A True Taste of Naples: La Pizza

Known for serving up truly authentic Naples cuisine, La Pizza has an extensive range of pizzas, calzones, little mini pizzas called kisses, and then some.  Unlike thin-crust Italian pizza, Naples’ pizza dough is more fluffy and soft.  (photo above displays small size pizza)

Since I’ve already tried their pizza previously during CW’s gourmet month deal, I decided to switch it up. This time around I ordered the Cronchetto Classico (RMB 120) as it was “guaranteed to satisfy” with cheese and mozzarella oozing out and layers of Parma ham, rucola, parmesan cheese, small tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil on top. While I am a huge cheese fanatic, I must say that the amount of cheese inside the cronchetto was a bit overwhelming and heavy in my stomach.

The result: I ended up taking half of it home in a doggy bag.

After we were stuffed Humpty Dumpties, we still could not resist to satisfy our sweet tooth. I had heard their tiramisu (RMB 35) is one of the best in town and we were not disappointed.  Light and creamy, this tiramisu was the perfect ending to our Italiano meal.

La Pizza has two branches – one in 3.3 Mall in Sanlitun and one in Solana Lifestyle Shopping Center.

Addresses:

• 3.3 Mall (Sanlitun) - 1/F, 3.3 Building, No. 33 Sanlitun Road, 三里屯路33号3.3服饰大厦1层. Tel: 5136-5582
• Solana Lifestyle Shopping Center – SA-48, 1/F, Bldg 3, Solana, 6 Chaoyang Park Road, 朝阳公园西路6号,蓝色港湾3号, 一层, SA-48. Tel: 5905-6106

And You Thought 80′s at Alfa Was Good…

Alfa is one of Beijing’s old-timers.

When I first came to Beijing, nightlife was pretty predictable considering it was once so much more limited. I can still remember the weekly breakdown – Wednesday’s Ladies Night at Suzies, Thursday’s Ladies Night at Bar Blu, Friday’s 80′s Night at Alfa followed by late night dancing at Vics or heaven-forbid Babyface or Cargo.  Yeah…I know. Times have changed.

It’s incredible how far Beijing has come since then with Sanlitun Village dominating the CBD, the Park Hyatt, Solana, etc. etc. Beijing has utterly transformed itself in only a few years.

And this weekend, Alfa re-launched itself with a soft-opening party showcasing a new look along with music stars - DJ Chozie & DJ Azat rocking the house and bringing a new vibe, a new scene, and above all, a new Alfa.

LumDimSum Photo Gallery of Alfa’s Re-Launch Party:

My Party Peeps @ Alfa:

…But just as things couldn’t get better, someone had to ruin all the fun and set off a smoke bomb, only to find out it was the fumes of a fire extinguisher! Party Foul.

Mi Casa es Tu Casa: Casa Latina

Authentic Mexican food has FINALLY arrived to Beijing!! I have really missed good Mexican food since El Fogoncito closed in Wanda plaza (such a shame) but everything about Casa Latina is an absolute delight and the food is no exception.

CityWeekend made it easy with the ordering. Casa Latina’s CW Gourmet Month Set Menu (RMB 99) offered four courses which left us happy Humpty Dumpties stuffed to the brim. If there was a wall, we definitely would have had a great fall.

For the first course, we started off with tasty Sopesitos (normal price: RMB 48) – 3 crunchy mini-corn tarts topped with refried beans, shredded chicken, fresh lettuce a la Julienne, sour cream, cheese and served with spicy salsa verde that gave the perfect amount of kick. The combination of rich flavors and textures all complimented each other perfectly.  I highly recommend ordering this dish either as an appetizer or the perfect compliment to accompany your Latin cocktail (they have a long list to choose from).

Casa Latina's Superb Sopesitos

Crema Poblana Soup

Next, they served Crema Poblana soup (normal price: RMB 48). Never have I had such a thick, spicy cream-based soup! Made from roasted poblano peppers, the Crema Poblana is also served with mini squares of cheese and corn kernels.

The main course was Traditional Fajitas (normal price RMB 98) – a massive skillet filled with pinto beans on one side and the other half with strips of beef tenderloin on a mound of onions and peppers. The best part – it came with homemade real corn tortillas and freshly made guacamole! While the fajitas were big in portion with a lot of flavor, I thought it was a bit on the dry side. Next time, I’d definitely like to try one of their other main course dishes – Enchiladas Verdes, Pollo Con Mole, Ropa Vieja, Ensenada Taco Fish, the list goes on.

For dessert, the Capirotada was a bit rich for my taste with a condensed milk-like sauce poured over mini bread slices with cinnamon, raisins, peanuts and cheese (think Mexican French Toast). In the future, I would also prefer to replace this dessert and try their cream caramel or apple cake.

