus far:

• Best Tex Mex/Mexican: Avocado Tree is in the lead

• Best Italian: Barolo and Cepe needs to watch out for La Pizza creeping up in the votes

• Best Beijing Duck: Da Dong and Duck de Chine are going head-to-head with just one vote separating the two

• Best American: Home Plate and Element Fresh are close ties

• Best Dessert: Divina and Comptoirs are inches apart from the rest of their competition

• Best Service: GungHo! is shining through the rest of the competition

• Best Wine: Toss up between Enoterra and Modo

• Best New Restaurant: Could it be Susu or Temple Restaurant Beijing (TRB)

• DJ of the Year: Could Eddie LV be stealing DJ Blackie’s title? 

• Best Nightlife Newcomer: Haze or Spark? 

• Who will take the title for Best Restaurant of the Year?  Being the only category without suggested options, everyone is fair game. Obviously you can see who I’ve entered into my ballot…

Strongly disagree with the way these categories are looking?

Here’s your chance to sway the votes in your favor – Spread the word and VOTE!  Just go to this link to CW’s 2012 Readers Choice Awards Ballot.

Happy Voting! 

 Finals Days of Voting for CW’s Readers’ Choice Awards!

Sunday Salon: Chu Yibing’s China Cello Philharmonic

This Sunday, The Bookworm and Time Out Magazine are teaming up to host one of the most influential cellists in the world, Chu Yibing and the China Cello Philharmonic (Chu and his group of 5 prodigy cellists) as part of this month’s feature Sunday Salons, an interactive lecture series that takes you “behind the music” of China.

“Chu Yibing began playing aged seven, studied in Paris aged seventeen and later became the principal cellist of the Basel Symphony Orchestra, Europe’s second highest-paid cello position. Today, as the Central Conservatory of Music’s Cello Department head, he leads China’s first and only permanent chamber ensemble, the China Cello Philharmonic.” - Time Out Beijing

Chu’s crazy talented group of six cellists regularly tour the world and they are the first Chinese chamber ensemble to play for Chinese President Hu Jintao and the US President Barack Obama.  

The chance to see this ensemble play within the intimate walls of The Bookworm is a very special privilege and a rare chance you won’t want to miss!

*Don’t forget to bring in this month’s copy of Time Out Beijing and entrance ticket is reduced to only RMB 20 (which also includes a free drink courtesy of The Bookworm)!

Event Details:

• Date: Sunday, April 29

• Time: 7:30PM

• Location: The Bookworm

• Address: Sanlitun Nanjie, 三里屯南街4号楼

• Tickets: 30RMB; 20RMB (if you bring in this month’s copy of Time Out Beijing)

China Cello Philharmonic Led by Chu Yibing (far right)

The Month of May is Music Festival Madness

 Music Festival Madness: Strawberry Festival 2011

Get ready for a month of pure music madness, which starts this weekend on Sunday, April 29.

It sucks for most of us who have to work on Saturday, but we are quickly rewarded with a 3-day holiday. Last year’s May holiday saw three music festivals: Strawberry, Midi and newcomer China Music Valley (CMV) which is where I rocked out to Little Boots, Editors, and KT Tunstall.  Click here for my LDS Summary of last year’s triple festival line-up.

This year is even more manic with 4 music festivals happening across the 3-day May holiday followed by CMV Music Festival on May 18 & 19th with big international headliners including one of my favorite bands, Friendly Fires.

Before I get ahead of myself, I’ll focus firstly on what’s most imminent: the upcoming festival line-up for this year’s May 2012 holiday in Beijing (Midi and Strawberry will both also take place in Shanghai).

LumDimSum Breakdown of May Holiday’s Music Festivals:

1. Strawberry Music Festival

The biggest of the four festivals, Strawberry Music Festival has a total of 8 stages, covers the biggest area and will most definitely attracts the biggest crowds. Created by Modern Sky (who will also be celebrating their 15th anniversary), Strawberry has the broadest range of music with the biggest international headliners with Italian twin brothers, Blonde Redhead, headlining as the indie favorite followed by Goose and Laura Jansen (US).

Strawberry Festival Headliners Blonde Redhead Perform on Day 1

Located the same spot as last year at Tongzhou Channel Park, there will be eight stages spread out including the main Strawberry Stage, a Love Stage (pop, alternative, reggae), a School of Rock Stage, a Planet Stage, an Overload Stage (metal) and an electronic stage.

Strawberry Main Stage

Highlights of Strawberry: Day 1: Hanggai, Re-Tros (重塑雕像的权利), Blonde Redhead (all three on main Strawberry stage) and Jeans Team (Planet Stage); Day 2: Goose and Queen Sea Big Shark (strawberry stage), General Elektrik and Tahiti 80 (Planet Stage), DJ Bite-Size Buddha and DJ Spooky (electronic stage); Day 3: Brain Failure, Carsick Cars, Laura Jansen (US), Xie TianXiao 谢天笑 (all on main Strawberry stage), Hedgehog (Love Stage), The On-Fires (AU), Fever Machine (US) and Pitchturner (DE) (all three on Planet Stage), and DJ Slide (electronic stage)

Here’s the 3-Day Strawberry Line-Up:

Day 1: Sunday, April 29

Strawberry Stage
13:30-14:10 Da Bang
14:30-15:10 Xi Ban (戏班)
15:30-16:10 Hanggai (杭盖)
16:30-17:10 Cao Fang (曹方)
17:30-18:30 Re-Tros (重塑雕像的权利)
19:00-20:00 Blonde Redhead (US)
20:30-21:30 New Pants (新裤子)

Love Stage
12:30-13:00 Twinkle Star
13:30-14:00 CNdY
14:30-15:10 Is and Ism（JP）
15:50-16:30 Waa Wei 魏如萱（TW）
17:10-17:50 Zhou Yunpeng（周云蓬）
18:30-19:10 Convenience Store（便利商店）
19:50-20:30 Reflector（反光镜）

Planet Stage
13:00-13:30 Streets Kill Strange Animals（街道杀死奇怪的动物）
14:00-14:30 Wang Shengnan（王胜男）
15:10-15:50 Killersoap（HK）
16:30-17:10 The Mystery Lights (US)
17:50-18:30 Arms and Legs (US)
19:10-19:50 Kulu （梁晓雪）
20:30-21:10 Jeans Team（DE）

Overload Stage
15:00-15:40 Tarot Saint（塔罗圣徒）
16:00-16:40 Nuclear Fusion G （核聚变G)
17:00-17:40 Bloody Climax（血腥高潮）
17:40-18:40 A.J.K (玉麟军 )
19:00-20:00 Voodoo Kungfu （零壹）
20:20-21:20 Tomahawk （战斧）

Electronic Stage
14:00-15:00 Jiongjiong
15:00-16:00 Nassdak (ES)
16:00-17:00 Pipesmokers (IT)
17:00-18:00 DJ Thome Tomato (US)
18:00-19:00 Elvis T (TW)
19:00-20:00 DJ Wengweng
20:00-21:30 Strip Steve (FR)

 Day 2: Monday, April 31

Strawberry Stage
13:30-14:10 Namo（南无）
14:30-15:10 No Fish (非鱼）
15:30-16:10 Perdel （逃跑计划）
16:30-17:10 Yiko (曾轶可)
17:30-18:30 Goose（BEL）
19:00-20:00 Zhang Chu（张楚）
20:30-21:30 Queen Sea Big Shark  (后海大鲨鱼)

Love Stage
12:30-13:00 Fuzzy Mood
13:30-14:00 Hogan (IRL)
14:30-15:10 AV Okubo (AV大久保 ）
15:50-16:30 A-BOYS
17:10-17:50 Shuang Zi Yu Ci （爽子与瓷）
18:30-19:10 熊宝贝（TW）
19:50-20:30 Second Hand Rose（二手玫瑰）

Planet Stage
13:00-13:30 Dúo De Guitarras Umbral (UY)
14:00-14:30 Trebunie-Tutki Family (PL)
15:10-15:50 EKEE & Zarahn（HK）
16:30-17:10 Party Horse（UK）
17:50-18:30 General Elektriks（FR）
19:10-19:50 旅行团
20:30-21:10 Tahiti 80（FR）

Overload Stage
15:00-15:40 Death Pack（死亡契约）
16:00-16:40 Dark Haze （霾晦）
17:00-17:40 Crack （裂缝）
17:40-18:40 Die From Sorrow （郁 ）
19:00-20:00 Hades（冥界）
20:20-21:20 Suffocated （窒息）

Electronic Stage
14:00-15:00 Peipei
15:00-16:00 Liz
16:00-17:00 Kai Ze
17:00-18:00 Boflex (US)
18:00-19:00 Bite-Size Buddha (US)
19:00-20:00 Do Hits
20:00-21:30 DJ Spooky (US)

 Day 3: Tuesday, May 1

Strawberry Stage
13:30-14:10 Candy Monster（糖果怪兽）
14:30-15:10 Steely Heart
15:30-16:10 Brain Failure （脑浊）
16:30-17:10 Carsick Cars
17:30-18:30 Crowd Lu 卢广仲（TW）
19:00-20:00 Laura Jansen（US）
20:30-21:30 XTX（谢天笑）

Love Stage
12:30-13:00 Wanderlust
13:30-14:00 Rat Pac (浩子)
14:30-15:10 Josie Ho (何超仪) & The Uni Boys（HK）
15:50-16:30 LURE （诱导社）
17:10-17:50 Ivana Wong 王菀之（HK）
18:30-19:10 Huang Yida 黄义达（SG）
19:50-20:30 Hedgehog (刺猬)

Planet Stage
13:00-13:30 CAssette
14:00-14:30 范世琪&张萱
15:10-15:50 The On Fires(AU)
16:30-17:10 The Fever Machine(US)
17:50-18:30 Tree Music (树）
19:10-19:50 Haya (乐团)
20:30-21:10 Pitchtuner（DE）

Overload Stage
15:00-15:40 Surprise
16:00-16:40 641
17:00-17:40 Four Five (肆伍)
17:40-18:40 Gear & Eraser (齿轮橡皮）
19:00-20:00 Twisted Machine （扭曲机器）
20:20-21:20 Liquid Oxygen (液氧罐头）

Electronic Stage
14:00-15:00 Mo Bass
15:00-16:00 Donky Tonk (UK)
16:00-17:00 Slide (UK)
17:00-18:00 Oshi (FR)
18:00-19:00 Microgram (IL)
19:00-20:00 Psytrance Pete (UK)
20:00-21:30 Djedjotonic (FR)

**Full Line-Up should include Acapella Stage and Campus Stage, click here for complete list.

Tickets: You can score presale tickets from ¥60/day via Piao.com.cn, Tel: 400-610-3721. Or, buy tickets at the door. RMB 100 per day or RMB 240 for 3 Day Pass.
Getting there: Take the Batong Subway Line to Tongzhou Beiyuan. There, you will find Modern Sky free shuttle buses, which depart every 20-30 minutes between 10am and 6pm. Return buses are available every 20 minutes from 6-10:30 pm with the last bus at 10:30pm. Alternatively, you can take a cab to Tongzhou Canal Park (通州运河公园) from the Tongzhou Beiyuan stop for about RMB30.

