Spoonful of Sugar: Introducing Creative Cafe in 798

This Sunday, November 25 is the opening for Spoonful of Sugar, a new project by Jellymon and Okra Works who have joined forces to create a quaint little cafe/retail space in 798 Art District.

I’m curious to see how it differentiates itself from the over-abundance of cafes and restaurants that exist to cater to the crazy amount of crowds that come through 798 Art District every day (except for Monday when most of the art galleries are closed). That being said, I do know that they’re going to be serving “finger lickin’ good” fried chicken and oversized cocktail drinks, which is bound to fill a niche in the neighborhood.

“The wait is finally coming to an end…Come down for that fried chicken you love and miss as well as some extra large cocktails (the only way to drink them!) and possibly some other surprises.” – Jellymon & Okra Works

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On Thanksgiving: Thank Goodness We’re Not Turkeys

From a celebration of good harvest to a day of feasting and turkey comas, Thanksgiving should be nothing short of a joyous occasion shared by family and friends over an incredibly good feast – a feast that’s so phenomenal, it’s worth ignoring all forms of diets that exist and indulging in everything from a massive turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, corn-on-the-cob, pumpkin pie and apple pie…just to name a few of the staples. (I could keep going, but then I’d just be getting carried away!)

Today is also a day to be grateful and remember how lucky we are…

Lucky that we’re not turkeys and that we’re at the top of the food chain.

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85 Broads Progressive Dinner with Barbara Demick

Barbara Demick’s book Nothing to Envy puts North Korea in the spotlight.

Photograph by Kim Jae-Hwan/AFP/Getty Images

A unique chance to meet one of those rare individuals who has seen things we can hardly imagine, 85 Broads Beijing Chapter has arranged for its exceptional women’s network to gain insight and knowledge from Barbara Demick, George Polk Award and Robert F. Kennedy Award-Winning Journalist and author of Nothing to Envy, winner of the 2010 BBC Samuel Johnson prize.

Come to Capital M this Thursday, November 1st and learn about the most secretive of all states, the paranoid and isolated North Korean state from Demick’s first-hand experiences and the real life stories of North Koreans living in the 21st century.

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The Bookworm’s Poetry Project Brings A Trio of Talent

Poetry Project Welcomes A Trio of Performance Poets

“This is a celebration of the art of contemporary spoken word.”

– The Bookworm on this year’s Poetry Project

The Bookworm is hosting a two week Poetry Project showcasing three very talented performance poets.

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The Great Wall Covered in 50 Shades of Autumn

The Great Wall Covered in Color

Just trying to count the vivid shades of gold, orange, ochre and scarlet red is a feast for your eyes.

Autumn season is by far the best time of year to experience the Great Wall of China.  Although every season has its perks – winter for the white snow, spring for the pink cherry blossoms and summer for the lush green foliage, the great wall’s mountains covered in a ray of autumn colors is breath-taking.

As the change in colors has just begun, Beijingers have about two weeks (until the end of October) to get their butts up to the wall to catch a glimpse of this brief, yet beautiful time of year.

When I hiked the Great Wall this past Sunday, there were still quite a lot of barren and colorless mountain patches. But making our way from Jinshanling to the nearest exit before reaching Simatai, the view just got better and better.  The chance or running into other people becomes less probable and the landscape slowly brightens up with more intense colors, motivating you to trek on further.  *Unfortunately, you can’t actually cross over to Simatai part of the Great Wall as it is still under renovations “until next year” (which is what they’ve been repeatedly saying for at least three years now).

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Penguin Publishers’ Temple Book Talk: Sheng Keyi

The Hutong & BJ Postcards: Story Time with Maps

Learn about the Middle Kingdom Through Maps

China’s history is as long as it is intricately complex and through the years, researchers have found many unique means of understanding its history and culture, including through the use of maps. Serving a much greater purpose of exploring a region’s geography, maps serve as a way for us to also understand the level of intelligence and how a culture understood its place in the world at that particular point in history.

We all know that once upon a time, China or “中国Zhongguo” called itself “Middle Kingdom” because it believed it was located in the center of the world map.  Well, I bet you didn’t know a few more facts you can learn about China through studying its maps.

“Did you know that even though maps have been used in China for over 2000 years, and even though the Chinese had invented woodblock printing during the Tang dynasty, until the twentieth century the majority of Chinese maps were still produced with a brush?

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LumDimSum Turns 3 with Hummingbird Hook-Ups

TURNS

After over 1,000 posts and approaching LumDimSum‘s third year mark, it’s time to get a little sentimental.

This little blog of mine originally started out of curiosity with zero ambition and thanks to a few words of encouragement and a touch of OCD, it’s blossomed into a full-fledged project of mine that I hardly go a day without working on. Like the mother of a child, LumDimSum is something I think about 24/7. Whether I’m stumbling across a newly opened store, testing out a new restaurant or scouring the internet for interesting material and worthy upcoming events, I have LumDimSum at heart and always on the front of my mind.

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