Saigon Mama: Glitzy Vietnamese from Shanghai

Fast Casual Vietnamese Restaurant Brand from Shanghai

Things are not all rosy in Taikoo Li. There are a core of restaurants that produce great food, have great service and seem to have a great business. At the same time, there is a large section of the upper floor where the casualties keep mounting up. Rent is expensive, and if you aren’t that visible, your offerings need to be pretty special.

Opened at the end of November 2016, Saigon Mama is the latest tenant that, based on our experience this week, won’t be joining the ranks of the long term prosperous.

First impressions were great, ticking all the initial boxes. Their interior is stylish for a fast-casual restaurant, a bit reminiscent of North Taikoo Li’s Cacha Cacha Thai restaurant (currently still under renovations). Sitting in the restaurant, you’re surrounded by shelves stocked full of hot sauce, cans of condensed milk, and other Vietnamese products. It’s stylish and the giant logo streaked with bright blue and red neon wins Saigon Mama some major cool points.

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The Hatchery Hosts Gail’s Caribbean Cuisine

 The Hatchery Re-locates to Zhangzi Zhonglu w/ Gail’s Caribbean Pop-Up

After a very abrupt demise earlier this year, the Hatchery are back!

They have moved into a new location just south of Zhangzizhonglu subway station on Dongsi Jiutiao 东四九条 in the dynamic co-working space called 5LMeet. The space itself is very interesting – it offers the use of desks by the day, beds by night (small apartments for short or long term rent), has a gym, cafe, bookstore, events space and obviously a cool concept like the Hatchery housed within.

LDS Snapshots of 5LMeet:

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The Georg: North Side Meets South Side Collab Dinner

North Side Meets South Side: A Handsome Line-Up of Talented Chefs

The boys at the Georg like to play and the kitchen is their playground.

Where all the new dish creations are first tested, plated and tasted, their kitchen has been action-packed as they’ve been busy cranking out a new winter dinner menu, new “Fat Freddy’s Brunch” menu and even a new lunch menu featuring all the tasty smørrebrøds that was launched at the joint pop-up with Moka Bros last month.

As productive as they’ve been, I suppose “boys will be boys” as Georg’s general manager Stefano Censi who is half Danish/half Italian thought it’d be good fun to bring in a fellow Italian chef for a month-long stint and, in his words, to balance out the ratio of Danish to Italian in the kitchen.

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Merry Vibes & Mulled Wine: The Hutong’s Annual Winter Fayre

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of Year!

The Hutong’s Winter Fayre is one of their biggest community events of the year and it also happens to be where I plan to do most of my Christmas shopping every year.

While many of Beijing’s Christmas bazaars and fairs have all been taking place across the city in various embassies and hotels over the past couple weekends, The Hutong’s Winter Fayre may be one of the smaller fayres in terms of its number of vendors and sheer capacity, but it makes up for its size with its merry vibes and abundance of spiced mulled wine.

Taking place this Saturday, December 9th from 11AM-4PM, this is a great place to stock up on prezzies for the holidays and also a great place to meet and learn about some pretty crafty and talented companies who will be showcasing the best of their merchandise! 

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Kuan’s Bar & Dining: Unpretentious & Unpolished Comfort Food

**THIS VENUE IS NOW CLOSED!**

Opened opposite The Big Smoke, and one restaurant down from BBC, Kuan’s (a combination of two names – Chef Kenny and co-owner Xuan Zhang) is a promising development for a building that has changed hands multiple times recently.

I will say that this review started in the worst possible way. The front door hasn’t been constructed with opening and closing as the main priority. I tend to view this as a sign from the food gods that this place is not paying attention to the details. If you want greater insight into this, look up the story about Van Halen and brown M&Ms.

However, in this instance, the door was not an ominous portent. What awaited us was simply good comfort food!

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FU 浮: Organic Wines & Mediterranean Tapas

FU 浮 (meaning “to float” rather than “riches”) is a new tapas and wine bar that has just opened on Ju’er Hutong.

The kitchen and menu is under the management of Fabio Falanga who recently worked wonders with La Dolce Vita, I had to go try it out and see if he could pull off the same trick here!

Teaming up with owners with a background in interior design and Michael from Dada (who I’m assuming is in charge of the wine list), Fabio told us that the focus of FU is organic wines and Mediterranean small plates or tapas. He envisions it as a place to come work or have a chat with friends in a warm and intimate space. The designers have done a great job, warm is exactly the adjective I would use to describe it.

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BJ FOoDiEs Charity Dinner: Mediterranean Masterpieces at Galleria

“Galleria is a food laboratory. We specialize in food art and creative catering solutions. We collaborate with famous artists, sculptors and leading tech firms to make food experiences that spark applause and wonder at your events and ceremonies. From floating deserts to food shows – we bring excitement to catering and make sure your event is unforgettable.” – Galleria Team

Located on the 3rd Ring Road just south of the Nexus SOHO building, Galleria is on the B1 level of Jjiaming Center next to the Starbucks. A space that looks more like an art gallery than a restaurant, you’ll be amazed to discover that at Galleria, food and art is interchangeable and imagination here comes in all shapes and sizes (that’s as delicious as it gets).Not your average “restaurant”, Galleria showcases some of their impressive food/art commissions among the tables and chairs including the Italian embassy’s commission to create San Marco’s Lion out of sugar, a sculpture of Picasso out of chocolate, and David’s Head in a mint and limoncello flavored jelly.

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Haiku by Hatsune: Raising the Bar for Teppanyaki

This ain’t Tairyo (thank goodness).

Haiku by Hatsune is a teppanyaki + sushi restaurant that’s been off the radar for the past few years. It was buzz-worthy and super trendy back in 2008 when it was part of the Block 8 entertainment complex that also featured the gorgeous, sand-filled bar called “The Beach” on its rooftop. But after Block 8 closed (along with that awesome rooftop bar) in 2011, Haiku also went under major renovations to specialize in teppanyaki.  Fast forward several years later, Haiku is back under Hatsune management and has combined two wonderful worlds of sushi and teppanyaki under one glorious roof. Unlike other teppanyaki joints, Haiku is not about quantity – no  all you can drink/eat here – it is about quality.

If you are unfamiliar with the Block 8 complex 8号公馆, this is just on the west gate of Chaoyang park, a little to the north of Jenny Lou’s. As you enter the main entrance off the main Chaoyang Park West Gate road 朝阳公园西路, follow the road to the right and walk around the big block of buildings until you see the building with Haiku’s logo on the 3rd floor. Once you get to the lobby, staff will usher you into the elevator where you go up to the third floor.

Walking in, you’ll notice that the place is like a rabbit warren. Lots and lots of private rooms. Whilst they do have open tables, more intimacy is definitely the focus.

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