2. Midi Music Festival 2012

The oldest of the bunch, Midi Music Festival is in its 13th year and this year, they’ve moved from Haidian Park to The Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park off of Line 15 and nearby the airport. A legendary rock festival started by Midi School of Music, this festival has the most loyal following. Never have I seen to many punk rock kids with crazy mohawks in one location.

Wonder what’s with the profile of the man wearing a gas mask? It’s actually quite similar to the face mask I wear biking around Beijing and it’s calling attention to China’s growing environmental problem, particularly its poor air quality.

“The theme this year is ‘PM 2.5′ also called ‘lung particles’, refers to the particles less than or equal to 2.5 microns in diameter in the air. That’s less than 1/20 of a human hair! Although the earth’s atmospheric composition consists of very small quantities of PM2.5, it has an important affect on air quality and visibility. PM2.5 contains large amounts of toxic and hazardous substances, remain longer in the atmosphere allowing it to travel long distances and thus may have a greater impact on human health and air quality.  Avant-guarde artist Zhu Wei designed this year’s poster, describing a future scene where all people care about environment.” 

2012 Beijing Midi Music Festival will feature four stages – Tang, Song, Yuan and Qing (also the names of four of China’s long dynasties) with Tang and Song being the main stages and Yuan taking on as the electronic stage organized by the “Yen” electronic music label.  Qing is the stage dedicated to the winners of the Midi Campus Competition and weibo competition.

Here’s the 3-day Midi Festival Line-Up:

Day 1: Sunday, April 29

Tang Stage
12:00-13:00 VANS No Room For Rock Stars 纪录片首映记者会
13:30-14:00 Stolen 秘密行动
14:20-14:50 The Falling 堕天
15:10-15:40 待定
16:10-16:50 Zou You 左右
17:20-18:00 Useless ID（Isarel）
18:30-19:10 Twisted Machine 扭曲机器 
19:40-20:20 王勇独联体
20:50-21:30 Zhang Chu 张楚

Song Stage
13:00-13:30 Ego Fall 颠覆M
13:50-14:20 Wang Wei 王威
14:40-15:10 Logic Control 逻辑失控 
15:30-16:00 Slap 耳光
16:20-16:50 Goldcrush（Sweden）
17:10-17:40 No Fish 非鱼 
18:10-18:50 Suffocated 窒息 
19:20-20:00 La Souris Deglinguee (France)
20:30-21:10 Yaksa 夜叉

Clear Stage 
13:40-14:00 Summer Breeze
14:20-14:40 Perpetual Motion Machine 永动机
15:00-15:30 Pinocchio 匹诺槽
15:50-16:20 Why Lazy
16:40-17:10 The Power Powder 大粉
17:30-18:00 Shut up! Shut down!
18:20-18:50 Island Mood 岛屿心情
19:10-19:40 Lost 代凡与迷失乐队 
20:00-20:30 Dark Haze 霾晦
21:00-21:30 The Samans 萨满
22:00-22:30 R.W.F 瑞王坟

Yuan Stage
13:30-14:45 Liz
14:45-16:00 Jerryson
16:00-17:30 Ouyang
17:30-19:00 Blackie
19:00-20:30 Ben Huang
20:30-22:00 Mickey Zhang feat. Shao Feng 黄少峰

A Photo by Matthew Niederhauser for the New York Times

Day 2: Monday, April 30

Tang Stage
13:30-14:00 The Wheels
14:20-14:50 Larry’s Pizza
15:10-15:40 Monstereo（Norway）
16:10-16:50 Liquid Oxygen 液氧罐头
17:20-18:00 CMCB
18:30-19:10 Brain Failure 脑浊
19:40-20:20 Section 6 Hip Hop Crew
20:50-21:30 He Yong *(Mos Def has been cancelled)

Song Stage
13:00-13:30 Screaming Christ 惊叫基督
13:50-14:20 56 Degrees 56度
14:40-15:10 Skyscraper 摩天楼
15:30-16:00 Little Fish（UK）
16:20-16:50 Iron Kite 铁风筝
17:10-17:40 Hao Yun 郝云
18:10-18:50 Backyard Surgeons（Australia）
19:20-20:00 Voodoo Kungfu 零壹
20:30-21:10 Muma & Third Party 木玛&Third Party

Clear Stage 
13:00-13:20 Angel Monoplane 单翼天使
13:40-14:00 Los Crasher
14:20-14:40 Upper Class 上层社会
15:00-15:30 Surprise 意外惊喜
15:50-16:20 魇
16:40-17:10 Jia Huizhen 贾慧真
17:30-18:00 Residence A A公馆
18:20-18:50 Christmas
19:10-19:40 Hell City
20:00-20:30 Dagon Power 大红袍
21:00-21:30 Billow’s Fairy Tale 波澜童话
22:00-22:30 Zuo Bin (Z Brock) 左斌

Yuan Stage
13:30-14:45 DJ Gary
14:45-16:00 Harry Ho
16:00-17:30 LYDNB
17:30-19:00 Eddie Lv
19:00-20:30 DJ Usami
20:30-22:00 Dio

Day 3: Tuesday, May 1

Tang Stage
13:30-14:00 Multi-Ego 猫踢狗
14:20-14:50 Tookoo
15:10-15:40 Blackhead 黑撒
16:10-16:50 Frosty Eve 霜冻前夜
17:20-18:00 Nasser（France）
18:30-19:10 Subs
19:40-20:20 Good 4 Nothing（Japan）
20:50-21:30 Miserable Faith 痛仰

Song Stage
13:00-13:30 S.A.W 锯
13:50-14:20 Raging Mob
14:40-15:10 Arcane Saints（Australia）
15:30-16:00 Yiu 耀 
16:20-16:50 A.J.K 玉麟军
17:10-17:40 Misandao 蜜三刀
18:10-18:50 The Ordeal（Germany）
19:20-20:00 Perdel 逃跑计划
20:30-21:10 F.I.S (Fall in Sex) 秋天的虫子

