Dali Courtyard: Discreet, Delightful & Delicious Yunnan

Dali Courtyard’s Discreet Entrance

A classic Yunnan favorite, Dali Courtyard is a restaurant so popular in the warm summer months that you can’t count on walking in without a reservation, a lesson I’ve learned well.

It’s a trusted restaurant among the local foreign community with a reputation to serve consistently tasty and authentic Yunnan cuisine in a charming little courtyard nestled in the hutongs.

But I was surprised to find it rather quiet in my most recent visit a few weeks back.  I was convinced that hoards of hungry diners would all arrive any moment, but they never came.  In one entire evening, there were a total of about 10 other people in the entire restaurant.  Needless to say, it was too cold to sit outside in the courtyard (which is covered up with a temporary roof in winter months), but there were hardly any other diners even in the cozy indoor spaces.

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theBeijinger’s Charity Quiz for Ping An: Are You Game?

theBeijinger’s 4th Annual Charity Super Quiz: Are you game?!

Fun Fact: LumDimSum hosts monthly pub quizzes.

…but you’d never know that because it’s a private event that Bespoke Beijing Travel & Events Co. arranges for our super star tour guides to keep them engaged with current events around the world, new updates on the Beijing scene and interesting culture related topics in both China and abroad.

And to be perfectly honest, I’d never be brave enough to play quiz master to a room full of competitive people who like to argue every last point until ears begin to bleed.

But if pub quizzes are your thing, if you have a gift for remembering random trivia knowledge, then theBeijinger’s annual Charity Pub Quiz is as good as it gets.

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Thanksgiving 2012: LDS Turkey Feast Breakdown

Last Year’s Thanksgiving Turkey Straight Outta the Oven

It’s been years since I’ve spent Thanksgiving holiday together with my family in California, and this year will mark my 7th Thanksgiving in Beijing. (Eek!)

Luckily though, I’ve found a solid group of dear friends that I like to call my “Beijing Family” who I will be sharing this holiday with over a meal fit for royalty. In fact, our (Beijing) family’s attitude towards Thanksgiving is that we love the meal too much to limit ourselves to only have once per year, so we try and cook up a big turkey feast at least 2-3 times a year.

But to make our actual Thanksgiving dinner extra special, we will be indulging in two turkey feasts in one day. That’s right – after eating ourselves into a turkey coma, we’ll wake ourselves up for round two.

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Last Chance to Join: Countdown to Chi Fan for Charity

Chi Fan for Charity 2012: Dinner at Punjabi Indian Restaurant

Just around the corner is Beijing’s biggest culinary charity event of the year. The countdown begins as it’s just four days until the big day – Chi Fan for Charity (CFFC) 2012!

“An event praised for bringing together local opinion leaders, celebrities and other charitable-minded individuals to raise money for worthwhile philanthropic causes at Beijing’s top restaurants, CFFC is an inspiring event that involves such a strong community of individuals that really rallies their friends and associates to make this one of the most highly anticipated events of the year.” – Excerpt from previous LDS Post on CFFC

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LDS Top Picks: A Wicked Week of Halloween Festivities

“Goblins and Ghosts and Creatures of Fright, 

Don’t Miss the Call of Halloween Night.”

Halloween used to be all about pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating around the neighborhood for sweets, but now it’s about freaky, spooky, sexy parties running throughout the city.

With Halloween falling smack, dab in the middle of the week, there will be events taking place all week starting this Friday through the end of next week.

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Mighty Malts in Gulou: Malty Dog Opening Party

Malty Dog Opening Party with DJ Attacks Unicorns

By Jeff Ji and the same team behind my favorite drinking hole Mai Bar on Beiluoguxiang, Malty Dog Bar & Brewery is opening up right the door.

The name ought to speak for itself, but I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not very savvy when it comes to knowing much about beer, so when I first heard the name Malty Dog, I thought the place was going to feature a range of single malt whisky. But then I realized it’s a different kind of Malt after looking at the Opening Party poster- it’s Malt BEER! (Silly me)  *I’m not entirely wrong as they will have a shelf of single malt scotch and bourbons (according to theBeijinger), but the focus is on malt beer.

Teaming up with the Beijing Craft Beer Association (which includes Great Leap Brewing and Slow Boat Brewery), Malty Dog will be offering craft beers on tap and have over 100 different bottled beers on hand.  Which means…!!  That drinks will be served a whole lot quicker than all the tedious cocktail drinks at Mai Bar!

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Chi Fan for Charity 2012: Reserve Your Seats Now

Already in its fourth year, Chi Fan for Charity (CFFC) is set for Saturday, November 10 in Beijing and the following Saturday, November 17in Shanghai, tickets are officially now on sale with seats quickly selling out!

An event praised for bringing together local opinion leaders, celebrities and other charitable-minded individuals to raise money for worthwhile philanthropic causes at Beijing’s top restaurants, CFFC is an inspiring event that involves such a strong community of individuals that really rallies their friends and associates to make this one of the most highly anticipated events of the year.

If you are unfamiliar with CFFC, the concept is easy enough to digest:

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Smoke & Mirrors: “The Big Smoke” Barbecue Spot

Stepping into The Big Smoke

Let me begin by managing your expectations.

The Big Smoke is not Home Plate Bar-B-Que. From tasting my way through their menu, the interior design and vibes, this is something very different even if both restaurants specialize in *BBQ.

*I have just been corrected – The Big Smoke is not an American BBQ restaurant, but “a menu drawing on Latin influence and featuring a wood-fired barbeque, known as an Asado (the traditional Argentinean pit of fire).”

That being said, I came to dinner at The Big Smoke not knowing what to expect.  I hadn’t done any prior research and I hadn’t even planned on coming here for dinner. I happened to be in the area and our dining choices boiled down to three: Frost nails (I hear they serve some killer burgers), Uncle Otis or The Big Smoke.  I haven’t been to any of these three and I’ve been meaning to check all three off my restaurant hit list since I’ve heard good things about all.  I knew Big Smoke was the newest of the three and since we heard it’s the “sit-down” brother of the “take-away” Uncle Otis with a larger menu selection, we went with it.

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