theBeijinger’s Charity Super Quiz 2011

Think you’ve got what it takes to beat out Beijing’s top whiz master? Think you’re the king of utterly useless, random trivia knowledge?  (JUST KIDDING, I revoke my comment about trivia knowledge being useless as I’m sure you can find great use with random facts.)

In any case, I know how seriously hard-core Beijingers get when it comes to pub quizzes – there’s a reason why every freakin’ pub in Beijing hosts their own pub quiz night. So now you can put your knowledge to the test and come out for the ultimate pub quiz of the year – theBeijinger’s Annual Charity Super Quiz, the holy grail of pub quizzes with “tougher questions than ever” and all proceeds going to Ping An Medical Foster Home.

Hosted at Chocolate Club this Sunday, December 11, doors open at 6PM and questions start at 7:30PM. Round up your dream whiz team (tables are limited to teams of 10) and tickets cost RMB 100 including a free drink. 

“Whether you enjoy quizzes, charity or Russian dancers, there’s something in this evening for everyone.” – theBeijinger Team

This year’s event will include the following QuizMasters:

• Karl from Paddy O’Shea’s

• Jim and Anthony from The Kro’s Nest

• Tom from the Black Sun

• Josh from Lush

• Pat from the Green Cap

• Liz at The Stumble Inn

• Graham of the Irish Volunteer

• Julian from Tim’s Texas Bar-B-Q

• Alex from The Brick

• Jonny from The Bookworm

…Like I said before, this is the Holy Grail of Beijing Pub Quizzes!

Event Details:

• Date: Sunday, December 11
• Time: 6PM
• Location: Chocolate Club
• Address: 19 Ritan Beilu, Chaoyang District 朝阳区日坛北路19号
• Tel: 8561 3988
• Website: Click here.

Foodies, Arm Yourself in 2012 with the Little Gold Book

Little Gold Book is like the “Little Black Book for Charitable Foodies in Beijing”.

It’s a coupon book with crazy good discounts on Beijing’s top restaurants with 30% of proceeds going towards local community charities.

Just think about it – All those places you’ve been wanting to try out or that you wish you could go more often (if they were more affordable), you can finally begin to eat your way through Beijing’s top dining destinations armed with a little gold book filled with coupons that are up to 50% off!

Here’s a few top deals you can score with The Little Gold Book:

• 50% off Hatsune
• 2 for 1 mains at Assaggi
• 2-for-1 wine at Enoterra
• 50% off Stumble Inn
• 2-for-1 Food Items at The Bookworm
• 50% off ROOMbeijing
• 2-for-1 cooking classes at Vegan Hut
• 50% off Filling Station
• RMB 50 discount on a dozen Lollipop Cupcakes

Click for full list of deals here (there are 85 deals by 70 restaurants).

For only RMB 240 per Little Gold Book, you can cover the cost of the entire book after just one meal at one of the 70 participating restaurants.  It’s valid for the entire 2012 year so there’s plenty of time to work your way through each deal.

With the holidays quickly approaching, the Little Gold Book is a great stocking stuffer for all fellow Beijing foodies!

Little Gold Book was first released at the Chi Fan for Charity 2011 After-Party at Hatsune and will be available for sale again at Kagen’s Christmas Charity Dinner on December 10th with 30% of proceeds going towards BICCO.

Little Gold Book is currently sold at The Bookworm, April Gourmet’s and Colibri.

Happy America Day: Celebrating the Fourth of July

America’s Independence Day, the Fourth of July, should be a day of BBQ picnics in parks with hot dogs and burgers on the grill, water balloon fights and fireworks, but as this year falls on a Monday, most are stuck in an office for the better part of the day.

But rest assured, there’s still plenty going on and a variety of destination options available to show off your Americanism.

theBeijinger gives a nice run-down of pro-American venues (click here for article) including Saddle Cantina, Kro’s Nest, the Stumble Inn, Blue Frog, the Culture Yard’s Independence Day Cook-Out, and NOLA.

After witnessing the world’s top hot dog eater, Joey Chestnut engulf 39 hot dogs in 5 minutes at the Nathan’s Famous Wanliu Store opening and the China National Hot Dog Eating Championship a few weeks back, my gang of usual suspects we be celebrating this great national holiday by ordering in a couple dozen orders of Nathan’s Famous Chili Cheese dogs and watching Joey Chestnut live on ESPN in action at 11PM Beijing time (actual contest begins at noon New York time, so midnight in Beijing). If you have a VPN or other IP proxy, you can easily watch the contest online at this link here.

Joey Chestnut jammed down 39 hot dogs in his own 5 minute exhibition in Beijing!

To see full article of Nathan’s Famous China National Championship Hot Dog Eating Competition, click here.

To see more images and video footage of Joey Chestnut exploring Beijing, click here.

For all those with a sweet tooth, I recommend ordering some All-American Apple Pie from The Pie House (buy 2 for a 30% discount!) to celebrate!

**Happy Fourth of July!**

Tune In for The Royal Wedding Live in Beijing

Witness Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot this afternoon with coverage starting around 3PM and the grand procession beginning around 5PM Beijing time.

Unless you are one of the few invited to the big screening at the British Embassy’s garden party or to a fellow Brit’s private viewing party, you’ll want to find a spot to watch this momentous event somewhere with screens and guaranteed coverage!  

theBeijinger’s got a great breakdown of venues around town covering the Royal Wedding  here.

Top pick for public viewing goes to The Stumble Inn with “a three-course meal fit for a king (or prince)”. RMB 198 per person gets you a free Pimm’s cocktail or a cup of tea to wash down your three courses of potted shrimp, toad in the hole with “bubble and squeak” (that’s potato and vegetables mashed together) and sherry trifle.

Event Details:

• Date: Friday, April 29, 2011
• Time: 5PM onwards
• Locations: The Stumble Inn
• Address: S3-31, 3/F, Sanlitun Village South, 19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District 朝阳区三里屯路19号三里屯Village南区3号楼3层S3-31
• Tel: 6417 7794

Stumble Back into the Stumble Inn

After closing down on Lucky Street last year, Stumble Inn makes a comeback this weekend in Sanlitun Village, on the third floor across from Club Le Zazou and next to Blue Frog.

I didn’t make it to the opening on Friday night, but spent Sunday afternoon checking out the space, their food & super extensive drink menus and some of their dishes.

Here is Stumble Inn’s “The Original Stumbles Burger: 200g of homemade ground beef burger with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle & French fries” (RMB 45)

While their original burger is great, I hear The Messy Burger (RMB 70) is the way to go.

Having just opened, they are still finalizing their menus, but here’s what you can expect:

Highlights:

• Over 100 beers from over 25 countries (RMB 20 – 70)
  
• 4 Draught Beers
• Selection of Long Islands (RMB 60)
• Alcoholic Shakes (RMB 50)
  
• Burgers (RMB 45-70)
• Sandwiches (RMB 30-40)
  
• Pool Table
• Dart Board
• 5 Plasma Screens

The Stumble Inn is a two-story venue, so naturally there is a bar on each level:

First Floor Bar/Second Floor Bar

LumDimSum Snapshots of the Stumble Inn: