Savvy SWITCH! Grill at New Dongsishitiao Location

After the move from 798 Art District, the new SWITCH! Grill had their opening party a couple weeks back to celebrate both their new location and also Chef Billy Kawaja‘s birthday. The place was packed for their grand opening party and tasty canapes pouring out of their kitchen kept me staying much longer than I had originally planned to.

This Canadian catering and special events team (the creators of both Culinary Capers and SWITCH! Grill) ceases to amaze me with their creative culinary talents and professional service.  Click to see LDS’s review of their Grand Opening Party – SWITCH! Grill Switches Back On in New Location

One of the participating restaurants in my Little Gold Book, I was happy to learn that the coupon for “Buy 1-Get 1 FREE Mains” at the original SWITCH! in 798 would also apply to the new, savvy and stylish SWITCH! Grill in Regent Land Apartment (across from Swissotel at southeast corner of Dongsishitiao). *If you don’t already have a Little Gold Book, get on it!  It’s only RMB 240 for the whole book of coupons from Beijing’s top restaurants including 50% off Hatsune, Kagen and Karaiya Spice House, it will last you all of 2012 and 30% of proceeds will benefit local community charities. What’s not to love about all that? This book is worth every last fen.

Grabbing a foodie on the way to the restaurant, we made our first foodie-venture at the new SWITCH! Grill on a Monday night.  As expected, the place was pretty desolate with only two other tables of two in the whole restaurant, but this was literally the week after they had just opened and the new space was still very much unannounced to the general Beijing foodie community.

I won’t fault SWITCH! Grill at all for the lack of customers, and if anything, I was ecstatic when the gentleman at one of the other tables came over to say that he and his wife had come to SWITCH! for her birthday dinner based on my LDS post about the opening party!

I admit the dining experience would have been enhanced with more people in the restaurant, but this did not detract from the quality of food and, if anything, we felt like we had the whole restaurant to ourselves! (Fellow photographers will understand this was a rare window of opportunity for me to snap as many photos as I pleased without the chance of anyone asking my paparazzi parade to cease fire.)

LumDimSum Snapshots of the new SWITCH! Grill: 

Overall, our dining experience at SWITCH! was very satisfying. It speaks volumes about our meal when I say that I was too stuffed to even sample their dessert selection.

Here’s a breakdown of our meal starting with our starter salad and ending with our mains.  Chopped Lettuce and Avocado Salad with watermelon bits, pecans and spicy corn vinaigrette (RMB 65) came out too salty or not mixed thoroughly as our first bites were mouthfuls of salt, but they immediately offered to replace our salad with a second one, which was much better.

While the BBQ Pork Ribs (RMB 160) were massive, the Lamb Rack (RMB 130) was on the opposite end of the size spectrum. It wasn’t too small considering how much food we had ordered, but it was quite the contrast to the size of the BBQ Pork Ribs. The Glazed Baby Carrots (RMB 35) were another stand-out dish. Delicious and a perfect compliment to the hunks of meat.  I’ve been binging on sweet potato and I am hoping SWITCH! Grill might consider also adding a sweet potato side dish onto their menu.  Sweet potato fries, mash, chunks…anything sweet potato would be a real bonus in my book!

Overall, highlights of the meal were the ginormous rack of BBQ Pork Ribs and their Signature Strawberry Chili Martini, which still stands as my favorite cocktail in the city. It’s phenomenal and you’ve got to order it the next time you dine at SWITCH! Grill.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Dinner at SWITCH! Grill:

SWITCH!’s Signature Strawberry Chili Martini (RMB 65)SWITCH!’s Chopped Lettuce with Avocado Salad, Watermelon, Pecan & Spicy Corn Vinaigrette (RMB 65)

SWITCH!’s BBQ Pork Ribs with Steak Frites and Charred Broccolini (RMB 160)

SWITCH!’s Lamb Rack with Herb & Garlic Marinade (RMB 130)

 SWITCH!’s Side of Glazed Baby Carrots (RMB 35)

Review of SWITCH! Grill: Regent Land Apartment (across from Swissotel) No. 66 Gongti Beilu, Dong Cheng District  东城区工体北路66号瑞士公寓, Tel: 6553 5691. Open Daily, 11AM-10PM.

Best Part:

• Try their Strawberry Chili Martini, one of my favorite cocktails in the city
• A destination for carnivores to get their meat fix. They have a strong meat & seafood grill menu and their BBQ Pork Ribs were massive (enough for two to share!)
• Portions were large, good for sharing 
• Menu has a wide range of items including soups and salads (RMB 45-65), appetizers (RMB 75-85), flatbread pizza (RMB 55-65), pastas and burgers (RMB 55-88), mains and grill menu (RMB 125-210) and plenty of veggie sides (RMB 25-40) to counter the heavy-meat menu and of course desserts! (RMB 35-55) 
• Simple, quality, straight-forward North American-style steakhouse with cool decor and great food. 
• They also have a very extensive wine list at great prices with glasses starting at RMB 25. Perfect to pick and choose to pair with your meal. 