Capirotada Dessert

Review of Casa Latina: Located across from Invito on Solana Bar Street (down the road from All-Star), 6 Chaoyang Park Road, 朝阳公园路6号, Solana蓝色港湾商业区8号楼3单元; Tel: 5905-6201; Daily Hours: 6PM-2AM

Best Part:

• In just one month, they’ve already begun to establish themselves as the one and only authentic Mexican restaurant in Beijing.
• Everything from the decor, the food, the chef, the music is all as authentically Latin as can be.
• Sopesitos and Crema Poblana soup were the highlights of our meal.
• They have a great live Cuban band every day except for Mondays
• Owners/managers are both personable, professional and knowledgeable.

Comments:

• Newspaper style menu is cluttered with the first page listing salads, soups and main courses, 2nd page listing cocktails, appetizers and desserts, third page with pizzas, snacks, martinis, milk shakes and non-alcoholic cocktails, and left overs of their drink menu on the fourth page. Pizza is random to offer at a Mexican restaurant, but then I met one of the owners (from Italy), and the pizza addition came to make sense.
• RMB 99 for a four-course set menu was a great meal and incredible value (normal price would be RMB 218), but when I go back (which I definitely will), I would prefer to order a la carte and try one of their salads or their Aztec Soup – the house special with fresh tomato and dried pepper base with fresh cheese and avocado cubes, crispy corn strips and fresh cream. I would also love to try their Pollo con Mole (Chicken Leg dipped in dark sauce made of chilies and chocolate!) and finish off with a cream caramel dessert. The only thing I might order again would be the Sopesitos starter, which was perfect.
• We happened to come on a rainy Monday night, the only night of the week without the live Cuban band and having just rained, it also explains the lack of customers, but word is that it has been consistently full almost every night for the past 2 weeks. In any case, this just gives me an excuse to return for some more delicious Mexican food to enjoy with live music and a lively crowd.

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

• Food: 9
• Atmosphere: 6 (no live band on Mondays, and it was raining, so quite empty, but I heard it is normally packed and very lively)
• Service: 8
• Overall Experience: 8

Mama Mia! La Pizza

Everyone always says ‘Quality over Quantity,’ but sometimes a lot of quantity is all you need.

La Pizza’s Gourmet Month Set Menu for RMB 99 is for TWO people.  Not one, but TWO.

For 99RMB, you get:

• 4 Arancini Fried Sicily rice balls
• 2 generous bowls of soup (1 pumpkin & 1 tomato)
• 50cm-long Pizza Marinara Napolitana! (I recommend to add cheese for RMB 20, which is SO WORTH IT)

SUCH GOOD VALUE!! Aside from All-Star’s Gourmet Month menu (3 course menu PLUS drink for RMB99), big ups to La Pizza for not skimping and providing a great set menu for gourmet month.

Review of La Pizza: Building No. 3, 1F, SA-48, SOLANA Commercial Center, 6 Chaoyang Park Road, Chaoyang Park 蓝色港湾国际商区, 朝阳公园路6号朝阳公园西北岸边  Tel: 5905-6106

Best Part:

• Serves very authentic thin-crust Italian Pizza, straight from wood-fired oven
• The place was completely packed on a Saturday night
• Casual atmosphere
• Great value with huge proportions (the 50cm pizza is their medium size, so just image how big their large is! – enough to serve about 6 people)

Comments:

• Service was chaotic and not very attentive (but in their defense, they were very busy)
• Regular menu’s prices are not cheap. If you just want quantity with good value, I still would choose Kro’s Nest’s pizzas.
• They had run out of tomato soup, which we switched for a mushroom soup

In ordering the gourmet month menu, you should be prepared to expect a marinara pizza -no cheese.  If you are a cheese fanatic like me, I highly recommend to add cheese for RMB 20, which makes a great difference

A Tour of ‘The New Beijing’

It seems like a lifetime ago, but when I first moved to Beijing in 2006, I came as a student to study Mandarin at World Link Education.  Back in those days, everything was all play and stress-free – ah, the life as a student.  My crew’s regular hangout spot was Together Bar (which was recently demolished this summer and replaced with a park) and our regular party spots included none other than Babyface, Cargo, Bar Blu, Kai Bar, Suzie Wong’s and Vics (before the re-model).

Since then, so much has changed in Beijing pre and post the 2008 Olympics.

This October holiday, my best friend from World Link, Sophia Gericke came back to visit for 10 days – a visit that has been both refreshing and eye-opening.  It’s so easy to get caught up in all the small things and forget to see the big picture.  It’s hard to imagine that only a year ago, there was no Sanlitun Village, there was no Opposite House, no Bling, no Solana, no Legation Quarter, etc. etc.

With Sophia back in Beijing after a 3 years, I wanted her to experience the best of what I like to call, ‘The New Beijing’.

