Back in Business: Mao Mao Chong 毛毛虫 Re-Opens

Writing on the Wall of Mao Mao Chong Bar - 

“Once in a while you get

shown the light

in the strangest of places

if you look at it right.”

Recently opened after renovations, Mao Mao Chong 毛毛虫is finally back in business. Aside from the smell of fresh paint and a new bar counter, I’m not sure what the other renovations were that took place.  In any case, it’s nice to spruse up a place every so often and I suppose business in the hutongs may not be as consistent in the cold winter months of Beijing.

LumDimSum Snapshots of the newly re-opened Mao Mao Chong Bar:

I came for the first time since it’s re-opened on Thursday night with a group of visiting out-of-towners and they were so impressed with the quality and ingenuity of Mao Mao Chong’s cocktails.

The display of house-infused spirits and liqueurs makes each glass bottle look more like elixirs the mixologists use to create magical potions.

Being indecisive is a terrible trait to have in a place like Mao Mao Chong where the drink menu makes it impossible to choose just one.

Everything sounds so much more exotic with the added element of house-infused spirits and liqueurs. Take for example - “Birds Eye Chili Infused Vodka”, “Organic Rooibos Infused Vodka” and “Rosemary Infused Shouchu” – how cool does that sound?!?  With each drink you order, you really have no idea what you’re going to get, but you know it’s going to be good and that’s what is so brilliant about it!

Before renovations, I had a go-to drink of choice. I was gutted to hear that they are no longer making my favorite Caterpillar cocktail, but with pretty much every single drink on their menu a winner, it just gave me more reason to try different drinks on their menu and find a new favorite.

Stubborn Mule (RMB 35): A sumptuous spicy blend of muddled ginger and fresh lime,

Birds Eye Chili Infused Vodka, lime juice, ginger ale poured over ice.

Tail of the Dragon (RMB 40): Lemongrass Vodka & Chili Vodka combined with

coconut milk and Lychee Liqueur to tickle your sensuous spots.

Comfortable Kimono (RMB 40): Rosemary Infused Shouchu, Apricot infused vodka, & Cranberry Juice.

Kaffir Cobbler (RMB 40): A unique bitter sweet fusion of Kaffir lime leaf infused vodka,

Vanilla infused vodka, Compari and orange juice.

After sampling these four different concoctions, Stubborn Mule stood out to me as a new favorite.  Since Thursday, I’ve been back to Mao Mao Chong on Friday night and again on Saturday night (3 nights in a row!).

Best cocktails aside, I love the fact that Mao Mao Chong is one of the few bars in Beijing with a no-smoking policy and their pizza here rocks. Super tasty, hot out of the oven and it’s amazing how much better it tastes after a few drinks!

I can’t seem to get enough of this hutong gem and based on how packed it was Saturday night, I think the same goes for the rest of Beijing.

Mao Mao Chong on a Saturday night

Review of Mao Mao Chong毛毛虫: 12 Banchang Hutong (east off Nanluoguxiang, closer to Jiaodaokou), Dongcheng District 东城区板厂胡同12号（南锣鼓巷往东走, Tel: 159 9264 6024. Open daily, 7PM-late

Best Part:

• Genius cocktail creations with house-infused spirits and liqueurs 
• Try the Stubborn Mule cocktail, it’s my new favorite
• With pretty much every drink on the menu incredibly well-made, you should just choose at random and you’ll pretty much be stoked every single time. 
• Delicious pizza that seems to taste even better after a few drinks
• NO SMOKING!!  FINALLY!!  I can go home after a few drinks and not reek of cigarettes
• Owners are friendly and super on top of it. 
• Prices are super reasonable – most cocktails average RMB 35-40. 

Comments:

• If you plan to stumble in on a Friday or Saturday night, expect to wiggle and worm your way through the crowd and wait a while for a drink. At least you know it will be worth the wait! 
• Space is small so seats fill up quickly. 
• Even if you go on a night when you’re the only ones in the bar, it never feels too empty because the space is cozy and it’s almost better to have the place to yourself. When I went on Thursday night, there were probably about 6-8 people total, Friday had about 15 and Saturday night was packed out at 50+. 
• If you’re a first time visitor, be sure you know which alley to go down as it’s quite a way east down from NanLuoGuXiang. 

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

• Drinks: 9
• Atmosphere: 8
• Service: 7
• Overall Experience: 8

Spend an Afternoon Sipping Hot Chocolate at Alba

Enjoy a Delicious Cup of Hot Chocolate at Alba Cafe & Bar

There are only a handful of places in Beijing where I’d pick to enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate and Alba Cafe & Bar is at the top of that list.  I used to be a big fan of Colibri in Sanlitun North Village, but since that cat’s out the bag, it’s now jam-packed all day, every day and I really can’t relax in a place so crowded.  Colibri still remains at the top of my list for coffee spots to meet up and have a quick chat, but Cafe Alba is where I prefer to venture to if I want to enjoy my hot chocolate in a laid back, relatively quiet environment with wifi and a book.  The hot chocolate is served hot, it’s served in a big ceramic mug and the top is covered in a layer of whipped cream and sprinkled with cocoa powder. It’s perfect for what it is and Alba should get credit for that.

Hot chocolate aside, Alba is a quaint little cafe and bar on Gulou Dongdajie 鼓楼东大街 just a few hundred meters west of Cafe Zarah (which is also always packed on any given day).  The food and drinks at Alba are generally decent and reasonably priced.  I’ve definitely had better salads, sandwiches, desserts and snacks elsewhere, but it’s a good second option to Cafe Zarah and it’s one of the best cafes in the Gulou area.

I’ve not sat down for a full-on meal at Alba, but I’ve tried a few dishes off their food menu like their sandwiches and pastas. Most recently, I tried their twice baked potatoes, which was delicious and I loved the unexpected side of cooked tomato covered with melted cheese and stuffed with diced veggies and corn. That was very YUM and if I could, I would order just that tomato on it’s own!

Their vegetable lasagna (RMB 38) was decent.  I’ve definitely had better lasagna, but it gets the job done and like I said, it’s decent in terms of portion and value, not bad for what you pay. And beware of burning your tongue, it’s served super hot!

Review of Alba Cafe & Bar: 70 Gulou Dongdajie (west of Cafe Zarah and east of Nanluogu Xiang’s north exit), Dongcheng District东城区鼓楼东大街70号6407 3730

Best Part:

• Nice cafe option to sit back and enjoy a hot cup of cocoa or coffee in the Gulou area
• Reasonable prices – most dishes around RMB 30
• Free Wifi
• While I consider it more of a cafe, they also call themselves a bar and with a massive cocktail and whiskey selection (over 80 different whisky’s both single malt and blended), I guess drinkers should also consider Alba a possible drinking venue since prices are low (drinks around RMB 30) and they’re also open until 2am.
• Most cocktails are shaken/stirred with real mashes fruits
  
• Good selection of coffee, tea, fresh fruit juices and I like that they offer homemade drinks including homemade lemonade and homemade ginger ale. 
• Nice, simple decor with cool photos and artsy paintings on the walls.
• They have a menu full of pictures and English text, making ordering simple. 

Comments:

• A lot of dishes are hit or miss, but most are pretty average.  In any case, it’s good value and it’s a nice place to spend an afternoon!
• I hear they have a nice rooftop terrace in the summer months. 
• It’s a nice alternative to the always-packed-out Cafe Zarah. 

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

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

Saveurs de Corée 韩香馆: Beijing’s Best Bibimbap

‘Bibimbap’ is an awesome word. What’s more fun than saying ‘Bibimbap’ five times as fast as you can is eating Bibimbap at Saveurs de Corée 韩香馆 Korean Restaurant, home of Beijing’s very best bibimbap!

I have actually eaten at Saveurs de Corée ages ago when it was still located on Nanluoguxiang and remember loving their rooftop terrace and thinking the food was decent, but overpriced.

Fast-forward like 5 years and I am now kicking myself for not coming back sooner!  Was Saveurs de Corée always as good as it is today?!? If so, why didn’t someone drag my butt here sooner?? Now, thanks to Sarah Keenlyside, city expert and founder of Bespoke Beijing travel and events company, I have finally discovered Beijing’s best bibimbap, I seriously plan to come here at least once a week.

The restaurant is now split into two venues – a Korean Grill Restaurant on Xiang Er’s and Korean Patio Gourmet at Ju Er Hutong (both located just about a block away from one another). I haven’t been to the Grill, but the Patio Gourmet is a really elegant, beautiful venue and the food is excellent and I love that the menu is filled with words like “organic” and “NO MSG”.

While many of the dishes may seem a bit pricey, they have some fantastic deals including the Chef’s Classic Set (RMB 59) which includes assorted Korean appetizers, Dubu Buchim – crispy, sauteed tofu with special Korean onion sauce, their Classic Dulsot-Bibimbap – organic rice with mixed vegetables, minced beef with a raw egg and Korean chili paste in a sizzling stone bowl and Korean traditional cinnamon iced tea. That’s an amazing deal for all that goodness!

