“Suck My Kick”: Kickball 2010

Candice Lee’s annual birthday kickball tournament has become a high-anticipated, full-on epic Beijing event.

From team captains, team uniforms, team spirit and chants to keg stands, beer boat races and serious athletic competition, Anything & Everything goes in kickball.

LumDimSummary of C-Dice’s 2010 Kickball Tournament:

1 Birthday Girl

+

6 Teams

+

150+ People

+

25 Kegs

+

Endless Heckling Matches/Competitive Streaks

= 7 Hours of Non-Stop Kickball Fun

LumDimSum Photo Gallery of C-Dice’s 2010 Kickball Tournament:

Team 你以为

Team Golden Horde

Team CBD Bloodz

Team HouHai Crips

Team WonTon Hitters aka Best Team EVER

Team Super Dupers

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
  

The New Kid on the Block: d. lounge.gallery.food

C-Dice & I @ d.lounge

For over a month now, I’d been hearing about the new kid in town – d. lounge (not to be confused with D-Bar in the Renaissance Hotel). After celebrating my birthday dinner at my favorite restaurant Kagen Teppanyaki, I was eager to check out the space and pay a visit to my dear friend Warren Pang (former manager of Punk in the Opposite House), especially after hearing so much about this new bar and considering Tuesday nights are not exactly the most bumping night of the week.

Unsure if it would even be open on a regular Tuesday evening around 11pm, C-dice & I poke our heads inside and walk down a long corridor to find an intimate, high-ceilinged space covered in red brick with a tall, elegant bar against the back wall and funky leather croc sofas and modern furniture throughout.

After speaking to Warren and seeing their drink menu, I was quite surprised to discover that d. lounge has not even officially opened yet!  According to Warren, for the past month, d. lounge is still in its soft-opening stage, offering private gatherings and inviting limited guests while they are still working out some pre-opening kinks and are in the process of finalizing two other sections that have yet to be open to the public.  Warren may call this an “extended soft-opening period,” I call it a brilliant marketing strategy.

In the meantime, d. lounge is now open daily featuring various artwork on its high brick walls that will be changed on a regular basis and a basic drink list with 9 cocktails and 4 regular well drinks priced RMB 50-60.  In the future, the space will serve a bistro-style menu with mini burgers and tapas and the space will also be a hub to feature designer clothing/street wear.

By the same owners as Jazz-Ya and Izaka-ya, d. lounge is located just behind Nanjie on Sanlitun Nanjie and is set to officially open Mid-October 2009.

Best Part:

• The Bar – its design is original, classy and its very impressive without being imposing
• Their Kiwi & Strawberry Caipiroska is my new favorite drink
• The design of the venue is modern, fashionable, and very New York without being pretentious
• A small space with super high ceilings makes it easy to fill with a cozy, intimate vibe without feeling claustrophobic (I love red brick walls)
• Warren is a fantastic host & bar manager, it’s no surprise he’s got such a loyal following from Punk – he’s personable, welcoming, and his concept of keeping d. lounge in this “pre-opening stage” while being open to public is ingenious PR. Well-done mate!

Comments:

• In my 2 hours stay, my legs were eaten alive by mosquitos
• I am eager to see d.lounge officially open – to see the rest of the unopened space, to taste their bistro menu, see what type of designer clothing they choose to feature, and above all, the type of music they will play (As much as I like the crowd and design at Punk, I never cared for the music).