¡Ay, caramba! Avocado Tree

Avocado Tree: Serving Up Guacamole in All It’s Glory

As a Californian, I was a Chipotle regular but admittedly more out of convenience and peer pressure (my friends were hooked). For those who aren’t familiar with Chipotle, it is widely known as the ”healthy” fast-food Mexican grill chain that spread like wildfire across America. Over the past few years in Beijing, I’ve heard people talk about Avocado Tree 油梨树, but mostly in comparison to Chipotle. While I was keen to reminisce the days I used to eat at Chipotle multiple times a week, Avocado Tree’s older branches have been based out in Wudaokou, Shunyi and Sanyuanqiao – all out of arm’s reach and I’ll be honest – I was never all that crazy about Chipotle anyway so I never made the effort to go out of my way to seek out a meal at Avocado Tree until recently.

A growing restaurant empire with 5 branches spread across Beijing, one of Avocado Tree’s newer, swankier branches is in City Mall (or PingAn Mall on the northwest side of Liangmaqiao, just west of the Westin Hotel) and after my first ever visit to this location, I have since been back 3 times in the past week in spite of the torrential downpour of summer rain that’s left our city a hot, flooded mess. Needless to say, that’s a whole lot more effort than I ever gave Chipotle back in California.

Avocado Tree has been in existence since 2010, which goes to show you that some businesses do take time to mature and hit their stride. I am very glad that Avocado Tree has had time to do just that as their branch in Liangmaqiao and most recently in Sanlitun’s food-filled Topwin Mall is a godsend if you live/work in the area and want something tasty and healthy for lunch.

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Me Café by Mercedes Me: Not Your Standard Café Menu

Not the Standard Café Food at Mercedes Me Café

If you hadn’t noticed the large Mercedes “Me” sign in Sanlitun, then congratulations on climbing out from under your rock. In a loud, brash and unsubtle move, Mercedes have shoved their brand front and center of the Sanlitun area. Having already sampled the Chinese restaurant Sifang Sanchuan upstairs, I was keen to see what other food a car company can crank out in their Me Café on the 1st floor of Topwin Center.

Directly Across from Sanlitun Taikoo Li’s Uniqlo, Mercedes Me is Splashing Out

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Pachakutiq Pop-Up: A Peruvian Party of Flavors, Colors & Music

Pachakutiq’s Peruvian Pop-Up in China Central Place

Peruvian cuisine has been one of the few major omissions from the Beijing culinary scene as it has developed over the past few years. With the recent RAW Peruvian Pop-Up by Mosto, the return of Buena Onda at the Hatchery, and now the pop-up opening of Pachakutiq in the original location of Buena Onda in China Central Place, it looks like something catching on with Peruvian cuisine in Beijing! While all of the past and current Peruvian concepts are either set to be available for a limited time frame, we still have our fingers crossed that Peruvian cuisine will find a more permanent home in Beijing. So while it’s still a bit off and on, now is the time to get your fix.

Situated in the Cafe Flatwhite in the open courtyard space of the CBD’s China Central Place (in front of the Baccarat store and south of the Ritz-Carlton’s main entrance).  Taking over the Cafe Flatwhite space every day after 5PM, this is pretty much the same deal that Buena Onda also first launched in.  While it’s not necessarily convenient for those who aren’t based near the CBD, it is a great spot in the evening for a few drinks and refreshing snacks if you work in the area.

Having learned from the Chia sibling team of two brothers and a sister – Francisco, Maria and Juan Carlos Chia, they were born and raised in Lima, Peru with a family history of making Pisco, they are now keen to bring their family’s Pisco to China and also open a Nikkei gastronomic bar with a Peruvian chef that comes from Osaka, one of the most famous Nikkei restaurants in Lima.

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Double the Market, Double the Fun: Beijing Flea Market Turns 1!

Bash Out the Balloons, Beijing’s Beloved Flea Market Turns 1!

Celebrating their 1st birthday, The Beijing Flea Market is ballooning to double its size by spreading across two separate venues – The Bookworm (its home base) and now also Pop-Up Beijing just a few steps away in south Sanlitun.

This is the first time Beijing Flea Market has expanded and we’re all the more delighted to see this fun and crafty market continue to grow with more vendors selling unique craft goods, hand-drawn art, fashion pieces and accessories, gorgeous jewellery and tasty bites!