Saveurs de Corée 韩香馆 Chef’s Classic Set:

Assorted Korean Appetizers 

Dubu Buchim – crispy, sauteed tofu with special Korean onion sauce

Classic Dulsot-Bibimbap – organic rice with mixed vegetables, minced beef with a raw egg and Korean chili paste in a sizzling stone bowl

What it looks like all stirred up

Korean Traditional Cinnamon Iced Tea

Next time I make a trip to Saveurs de Corée 韩香馆, I’ll be keen to try their Chef’s Tasting Set (RMB 159) which includes assorted Korean appetizers, kimchi jeon – Korean style pizza with homemade kimchi, Japchae – stir-fried sweet potato glass noodles with julienned vegetables, Bulgogi – grilled premium beef with lettuce OR Gochujang daejigogi – Grilled pork shred marinated in Korean chili paste, Korean signature soyabean paste soup with vegetables, mushrooms, seafood and tofu with organic rice and Korean traditional cinnamon tea.

Chef’s Tasting Set (RMB 159)

Delicious bibimbap aside, Saveurs de Corée 韩香馆 is a lovely restaurant set in a hutong courtyard with an open courtyard, which will be perfect during summer time.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Saveurs de Corée 韩香馆 Korean Restaurant:

The owner is Korean and just so happens to also have a British accent, which is kind of adorable.  He was excellent – really friendly, really helpful and attentive.  Unfortunately, the rest of his staff seems utterly lost and hopeless.  When the owner wasn’t around to tend to us, we found ourselves helping ourselves to our food coming out of the kitchen, our own water refills, extra napkins and everything you’d normally ask of a waitress.  Even just asking for the bill was a 20 minute wait, which is ridiculous because we were one of the only tables in their restaurant.

Overall, in spite of service issues, this place is fantastic and I already can’t wait for my next trip to Saveurs de Corée 韩香馆. I anticipate many future ‘LumDimSum Discovery’ posts featuring more dishes from Saveurs de Corée 韩香馆!

Saveurs de Corée 韩香馆:

KOREAN PATIO GOURMET AT JU ER’S

• Address: 20 Ju Er Hutong, Dongcheng District, Beijing (Near Nanluogu Xiang’s north end) 
• 菊儿胡同20号
• Tel: +86 10 6401 6083

FINE KOREAN GRILL AT XIANG ER’S

• Address: 128-1, Xiang Er Hutong, Jiaodaokou, Dongcheng District, Beijing (5mins walk from Bei Xin Qiao metro, exit-D)  
• 东城区香饵胡同128-1号
• Tel: +86 10 5741 5753

An Action-Packed Chinese New Year Day in Beijing

While many rush away from Beijing during the Chinese New Year holiday break either to return home or travel, I quite enjoy staying in the city this time of year.  The non-stop fireworks can get a little intense at times, but it’s one of the few times a year Beijing has no traffic and everyone is totally chilled out.

With most places closed and many people away, it’s nice to spend quality time alone, catching up on work and on sleep, but after a few days of down-time, it’s also good to get out and explore what is available in the city.

Luckily this Chinese New Year break, Beijing’s been blessed with quite a few beautiful days with abnormally warm(er) weather! Taking advantage of the blue skies and sunshine, I spent the day in true Chinese New Year style.

Starting off on Guozijian Street 国子监街, we wandered in and out of various furniture shops, knick-knack shops, Beijing’s oldest toy store and peeked in its cozy cafes, Imperial College and the Confucian Temple.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Guozijian Street 国子监街:

After exploring Guozijian Street, we made our way over to Ditan Park to check out their annual temple fair, one of the liveliest in the city (click here for full list of temple fairs in Beijing).  Decked out in red lanterns and festive decorations, this temple fair was packed to the brim with people.  Weaving through the herds of people, we explored the fair and checked out the live performances, snack stalls section, game area and a few private temples.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Ditan Park’s Temple Fair:

Our next stop: Houhai Lake for some serious ice-biking fun.  The frozen Houhai Lake offers a gigantic space for people to ice skate, ice bike or ice sled on chairs with picks to slide yourself around.  Our group all hopped on ice bikes for races around the lake and a seriously awesome good time.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Houhai Lake Ice Biking Fun:

We topped off our perfect Chinese New Year action-packed day with a final Sichuan feast at the popular Sichuan joint directly across from the north end of Nanluoguxiang.  Spicy and flavorful, this restaurant was an ideal cap off to a long day exploring the city’s most festive sites.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Sichuan Feast:

With only a few more days left of the Chinese New Year holiday, I encourage everyone in Beijing to head over to one of the city’s temple fairs (full list of fairs here) along with a day trip to Houhai lake for some fun on ice.

Happy Chinese New Year!

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