Outdustry & Bespoke Go Sumo

Outdustry & Bespoke Beijing’s monthly office parties are easily one of the major highlights of my month (each and every month).

These office parties are really one-of-a-kind. Generous and gracious hosts aside, there’s always free beer, local chuar, an eclectic mix of music, art, film industry cats and unlike your typical office, Outdustry/Bespoke’s office is set in a beautiful hutong courtyard just south of Guijie.

On top of the usual good people, good beer and good music, we couldn’t resist the urge to indulge in some sumo fun. Inspired by the Hatsune 9 Year Anniversary Party, it was only natural that we get the sumo suits too, the perfect addition to our monthly office party.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Outdustry & Bespoke Gone Sumo:

My Favorite Photo of the Night.

Scratch that.

Favorite Photo EVER

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:

Nathan’s Famous: A Taste of New York

One of New York’s treasured traditions, Nathan’s Famous is one of those rare brands able to claim immeasurable brand equity. The name has always been synonymous with the highest quality, 100% beef hot dogs and unique, golden crinkle-cut French fries.

New Yorkers, you know what I’m talking about.

From a single restaurant in Coney Island, Brooklyn in 1916, Nathan’s has grown to become an international corporation and is officially making its grand debut in China, starting right here in Beijing this September 2010.

Currently in a soft-opening stage, the first Nathan’s Famous China store is located in B1 of Wukesong’s Le Mall Shopping Center (home of the Jackie Chan Movie Theatre Complex, China’s largest movie theatre). Rest assured East-siders, they plan to open a flagship store in the CBD before the end of 2010 and will quickly expand to have 80+ stores throughout China over the next 10 years.

Luckily, I had the privilege of being among the very FIRST to dine at Nathan’s first store in China. To say that I “went to town on the menu” is an understatement.

We tried everything from the legendary hot dogs (RMB 12), chili cheese crinkle cut fries (RMB 18), onion rings (RMB 12), lobster roll (RMB 25), Arthur Treacher’s shrimp platter (RMB 28), philly cheese steak (RMB 18), chicken tenders (RMB 16 for five pieces), spicy chicken wings (RMB 16 for four pieces),  5-ounce super cheeseburger (RMB 28), lemonade (RMB 8 ) and ice cream sundae (RMB 5).

A Sneak Peak of the first Nathan’s Famous restaurant to open in China:

NBA Stars @ All-Star Sports Bar & Grill

This past Saturday, Club BLING hosted the Official After-Party for Yao Ming’s charity basketball game.

I am certainly not one to be shy about taking photos, but with so many people crowding around these NBA stars, I couldn’t be bothered to squeeze past people or worse, wait in line.  So I did the next best thing – request photos from the lovely Mrs. Julia Li.

Check Out Big Ballers Steve Nash & Dwight Howard @ All-Star Sports Bar & Grill:

Pheonix Suns' Point Guard, Steve Nash

Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard in front of his Jersey at All-Star!

*Other NBA basketball stars at All-Star:

Baron Davis, Chase Budinger, Brandon Jennings, DaJuan Summers, Amir Johnson & Hasheem Thabeet

You Look Kinda Cute…in that Polka Dot Bikini, Guuurl

As expected, Riviera’s Pool Party this weekend was insanity.

Packed with Beijing’s beautiful party animals dressed in next to nothing, IO Spa was pure debauchery from start to finish.

Check Out LumDimSum’s Photo Gallery for a PG-13 Glimpse of Riviera’s Beijing Pool Party:

…and that’s a wrap!

LumDimSummary: Telihana Launch Party

Signed with Love from candy&caviar and LumDimSum

At The Beach this Friday night, Telihana launched her brand new music video for her single All NiGHT! and performed another one of her latest songs – about her crew and giving love to all her people.

Check out Telihana’s All NiGHT! music video on youtube here.

LumDimSummary:

Telihana not only packed out The Beach with all her fans and friends (even her parents were there!), she also put on a stellar show and gave her people what they came for:  The One and Only, Telihana.

Mason Kalei Turns 1

Ladies, eat your heart out.

Baby Mason no longer, this little man is growing up at lightning speed.

By the age of 1, Mason is already more accomplished and definitely way cooler than many of us:

• So stylish, he’s already a candy&caviar sponsored model (check out that hair and how good he looks in candy&caviar’s Elliot Tie?)
• He’s traveled all over China, made trips to the US of A and even made time for a vacay in Thailand
• He spent most of his birthday grooving to his very own private concert, music courtesy of Uncle Eli.
• Has women fighting over him – I for one am madly in love with this little monster.
• He has everyone who lays their eyes on him instantly wrapped around his little finger.

This future rock star is already making waves and well on his way to taking the world by storm.

From July 23, 2009 – July 23, 2010, here is a LumDimSum Photo Gallery of Mason Kalei aka the Cutest Baby in the Whole Wide World:

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.

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.

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!