Three Chefs Unite to Celebrate Rice + Wine

The Triple Threat: Alejandro Sanchez (Niajo), Taka Yamamoto (Sake Manzo) + Omar Maseroli (Mercante + Fiume)

The first of most likely three collaboration dinner series between three very talented chefs, The World of Rice is a special 6-course rice and wine-paired dinner menu created by Alejandro Sanchez (owner and executive chef of Niajo Spanish restaurant), Taka Yamamoto (International Wine Challenge (IWC) sake judge, Sake master and owner of Sake Manzo + Happi Sake restaurants) and Omar Maseroli (founder and head chef of Mercante and Fiume Italian restaurants).

Each of these master chefs are known and very much praised for their authentic and drool-worthy cooking and I have no doubt that this culinary collaboration event will be a spectacular eye-opening experience. More than just Japanese sushi and paellas (more obvious examples of dishes made with a rice base), they will be creating a unique menu that will change the way you think about rice.

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Fiume First Impressions: Soft Opening Visit

Be Among the First to Dine at Fiume: Soft Opening Week

As soon as I heard that Fiume Italian restaurant was in soft opening since last Friday night (November 28), I’ve been as eager as an Apple addict waiting for the new iPhone 6 to squeeze in a proper dinner all this week. And I’m ecstatic to report that even in soft opening, Fiume is on fire. Good thing I made a reservation in advance as the house was fully booked with a wait of Italians even at 10PM as we were ordering our desserts.

Omar Maseroli (who also owns and runs hidden-hutong-hipster gem Mercante) has a widely respected reputation for his dedication to maintaining a high standard for his handmade pasta and local specialties from his home town Bologna, Italy.

Fiume is his second restaurant located in the Maizidian area just southeast of Liangmaqiao behind FX hotel along Liangmahe river. In Omar’s own words, Fiume (meaning “river” in Italian) is a concept similar to Mercante but with a modern edge and with more space in the kitchen, he plans to experiment with creating more handmade pasta varieties (gnocchi, wheat pasta, winter pasta with broth, etc). We ordered the gnocchi on Fiume’s soft opening menu and it was definitely my favorite dish of the evening.

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Mercante’s Sister Restaurant Fiume in Soft Opening

A little birdie just shared some very exciting restaurant news that I’m pretty ecstatic to share with YOU!

Beloved hidden-hutong-hipster-gem Mercante Italian restaurant is opening a second location on the east side of town called Fiume (means “river” in Italian). Located next to the Liangmahe river surrounded by trees, it’s in its own little peaceful oasis away from traffic and chaos. You can find Fiume in the FX hotel, not far from Solana shopping center at the top of Chaoyang Park west gate.

Photos of Fiume’s Location (provided by Omar Maseroli)

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Mercante: Rustic Italian in Beijing’s Hidden Hutongs

Down an alley off of Nanluoguxiang (where Black Sesame Kitchen is), you wind through a maze of hutongs and eventually you will stumble upon one of the most talked about new openings in the Beijing restaurant scene. With the overwhelmingly saturated Sanlitun block, more and more foodies are venturing outside of the Gongti bubble and migrating west into the deep, dark hutongs of Beijing to seek out hidden gems that promise to be worth the effort to find.

Mercante is a perfect example of one of those hidden hutong gems that gives you feel a sense of accomplishment after making your way to their doorstep. Just alongside Chinese street eateries and a local fruit stand with people strolling around in their pajamas, Mercante is a traditional Italian trattoria that extracts you from the most local of traditional Chinese hutong neighborhoods into a little rustic humble home in Italy.

Newly opened just a few months, Mercante has already been successful in making a strong impression on its diners with multiple foodies going out of their way to email me and recommend that I try this place out.  And to top that off, every review I’ve read in the magazines and online forums have been 4-5 stars so Mercante is off to a great start.

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An Evening with Great Wall Historian William Lindesay

The “Wild Wall” by William Lindesay, Geographer & Great Wall Researcher

After running the Great Wall Half Marathon yesterday, I’ve since developed a deeper appreciation of the Great Wall as not only as a monster monument and a thing of beauty but its significance in China’s ancient history and its deeply rooted role in Chinese culture.

As one of Bespoke Beijing‘s expert guides (for the Great Wall of course!), I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about Great Wall Historian William Lindesay and I am very much looking forward to meeting him at Wild China’s “Where the Wild Things are” event on Thursday, May 31 at 6:30PM at the Great Leap Brewing.

William Lindesay is one of those extremely passionate people who focuses their energy and efforts into one devoted subject and kicks everyone else out of the ballpark in terms of expertise, knowledge and experience.

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