“Eat cake and drink champagne and spritzers with us as The Beijing Flea Market celebrates its 1st birthday on Saturday, July 16 from 11am to 5pm!! Aside from an indie makers sale on The Bookworm’s rooftop, we’ll be extending the market grounds to include an additional awesome venue in Sanlitun’s Courtyard 4 community: Pop-Up Beijing. Look out for even MORE vendors between the two spaces, new faces, and of course, locally made design, clothes, food, drink deals and more!” – Jessica Rapp, Founder of The Beijing Flea Market 

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Wan菀: Wudaoying’s Secret Garden

Welcome to Wan: Wudaoying’s Secret Garden

Wudaoying Hutong, we are all praying for you. Praying that you do not morph into another monstrosity, the likes of which Nanluoguxiang (NLGX) has become. For now, there is much to recommend this street and Wan is a welcome addition.

Wan is a Vietnamese restaurant located opposite VA bar on the East end of the street, next to the Yonghegong Subway. From the outside, it seems like a tiny space with only 3 tables, but inside is actually deceptively big, much like Mary Poppins’ bag. There is space enough for at least 60 people and it is a very lovely surprise of a space.

With a large open glass ceiling, it is beautifully lit by natural light during the day. There is plenty of foliage – so you can feel like you’re sitting in your very own garden courtyard, and a few private corners for if you want a quieter conversation.

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To Boldly Go: Beyond Yakitori

Before I begin this review, note that everything that was seen and eaten was a preview version of the restaurant and may not be entirely representative of the final product, but based on the strength of our first tasting, I strongly urge all foodies to make Beyond Yakitori a priority visit once it soft-opens on July 2nd (they plan to officially open mid-July).

Located in the Topwin Centre (same building as the Mercedes Me project), Beyond Yakitori is on the 3rd floor alongside a bunch of other restaurants who also seem to be just opened or in the process of opening very soon. It specialises, as you might have guessed, in Yakitori; aka Japanese chuanr.

LDS Snapshots of Beyond Yakitori:

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Mercedes Me’s Sifang Sanchuan: Taste the Cradle of Chinese Civilization

Back in the day, Sanlitun was an upstart neighbourhood with a grotty street that became known as Bar Street and very little else to recommend it. The area has been transformed since then and the latest development is the Topwin centre, which also houses the new Intercontinental Hotel set to open later this year.

If you’ve walked past it, you can’t help but notice there is a big Mercedes presence and it isn’t to sell cars. Mercedes have decided to try and branch out over recent years and begun opening Mercedes Me around the world. This one in Beijing is currently the biggest, with a shop, cafe, bar and a restaurant. So, recently your intrepid blogger went to find out why on earth a car manufacturer has entered the restaurant business.

“The world’s largest Mercedes me venue at 2,800 m2, the venue is home to the meCafe, a Southeast Asian Café; a juice bar by meCafe; the Lighthouse, a cosmopolitan watering hole; SiFang SanChuan, a modern Chinese restaurant; a gallery space, and retail component. Designed by HG Merz, the venue is a project created by operated by Cakeshop Originals.

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Moon Lamb 蒙三羊: Succulent Roast Lamb Ribs

Succulent Roast Lamb Neighborhood Joint

Once of the biggest perks of the summer – eating al fresco in the evenings! While there are some gorgeous terraces where you can dine surrounded by trees, green shrubbery and views of hutong rooftops, one of my favorite casual nights out is just digging into a ton of chuar on the side of a hutong street (normally just sitting at a small table with plastic stools) outside a local Chinese restaurant. This is one of the “must have” China experiences during these summer months so if you haven’t done it already, add it to the top of your To-Do List. And if you break it down, it’s basically the local version of the summer BBQ experiences we have in summer!

A very popular place I like to frequent for this sort of dining experience is Beixinqiao San Tiao 北新桥三条 (a hutong that runs parallel just north of Ghost Street 簋街) where you can eat your way through an entire leg of lamb. Designed for adventurous eaters with a big appetite when it comes to consuming a whole lot of protein in one sitting, this lamb leg experience might not be for everyone especially since this requires quite a lot of hands-on work where eaters to do a lot of the slicing themselves.

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