Clear Stage 
13:00-13:20 Jacky Danny
13:40-14:00 Gemini 双子座
14:20-14:40 Androsace 点地梅
15:00-15:30 Saving Molly 拯救茉莉
15:50-16:20 Twinkle Star 闪星
16:40-17:10 The Amazing Insurance Salesmen 保险超人
17:30-18:00 NewTank 
18:20-18:50 树与颜色
19:10-19:40 The Lifeless 
20:00-20:30 Trouble Maker 捣蛋鬼
21:00-21:30 Norcelement 天行健
22:00-22:30 Five Point Zero 永恒之翼

Yuan Stage
13:30-14:45 自然
14:45-16:00 X Lee
16:00-17:30 Huangweiwei
17:30-19:00 Zhiqi
19:00-20:30 Jerry K
20:30-22:00 Yang Bing

Tickets: RMB 100 per day pre-sale; RMB 120 per day at entrance; RMB 240 for a 3-day pass

How to Get there: The Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park off of Line 15 and nearby the airport.

3. Ditan Folk Festival

This will be the most chilled-out option for those looking for a more relaxed environment to spend their May holiday. Unlike the other festivals, this one is conveniently located in the city, you can bring whatever food and booze you want for an all-day picnic sitting out in a lovely park soaking up some sun (but also plenty of shaded areas for those who burn easily).

Unlike the other festivals, Ditan Folk Festival only features one stage playing folk rock throughout the two-day festival (April 30-May 1) which means don’t have to pick up and move from stage to stage and you can literally just park yourselves in one spot and set-up an all-day picnic.

Ditan Folk Festival

Set-Up your All-Day Picnic at Ditan Folk Festival

Started four years ago, Ditan Folk Festival will be hosting international acts and China’s biggest folk acts, with their line-up including Shanren, Xiao He, Dolan, Buyi, Lidong, Zhang Si’an, Randy Able Stable and Mama Funker.

Shanren 山人 Folk Band

Here’s the 2-Day Line-Up:

1st Day: Monday, April 31st

Time: 2:30 pm to 9:00 pm

Song Dongye 宋冬野 
Ma Di (Sesame Oil Leaves) 马頔 
Mirror 镜子 
Zhao Lei 赵雷 
Dreamer 白若溪 
纬青 (Taiwan) & LAG Orchestra 
Randy Abel Stable (USA)
Polad&David (Iran)
Dolan 都兰 
Xiao He 小河 
Zhang Sian （France）
SoundScape（Canada, France, Iran)
Shanren 山人 

2nd Day: Tuesday, May 1st

Time: 2:30 pm to 9:00 pm

The Power Powder 大粉 
Bloody Woods
Wu Siyao (April) 吴思瑶 
Mama Funker (Brazil)
Li Dong 立東 
叶尔波利 (Yerboli) & 文锋 & 次仁央吉
Nancy J Brown (UK)
Afrokoko Roots（Africa）
Hoochie Coochie Gentlemen 浪荡绅士 
Zhang Quan 张佺 
Buyi 布衣 
Traveler 旅行者

Tickets: RMB 60 per day pre-sale; RMB 80 per day at entrance; RMB 50 for students, RMB 120 for 2-day pass

How to Get there: Ditan Park (地坛公园); take subway line 2 to Lama Temple or Andingmen station.

4. MMAX Chaoyang International Pop Music Festival

Very little information is out there regarding this fourth festival and maybe that’s partly because this is their first year entering the “Music Festival Madness” and maybe because there is also quite a lot of overlap between this one and the others - Queen Sea Big Shark, Hedgehog, Carsick Cars, Hanggai, New Pants and a few of their DJ’s.

Here’s the MMAX 3-Day Line-Up:

Day 1: Sunday, April 29

14:30—15:10 GALA
15:30—16:10 Hedgehog 刺猬
16:30—17:20 Long Shen Dao 龙神道
17:40—18:20 Faith Yang 杨乃文
18:50—19:50 Queen Sea Big Shark 后海大鲨鱼
20:20—21:30 Yu Quan 羽泉

16:00-17:00 Guzz
17:00-18:00 DJ Monk
18:00-19:00 HBD
19:00-20:00 Sulumi
20:00-21:00 Lin Feng

Day 2: Monday, April 30

14:30—15:10 Carsick Cars
15:30—16:10 Hanggia 杭盖
16:30—17:20 Chusheng Chen 陈楚生
17:40—18:20 Zhang Xuan 张悬
18:50—19:50 Miserable Faith 痛仰
20:20—21:30 Pu Shu 朴树

16:00-17:00 Ceezy
17:00-18:00 Cavia
18:00-19:00 Ssoso
19:00-20:00 A.M.U
20:00-21:00 Ben Huang

Day 3: Tuesday, May 1

14:30—15:10 The Life Journey 旅行团
15:30—16:10 Tan Weiwei 谭维维
16:30—17:20 Peng Tan 彭坦
17:40—18:20 Hao Yun 郝云
18:50—19:50 New Pants 新裤子
20:20—21:30 Anthony Wang 黄耀明

16:00-17:00 Sig
17:00-18:00 Billy Starman
18:00-19:00 Howie Lee
19:00-20:00 Terry Tu
20:00-21:00 Elvis T

Tickets: RMB 60 per day pre-sale; RMB 80 per day at entrance; RMB 120 2-day pass

Pre-sale Online: http://www.damai.cn/ticket_35914.html

How to Get There: Chaoyang Sports Centre

• Take subway line 2 to Dongsishitiao, walk to Dongsi Qiao Dong and take the 758 to Pingfang Xikou. You can also just take a cab to Chaoyang Tiyu Zhongxin (朝阳体育中心) at Yaojiayuan Lu (姚家园路).

