To Boldly Go: Beyond Yakitori

Before I begin this review, note that everything that was seen and eaten was a preview version of the restaurant and may not be entirely representative of the final product, but based on the strength of our first tasting, I strongly urge all foodies to make Beyond Yakitori a priority visit once it soft-opens on July 2nd (they plan to officially open mid-July).

Located in the Topwin Centre (same building as the Mercedes Me project), Beyond Yakitori is on the 3rd floor alongside a bunch of other restaurants who also seem to be just opened or in the process of opening very soon. It specialises, as you might have guessed, in Yakitori; aka Japanese chuanr.

LDS Snapshots of Beyond Yakitori:

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Valentine’s Day 2016: LDS’ Top 10 Dining Picks

Beijing is Spoiling Love Birds for Choice with Romantic Dinners for Two

Beijing is not the most romantic of places even at the best of times but on Valentine’s Day, there are hundreds of restaurants all around town ready and willing to do all the swooning for you.

Glasses of champagne to start, a red rose to make your heart flutter, hundreds of candles to set the mood, and a little momento to take home, these restaurants have plenty of tricks up their sleeves to make this day as special as can be.

Here is a curated list of recommended places for you to kindle that spark this Valentine’s Day.

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British Menu Week: Bespoke British Menus Across 10 Beijing Restaurants

In case you haven’t noticed, Great Britain has been breaking old stereotypes (suffering under the image of grey boiled meat) and earning themselves an enviable culinary reputation. No longer can the French scoff at the Brits, and no longer is British cuisine  limited in its international recognition to its full English breakfast, fish and chips and Sunday roasts.

Today they are dominating the world foodie scene with many of the world’s top restaurants and greatest chefs being from the G-to-the-B (are Americans allowed to say that? Probably not).

And for one week only – November 2nd-8th to be precise, the British Embassy’s ‘Food is Great initiative’ is launching their ‘British Menu Week’ which will be showcasing a selection from some of this city’s best restaurants and chefs who will be creating bespoke menus highlighting British ingredients and recipes. 

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Traitor Zhou’s 1st Annual Ugly Tomato Festival

Don’t Judge a Tomato Before You’ve Had a Taste

Are you guilty of buying only beautiful tomatoes? Quick to judge the taste of a tomato by its exterior appearance?

Traitor Zhou’s is about to blow your prior judgements of tomatoes out of the water with its 1st Annual Ugly Tomato Festival. They’re here to celebrate tomatoes that may be ugly on the outside but absolutely delicious on the inside. Collaborating with organic farm Little Willow Farm, Traitor Zhou’s will be providing ugly organic tomatoes of all sizes and varieties to 11 different restaurants and bars around Beijing throughout the months of August and September.

“Too often we jump to judge based on looks rather than what lies deep inside. We pick those perfectly round and firm ones that are around all year only to find out later that they have sucked our bank accounts dry and moved onto the burger. While that imperfect and a little soft and chubby (on certain scales!) gem is there for a short period each year, bursting with natural sugars and flavours for us.” – Traitor Zhou’s

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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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Jing-A Taproom Emerges in Sanlitun’s 1949 Courtyard

After wiping away any remaining traces of dust, construction is complete for Jing-A‘s Pop Up Taproom!

What was once Bar Veloce in 1949 – The Hidden City in South Sanlitun (next to Okra 1949 and Duck de Chine), this gorgeous courtyard/former factory space is a snag.

“We have 16 taps, pouring more Jing-A beer than anywhere else in town (including small batches available only at our taproom) and some exciting guest brews that we’ll be bringing to Beijing for the first time. We’ll also be offering be the first craft brewery to offer the option of nitro taps, serving beers with that creamy Guinness-like consistency. Great for trying a beer you already love in a new way.” – Alex Acker, Jing-A’s Co-founder (alongside Kristian Li)

Here are some exclusive photos of Jing-A’s taproom under construction: 

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Valentine’s Day 2014: Embrace the Love of Dining

Learn Embrace Valentine’s Day with Commonalities

It’s really a shame that there is so much angst and feelings of frustration and rejection that envelop Valentine’s Day. For many of my single ladies (and men!) out there, it’s like the dreaded day that reminds us how lonely singledom can be.

But instead of focusing on all the negative sentiments that surround the V-day holiday, we should instead change our mind set to think of it like Christmas, Thanksgiving and every other happy holiday that’s focused on celebrating love. It doesn’t have to be the mushy-gushy romantic-type love, it can be the love we share between friends and family too!

I’m a big advocate of sharing equal responsibility for this holiday. We should do everyone a favor and relieve men of this overwhelming pressure to take on all the stress of making this holiday special, memorable, thoughtful, etc. etc. Women are equally capable (if not even more so!) of doing the same for the wonderful male friends, mentors, and figures in their life. Who doesn’t love a surprise switcheroo?!

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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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