Beijinger Restaurant Awards: Hatsune Wins Best Japanese 6 Years in a Row!

At theBeijinger’s Restaurant Awards on Tuesday, March 16, Hatsune took home Best Japanese for the 6th year in a row, along with Outstanding for Best Decor.

Congratulations to Alan Wong, owner of the Hatsune Empire, for holding it strong and staying at the top of the game 6 years running.

That’s gotta be a record!!

Owner of the Hatsune Empire, Alan Wong goes up on stage with baby Mason Wong to pick up his award for Best Japanese! 6 years in a row baby!

Other big winners from the awards ceremony include:

• SALT – Winner for Best Chef & Runner up for Best Business Lunch, Best Steak, Best Service, Restaurant of the Year
• Mosto – Runner Up for Best Chef, Best Business Lunch, Best Wine List, Best for a Romantic Meal, Restaurant of the Year
• Haidilao – Winner for Best HotPot, and Runner up for Best Service, Chinese Restaurant of the Year
• Da Dong – Winner for Best Contemporary Chinese, Best Duck, Best for Impressing Visitors, Best Chinese Restaurant of the Year
• Maison Boulud - Winner for Best French, Best for a Romantic Meal, Best Wine List, Best Service,  Best Western Restaurant of the Year

Complete list of all Beijinger Dining Awards Categories and Winners, click here.

Collecting Hatsune's Award for Best Japanese

LumDimSummary of Beijinger Restaurant Awards:

Best Part:

• iF Juice was a sponsor!  The most thirst-quenching, delicious fresh juice available in Beijing! I’m kind of obsessed.
• Alan Wong brought up baby Mason to collect his award for Best Japanese (6 years in a row!)
• Cheese by Yellow Valley Cheese is delicious
• Cherry flavored Beer
• Foodie Crowd Galore…or just PR people representing restaurants

Comments:

• Hosts were painfully bad.  Dominic Johnson-Hill of Plastered 8 T-shirts could not pronounce any names if his life depended on it and Ai Wan actually said, and I quote, “Wow! This is extraordinary a woman won Best Chef! Normally chefs are men.  Now, tell me Ana, how old are you?” Someone should censor that woman.
• Joy Luck provided no food for the event and it was just a very random location for a restaurant awards ceremony.

While many of the winners are very deserving of their awards, I was a disappointed to see Annie’s won Best Italian (come on people, it’s not best delivery service), Ganges for Best Indian (they just happen to have the best locations and marketing), and Element Fresh for Best American, Best Sandwiches, and Best Non-Hotel Brunch? I only approve of their smoothies and boycott the rest.

Beijinger’s Restaurant Award Winners vs. LumDimSum’s Votes:

• Best Contemporary Chinese – Beijinger Winner: Da Dong, LumDimSum Vote: Bei (Opposite House)
• Best Duck -Beijinger Winner: Da Dong, LumDimSum Vote: Made in China
• Best Sichuan – Beijinger Winner: South Beauty, LumDimSum Vote: Chuan Ban
• Best Dim Sum – Beijinger Winner: Jin Ding Xuan, LumDimSum Vote: Jin Ding Xuan (Tuanjiehu)
  
• Best Hot Pot – Beijinger Winner: Haidilao, LumDimSum Vote: Haidilao
• Best Kung Pao Chicken – Beijinger Winner: South Beauty, LumDimSum Vote: Black Sesame Kitchen
• Best Xinjiang – Beijinger Winner: Red Rose, LumDimSum Vote: Crescent Moon
• Best Yunan – Beijinger Winner: Middle 8th Restaurant, LumDimSum Vote: Middle 8th Restaurant
• Best French- Beijinger Winner: Maison Boulud, LumDimSum Vote: Maison Boulud
• Best Indian / Pakistani – Beijinger Winner: Ganges, LumDimSum Vote: Punjabi
• Best Italian -Beijinger Winner: Annie’s, LumDimSum Vote: Sadler Ristorante & Metro
  
• Best Japanese – Beijinger Winner: Hatsune, LumDimSum Vote: Hatsune & Kagen Teppanyaki
• Best Mediterranean – Beijinger Winner: Sureno, LumDimSum Vote: Sureno
• Best Mexican – Beijinger Winner: Saddle Cantina, LumDimSum Vote: Pete’s Tex Mex
• Best Middle Eastern – Beijinger Winner: 1001 Nights, LumDimSum Vote: Biteapitta
• Best Thai – Beijinger Winner: Purple Haze, LumDimSum Vote: Aroy-D (by Fulicheng)
• Best Vietnamese – Beijinger Winner: Muse, LumDimSum Vote: Luga’s Pho-Pho
• Best American – Beijinger Winner: Element Fresh, LumDimSum Vote: All-Star Sports Bar & Grill
• Best Business Lunch – Beijinger Winner: Alameda, LumDimSum Vote: Hatsune
• Family-Friendly Restaurant – Beijinger Winner: Annie’s, LumDimSum Vote: Orchard
• Impressing Visitors – Beijinger Winner: Da Dong, LumDimSum Vote: Duck de Chine
• Best Brunch (Non-Hotel) – Beijinger Winner: Element Fresh, LumDimSum Vote: Orchard
• Best Hotel Brunch – Beijinger Winner: Westin Financial Street & Westin Chaoyang, LumDimSum Vote: Westin Chaoyang
• Best Pizza – Beijinger Winner: The Tree, LumDimSum Vote: The Tree
• Best Sandwiches – Beijinger Winner: Element Fresh, LumDimSum Vote: Sequoia Cafe
  
