LumDimSummary: Time Out Food Awards 2011

Just a few days after theBeijinger’s 8th Annual Reader Restaurant Awards, Time Out Beijing hosted its 2011 Food Awards last night – Thursday, March 24 at Xu Xian Lou Hanzhou restaurant.

Unlike theBeijinger and CityWeekend and other restaurant awards in the city, Time Out’s awards of the city’s “finest eats, best chefs and most delicious dining experiences” are decided by a panel of five experienced foodie journalists:

• Lillian Chou: Time Out Dining Editor
• Adrienne Mong: Beijing-based producer/correspondent for NBC News
• David Pierson: Beijing correspondent for the LA Times
• Keith Richburg: Foreign correspondent for The Washington Post
• Tini Tran: Veteran foreign correspondent with The Associated Press.

The brilliant thing about Time Out is that rather than letting their readers decide the city’s best eats, they are giving credit and recognition to where they believe it is most deserved.  No fussing around with votes and nominations, they tell it how it is…according to Time Out.

List of Time Out Restaurant Award Categories & the Winners:

Read about the winners here.

Review of Time Out’s 2011 Food Awards:

Best Part:

• Xu Xian Lou is a stunning space to host an event
• Karaiya Spice House FINALLY gets recognized for its AMAZING Hunan food
• Many restaurants who seem to have been overlooked by other restaurant awards get recognition deserved – ie Bei (only received nomination in 1 category) and Karaiya was not nominated at all in theBeijinger awards!
• Michael Crain‘s new haircut (and killer outfit) totally made my day
• Awesome to see various people get up on stage and introduce winners – including the lovely Shanti Christensen, Michael Crain, and CCTV personality & reporter James Chau
• Great gift bags – Chocolate crackers, pretty macaroons, packaged Spanish cured meat, Shangrila Farms coffee and Spanish Vinegar
• Packed out house full of F&B industry leaders, great vibe and great times!

Comments:

• Space was stunning, but narrow view so hard to see stage unless you wedged your way to the front
• It was such a classy evening – the space, the guests, the hosts…except main hostess Lillian Chou (Time Out’s dining editor) continuously yelled at guests to (and I quote) “Shut the F*** Up!” – totally unnecessary, scared people (including me!) and killed the vibe of the event
• Surprising to see Aria getting so much recognition (Best International, Best Chef, runner up for Restaurant of the Year) –  I think I need to make a trip there and see what the talk’s about!

LumDimSum Snapshots of Time Out’s 2011 Food Awards:

Karaiya Spice House Wins Best Regional Chinese

Bei Wins Best Restaurant of the Year

ShowShanti: Italian Cooking Class

Hosted by ShowShanti‘s very own Shanti Christensen, here’s your chance to get real hands-on experience making authentic home-style Italian favorites - Gnocchi in rich pork rib sauce and Pecorino cheese and the most legendary Italian dessert, Tiramisu.

Bringing in Aman Resort‘s Executive Chef Paolo Vitaletti‘s mother, Pia Dell’uomo, all guests can watch and learn from the real deal and also taste these all-time favorites paired with wine. RSVP with Shanti directly, contact details below.

Event Details:

• Date: Sunday, November 28
• Time: 12PM-3PM
• Price: RMB 300
• Location: Paper Restaurant
• Address: 138 Gulou Dong Dajie / 鼓楼东大街138号 View Map
• RSVP: Call Shanti +86 159 1108 0077 / workshops@showshanti.com

Interior Space of Paper Restaurant

LumDimSummary: Ginger & Spice Launch

Ginger & Spice Launch Party

Last week, Shauna Cho of Paper and Shanti Christensen of showshanti teamed together for the launch of their new brand: Ginger & Spice.

This brilliant duo is on a mission to prove Chinese food can be healthy too by “educating appetites on how to enjoy Chinese food using fresh wholesome ingredients by hosting food-related courses and community events.”

With their Cookbook Project and Paper’s new menu, Shanti and Shauna also showcased Sambal 01: The Pantry – literally a pantry selling everything from Malaysian cruisine ingredients, homemade spices, sambals, simple syrups and aprons.

Sambal 01: The Pantry

An added bonus?  Their Cookbook Project is joining forces with CAI, a program of the Promise Foundation, a US non-profit organization that works with the children of migrant families in both rural and urban China, to “empower underprivileged children and youths in China through Confidence, Courage, Commitment, and Care”.

LumDimSum Snapshots of the Ginger & Spice: The Launch Party:

The Superstars Behind Ginger&Spice: Shauna Cho & Shanti Christensen

Chapter 1 of Ginger & Spice: Tasting Stories

Chinese food has a bad reputation of being unhealthy and too oily.

Let Ms. Shanti and Ms. Shauna prove this all-too-common myth wrong.

Fellow foodie & creator of showshanti, Shanti Christensen‘s blog features a collection of home-style recipes from her travels all around China and she is finally compiling all her healthy recipes together into a cookbook showcasing healthy Chinese food using sustainable and artisan practices.

Teaming together with Shauna Cho of Paper restaurant, this unstoppable team is on a mission to “educate appetites on how to enjoy Chinese food using fresh wholesome ingredients by hosting food-related courses and community events.”

Join them as they are just beginning their story – Chapter 1: The Launch.

Featuring pass around canapés created from recipes from their Cookbook Project and Paper’s new menu, this will also be a great opportunity to stock up on some exotic Malaysian spices and ingredients, courtesy of Sambal 01: The Pantry (selling Malaysian cruisine ingredients, homemade spices, sambals, simple syrups and aprons).

To find out more, click here for their mission and how they are teaming up with CAI and making a difference.

Event Details:

Date: Thursday, September 16

Time: 8PM

Location: Paper

Address: 138 Gulou Dongdajie (just 200 meters west of Nanluoguxiang), 鼓楼东大街138号

RSVP: Click on Image Below

Celebrate Longevity: Paper

All dressed in white with very, very minimalist decor, Paper is a versatile canvas.  Easily interchangeable between a restaurant and a unique event space, Paper is a charming venue for any occasion.

Created by Cho, also the owner of Cafe Sambal & Bed Bar, Paper serves Asian fusion cuisine with an emphasis on organic products.  Cho’s daughter Shanna hinted that Paper will soon be changing its food concept to serve only organic vegetarian cuisine.

This past Saturday, the lovely and talented Shanti Christensen, fellow foodie & creator of showshanti (her blog featuring a collection of home-style recipes from her travels all around China) celebrated her birthday with an intimate celebration rejoicing with rose champagne and 3 varieties of longevity.

LumDimSum Photo Gallery from Shanti’s Birthday Celebration @ Paper:

Review of Paper: 138 Gulou Dongdajie (just 200 meters west of Nanluoguxiang), 鼓楼东大街138号 , Tel: 8401-5080

Best Part:

• Trendy, all-white decor makes Paper a stand-out, unique space
  
• Their menu emphasizes healthy eating with organic produce and minimal use of oil
• They offer a variety of Asian fusion dishes from Southern Chinese to Japanese and Malaysian
• Fantastic cocktails
• Easy-to-order set dinner menus available

Comments:

• Shanti’s birthday party was my first visit to Paper, so my impressions of the food, decor and service may be unique to the average dining experience.  But as an event space, Paper was very cool in terms of its event function versatility, the staff was very friendly and the three types of hand-pulled, longevity noodles were each uniquely delicious.
• While everything was white, you could tell that the space is not brand new – the white cushions of the lounge bed looked a bit worn.  White is risky because even though it looks impressive from afar, unless it is brand-spanking new and spic-and-span-white, it’s flaws are that much more obvious.

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

• Food: 8
• Atmosphere: 8
• Service: 8
• Overall Experience: 8