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:

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

Shangri-la Corridor in My Heart

About twice a month, Beijing Community Dinners are organized by Mark Godfrey and Tzyy at different restaurants around Beijing for groups of like-minded individuals to get together, learn about different NGOs/organizations, and are given an opportunity to contribute a donation while enjoying a night out tasting local flavors.

The last community dinner was held at Shangri-la Corridor in My Heart, an extraordinary little Tibetan restaurant on Deshengmen Street. From the ordinary exterior, I did not expect to walk into something so impressive. The restaurant has the set-up of an indoor courtyard with multiple private rooms around the exterior with a main dining space in the center facing a giant Tibetan painting.

As with most community dinners, the ordering is done in advance, so for most of the dinner, I had no idea what the dishes were and to be honest, even after asking the waitstaff to go over the dishes that were served, I am still not sure what some of the vegetables were as there was no written English anywhere and none of the staff could speak any English.  But here are some snapshots of most all the dishes we tried and a list of their Chinese names in Pinyin together with my guess as to what it is in English.

Pickled Radish & Beef – Suan Luo Bo Chao Mao Niu Rou (RMB 48)/Yellow & Brown Bean – Nai You Ren Sheng Guo (RMB 48)

Su You Chao Qing Ke - Brown Barley Dish (RMB 32)

Ji Xiang Su Hui, Mushrooms (RMB 28)/Kao Mao Niu Pai, Beef (RMB 98)

Shou Ba Yang Rou, Lamb (RMB 68), Tu Dou Ni Hui Mao Niu Rou, Mashed Potatoes (RMB 48)

Qing Ke You Mian Yu, Stir-fry Noodles (RMB 28)

At the end of our dinner, the restaurant provided us all with a bonus – some live entertainment aka a guy in Tibetan dress singing traditional songs.

After the in-house performance, BCD introduced the speaker of the evening – Bill Bleish, China Director of the The Bridge Fund (www.bridgefund.org).  Speaking about about The Bridge Fund’s programs and activities in Tibet, Bill is a familiar fixture in China’s environmental circles having served as China program director of Fauna & Flora International, the world’s oldest environmental conservation group, and Science Director of the China Exploration and Research Society.

A record turn-out with 36 people, we raised RMB 1,500 to go towards the Gendun Chophel Foundation for the community museum they are working on in Rebgong.

*The Bridge Fund is an organization dedicated to sustainable economic development, cultural heritage preservation, and environmental conservation on the Tibetan Plateau.

Review of Shangrila Corridor in My Heart 香各里拉走廊 : No 70 Deshengmennei Dajie香各里拉走廊德胜门内大街70号; Tel: 6406 2399.

Best Part:

• A beautiful, traditional indoor courtyard housed within the restaurant made for a very impressive design for a restaurant.
• Serves authentic Tibetan food incorporating staple local dishes and peculiar vegetables that were absolutely delicious.
• Prices are very reasonable (For the Community Dinner with about 40 people, everyone pitched in about RMB 60 each)
• I highly recommend the Suan Luo Bo Chao Mao Niu Rou – Pickled Radish with Beef (RMB 32) & Nai You Ren Sheng Guo – yellow & brown bean dish (RMB 48).
• Tibetan singing performance in traditional Tibetan dress was a treat to witness.

Comments:

• Not only is there is no English on the menu, there are no photos.  Their menu is hand written on script and after taking photos of each dish, I asked them to spell out the pinyin for each dish.  Needless to say, this would be a difficult task for someone who does not speak or read Chinese to order off the menu.  Luckily, the menu was not very lengthy and chances are high that whatever you do order will be really good.
• I recommend going in a group so that you can sample more of a variety.
• We were a massive group (36 people), but still, I did notice that there was no one else in the restaurant and I am certain we did not rent out the space for the BCD…and it was a Saturday night.

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

• Food: 9
• Atmosphere: 9
• Service: 7
• Overall Experience: 9

Drink with Wokai for a Better World @ Scarlett

This Tuesday, August 3rd, Wokai will be organizing their monthly event – Drinks for a Better World (DFBW) @ Hotel G’s Scarlett Wine Bar & Restaurant.

This month’s Wokai event will be featuring Nathan Zhang, Founder of brandnü:

Event details:

• Date: Tuesday, August 3rd
• Time: 7:3oPM-9:30PM
• Location: Hotel G’s Scarlett Wine Bar & Restaurant
• Address: No. A7 Gongtixilu, 朝阳区工体西路甲7
• Tel: 6552-2600

Wokai Background:

Wokai is a not-for-profit organization committed to alleviating poverty in China. Wokai (wo3kai1 我开 in Chinese) means “I start” and refers to the the opportunity that our organization provides to Chinese micro-entrepreneurs to start small businesses, start change in their own lives, and lift themselves and their families out of poverty. www.wokai.org

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

MCF’s Indian Summer Garden Party

The Migrant Children’s Foundation is hosting an afternoon of Indian themed delights this Sunday, July 4th from 12pm – 3pm at Face Bar’s beautiful oriental garden.