• Best Steak – Beijinger Winner: Meat & Wine Co., LumDimSum Vote: Meat & Wine Co.
• Best Tapas – Beijinger Winner: Olas Tapas Cafe, LumDimSum Vote: Mosaico
• Wine List – Beijinger Winner: Maison Boulud, LumDimSum Vote: Enoteca
• Best Burger – Beijinger Winner: Let’s Burger, LumDimSum Vote: All-Star Sports Bar & Grill
• Best For a Romantic Meal – Beijinger Winner: Maison Boulud, LumDimSum Vote: Capital M
• Best Chef – Beijinger Winner: Ana Esteves – SALT, LumDimSum Vote: Max Levy – Bei/Apothecary
• Best Décor – Beijinger Winner: LAN, LumDimSum Vote: Hatsune & Capital M
• Best Service – Beijinger Winner: Maison Boulud, LumDimSum Vote: Maison Boulud
• Restaurant of the Year (Chinese) – Beijinger Winner: Da Dong, LumDimSum Vote: Made in China
• Restaurant of the Year (Non-Chinese) – Beijinger Winner: Maison Boulud, LumDimSum Vote: Hatsune

Black Sesame Kitchen: The Not-So-Secret Hidden Gem

A lot of people have heard of Black Sesame Kitchen’s fun and interactive cooking classes or wine ‘n dine dinner parties, but not so many people know that once a month, Black Sesame Kitchen will host a special 10-course traditional Chinese meal + all-you-can-drink quality wine for RMB 150 per person. Doesn’t get much better than that.

Black Sesame Kitchen may not be listed among CityWeekend’s Gourmet Month Restaurants, but it may as well be, considering how incredibly awesome this steal of a bargain is!

Hosted by my very favorite event manager, Candice Lee aka C-dice, she really does wonders for this little hutong kitchen. Considering she knows EVERYONE in Beijing, there is always a fully-booked table with all the cool kids in town (foodies who know where it’s at).

This special deal only occurs once a month (typically the first Wednesday of every month), but the cooking classes are a ton of fun and Black Sesame Kitchen is the perfect destination to impress out-of-towners and host private dinner parties whether its a birthday, corporate event or wine tasting.

Black Sesame Kitchen Review: Off of Nanluoguxiang (turn when you see Log-in Bar), 黑芝麻胡同3号  Tel: 136-9147-4408

Best Part:

• You can indulge in an amazing 10-course meal PLUS all-you-can-drink QUALITY wine for only RMB 150 (special price available once a month)
• Best dessert EVER: Candied Apples Chilled in Vanilla Ice Cream
• Everything is cooked right in front of you, making for a really interactive dining experience – Chairman Wang is a culinary genius
• The wine selection is always superb in taste and quality
• The service is the best (C-dice is the perfect host, always on top of her game)
• A great option to host private dinner parties for a group of friends and the cooking classes are really great (*think birthday present for someone who loves cooking and good food).
• It’s a great place to bring friends or to meet new friends (always a great dining crowd of foodies who share the love for good food and wine)

Comments:

• Incredibly tricky to find if it’s your first time (but I promise you it’s worth the extra effort – just carefully follow the directions they send to you)
• You need to learn to pace yourself and prepare for heaps of food that seems to never stop coming (my first time, I made the terrible mistake of overloading on the first dishes and was stuffed by the 5th course – reminder: there are 10! And trust me, you’ll want to save room for their dessert)

Rating: (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best)

• Food: 9
• Atmosphere: 8
• Service: 9
• Overall Experience: 9
  

Best for First

I’ve always been the type of person who likes to save the best for last.

Maybe it’s just me, but I always like knowing that the best is yet to come and when that moment arrives, I like to savor it and make it last as long as possible.

Back in April, I managed to gorge myself with about 20 gourmet month meals in 30 days.  And out of those 20 meals, the general consensus agreed the best value and our overall favorite meal was at Kagen.

Some of the other restaurants may have been newer, trendier, fancier, better customer service, etc., but when it came down to the food quality, quantity and overall dining experience, Kagen blew our expectations.

With the start of November, I was pumped for Gourmet Month all over again.

Initially, I wanted to try out a new restaurant: perhaps Olas Tapas Cafe as it is conveniently located in Sanlitun (my home away from home) but my foodies crew was all about Kagen again.  Normally I would want to save Kagen for last, but with 30 days and about 15 restaurants I’m set to dine at this time around, I’ve got room for Kagen at least twice this month (one BBQ set & one hot pot set).

For only 150RMB, the deal is ridiculous! (I honestly recommend that two girls can share one meal, it’s that much food!)  But if you are someone like me, with a healthy appetite, then you will leave stuffed…and your stomach expanded to its brink.

