LumDimSummary: BJ Foodies @ SWITCH!

Last Sunday, BJ Foodies hosted their monthly “Indulge for a Cause” foodies event at SWITCH!, the restaurant project in 798 Art District by Chef Billy Kawaja & his catering team at Culinary Capers.

With the dining space completely open to a massive open kitchen featuring four live food stations and practically unlimited drinks, this was an amazing foodie experience.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Live Food Stations:

Arugula Salad with pears, cranberries, walnuts and Parmesan /Mac & Cheese Truffles

Duck Confit Sandwich / Grilled Prawn Tacon

Donuts in a Bag / Strawberry Pepper Martini

LumDimSum Snapshots: Open Kitchen Dining Experience @ SWITCH!:

Highlights of the dinner at SWITCH! were the Prawn Tacons, Arugula Salad and Strawberry Pepper Martini.

As an added bonus, BJ Foodies raised a total of ￥2423.50 RMB for CHINA CARE.

Shout out to Ms. Alice Chen for introducing CHINA CARE and helping to spread the word.

*We will soon be organizing trips for active volunteers at their orphanage in Shuangjing, so please contact me directly (kristen@lumdimsum.com) if you are interested in volunteer opportunities.

Alice Chen (L) with CHINA CARE representatives

SEP Charity Theme: ‘CARE’

Soak Up the Last Bits of Summer

As much as I hate to admit it, summer is soon coming to an end.  I hate Beijing winters as much as everyone else, so these last few weekends of sunshine and blue skies will be cherished and savored to the nth degree.

If I’m not swimming and suntanning in Chaoyang Park (click here for article), then sprawling out on a shaded green lawn for a massive picnic party is the next best way to enjoy a Sunday afternoon.

After a weekend of debauchery, a chilled out afternoon in Chaoyang park with packed sandwiches, chilled white wine, a portable iPod and speakers and good friends is the perfect hangover cure.

LumDimSum Snapshots of My Sunday Afternoon in Chaoyang Park:

Outdustry & Bespoke Go Sumo

Outdustry & Bespoke Beijing‘s monthly office parties are easily one of the major highlights of my month (each and every month).

These office parties are really one-of-a-kind. Generous and gracious hosts aside, there’s always free beer, local chuar, an eclectic mix of music, art, film industry cats and unlike your typical office, Outdustry/Bespoke’s office is set in a beautiful hutong courtyard just south of Guijie.

On top of the usual good people, good beer and good music, we couldn’t resist the urge to indulge in some sumo fun. Inspired by the Hatsune 9 Year Anniversary Party, it was only natural that we get the sumo suits too, the perfect addition to our monthly office party.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Outdustry & Bespoke Gone Sumo:

My Favorite Photo of the Night.

Scratch that.

Favorite Photo EVER

Goodbye to Lantern

To make way for another KTV chain, the hottest underground after-hours club, Lantern closed with a bang this weekend.

Packed both nights with massive crowds of people lining out the doors, Beijing joined together in their love for underground electro to say their last goodbye.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Lantern’s Closing Weekend:

LumDimSummary: Indulged for a Cause @ ROOM

Beijing Foodies 2 Year Birthday Bash was my very first time dining at ROOMbeijing and needless to say, I was absolutely blown away!

When I signed up for this event, I was stoked to see such a good valued meal – a 3-course menu + 2 glasses of wine for only RMB 150 per person. With 3 dishes listed under starters, mains and 2 desserts, I was expecting everyone to pick and choose their selections out of the set menu but then every single item on the menu came out family-style so we got to try everything!

For starters, we were served a 42-ingredient salad, tuna tartar with avocado and Italian ham with arugula salad.  While I was most intrigued to try the 42-ingredient salad, the tuna tartar won me over with the giant chunks of avocado and marinade for the tuna.

For mains, the rack of lamb and BBQ pork noodles were both tasty, but the star dish of the night was by far the Whole Roasted Baby Chicken.  Slow-cooked and soaked in whiskey for 24 hours, the chicken was incredibly tender and juicy and I was also a big fan of the sticky rice.

Ending on a sweet note, the ti-ROOM-isu was a giant block of goodness and the Milk Chocolate Mousse Bars were attached to a pile of POP Rocks!  Been ages since I’ve had pop rocks crackling in my mouth; it was such an unexpected treat!

LumDimSum Snapshots of the 8-dish Meal by ROOM:

OVERALL:

Serving 8 amazing dishes all family style, I applaud ROOM for offering this incredibly generous menu selection, for their very professional and efficient service for a packed house of 152 hungry diners, and hats off to owner Brian McKenna for doubling the total funds raised (RMB 12,759.70 + $50CND) with proceeds all donated to the featured charity group of this event: Compassion for Migrant Children (CMC).

This dinner was such a treat, I’d like to give a shout out and say thank you to Xixi Cheng & the BJ Foodies Group for organizing such a spectacular dinner event!

Review of ROOMbeijing: 301-302, 3/F, PARK LIFE, Beijing Yintai Center, 2 Jianguomenwai Street, 建国门外大街2号, 银泰中心3层 , Tel: 8517-2033

Best Part:

• Chef Brian McKenna’s innovative food creations and playful dishes. This is definitely a place for major foodies who appreciate creativity.
• You can count on quality ingredients and beautiful presentation.
• Very professional waitstaff and service was surprisingly efficient for a relatively new restaurant.
• Table set-up is as innovative as their cuisine – they have submerged lazy susan’s!  Each setting also has a unique utensil holder that fits everything from your chopsticks, fork, knife and spoon to your dessert utensils when you flip it over!  Love little details like that.  Very creative.
• The bathrooms are AWESOME.  My favorite part was the illusion mirrors ie. the “skinny” lengthening mirror.

Comments:

• This BJ Foodies 2 Year Birthday Bash was my first dining experience at ROOM, so my impressions of the food, decor and service may be unique to the average dining experience.  And while the 8 dish set menu + 2 glasses of wine was a steal at RMB 150, I have no idea what that price would have been normally.  But overall, in terms of food, ROOM delivered beyond expectations, the staff was very professional and everyone seemed to have a great night!
• While I liked the sofas and was a BIG fan of the table set-up (lazy susan & utensil holder), I was not a fan of the colorful chairs, the colorful walls and the giant, vibrant posters that look like movie advertisements.  I felt like I was sitting in a kindergarten classroom.

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

• Food: 9
• Atmosphere: 6
• Service: 9
• Overall Experience: 8

LumDimSum Snapshots of this BJ Foodies event: