Call for Beijing’s Bakers: 2017 Cookie Monster Bake-Off

Have a Talent for Baking? We Want YOU!

Love watching The Great British Bake-Off? Do you ever dream of opening your very own bakery? Are you always the one who volunteers to bring something sweet when friends invite you over for a potluck? Are you in possession of a cherished cookie family recipe?

In the past three years of Cookie Monster Bake-Off events, we already know there is a lot of baking talent in Beijing as we’ve tasted some incredibly moreish cookies over the years. And it’s that time of year when we’re officially putting out the call for Beijing’s best bakers to begin submitting their recipe of choice for our annual bake-off event in March!

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Cookie Heaven: 3rd Annual Cookie Monster Bake-Off

Get that Glass of Milk Ready, You’re About to Enter Cookie Heaven

Cookie Monster’s dream-come-true, Beijing’s sweet tooths are in for a real treat this coming weekend. An event designed for insatiable cookie addicts and have a bottomless pit for homemade, stuff-your-face-silly cookies, we’re all about that cookie.

But I’m not just talking about any cookie. I’m talking 20 different types of creative cookies, each one made from scratch by 20 brilliant bakers based in Beijing. There will be more than your fair share of cookies to munch your way through, it really doesn’t get much better than this!

From chewy and gooey to salty cookies, vegan cookies and crafty variations of your classic Chocolate Chip cookies, we are very proud to announce the top contestants who have made the cut and will be competing in this year’s Cookie Monster Charity Bake-Off!

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Zhang Mama: Sichuan that is Worth the Wait

Zhang Mama: a better, spicier version of home-cooking

I’ll admit I can be skeptical when it comes to Chinese restaurants. All too often I hear people get excited about a restaurant that is simply not bad. And when I say not bad I mean not actively bad. I find that that there are only a handful of trusted restaurants that I would ever consider taking out of town guests to, because most places are just not up to scratch.

With that in mind, I approached Zhang Mama 张妈妈特色川味馆 hesitantly both because I thought it might be over-hyped and also the idea of waiting outside in the cold for an indefinite amount of time sounded unbearably frustrating. But I’m a sucker for peer pressure and there were more than several trusted foodies raving about the place. With a newly updated Restaurant Hit List for 2016 and Zhang Mama right at the top, it was time. …and the promise of a pre-dinner wine guzzle to warm us up for the cold wait, I was inevitably coaxed into going. It was worth it. And now I’m kicking myself for not getting myself here sooner.

So a few things about the place: first up, there are 2 locations. The original on Fensiting Hutong (across from Rager Pie), where you are almost guaranteed not to get a table, and the new location on Jiaodaokou (across from Katchup), where you might be able to. They don’t take reservations so plan accordingly.

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The Meatball Company: Badass Balls

Eat These Bad@$$ Hipster Balls by The Meatball Company

Located in the Gulou area, next to 4Corners, The Meatball Company is tucked away in a small shopfront on Dashibei Hutong.

The entire concept is based around ball shaped foods and puns abound on the menu and in the space itself. Thankfully, despite the simple concept, it is carried off with aplomb and well worth a visit if you are in the area. This is not merely a toothless hipster project.

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LDS 1-on-1: Rager Pie’s Founder Wilson Hailey

Drool-Worthy Homemade Pies & Ice Cream by Rager Pie

The most popular person at last year’s Thanksgiving party was the girl who brought a Rager Pie in hand. And she wasn’t the only one who turned up with a Pumpkin Pie or some kind of sweet dessert, but after sampling through everything, Rager was all anyone talked about.

What is Rager Pie? When did it open? How did she know about it? Is she friends with them? How can we get more?!

Along with everyone else who was lucky enough to snag a bite before it was devoured, I was hooked.

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The Hutong’s Summer Fayre: Gourmet + Local Goodies

The Hutong’s Gorgeous Rooftop will Host a Summer Fayre this Sunday!

Known for hosting one of the most jolly and delightful Christmas Fayres in Beijing, The Hutong will be rounding up some of the craftiest food and product vendors for a splendid Summer Fayre this Sunday, June 7th!

Swap out their addictive mulled wine for a refreshing glass of Summer Fruit Punch (spiked of course!).

“Here comes the sun! To celebrate all things summer, we will be serving attendees a free glass of our secret-recipe Hutong Summer Fruit Punch. Make a toast with your ice-cold glass, taste gourmet goodies from Beijing culinary artisans and restaurateurs, savor some of the capital’s best local brews, and try out some summertime jewelry and apparel.” – The Hutong

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theBeijinger: International Foodie Festival Weekend

 theBeijinger Hosts Over 30 International Food Vendors

Foodies unite! theBeijinger is launching their first ever International Foodie Weekend, a F&B extravaganza taking place this weekend (May 30-31 from 11AM-8PM) at Galaxy SOHO (southwest of Chaoyangmen Subway).

They’ve signed up over 30 international food vendors – from pizza to Portuguese, American BBQ, Aussie Meat Pies, Greek, Indonesian, Mexican and plenty of decadent desserts, they’ve covered many of their favorite international eateries in Beijing. And to showcase some specialty Chinese bites, they’ll also be featuring Asiniuniu‘s Yi minority cuisine from Liangshan in Sichuan and Susongfu‘s traditional Shanghainese shengjianbao.

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LumDimSummary: JUE 觉’s 2015 Creative Market

 Snapshots from JUE’s Creative Market

Yesterday saw one of the most popular JUE 觉 Festival events thus far – their Creative Market featuring over 80 food and creative booths!  This family-friendly event drew in massive crowds to LANNG Art Center (just southeast of Guomao) and was a weekend highlight for many.

Running between The Bookworm’s Literary Festival events and other happenings around town, I was only able to swing by for an hour in the later part of the afternoon to check out the many creative stall, snap a few photos and grab one of the very last Nori Bagels by Migas + Traitor Zhou‘s (something I’ve been keeping my eye out for all week – see pics below).

In addition to all the creative and boutique vendors selling unique gifts and crafts, they also hosted workshops that introduce participants to: Contact Improv, Salsa dancing, Poi, NIa, along with musical performances, square dancing and body-painting. From what I saw, square dancing with the Yellow Weasels was a big hit and of course all that great food – Cuju, Rager Pie, Big Bear Baked Goods, etc. I’m actually relieved most of the food was sold out by the time I arrived as I definitely would have gone to town at each and every stall if I had the stomach space.

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