New Neighbor

After over a year of Banana Leaf in Solana’s Dining & Bar Street existing solely as signs that read “Coming Soon,” it finally opened its doors last week. All-Star Sports Bar & Grill finally has a neighbor!

When All-Star first signed its lease to begin construction a little over a year ago, Solana was a promising new destination, with a Californian style open-air complex with a shopping mall plus Dining & Bar street. Big names including Zara, Nike, Coldstone, Cro Bar, and even a Banyan Tree Hotel was meant to open just beside All-Star & Bling, (which would have been clutch for us to share their abundant supply of taxis for our guests as well).

While All-Star & Bling both opened according to schedule right before the Olympics, all of our neighbors continued to postpone and some actually back out of their leases completely (Banyan Tree).  And the result: Solana suffered the “ghost-town” syndrome throughout Winter 2008 while the Village in Sanlitun quickly made a name for itself and became the new hub for all shoppers and diners.

Fortunately for Solana, spring brought along sunshine aplenty together with more and more pedestrians and consumers, making Solana a better known destination.  Located right along a lake with gorgeous views of Chaoyang Park, Solana was sure to pick up in terms of traffic and word-of-mouth.

Continue Reading » New Neighbor

Wine Bar Enoteca Serves Up a Sweet Weekend Brunch

Turns Out – Enoteca (Located in The Place Shopping Mall), known for their fine wine selection, just served up another reason to extend your weekend stay – they just started a sweet weekend brunch! Shanghai’s ever-popular wine bar is now also a great Sunday Brunch destination. Who knew?

*Enoteca just launched a new menu 2 days ago and I’m a big fan of their brunch:

I highly recommend:

Enoteca’s Brunch (available Sat-Sun until 4pm) RMB 120, includes:

• Salmon Tartar
• Quiche (today it was mushroom)
• Chicken Caesar Salad
• Brie + Emmental Cheese paired with Parma Ham + Cooked Ham
• Egg ‘a la coque’ with caviar
• Bread
• Butter Croissant
• Jam
• Fresh Yogurt
• Fresh OJ/Grape Juice

Enoteca's Brunch

Continue Reading » Wine Bar Enoteca Serves Up a Sweet Weekend Brunch

Wednesday Night Drinking

1st Stop:  Sake Tasting at Morio

Perks from my job: Alan inviting me to tag along with him to a sweet Sake Tasting at Morio (Hotel G).  It’s quite perfect timing that the great Taka Yamamoto chose this particular time to host a Sake Tasting at Morio – while Alan and I are in the midst or sorting out all the details for Haiku’s Sake Tasting on August 12!

Alan and I are both a little puzzled upon arrival as we are seated at a 2-person table, expecting that we’d be sitting together with a group in an isolated section for the sake tasting. I guess it was not meant to be a group thing.

Taka was great to introduce some very fine and exclusive sakes for the tasting – we tried 5 different sakes, which were paired with the first 5 courses (7 in total).

Just to give you a taste of what we were served:

Continue Reading » Wednesday Night Drinking

The Beginning of a new Tongli?

It’s remarkable how completely different Sanlitun looks during the day compared to the bustling night scene. And I’m not talking about the Village, I’m talking about the street running perpendicular, Tongli Studio – with Aperitivo, Luga’s, my favorite DVD spot, and about 5 new restaurants that just recently popped up: Muse, a Japanese restaurant with sushi, teriyaki and noodles, Salud, and Juliette’s – a fine-dining French restaurant with chef from Jaan, Guillaume Gaillot.

I’ve observed Juliette’s from the outside and by walking by it multiple times, and you can tell this venue was much more refined than it’s neighboring hubs like Shooters and Luga’s, but I was taken aback to find it to be so fine-dining, as in Maison Boulud fine-dining.  A la carte menu’s appetizers average about 75RMB, main entrees about RMB 200 (the lobster dish is RMB 450) and desserts in the same price range as appetizers.  It will be interesting to see how Juliette’s develops and whether its affect on its neighbors will be stronger than its neighbor’s affect on Juliette’s business/clientele/image.  Juliette’s is definitely the first of its caliber on Tongli Studio .

After flipping through the menu, the set lunch was the obvious choice:

• 2 courses for RMB 78
• 3 courses + coffee RMB 98
• 2 courses with 1 glass of house wine RMB 108
• 3 courses + 1 glass of wine + coffee RMB 128

Continue Reading » The Beginning of a new Tongli?

Say ‘CHEESE!’

I have made a brilliant new discovery!  I have just stumbled upon a haven for cheese addicts; I now know where to get my cheese fix – Scarlett in Hotel G.  Originally known as the super-pricey, trendy burger joint 25 Degrees, the space has improved ten-fold as Scarlett – a wine bar and restaurant with a line-up of kick-ass weekday promotions and the BEST Cheese Selection Deals in Beijing.

I came to meet some friends for Scarlett’s Bodega Fever Promotion – All-you-can-eat tapas for RMB 88 every Thursday.  The place was pumping, I was surprised to see it so packed on a Thursday and while their tapas were great, what sold me was their glorious display of cheese. Unreal.

Their cheese selection changes regularly, but they consistently have between 12-15 types of cheese to choose from on a daily basis.

Today, their list of cheeses include: (provided by Scarlett’s manager, Alex Bouvier)

Continue Reading » Say ‘CHEESE!’

I’m Hooked

Top Spots to Work with Wifi

1. Bookworm: Spacious, nice rooftop, best book selection to dive in, a lot of natural light
2. Le Petit Gourmand: Cozy, plugs everywhere, great crepes, but a little dark for my taste
3. All-Star Sports Bar & Grill: a lot of lights, super fast wifi, favorite burger (Californian Guacamole Bacon Cheeseburger) and milkshakes
4. Café Zarah: Cozy, relaxed little coffee shop with great wifi and a nice people-watching perch.  See posting for details.
5. Vineyard Café: Their brunch is reason to go alone
6. e.a.t. (Gulou): Cozy cafe with good sandwiches and salad options

Veg-ging Out

A friend I met in Beijing two years ago was stopping through for a few days between her 4-month program abroad in Japan on her way back to the UK to continue her studies in Brighton.  Remembering she was a vegetarian, I did my homework and wanted to take her to a restaurant where she could enjoy Chinese cuisine without worrying about everything cooked in animal fat.

Pure Lotus Experience: With raving reviews everywhere, I was eager to check out this vegetarian hub run by genuine Buddhist monks.

Best Part:

• Dining was truly an ‘experience’ – from the moment we walked in, they sprinkle your hands with rose water, the décor is really phenomenal, the menus are giant picture books, the complimentary fruit was served in a basin with dry ice, and they gave us a lotus flower on our way out the door. Really a special experience, perfect to bring a vegetarian tourist. J
• Their Vegetable Hand Roll with Seaweed was fantastic (see photo here).

  Continue Reading » Veg-ging Out

What Sundays Mean to Me: Brunchathon Breakdown

When I was a kid, Sundays meant ‘the day before Monday’, which was almost as dreaded at Mondays themselves.  Sundays meant that the weekend was almost over and I had to prepare for the long stretch of the school week ahead – 5 long days of waking up early, homework, piano lessons, more homework and tests.

Now that my weekends are the most hectic and busy days of the week for me, with my Fridays & Saturdays running straight from morning to late night – 4 or 5am – Sundays are now the days I look forward to most, they are my days of bliss and leisure.

And my favorite part about Sundays?  BRUNCH!!

Here are my top picks for Sunday Brunch (See Below for Details):

Continue Reading » What Sundays Mean to Me: Brunchathon Breakdown