Showcasing some tasty Indian nibbles and discounted drinks and a live dance performance, you can take this unique opportunity to find out more about Migrant Children’s Foundation and meet the students and teachers of one of their partner school..

The Migrant Children’s Foundation is committed to enriching the lives of disadvantaged children in Beijing through volunteering. Every penny from The Indian Summer Garden Party will be invested back into our projects, so you’ll be lending a hand as well as having a great time.

Date: Sunday, July 4

Time: 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Where? Face Bar, 26 Dongcaoyuan, Gongti Nan Lu, Beijing (download a map)
Entry: 150RMB (payable on the door, children under twelve years enjoy free entry)

Drink with Wokai for a Better World

This Tuesday, June 8th, I encourage one and all to come out and support Wokai’s next “Drinks for a Better World” event at The Apartment in Tongli Studios.

This month’s Wokai event will be spotlighting Crazy Bake:

Ms. Yvonne Gerig, co-founder of Crazy Bake will speak about her experience establishing Crazy Bake within the Beijing Chaoyang Mental Health Centre. Crazy Bake was founded in 2004 in north east Beijing and works to improve the living conditions of mentally ill patients and give them a meaningful way of providing for themselves. Patients make Western baked goods, such as cookies, pretzels and bread, which are sold at international schools and other organizations and events in Beijing.

Crazy Bake operates with donations as well as profits from the sale of its baked goods. For more information please visit: www.crazybake.org.

Wokai Background:

Wokai is a not-for-profit organization committed to alleviating poverty in China. Wokai (wo3kai1 我开 in Chinese) means “I start” and refers to the the opportunity that our organization provides to Chinese micro-entrepreneurs to start small businesses, start change in their own lives, and lift themselves and their families out of poverty. www.wokai.org

Event Details:

• Date: Tuesday, June 8

• Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm

• Where: The Apartment, on the top floor of Tongli Studios, next to Kokomo

Help Launch Project Kickstart

Background on Project Kickstart:

Established in 2005, Project Kickstart provides students from rural areas in Northeast China with the opportunity to pursue higher education, by paying for their first year of tuition and expenses at a Beijing university. Each year, thousands of high school seniors from rural areas of China attain acceptance to university through the gaokao examination. However, the average annual income of a rural family is as low as ¥1500 (~ $200), while the annual cost of tuition alone at a Beijing university ranges from ¥5,000 to upwards of ¥10,000. The rising cost of tuition and living has made it increasingly difficult for many families to send their children to university; thus, students with tremendous academic promise are forced to relinquish their chances for a brighter future. Project Kickstart raises money to help students realize their dreams and offers them a foundation on which to build their academic careers.

Inspire & Be Inspired: The Migrant Children’s Foundation Launch Party

Come out and support the Migrant Children’s Foundation as they celebrate their official launch with an evening of live music, drinks and a chance to find out much more about this great organization and how you can get involved.

The Migrant Children’s Foundation is committed to enriching the lives of disadvantaged children in Beijing through volunteering. Every penny from the launch party will be invested back into our projects, so you’ll be lending a hand as well as having a great time.

Date: Wednesday, May 12

Time: 7.30pm – 10.30pm
Where? Face Bar, 26 Dongcaoyuan, Gongti Nan Lu, Beijing
Entry: 100RMB – inclusive of gift MCF, a complimentary drink and snacks

Aussie Aussie Aussie: AustCham Masquerade Ball 2010

The 2010 AustCham Beijing Black & White Masquerade Ball was hosted this past Saturday, April 17 at China World Hotel.

A beautifully decked out black & white ball with even more glamorous guests adorned in some very impressive, done-up masks, the vivacious event featured live music, great acrobatic performances, live auctions, and a big man in an even bigger purple dress singing and running around pretending to be a woman (must be an Aussie thing).

With tickets selling at RMB 1200 a pop, this charity fundraiser event will donate their proceeds to twelve different not-for-profit organizations over the next twelve months, across Micro Finance, Environment, Local Community and Children.

LumDimSum Photo Gallery of the AustCham Masquerade Ball courtesy of EventPod Photography:

For a full gallery of photos from the AustCham Masquerade Ball, click EventPod’s website here.