Having already lived in Beijing, Sophia had no interest in seeing any tourist attractions, so I was able to really give her a taste of Beijing’s new and improved dining and nightlife scene.

Here’s what the 10 day tour consisted of:

1. Sanlitun Village (Hatsune, Karaiya, Blue Frog for drinks, Panino Teca)
2. Opposite House (Alan’s Hotel Party in one of the suites, Mesh & Punk)
3. Solana (All-Star & Bling)
4. Legation Quarter Tour & dinner @ Capital M (Qianmen Pedestrian Street)
5. Park Hyatt’s Xiu
6. Olympic Green (complete with attending the Turandot Opera in Bird’s Nest)
7. 1949-The Hidden City: Club Décolleté, Club Glen, Sugar Cafe, Well Bar
8. Scarlett (Hotel G)
9. Glen Boutique Bar & Oden
10. d lounge
    

    Keep it Gangsta Party @ BLING

11. Vics (renovated)
12. Block 8‘s Ruby Khi (renovated)
13. Suzie Wong’s (unchanged)
14. Chocolate Club
15. Vineyard Cafe (best Sunday brunch)
16. Chef Too (Sunday brunch)
17. Regency Taipan (massage)
18. PurpleJade Country Club (spa)

New Neighbor

After over a year of Banana Leaf in Solana’s Dining & Bar Street existing solely as signs that read “Coming Soon,” it finally opened its doors last week. All-Star Sports Bar & Grill finally has a neighbor!

When All-Star first signed its lease to begin construction a little over a year ago, Solana was a promising new destination, with a Californian style open-air complex with a shopping mall plus Dining & Bar street. Big names including Zara, Nike, Coldstone, Cro Bar, and even a Banyan Tree Hotel was meant to open just beside All-Star & Bling, (which would have been clutch for us to share their abundant supply of taxis for our guests as well).

While All-Star & Bling both opened according to schedule right before the Olympics, all of our neighbors continued to postpone and some actually back out of their leases completely (Banyan Tree).  And the result: Solana suffered the “ghost-town” syndrome throughout Winter 2008 while the Village in Sanlitun quickly made a name for itself and became the new hub for all shoppers and diners.

Fortunately for Solana, spring brought along sunshine aplenty together with more and more pedestrians and consumers, making Solana a better known destination.  Located right along a lake with gorgeous views of Chaoyang Park, Solana was sure to pick up in terms of traffic and word-of-mouth.

For the first time, All-Star now has a new neighbor and the entire All-Star family was anxious to welcome Banana Leaf to our hood. The owners arranged a grand dinner party, a night that quickly turned into a drink off of whiskey and vodka. Banana Leaf was also kind enough to send over some dancing, singing, “man-loving” entertainment.  A warm welcome and an appropriate initiation of Banana Leaf into the Solana neighborhood.

With this week also marking both All-Star & Bling’s 1-year birthday, it’s crazy that it’s already been a year. As one of the original spaces to open on Solana’s Bar & Food street,  it’s been interesting to see the area of Solana develop, fill up vacant spaces and slowly but surely climbing up to its full potential.

Overall Evaluation:

Banana Leaf (Solana): Brand, spanking new, just opened. But a well-known chain serving up Thai cuisine and a whole lot of live entertainment. Lovely interior, two stories with big private rooms and and lounge bar by the entrance.  Reasonably priced, so I’d recommend going in a big group who can appreciate some “man-love”.

Best Part:

• It’s located right beside All-Star Sports Bar & Grill
• Low Prices
• Amusing, animated entertainment

Comments:

• This outlet in Solana  is much nicer than others as it just opened. There is much better Thai food elsewhere (Lantung Thai Bar & Bistro, Very Siam, Purple Haze) and I’d only go to Banana Leaf if you were looking for an entertaining dining experience for a big group.  Otherwise, it’s just cheesy, mediocre food and service.

Another recently opened Solana addition:

Invito:  3 stories for 3 venues – Basement is cocktail lounge, 1st floor is a casual cafe serving fresh sandwiches with homemade bread, 2nd floor is a high-end fine-dining restaurant with a great terrace overlooking the lake.

I went for lunch with a friend and had a great sandwich for about RMB 50 and my friend just ordered two scoops of ice cream together with a ginger ale.  Total bill: RMB 160.  Yup, her ice cream and ginger ale were more than double the cost of my sandwich.

Best Part:

• It’s located is set right in front of a lake, offering a great patio and an upstairs terrace to oversee the great view.
• Nice selection of fresh sandwiches, breads, and desserts
• Impressive wine selection with machines that preserve wines after opening, allowing all bottles to be served by the glass
• Food is excellent, along with presentation

Comments:

• I will be interested to follow Invito’s development. Already a lot of word-of-mouth talking about Invito being a great restaurant with great food. Just remember you’ll be paying a very pretty penny for your meal…even if it is just ice cream and ginger ale.