…But the music festival I’m most excited about is the China Music Valley Festival, which takes place out in Pinggu in a couple weeks from May 18-20 featuring big, BIG bands like Friendly Fires, Joss Stone and Jesus and Mary Chain.

Click here for CMV’s full line-up.

More info to come soon!

Deceptively Delicious Middle Eastern at Dareen Coffee

Try the Middle Eastern Food at Dareen Coffee

As soon as I heard a friend rave about Dareen Coffee‘s Middle Eastern food, I grabbed my Egyptian foodie friend, Paul Maksy, and hauled him over to try Dareen Coffee with me.

We almost rode right past it on our bikes since the restaurant’s exterior sign is not lit up. Located on the strip of cafes and bars just north of Sanlitun Village North, Dareen Coffee is probably a great summer spot with plenty of outdoor tables and umbrellas, but it’s interior is a very small set up resembling a take-away rather than a sit-down destination with only a handful of tables inside.

Dareen Coffee needs a new sign outside

Stepping into the desolate Dareen Coffee (the place was entirely empty), I immediately felt less confident about my decision to bring my friend to dine here.  Glancing over the three-folded pamphlet menu and seeing dishes spelt wrong like “fatoosh” and “BaBaghanooj” , I took it as another warning sign. I admit I’m not an expert when it comes to Middle Eastern cuisine, but even Paul thought it strange these items were spelt that way.

I saw a man smoking in the corner of the restaurant, who I assumed was the owner of the place, so I didn’t want to be rude and turn around to make a quick exit and besides, I heard the food here is superb.

I quickly ordered a handful of classic dishes from Falafel, Babaganoush, Fattoush Salad and a Chicken Couscous Main Dish and we settled in on a table outside (to avoid the cigarette smoke).

LumDimSum Snapshots of Dareen Coffee’s Middle Eastern Dishes: 

 Hummus (RMB 30) / 5-pc Falafel (RMB 35)

Fattoush Salad (RMB 30) / Baba Ganoush (RMB 30)

Chicken Couscous with Sauce (RMB 55)

Spread of Dishes at Dareen Coffee

Before I get into the details, I want to say that we were incredibly impressed with the food at Dareen Coffee. In spite of a badly needed renovation (new sign outside and the interior is a real fixer upper), the food speaks for itself. For the most part, everything is super authentic and the quality and taste is exceptional.

My Egyptian friend Paul and I both excited agreed that this was by far the best hummus, baba ganoush and falafel in the city. There is nothing that could have made these three things any better, there were that good.  The only room for improvement is for Dareen to provide better quality pita bread. Ours was stale and cold and if they could grind out this kink, we’d be choosing Dareen over Bitapitta any day.

The Chicken Couscous with accompanying sauce was also very tasty and the stewed carrots, potatoes and cabbage were very traditional in the way it was prepared. On the other hand, the Fattoush Salad pales in comparison to Biteapitta’s version. It was much too oily and should have had more lemon and parsley and instead of croutons, they should be using dried pita crackers.

All that being said, we are now big fans of Dareen Coffee and plan to be returning in the very near future. The owner, Kareem, came up to our table as our food was being served and we learned that he’s been in China for 30 years and not only does he make everything on the menu in-house, he also makes sardines, canned stuffed grape leaves and white cheese that gets exported back home.  We promised we’d be back again to try his stuffed grape leaves.

As a final note, I should mention that I’ve heard nothing but praises for their coffee. I won’t stuff the stuff, but I hear the Ugandan Coffee is worth trying.

I hear the coffee is excellent at Dareen Coffee

Review of Dareen Coffee: Just north of Sanlitun Village North and next to imported wine shop, 29 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District 朝阳区三里屯路29号; Tel: 6415 0557; Open Daily 7am-midnight

Best Part:

• The best hummus, falafel and babaganoush I’ve had in Beijing.

• The Palestinian owner Kareem has been in Beijing for 30 years and he even produces Middle Eastern products here (sardines, canned stuffed grape leaves and white cheese) to export out.

• Everyone I’ve talked to uniformly agrees that the coffee here is awesome. A friend recommends the Ugandan coffee.

• It’s next door to an imported wine shop so you can order generous pours of wine for as low as RMB 10-25.

Comments:

• It’s amazing I only heard about this place recently. It’s been around for years and everyone seems to love it, but they don’t get nearly as attention or credit as Biteapitta, Rumi, or other Middle Eastern joints. If anything, this has sparked our curiosity and I plan to do a bit of research to seek out more Middle Eastern options outside of the Biteapitta box I’ve been living in the past 3 years. Anyone have any recommendations to share for quality Middle Eastern bites?

• Having dined with a foodie partner who is Egyptian American, I can more confidently say that the hummus, falafel and babaganoush at Dareen Coffee is not only fantastic, it’s authentic and exactly as it should be.

• The owner was exceptionally friendly (especially after he started conversing with Paul in Arabic), but I suspect that without the owner on-site, the service would be very mediocre. They mixed up our order (which was immediately corrected by the owner), but probably would not have been such a quick fix if he was not present.

• Out of the five things we ordered, we loved four – Hummus, Falafel, Babaganoush and Chicken Couscous. The Fattoush salad was the only dish we weren’t a fan of as it was too oily, should have more lemon and parsley and the croutons should have been dried pita crackers. Our only real complaint however is the dry, stale and cold pita bread we were served. It was awful and almost killed the awesomeness of the hummus and babaganoush. I’ll definitely be back to confirm whether this is a consistent problem or just a bad day for pita bread at Dareen Coffee. If it continues to be a problem, I would seriously consider buying pita bread from Biteapitta and bringing it to Dareen Coffee.

