Get Down ‘n Dirty with Local Neighborhood Chuar

A lot of people I know like to stake claims that their neighborhood chuar spot is the best in Beijing.  Unless you live on my block, I beg to differ.

Not only is there a fixed Jianbing spot, they have a mobile chuar grill, 麻辣烫 ma la tang station, 凉皮儿 liang pi’er cold noodle cart, 红薯 sweet potato cart, a car with a trunk full of Chinese books, and they’ve most recently added a popcorn machine.  AWESOME.

Packed at all hours of the day until the wee hours of the night, my chuar spot is pumping pretty much 24 hours a day.  They offer a wide selection with relatively fresh ingredients (for a Chinese chuar corner) with the constant flow of customers and they’ve got amazing chicken wing chuar 鸡翅串.

One of my favorite spots after a night out or even at sporadic times throughout the week, I highly recommend my chuar corner to anyone who passes by the Tuanjiehu ‘hood.

If you don’t believe that mine is the best around, I’m always down for a Chuar Challenge Face-Off. Bring it.

LumDimSum Snapshots of My Neighborhood Chuar Corner:

Address: Across from the Gynecology hospital just south of Chaoyang Park West Gate on Tuanjiehu Road, 北京市朝阳区团结湖路

Orient Kitchen: An Asian Element Fresh

My experience dining at Orient Kitchen last night was comparable to my previous experiences at Element Fresh when it first opened in the sense that it was an overall satisfying and enjoyable and yet I find it rather taxing to pick out something particularly unique or distinctive about my experience.  On the plus side, Orient Kitchen features an irresistibly tempting menu and a buzzing atmosphere, for a quick, satisfying meal.

I was impressed to walk in and find the newly opened Sanlitun Village restaurant fully booked, so Candy and I waited about ten minutes before a table opened up. The menu was well designed with pictures to accompany every dish, which comprised of an extensive selection of Chinese and South-Asian fusion cuisine. The interior is cozy and welcoming with both casual booth seating and high-stool seating and the entire place was full of energy.

Come time to order, we went a little overboard.  Everything on the menu looked incredibly appetizing and I think we ordered enough for four. Every dish we ordered was satisfying and well priced from the Hot and Sour Noodle Soup with Dumplings (RMB 25), Pan-fried Froglegs with Chili Peppers (RMB 32), Spinach with Sesame Sauce (RMB 14), stir-fry tofu and eggplant (RMB 35), mushroom stuffed vegetable rolls (RMB 35), pork pancake (RMB 40), and our Chinese dried date tea (RMB 16). For six dishes and two drinks, our total bill was very reasonable at RMB 206.

Review of Orient Kitchen: The 3rd floor of Sanlitun Village, across from Union Bar & Grill.  朝阳区三里屯北路19号三里屯Village南区4号楼3-4层 Tel: 6417 4070

Best Part:

• If you like Chinese food and you enjoy dining at Element Fresh, you’re in for a treat
• Dishes are all delicious, generous in portions and well-priced
• 2 floors packed with buzzing energy
• Perfect for a quick, casual meal

Comments:

• Within the menu’s Chinese and South Asian dishes, nothing in particular stood out, there is no signature dish or a particular item on the menu that sticks out in my mind (like the way you crave Hatsune’s sushi rolls or Element Fresh’s smoothies)
• I advise for you to go in a group so that you can order a larger selection of dishes
• Service was unfriendly and rushed. I’m not exaggerating when I say that they resulted to staring us down when it was past 10:00pm and they wanted us to leave.

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

• Food: 7
• Atmosphere: 7
• Service: 6
• Overall Experience: 7