LumDimSummary: Hatsune @Kerry Opening Party

SHARK ATTACK! Hatsune’s Opening Party at its Newest Branch @Kerry Center

It’s been over 5 years since the Hatsune Restaurant Group opened their last restaurant in Sanlitun Taikoo Li Village and this newest opening was quite under the radar. With an invitation-only opening party, Hatsune’s most loyal Sushi Samurais were requested to attend the big bang celebration that the Hatsune team hosted over an abundance of sushi rolls, tempura bites and free-flowing sake, cocktails by Grand Marnier and 京A‘s exclusive collaboration brew with Hatsune called Blushing Geisha Koji Red Ale.

Unbeknownst to many, their newest branch at Kerry Center Shopping Mall has actually been quietly open since December 2013. But to ensure that all the new staff were well-trained, equipment tried and tested, furniture and plate ware were all delivered, service were up to their “Hatsune standards”, they wanted to make sure everything was just right before they announced their newest baby on the loud speaker.

A bit surprised to discover the location of this newest branch is just a few blocks from their Original Guanghua Lu Restaurant and in the basement of a shopping mall, but the decor is delightful and the sumo theme is as playful and charming as their ever-popular Sanlitun Taikoo Li Village branch. And the best part were the flying, remote-controlled blow-up giant sharks and clown fish swimming through the party crowd all evening.

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Super Bowl XLVIII Live Viewings: Seahawks vs. Broncos

 The people of New York & New Jersey are proud to host the first outdoor, cold weather Super Bowl

February 2, 2014 @ MetLife Stadium

In November 2013, San Francisco 49ers legend and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana made his very first trip to China with an appearance in Kerry Hotel Beijing to gear people up for the Super Bowl XLVIII. (Click here to read his interview with Time Out Beijing).

As the presence of the NFL in China grows, so are the number of options you have to watch America’s (and possibly the world’s) most viewed sporting event.

“In China, Super Bowl XLVIII will be aired by 6 TV broadcasters (FOX Sports, Shanghai G-Sports, Jinbao Sports, Guangdong TV Sports, Euro Soccer, SiTV) as well streamed live on 4 major digital platforms: PPTV, LeTV, Sina Sports and QQ Sports.”

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Jump Start 2014: LDS’ Top 10 NYE Celebrations

2013 came and went faster than most of us would have liked, but here’s to the passing of another eventful year and the beginnings of a bright and exciting 2014 ahead!

After stuffing ourselves silly at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, I’m not sure how many want to indulge in lavish multiple-course meals again this New Year’s Eve but there are plenty of fancy dinners available at many of Beijing’s top restaurants followed by a range of different NYE parties including both upscale, dress-up parties and wild, packed-out dance parties with the city’s top DJ’s playing straight into 2014.

There’s plenty out there, but here goes the LDS breakdown of Top 10 Events to ring in 2014 –

LDS’ Top 10 Picks for New Year’s Eve:

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Thanksgiving 2013: LDS Picks for Top Turkey Feasts

Beijing’s Best Thanksgiving Feasts 2013

With terrific Thanksgiving spreads available around town throughout the week, there’s no reason why you have to pressure yourself into picking just one Thanksgiving meal.  We’ve waited all year long for this incredible turkey feast to come around again so make the most of it this year and sign yourself up for as many as you can stuff yourself with.

Whether you’re American is irrelevant because no matter where you’re from, everyone can appreciate a holiday focused on phenomenal food and good company, and celebrate Thanksgiving with a home-style meal even if they are so far away from home.

Last year, my gang of foodies managed to eat through two turkey feasts in one day. Some might call us guilty of gluttony, but I just say we were fully embracing the spirit of Thanksgiving. A very special time of year for foodies like us, it’s a time where diets are thrown out the window and you indulge guilt-free in anything and everything that is Thanksgiving goodness.

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Chi Fan for Charity 2013: Reserve Your Seats Now

Time to Reserve Your Seats for CFFC 2013 on November 2nd in Beijing 

The fifth annual Chi Fan for Charity (CFFC) dinner event is once again taking place on the first Saturday of November – November 2nd to be precise and tickets just went on sale this week. Less than a month away, you’ll want to start figuring out which restaurant and table host you’ll want to book while they’re still available online!

An event praised for bringing together local opinion leaders, celebrities and other charitable-minded individuals to raise money for worthwhile philanthropic causes at Beijing’s top restaurants, CFFC is an inspiring event that involves such a strong community of individuals that really rallies their friends and associates to make this one of the most highly anticipated events of the year.

If you are unfamiliar with CFFC, the concept is easy enough to digest:

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Bespoke Beijing’s Time Chase Scavenger Hunt

“You built a time machine… out of a Chang Jiang 750 sidecar?”

It’s like Back to the Future, but instead of traveling back to 1950’s America with Michael J. Fox, you get to race through the history of Beijing in a time machine that comes in the form of a side car!

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Sept. 26 – Oct. 3: Beijing Design Week (BJDW) 2013

A week of eye candy and creative events for Beijing’s creative community, Beijing Design Week (BJDW) 2013 is set to take place starting this Thursday at China Millennium Monument and then throughout the week with events and art installations spread across the capital from Beijing’s 1900s Red Light District Dashilar to 751 D-Park and Caochangdi (CCD) Art Districts.

A week that celebrates creativity in design through art, fashion, and music, the scope of “design” can be as broad as your imagination extends, so explore these original concepts through various exhibitions and art fairs that will be running the entire week with events beginning this Thursday, September 26 and runs through October holiday until Thursday, October 3, 2013.

With pre-Beijing Design Week events also happening this week, I felt like a proud mother last night as I led my group of 19 high school students from Concordia International School Shanghai through the Australian Embassy’s “Beijing Green” event featuring a multimedia art installation project by Australian artist Matthew Joscelyne, founder of Earth Media Group.  As part of The Hutong Education + Concordia School’s collaborative Mosaic Interim Creative Arts Program, the students volunteered to carry a giant Earth globe, parting the crowds as this marked the beginning of the “Earth Ceremony” which introduced both Beijing’s Green initiative to create a Greener Beijing and provide a voice to the environmental issues facing Beijing, encouraging people to think about what they can do to create a healthy environment and a more sustainable future for generations to come.

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Moon Cake Madness for Mid-Autumn Festival 2013

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! 中秋节快乐！

While most Chinese will be rushing home to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with their family, that’s just not an option for those of us living here far away from home.  But that’s OK because we still get to enjoy the long weekend holiday with more moon cakes than we could possibly ever stomach.  Moon cake party anyone?!

A Chinese confection traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn festival (today!), these little pastries are everywhere at the moment.  You can find them packaged neatly and individually by small vendors and local bakeries or sold in elaborate package box sets designed to impress.  As tasty as they are (I especially like the ones filled with red bean paste), these moon cakes are more than just a symbol of China’s mid-autumn festival, they have also become an obligatory gift this time of year.

If you’re living in China, this is the time for you to start purchasing some fancy pantsy mooncakes to give as gifts to all your Chinese colleagues, friends and clients (or anyone you want to show a sign of gratitude and appreciation for). But as foreigners, many of us didn’t grow up eating moon cakes and don’t exactly have a discerning palette when it comes to picking out which fillings or whether or not to go for the ones with an egg yolk inside, case in point.

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