• The big question is whether or not Dareen Coffee is good enough to compete with Biteapitta in Tongli Studio by Sanlitun South Village. Most of the dishes we ordered were better than Biteapitta, but it was a hit or miss where Biteapitta’s level of quality is more consistent. It may not all be as good as Dareen, but everything is more than passable. And I gotta say that the ambiance of dining in Biteapitta is much better than Dareen, which could really use an upgrade (starting with a proper sign outside that you can actually see at night). 
  

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

• Food: 7

• Atmosphere: 4

• Service: 7

• Overall Experience: 6

Clear Your Walls for Affordable Art Beijing (AAB) 2012

Time to clear your walls and make room for the hot new art on sale at Beijing’s most popular art fair of the year, Affordable Art Beijing (AAB).

Already in its 7th year, Beijingers go mad for this art fair. Long queues form before the doors even open (they expect to see up to 10,000 visitors) and once they do start letting everyone in, floods of people rush in as they grab as much as they can (it’s first come, first serve) before it’s all disappeared.

For those unfamiliar to the AAB Art Fair, it was founded in 2006 by art addict Tom Pattinson who realizes there are plenty of people out there who are keen to start an art collection with a limited budget.

“AAB gives the public an opportunity to be able to afford high quality works of contemporary art and enter the art market, whilst giving young artists a platform to show and sell their works to a large audience.” - Tom Pattinson, Founder of AAB

Whether or not you’ve caught the art-bug, this is one of the rare occasions you can both familiarize yourself with China’s local and foreign contemporary artists and purchase masterpieces at a price anyone can afford from a few hundred RMB to a max of RMB 20,000.  This is your chance to snag some real steals, but be careful not to get carried away with impulse purchases.

“There are some incredibly works that will be on offer from some very hot young artists. Last year Liu Aijing sold all six of her works in under five minutes, and Guo Hongjie also sold out within an hour, so we are looking forward to having them both take part again in 2012.”  - Tom Pattinson

My favorite bit about AAB is knowing that each of the art works available has been individually hand-picked by the AAB Team. This ensures the overall quality and consistency of both the featured artists and their works of art.  According to Tom, they have received submissions from over 1200 artists this year. Out of this massive pile to choose from, only 255 of those artists made the cut.

“We spend all year visiting art schools, going to artist villages and working with art professionals to find the best in new talent from across the country. This year we have artists from Liaoning in the north to Sichuan in the west.” - Tom Pattinson.

So get ready, you have just over a month to start saving up your piggy bank as it’s just been announced (hot off the press!) that AAB Art Fair will be happening on the first weekend of June: Saturday, June 2-Sunday, June 3rd, 2012 in Beijing’s 798 Art Space (same location as last year).

Once again, the two-day fair will showcase hundreds of contemporary Chinese art of various styles and mediums – from small prints to large oil paintings, to hand painted sculptures and photography.

To wet your appetite for contemporary art, here are my top picks that will be up for grabs at the AAB Art Fair -

“Tug of War” 拔河 by Cao Xihui 曹锡辉 

“37″ by Du Qingfeng 杜青峰  / ”Van Gogh” 梵高 by Ge Duo 戈多

“Birds on a Rock” by Huang Shaojie 黄绍杰 / 以物喜 以己悲 系列 Series by Ling Guiyuan 凌贵元 

河岸 “Riverbank” by Chen Bo 沉波 

Two Pieces of 谁 or “Who” Series by Guo Hongjie

Works by Cai Jun

Animation by Tian Xiaolei / 蝴蝶 “Butterfly” by Li Jinguo 李金国 

诱饵01 “Bait 01″ by Gao Feng 高峰  / Tian Xiaolei 《山水小品》

Works by Celia Chi 

戴帽子的女孩 no.2 “Girl Wearing a Hat” by Chen Beibei 陈蓓蓓  / 鱼 “Fish” by Liu Sicong 刘思聪 

Works by Dong Kui

Ian Webb – “New Year’s Day iii”

Last, but certainly not least, this year AAB will be working with WABC, a charity that uses art therapy to help mentally disabled patients.

“Through creative expression patients can often improve their emotional and psychological health. By demonstrating their artistic talents, the project also aims to bring more awareness of the mentally disabled as a part of the community. AAB will dedicate an exhibition space at the event to sell WABC art works, with all the proceeds going to the charity.”

城市系列 “City Series”  by Zhang Shiying 张世英 

Event Details:

• Dates: Saturday, June 2- Sunday, June 3, 2012

• Time: 11:00 – 18:00

• Location: The 798 Space

• Address: Ceramic 3 St. 798 Road, 798 Art District, 4. Jiuxianqiao Road

• Website: Click here for AAB’s Official Website.  

• Contact:  Christine@affordableartchina.com or call +86 10 6407 5314

About Affordable Art China (AAC)

Affordable Art China (AAC) is a platform for young emerging artists to present their artwork to art lovers from all over the globe. With annual art fairs in Beijing and Shanghai, AAC showcases some of the most innovative and exciting contemporary artwork from around China. These multi-day events are open to the public and free of charge, emphasizing AAC’s goal to give people of all different art backgrounds an opportunity to learn about and enjoy contemporary Chinese art. Featuring thousands of absolutely stunning artworks of all different styles, mediums, sizes and prices, AAC makes art collecting accessible to everyone.

CFFC Napa Valley Dinner at TRB & Fairmont After Party

Since it’s inception three years ago, Chi Fan for Charity has since raised over RMB 850,000 for worthy local charities in China.  Hats off to founder Michael Crain for putting together this brilliant formula of bringing together good eating + good company for a good cause.

