Bistro 108: Brilliant French Brasserie

There are certain restaurants that appear that everyone knows about as soon as they open. Then there are others that seem to fly under the radar but that you get told about by the fans. Bistro 108 has been on my radar as a recommended restaurant from a few different foodies but we still weren’t quite sure what to expect.

Tucked away in a strange complex just opposite the US Embassy, Bistro 108 is one of a series of restaurants that have opened with little to no fanfare. The complex itself is called CaoChang and looks like a developer built half, then ran out of money and didn’t build the other 50%. More than half of the area is simply an empty concrete square. Quite strange as a first impression and also very quiet when we went on a Friday evening.

Either way, this is all relatively unimportant because Bistro 108 completely exceeded our expectations and deserves a lot more coverage! We were the only two people in the restaurant at 20:00 on a Friday night but that didn’t matter because the service was hospitable and friendly without being awkward or over-bearing and the French dishes were all spot on and very reasonably priced. Fellow Foodies in Beijing – get excited about this new find!

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Today Art Museum: CYJO | Mixed Blood 混血

“Mixed Blood investigates the shaping of identity and culture through tradition, modernization, citizenship, and ethnicity.”

Sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and organized in conjunction with Today Art Museum, Timothy Archambault and Nik Apostolides, Mixed Blood is a photo exhibition of work by CYJO featuring 19 families with children of mixed ethnicity.

CYJO herself grew up in a multicultural community having been raised with an American upbringing in Washington, DC metropolitan area and spending much time in New York City and Beijing. Surrounded and inspired by diversity, her photo exhibition “Mixed Blood” gives viewers a snapshot into the living quarters of select families, giving insight into their personal narratives.

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Tasty Tavola: Authentic Neapolitain, Italian Restaurant

Situated on the second floor of The Grand Summit above Fat Burger and Starbucks, close to the US Embassy and Diplomatic compounds lies yet another high-end Italian restaurant named Tavola.

With a branch in Beijing and one in Shanghai, Tavola sells itself as “an exclusive Italian restaurant offering authentic and modern Italian cooking” set in a premium location with private VIP rooms, an open kitchen, and a central showcase dining table to emphasize their dining concept of Tavola, which means “table” in Italian.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Tavola Italian Restaurant:

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