MOKA Bros Gives Jing-A Some South American Flair

Pairing Craft Beer Together with South American Drunk Food

In this serious game of survival in Beijing’s cut-throat F&B scene, it’s always nice to hear when two different concepts team up for some cross-promo team spirit. Recently, we’ve seen Migas team up with Max Levy’s Traitor Zhou concept to serve up boxed of freshly baked donuts and now we see a link between Beijing’s beloved craft beer creators Jing-A Brewing Co. and Chef Daniel Urdaneta of the Mosto/MODO/MOKA Bros family.

Get in Line: Traitor Zhou’s Donuts Sold at Migas Bar

Come and get ’em: Traitor Zhou’s Donut Balls

If you’re a foodie in Beijing, I highly recommend following Max Levy (Chef/Owner of Okra 1949 and Traitor Zhou’s Nonkosher Delicatessen) on his Instagram account Chocolategrits. If you’re like me and one of his avid followers, I’m sure you’ve also been drooling over those homemade donut photos for the past couple of months.

Get excited sweet tooths of Beijing, Traitor Zhou’s partner in crime (and all things that make your taste buds swoon) Migas will begin selling boxes of these moreish donut balls TONIGHT!

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Thanksgiving 2014: Top Picks for Turkey-Coma Feasts

Family Thanksgiving Feast: Where to Find Turkey-Coma-Inducing Feeds!

Back at home, Thanksgiving is generally enjoyed at home amongst close family, but for many of us, Beijing is our home away from home. And with Christmas just around the corner, we often opt to sacrifice one for the other, leaving us stuck in Beijing for Thanksgiving so that we can at least go home for Christmas. Never quite the same as grandma makes it, but on the bright side, at least you’re not short of options in Beijing! If you think about it, Thanksgiving in Beijing has the potential to be so much more fun than it would normally be at home. Leave the long hours slaving away in a kitchen cooking and dirty dishes to the restaurants and rally up all your friends to just enjoy the feast!

With terrific Thanksgiving spreads available around town throughout the week, there’s no reason why you have to pressure yourself into picking just one Thanksgiving meal.  We’ve waited all year long for this incredible turkey feast to come around again so make the most of it this year and sign yourself up for as many as you can stuff yourself with.

Whether you’re American is irrelevant because no matter where you’re from, everyone can appreciate a holiday focused on phenomenal food and good company, and celebrate Thanksgiving with a home-style meal even if they are so far away from home.

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Bottle Boot & Cigar (BBC): Spirits & Homemade Bitters

“Provisions for the Distinguished Gentleman”

After another fantastic pho lunch at neighboring Pho Laboratory, we saw something out of the corner of our eye on our way back to the office. That shiny glimmer that caught our eye was the brand-new bar specializing in premium spirits and homemade bitters.

A little too early in the day to get our drink on, we just stopped in for a quick look and chat with “boulevardier” (his name card title) Douglas Williams of Bareknuckle Boxing Club Bar & Restaurant Consulting, who previously consulted for Apothecary, Peekaboo and Parlor bars.

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Okra 1949: Meticulously Magnificent Omakase Menus

Okra’s Mastermind Max Levy Uses Charcoal Straight-Up on Sushi

Okra 1949 falls under the umbrella corporation called Okra Works, the same team who also started Traitor Zhou’s Delicatessen of Quality Goods in Beijing. And the creative, very capable culinary mastermind behind all these projects is Max Levy, formerly of Bei fusion Japanese restaurant in The Opposite House. From a sushi and sake venue to a delicatessen, this creative restaurant empire is run by a “superhuman team of food and drink professionals”.

“Our philosophy is to work with quality produce, sourced as locally and as organically as possible. All of our products are born from love and passion for what we do, whether its homemade infused salts, cured organic sausages or inspiring flavours of ice cream.” – Okra Works

Okra 1949’s sushi, sake + cocktail venue opened in August 2013 with a bang – a lively opening party with sake sangria and lion dances in the corner of 1949 – The Hidden City in South Sanlitun (the same complex as Duck de Chine).

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Thanksgiving 2013: LDS Picks for Top Turkey Feasts

Beijing’s Best Thanksgiving Feasts 2013

With terrific Thanksgiving spreads available around town throughout the week, there’s no reason why you have to pressure yourself into picking just one Thanksgiving meal.  We’ve waited all year long for this incredible turkey feast to come around again so make the most of it this year and sign yourself up for as many as you can stuff yourself with.

Whether you’re American is irrelevant because no matter where you’re from, everyone can appreciate a holiday focused on phenomenal food and good company, and celebrate Thanksgiving with a home-style meal even if they are so far away from home.

Last year, my gang of foodies managed to eat through two turkey feasts in one day. Some might call us guilty of gluttony, but I just say we were fully embracing the spirit of Thanksgiving. A very special time of year for foodies like us, it’s a time where diets are thrown out the window and you indulge guilt-free in anything and everything that is Thanksgiving goodness.

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Traitor Zhou’s Brunch Menu with Hentai Chicken Maki

Traitor Zhou’s Kaifeng Nonkosher Delicatessen has just launched a weekend brunch with some pretty intriguing, diverse dishes on their menu that range from New Orleans Style French Toast to Hentai Maki Fried Chicken and Crazy Catalan Sausage.  Drinks are equally as unique with everything from Cafe Diablo (coffee with rum) to Retired Aitor’s Sangria (aged one year in their ham room) and The Pickled Jew (their version of a Bloody Mary with pickled okra and tomato shochu).

“There won’t be any giant frozen seafood platters or waiters in not very clever t-shirts filling empty bottles of champagne with Watson’s soda water and Dragonseal White.  What you will find: REAL FOOD, REAL COCKTAILS and an IPAD FILLED WITH ALL THE GREATEST MOVIE SOUNDTRACKS OF THE EIGHTIES.

As well as all the food being made from our great selection of house cured, organic meats and our cocktails being made from all our own pickles, bitters and syrups, we have Ocean Grounds coffee on grind and the only HENTAI CHICKEN MAKI this side of Sandy Beach.” – Max Levy, Okra Works

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Spoonful of Sugar: Petite Lifestyle Cafe + Deli in 798

Spoonful of Sugar Cafe + Deli in 798 Art District

A recently opened cafe + deli in one, Spoonful of Sugar is a new project by Jellymon and Okra Works who have joined forces to create a quaint little space in 798 Art District.

Not exactly in an easy-to-find spot, Spoonful of Sugar is really tucked inside a little compound in 798 with almost zero signage to point you in the right direction. I spent about 30 minutes trying to find it on my first venture out to check out the space and was almost a frozen icicle by the time I made it through their doors. I recommend examining the map below if you plan to head this way next time you’re in 798.

But if you make it inside pain-free, you’re in for a treat. The quirky spot is cozy and petite, but they’ve got a pretty lengthy menu of deli meats and pickled vegetables readily available to order in deli sandwich form or take in bulk to-go.

Continue Reading » Spoonful of Sugar: Petite Lifestyle Cafe + Deli in 798