While the main CFFC event is held in November every year (where Chi Fan gathers 40 of Beijing’s premium restaurants to host tables of 10 and over 500 people rally together to make this event Beijing’s top charity culinary event of the year), last Tuesday, April 17th marked the first time CFFC teamed up with 20 Napa Valley Wineries to co-host paired wine dinners at 5 elite restaurants including the new Brasserie Flo, Grange (Westin Chaoyang), Maison Boulud, Temple Restaurant Beijing (TRB) and Vasco’s (Wangfujing Hilton).

The choice to dine at TRB was an easy one knowing the perfectly professional and courteous Ignace Lecleir and his gracious team would be looking after our party of 40. Each of the five participating restaurants were also allowed to seat up to 40 people, but TRB and Maison Boulud were the two that managed to fill every single one of their 40 seats. In spite of the volume, I knew it was safe to say we would be in good hands.

Each of the five participating restaurants played host with four vintners from Napa Valley region. TRB collaborated with Schramberg Vineyards, Salvestrin Winery, St. Supery Estate Vineyards & Winery, and Somerston Wine Co.

Our warm welcome began with two sparkling welcome drinks courtesy of Schramsberg Vineyards – their 2008 Brut Rosé and 2009 Blanc de Blancs. A great story about these sparkling wines was shared by the Schramsberg representative Maryann Bautovich who explained that “in 1972 the 1969 Blanc de Blancs was served at the “Toast to Peace” in Beijing, between President Richard Nixon and Premier Zhou Enlai and Schramsberg wines have been served by every subsequent presidential administration.”

Settling in with Schramsberg’s Sparkling Wines at TRB:

Before we were served the first course of our meal, CFFC introduced each of the four vineyard representatives who briefly stood up to introduce two of the beautiful wines they would be serving throughout the meal and we ended with an introduction of the charity we were gathered together to support, Children’s Hope Foundation, a local orphanage that provides long-term care for disadvantaged youth as well as life-saving medical attention for orphans so that they may be adopted into loving families.

5-Course TRB Dinner Paired with Napa Valley Wines:

First Course -

I’ve had this Garlic Egg Salt Cod Veloute every time I’ve dined at TRB and it’s still remains as one of the stand-out dishes on their menu. It’s so good, it was paired with not one, but two white wines: Salvestrin’s 2010, Sauvignon Blanc and St. Supery Estate Vineyards & Winery’s 2011, Sauvignon Blac, Estate.

The Salvestrin’s 2010 Sauvignon Blanc was very unique as it is one of the only Sauvignon Blancs from St. Helena, a single vineyard, all estate grown and 100% of the process is controlled. Everything is done in-house, promising extreme consistency and a very selective production. Only 800 cases of this particular wine was ever produced. The reason why this wine stood out to me so much was that they gave a Chardonnay treatment to a Sauvignon Blanc, where 60% was in neutral French oak giving a nice minerality to the wine (rather than the typical fruity characteristics of Sauvignon Blacs), giving a soft mouth feel and friendly for food pairing.  Thank you to Salvestrin’s bubbly rep Megan Gordon for her thorough explanation!

I’ve actually had the pleasure of tasting this exact Sauvignon Blanc from St. Supery Estate in my last trip to Napa Valley at the beginning of 2012. This wine has a entirely different taste as it is produced at a different elevation, higher up in the hills and rather than being oak barrel fermented, it is produced in a stainless steel vat, producing bright and vibrant flavors. This wine was a nice contrast to the Salvestrin 2010 Sauvignon Blanc.

Garlic Egg Salt Cod Veloute

Salvestrin, 2010, Sauvignon Blanc / St. Supery Estate Vineyards & Winery, 2011, Sauvignon Blac, Estate

Second Course -

While the second dish was my least favorite of the meal, the paired Salvestrin 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon stood out as my favorite wine of the night. Named “3D” after the Salvestrin family’s three daughters, this is the most expensive wine they’ve produced. Aged three years, there are only 130 cases of this wine ever made making it extremely rare and in high demand. This wine was elegant and soft with oak flavors and hints of darker berries like blueberries, boysenberries and blackberries.

Ham Hock Terrine Sauce Grebiche

Salvestrin, 2008, Cabernet Sauvignon, 3 D

Third Course -

While some of my dining counterparts complained about the monkfish having a tough, rubbery texture, this was my favorite dish of the night. The roasted monkfish had a unique firm texture and the infusion of smoked bacon and mushrooms put me over the top. This was phenomenal and it was paired with the first Somerston wine of the night – a 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon made from unfiltered, rich and balanced fruit on 44 year old vines.  “This is a 100% Cab.” – Craig Becker from Somerston Wine Co.

Roasted Monkfish Bacon Shallots Sauce Matelote

Somerston, 2009, Cabernet Sauvignon, Somerston

Fourth Course -

The Saddle of Lamb was tasty, but by this point, I was already stuffed, making it difficult to really savor and enjoy each bite. And to make matters worse, I should confess that all the wines beyond this point started to muddle together and it didn’t help that I failed to jot down any tasting notes. So…I have no choice but to let the photos speak for themselves.

Roasted Saddle of Lamb with Capers Garlic Confit Anchovies Rosemary

St. Supery Estate Vineyards & Winery, 2007, Red Blend, Estate Elu

Fifth Course -

Goat Cheese Tartine, Manuca Honey Thyme

Somerston, 2009, Red Blend, Stornoway, Somerston

TRB’s Signature Petit Four

Finishing up CFFC Dinner at TRB

Wrapping up dinner and struggling to move our Humpty Dumpty tummies, we eventually managed to lift our arses off our comfy chairs and make our way over to the official Chi Fan for Charity After Party at the Fairmont Hotel’s lobby bar for more, free-flow Napa Valley Wines.

This was hands-down, the best party set-up you could ever want – a party showcasing all of the participating 20 Napa Valley Wineries and their select range of very exclusive, fine wines.

A party full of wine geeks, we were like kids in a candy shop, curious eyes taking in the entire wine gallery and greedy hands grabbing one after the other to sip and taste our way through each wine and savor this rare opportunity to indulge in so many Napa Valley wines.  

LDS Snapshots of CFFC After Party at the Fairmont w/ Napa Valley Wineries:

Founder of Chi Fan for Charity, Michael Crain (center)

Favorite Quote of the Night:

“My nipples are hard over Napa Valley Wines” – Anonymous

For the time being, I will keep this person’s identity a secret until an occasion arises to blackmail.

Nevertheless, this is a brilliant quote that left me with a side cramp after laughing uncontrollably for at least 10 minutes.

(I was slightly intoxicated after consuming far too much amazing Napa Valley wine)

Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) 2012

Today marks the opening of the second annual Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) at the China National Convention Center (previously the media center during the 2008 Olympics) and will run from Monday, April 23 – Saturday, April 28, 2012.

Appropriately timed as China is in the midst of a film industry boom, excitement and big potential brings both local and international celebrities and film industry elite together to China’s capital to attend various film events throughout the week.

“The past two years have seen an explosion of independent screening events opening all over China. Seven Horns (HK) and its Beijing International (Independent) Movie Festival brand have been at the forefront of this movement since 2007. We bring together Chinese and foreign movie experts to debate and discuss, create and continue adventuring on into the future of international movie co-production!”  - BJIFF

Most recently, “China overtook Japan to become the largest foreign market for American films, thanks in part to continued movie theater expansion. The number of screens doubled in five years to 10,700 at the end of last year.” – LA Times (click here for full article)

A massive culture event, drawing plenty of international attention, this year’s film festival will screen 260 local and foreign films (out of the 800 films that were submitted from all over the world) across 20 of the nominated cinemas in Beijing.

More than just screenings, the six day film festival will include a flurry of film-related activities including (but not limited to) lectures and forums, a film music concert, a film carnival showcasing film history and technology at the Olympic Village, the Opening Ceremony, Beijing Film Panorama, Film Magic·Beijing Forum, Beijing Film Market, and Closing Ceremony with a performance by Hayley Westenra with the London Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.

Snapshots from last year’s BJIFF:

Gracing this year’s red carpet include directors James Cameron (whose 3-D re-release of “Titanic” scored the second-largest opening-day numbers in Chinese history and is set to hold a talk about 3D films during the) and John Woo, Hollywood film stars including Keanu Reeves (who has been based in Beijing the past few months directing his first film), Jeremy Renner (star of Hollywood Blockbuster film “The Avengers”), South Korea’s So Ji-Sub and China’s Tang Wei, Zhang Ziyi, Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, Jiang Wen, Feng Xiaogang, and Ann Hui.

A wide range of other films will be screened throughout the six day film festival.

Noteworthy film picks -

A film festival wouldn’t be complete without at least one or two animated films. One of the featured animated films will be “Rango” where Johnny Depp plays a chameleon.

Taiwanese historical drama epic film “Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale”

Bollywood’s ‘Band, Baaja, Baraat’: A romantic comedy in the world of wedding planning

Black-and-White Silent French film, “The Artist” is the closing film for BJIFF 2012

For more information about the festival, it’s screenings and events, visit the official website here and here. 

The New Yishu 8 (艺术8) Art Gallery & Event Space

“An impressive lacquered wood door leads onto a courtyard planted with trees and the traditional red columns of the entrance porch. Once through the door, visitors leave behind the city’s bustle and discover a surprising atmosphere, a quiet but cheerfully decorated space that blends Chinese and Western influences: the yellow imperial salon, the golden and silver salons, the music room and the white gallery. A monumental Baccarat chandelier greets visitors as they arrive.” 

Just about one month ago, Yishu 8 (艺术8) moved from it’s original location on Jianguo Lu into the former Sino-French University and the new space is called “Maison des arts dédiée à la création contemporaine” (House of Arts dedicated to contemporary creation).

Home to exhibitions and cultural events throughout the year, Yishu 8 is a space dedicated to contemporary art and exchanges between China and the West by offering an artistic residency for 3 young French artists every year, giving them the opportunity to discover China and its rich creative environment.

“It aims to become a private version of the Villa Médicis.”

Before Yishu 8 moved into it’s new location, it already established itself as a well-known venue in the art world through successfully putting on a broad range of shows: photography, painting and sculpture exhibitions featuring the works of artists such as Lu Yangpeng, Michael Madore, Val and Li Xin, as well as meetings with figures such as Michel Houellebecq and Jean-Marie Gustave le Clézio.

Yishu 8 was also known to host plenty of private and corporate events, and they also held regular music events from jazz to bossa nova concerts, events for children and families and also conferences regarding Sino-French artistic life.

Now housed in the symbolic Sino-French University, these building are classified as historic monuments with the building’s lecture halls bearing an engraving of the head of the Chinese republic’s founder, Sun Yat-sen. The space is massive, covering over 1200 square meters with significant space dedicated to French culture and prestigious exhibitions.

“Yishu 8 is a haven in the heart of Beijing that has been stylishly renovated and transformed into reception and exhibition rooms.”  

LumDimSum Snapshots of the New Yishu 8:

More articles related to the New Yishu 8:

• Art Media Agency: Yishu 8 presents its House of Art dedicated to contemporary creation in China 

• Inauguration of “Yishu 8″ in Beijing

• Official Yishu 8 Website (currently only in French and Chinese)