Pop-Up Beijing: LDS 1-on-1 with Glenn Schuitman

Pop-Up Beijing’s Treasure Trove of Delights: When Hoarding Turns into Art

Stepping into Pop-Up Beijing, it can be overwhelming to the untrained eye with so many things everywhere. At first glance, the space is just overflowing with beautiful wood furniture, plush couches and striking cabinets. While the ceiling is covered with hanging chandeliers and antique lamps, the walls are lined with mirrors, paintings and tall shelves filled top to bottom with ceramics, pots, figurines and vases.

It may seem cluttered or haphazard at first, but there is a method to the madness. You just need to take a step back to focus your shopping eye before you can fully begin to appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of each individual piece on display. In every corner, there are refined, quirky, stylish pieces, accented by vibrant fresh flowers alongside timeless antiques.

I commend what this reviewer wrote on CityWeekend – “From antique furniture and vintage fabrics to modern artwork and fanciful cushions, the collection here lets you break away from living in apartment that was once all-IKEA-all-the-time.” – Review by memworldwide  

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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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Park 17: Fine Italian Pops Up in South Sanlitun

Park 17 Pretties Up South Sanlitun

I came to dine at Park 17 after booking a long, overdue catch up with my fellow foodie. We struggled to think of a new restaurant to try that neither of us had yet been to. But just in the nick of time, the_beijinger‘s instagram posted about a new Italian restaurant in south Sanlitun. And that’s what I like to call “clutch”. Neither of us had heard of it yet but the beautiful photo of a pizza smothered in what looked like layers of arugula and Parma ham looked promising. I took a snapshot and sent it to her and the decision was made. Park 17 it was!

Without having time to dig any deeper, neither of us really new what to expect other than its location in South Sanlitun (it’s literally next to The Local, having replaced the Chinese vegan restaurant Gingko Tree). Arriving on a Thursday evening, it was very quiet with only 2-3 other tables of customers, but we assumed that the space has probably literally just opened to the public, which is exciting to be among the first to test it out!

LDS Snapshots of Park 17:

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Katchup: Monster Burgers & Sandwiches in Gulou

If it doesn’t get all over the place…

Burgers were all the rage about 2-3 years ago with burger joints popping up left and right all over town competing to be Beijing’s best.

And though the race still continues on theBeijinger’s annual Burger wars to win the highly sought-after Burger Cup title, I can’t say there are that many new contenders this year. Last year, Home Plate Bar-B-Que narrowly won 1st place over Plan B, which was followed by The Local and Great Leap Brewing not far behind in 3rd and 4th place. This year, I’m pretty certain these 4 burger joints will remain among the top 10 rated burgers but I’d definitely like to highlight a recently discovered burger joint in Gulou worth mentioning.

This year, theBeijinger will be narrowing down a list of 64 burger joints and I’m pretty sure Katchup will be a top contender this year.

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The Cleaver Quarterly: Ice Cream Shake-Up Fundraiser

The Cleaver Quarterly is Cleverly Luring You in with Crafty Ice Cream Creations

Knowing the key to our hearts (and wallets) is through our stomach, The Cleaver Quarterly team is a very smart bunch who have figured out that every foodie’s kryptonite is most often than not – ice cream.

This Saturday, April 12, the team behind this foodie ad-free magazine is organizing an ice cream making contest at The Local.

The Cleaver Quarterly is a new print magazine taking a playful look at Chinese food as a global phenomenon. Through lively longform writing and vivid visuals, it will explore the changing appetites of the world’s most populous country as well as Chinese food around the world. We’ll tell the stories behind the recipes, whether it’s the savory double-steamed soups of Jiangxi province, microbrewing in Taiwan or egg rolls in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. We’ll also be telling the stories that you won’t see anywhere else.

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The Local: Tuesday Night Half Price Steaks!

The Local’s Half-Off Steak Deal Every Tuesday Night

One of my favorite go-to bars in Sanlitun, The Local is a very chilled out and down-to-earth pub with a nice selection of cocktails that are both solid and very fairly priced at RMB 60 each (or RMB 40 during Happy Hour which is every day before 9PM).

You can often find me at the Local on any given Friday or Saturday night with a Local Mule cocktail (RMB 40/Happy Hour 30) in hand, but I’ve started showing up more often during the week because their insanely awesome weekday night promo deals. Happy Hour aside, they’ve got an entire page of awesome daily specials that run throughout the week with my favorite of them all being their Half Price Steak deal every Tuesday night from 5PM-10PM.

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Thanksgiving 2013: LDS Picks for Top Turkey Feasts

Beijing’s Best Thanksgiving Feasts 2013

With terrific Thanksgiving spreads available around town throughout the week, there’s no reason why you have to pressure yourself into picking just one Thanksgiving meal.  We’ve waited all year long for this incredible turkey feast to come around again so make the most of it this year and sign yourself up for as many as you can stuff yourself with.

Whether you’re American is irrelevant because no matter where you’re from, everyone can appreciate a holiday focused on phenomenal food and good company, and celebrate Thanksgiving with a home-style meal even if they are so far away from home.

Last year, my gang of foodies managed to eat through two turkey feasts in one day. Some might call us guilty of gluttony, but I just say we were fully embracing the spirit of Thanksgiving. A very special time of year for foodies like us, it’s a time where diets are thrown out the window and you indulge guilt-free in anything and everything that is Thanksgiving goodness.

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Re-Launch Party: Brussels Becomes “The Local”

Getting Real: Brussels Facelifts into “The Local’

My plans to try to avoid Sanlitun on weekend nights never works.  Not only can it be so sketchy and chaotic these days, it also spells trouble. But in my sorry efforts to stay away, I only find myself ending up there more frequently. Go figure.

I guess I shouldn’t be so harsh on Sanlitun.  You won’t find any tucked-away hutong courtyards in this mainstream mass of bunched up blocks packed with more restaurants and bars than you could ever be bothered to uncover, but Sanlitun actually has some great little gems.  If I’m hosting an out-of-town guest, my go-to spot is always the hidden little bar on the west side of Yashow Market, Revolution Bar. If I’m feeling a little fancy or if I’m in the mood to impress, I love Janes & Hooch for a swanky upscale venue with quality cocktails or the people-watching den with what-feels-like-a-dress-code, d lounge. But if I’m just meeting up with a group of friends for a low-key night (which always ends up later than originally planned), you can almost always find us at The Local, what I like to think of as one of Sanlitun’s saviors.

Rewind. “The…what” you ask?  The Local.  You think you don’t know what I’m talking about, but you’ve probably been to The Local yourself and just not realized it.

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