Here’s the breakdown:

Assorted Appetizer Platter – Seared Beef Carpaccio, Roasted Bacon and Asparagus Roll, Stir-fry gobo, Tobiko Salad, Calamari

Assorted BBQ Combo Course – Short Ribs, Rib Eye, Yakitori, Jumbo Butter Prawns

Or

Assorted Hot Pot Combo Course – Sliced Rib-eye, Fish & Shrimp Balls, Sliced Salmon, Sea Conch, and Assorted Mushrooms

Stone Rice Bowl with Vegetables

Miso Soup

Mousse and Ice Cream Dessert

**I recommend the BBQ combo if you had to choose one, but both are bomb. And most likely you will go with more than one person, so have someone else get the hot pot and share. 

And Oh my goodness, the ice cream dessert is heaven.  I would advise to go for the chocolate as it’s creamy and rich (the strawberry was more like a sorbet than ice cream).

With all of us foodies just sticking to the BBQ this time, we’ll be back at least once more for the Hot Pot and then again to keep our taste buds happy.

Next Stop:

Tuesday, Nov. 3rd: All-Star Sports Bar & Grill (to introduce a few foodies to the best burger in town)

Wednesday, Nov. 4th:  Gourmet Month Break – Black Sesame Kitchen’s Wine ‘n Dine Special (10 course meal & all-you-can-drink wine for only RMB 150)

Thursday, Nov. 5th: Olas Tapas Cafe - new restaurant I have yet to try.

For the rest of the month, here are my top 10 picks:

• Bei – Most amazing looking menu
• Mare’s - I want to check out the new location
• Hatsune – The Q Roll alone is worth going for
• SALT – I want to try both their lunch & dinner menu
• Oden – Perfect remedy to the bitter cold winter weather
• Enoteca – Great meal WITH a glass of wine
• Meat & Wine Co. – One of my favorites from last April’s Gourmet Month
• Za’atar – Very unique menu in comparison to the rest (but in Shunyi)
• Morel’s - One of Beijing’s oldest restaurants that I have yet to try
• Haiku – Menu is totally different from Hatsune and it’s just next door to my home

Comments:

• From my experiences last April, I try to avoid most hotel restaurants, which have all been very, very empty.  It’s creepy to be the only people dining in a restaurant.  Exception may be to try Tamarind, who’s menu is pretty impressive (not to mention extensive) and reviews have been well received.  Plus, I love good Indian food.
• Brasserie Flo offers a generous menu (I tried last April), but the decor was pretty tacky and the food wasn’t enough to bring me back a second time around.
• I automatically boycott any restaurant that charges RMB 250 for chicken as the main entree.  *Ahem* Astor Grill.  Weak Sauce.
• I’m disappointed Mosto upped their price from 150 to 250 and the selection is quite minimal compared to last time around. Isn’t the point of Gourmet Month to provide good value and impress first-timers to return? Bummer.

*Originally I had planned to create a calendar with designated Gourmet Month Menu days, but I can’t seem to plan more than 4 days ahead.  From reading this entry, you know my top targets, so just shoot me an e-mail if you want me to include you/notify you when I decide to go to the restaurant you want to try too.  As always, the more the merrier.   kristen@lumdimsum.com

If You Like It Hot

With Beijing’s sudden drop in temperature, what’s better than a spicy meal to warm your winter blues?

If you’re like me and you crave meals filled with flavor and spice, here’s a breakdown of some of my top picks for different styles of cuisine, known to make you sweat:

1. Best Sichuan – known for its liberal use of garlic, chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns which produces a “tingly-numbing (Ma La)” sensation, unique to Sichuan cuisine.

• Chuan Ban
• Yu Xin
• The Sichuan Restaurant in Solana by Tsingtao Brewery (forgot name)
• Black Sesame Kitchen
  

  Karaiya's Spicy Pepper Diced Rib Eye

2. Best Hunan – As spicy as Sichuan, but without the numbing sensation. Hunan’s spice is much more flavorful

• Karaiya Spice House

4. Best Hot Pot – An interactive, dining experience- you get to cook raw food in a boiling stew (opt for the spicy one)

• Hai Di Lao
• Hot Pot on Gui Jie
• Xiabu Xiabu – a reliable chain of hot pot restaurants

5. Best Yunan – Spices are not as dominant or as intense as Sichuan or Hunan, but many dishes are quite spicy and diverse.

• Middle 8th 中8楼 – nice decor and good food with low prices.  I’m quite addicted to their rice wine, and I love that it comes in a big bamboo container.   Always a good option for guests or a casual lunch with friends.

6. Best Indian – One of the most popular cuisines around the globe, known for its abundance use of spices and herbs, with signature curry dishes.

• Mughal’s (Indian/Pakistani)
• Ganges
• Punjabi
• Hazara (in Face Bar)

7. Best Thai – Known for being spicy and hot, the heat is also combined with flavors that are sour, sweet or bitter.  I particularly like the combination of coconut milk in Thai soups and curries.

• Aroy-D (Shuangjing/Fulicheng Area) – where I was first introduced to Thai cuisine
• Purple Haze
• Lantung Thai Bar & Bistro
• Very Siam