Comments:

• Although I don’t fault SWITCH! Grill for it’s lack of customers when I visited on a Monday evening just after their launch party, I also can’t imagine seeing this space packed with customers on any given night considering it’s still a point of destination with few pedestrians wandering in off the street (unlike all those venues located in Sanlitun). This is still a place you decide to dine in for a good meal with friends (also not a place for a quick bite on your own). 
• Not sure what was going on, but sitting on the mezzanine level of the restaurant, we kept feeling the ground quiver beneath our feet. I don’t mean to imply that the second floor is unstable, but there was definitely a noticeable movement throughout our meal. 
• Prices are reasonable considering quality of imported meat and big portions, but be prepared to come with a full wallet as it does add up!  
• Service was very professional.  When our first mouthfuls of the salad were overwhelmed with salt, the chef kindly offered to take it back and replace it for a new one without question. 

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

• Food: 8
• Atmosphere: 6
• Service: 8
• Overall Experience: 7

The Cut: 18-Hour, Slow Roasted Prime Rib Thursdays

The Cut Grill in the Fairmont Hotel serves some of the best steak in Beijing, hands-down.

Thanks to Time Out Beijing, I just found out about their Thursday night Prime Rib Dinner Special.  For RMB 260 per person, you can enjoy “18-hour, slow-roasted-on-the-bone Australian Stockyard prime rib carved tableside, served with Yorkshire pudding and all the trimmings”.

How much does that make your mouth water?  Lucky for us, it’s Thursday TODAY!

Happy Eating My Foodie Friends!  

The Cut Grill Restaurant Details:

• Open Tuesdays-Saturdays, 6PM-11PM
• Address: 2nd Floor of Fairmont Beijing, 8 Yongandongli, Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District  
• 朝阳区建国门外大街永安东里8号华彬费尔蒙酒店内
• Tel: 8511-7777

Flamme will Spread like Wildfire

If you have not already heard about Flamme, the new steakhouse in Sanlitun Village, then I have no doubt you will soon.  Especially in Beijing, I find that good (and bad) word travels like wildfire. In this particular case, it’s been all good feedback and I must say, it’s lived up to its positive reputation.

Having just opened this week, Flamme has replaced the old Pepe’s Pizza location on the third floor of Sanlitun Village with the same chef who opened Element Fresh.  As a meat lover, I have been eager to find a new steakhouse and with luck in my favor, I happened to stop in on a Tuesday night, the only night of the week they offer 2-for-1 steaks! Already a reasonable price – RMB 98 for a 150g steak, 2 steaks at this price was a steal.

Greeted by a friendly hostess, we found seating outside and were then given a tour of the interior restaurant space.  Displaying a show kitchen by the entrance, customers can actually witness their steaks being grilled over an impressive giant flame (photo above).  Unfortunately the upstairs space was occupied, so I was unable to take a look (or any photos for that matter).

Interior space:

Outdoor Seating:

Once we all had a look through the menu, our adorable waiter came over and offered his well-versed menu recommendations, explaining each of his favorite dishes, their ingredients and service presentation.  Very impressive for a newly opened restaurant!

Here were the List of Menu Recommendations:

• Appetizers: Seared-Crusted Ahi Tuna (RMB 48) & Steak Sliders (RMB 48)
• Soup: Summer Vegetable Minestrone (RMB 28)
• Salads: Steak Salad (RMB 55) & other salads are served tableside
• Flamme House Steak 150g or 260g (RMB 98/138)
• T-bone steak for 2 – 540g (RMB 398)
• Rosemary Lemon Chicken (RMB 68)
• Sides (all RMB 18): Cloud Potatoes with Crème Fraîche, Grilled Asparagus, Baby carrots, North African style cucumber, Barley Pilaf, Sticky Rice Cake

Upon ordering, we were served Yorkshire Pudding as their house complimentary bread which I found quite unusual for a steak house’s choice bread.  Tasty as it was, it was quite sweet and more of a dessert than a appetizer.

For starters, we shared an order of Steak Sliders (RMB 48): ground steak, grilled onions, tomato relish which were tasty, but very crumbly. We then ordered the 2-for-1 house steaks special which came with a side salad and a choice of the following sauces: Habanero Hollandaise, Korean BBQ sauce, Wild Mushroom Sauce, Red Eye Gravy and Demi Glace (I recommend the thick, creamy Wild Mushroom Sauce).  To compliment our steaks, we also inclined to order the Cloud Potatoes with Crème Fraîche (RMB 18). Thick and creamy, the mashed potatoes were delicious and not too heavy. And for dessert, we ordered two orders of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Lava Cake (RMB 32): Manjari Chocolate (Valrhona) & Madagascar beans with white chocolate and peanut butter molten center with vanilla ice cream on the side – how amazing does that sound??  While it was gooey and rich, the dark chocolate cake was a bit bitter for my taste and I wished the teeny, tiny scoop of ice cream was a bit more.  Overall, I highly recommend the salads, steaks and the wine list is also very reasonably priced.

Review of Flamme: S4-33, Sanlitun Village, 19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District 朝阳区三里屯路19号三里屯Village3楼S4室, Tel: 6417-8608

Best Part:

• Every Tuesday, House Steak is 2-for-1!
• Menu & Drink Prices are all incredibly good value
• Staff are not only exceptionally friendly, they are also very knowledgeable of the restaurant menu and trained to recite well-versed recommendations along with dish ingredients and means of preparation.
• By the same chef who opened Element Fresh, you can count on quality ingredients and taste.
• They have Philippe Starck lights.

Comments:

• I definitely had luck on my side to pop in on a Tuesday for their 2-for-1 steak special, and even though this is by far their best weekday special, Flamme offers different drink/food specials every night of the week (Mon-Friday).
• The weather was perfect to dine outside, but the interior was also quite nice and the show kitchen is a nice touch.
• We ordered a carafe of their house wine, but I hear their cocktails are also worth trying.

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

• Food: 8
• Atmosphere: 7
• Service: 8
• Overall Experience: 8

Now This is Worth Trying

Considering “Eat for Haiti” only lasts 10 days, I’ve been making the most of it by dining and supporting as many “HAITI RISE” restaurants as possible.

Before these 10 days fly by, I want to encourage every foodie in Beijing to go out and literally EAT FOR HAITI. Each voucher is RMB 200, which can be used in any participating “HAITI RISE” restaurant, so that’s RMB 200 off your total bill, and each restaurant will donate 100RMB directly to the HAITI RISE Fund. THIS EVENT ENDS ON WED. (FEB. 3)  SO PLEASE BUY NOW! (contact me directly to purchase vouchers).

It’s a great excuse to rally your friends and organize dinner parties and have a great night knowing you are supporting a worthy cause.

Now here’s a story to hopefully motivate you and get you into gear to make a difference and have fun while you’re at it:

Tonight, Tami Zhao organized a dinner party for a dozen of our close friends at The Meat & Wine Co., in addition to the fact that she holds the record so far for selling 150 vouchers alone.  She’s a mad woman. To call her a superstar would be an understatement.  She’s beyond phenomenal and I can not express my gratitude and

Meat & Wine Co.'s Flame Grilled Skewers

amazement in all her efforts to support the HAITI RISE relief campaign.

Back to dinner at my favorite steakhouse…

Interestingly enough, half the table ordered the various Flame-Grilled Skewers, whether it was Angus beef, chicken or seafood, each skewer was impressively presented to the table on a tall, serious skewer display and I would have been jealous of not having my meat served on a sword if I was not madly in love with what I ordered.

The cooler side of the table (my side of course), all ordered the highly recommended ‘Surf and Turf’: 180g Rump steak served on a bed of crushed baby potatoes, mushrooms, prawns, cherry tomatoes, asparagus and red wine jus with truffle oil (RMB 198).  The presentation may not have been as original as the big sword skewer, but the combination of rump steak with the potatoes, mushrooms, shrimp, sauce, everything melted in my mouth and I became so absorbed in my dish, I think I stopped speaking for the rest of the meal.  That’s how good it was. Upon finishing my meal, I immediately texted Meat & Wine Co.’s marketing manager, Darah Roslyn to tell her that the “Surf and Turf is quite possibly the most amazing thing I’ve tried in a long time. It really blew me away.” I really don’t think I could think of a better way to enjoy and use up one of my RMB 200 “Eat for Haiti” vouchers as it was worth every last fen.

But let’s not forget my favorite part of each meal – dessert.  I ordered the Warm Chocolate & Pistachio

Meat & Wine Co.'s Chocolate Fondante

Fondante - warm dark chocolate fondante with a white chocolate and pistachio heart served with vanilla ice cream (RMB 88).  Warm, gooey rich chocolate that oozes all over the plate combined with sweet ice cream is a killer combination.  And not to mention, the portion is massive.  One order is good to share between 3 people…unless you have a sweet tooth and weakness for chocolate like me, in which case, I would recommend to just share between two.

For anyone who has yet to dine in The Meat & Wine Co., I would advise for you to order their prime cuts of steak, imported wines, Surf and Turf, desserts, and I hear their Portuguese Chicken also comes highly recommended.

Rating of Meat & Wine Co.: (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best)

• Food: 9
• Atmosphere: 8
• Service: 8
• Overall Experience: 9

Tips:  Swap the french fries for mashed potatoes and Every Tuesday, Ribs are two-for-one!