BJ FOoDiEs ‘Magic’ Dinner & Hilton’s Charity Auction

The first BJ FOoDiEs event of 2012 is setting up to be a double-whammy!  Switching things up, this is one of the very first times that a BJ FOoDiEs dinner will not be held on a Sunday, but on a Friday night. And since most of those in attendance have a charitable heart and generous spirit, it only makes sense to see BJ FOoDiEs teaming up with the Hilton Beijing, The Beijing Beatles, and Hoegaarden for the 2012 Charity Auction!

So mark you calendars for next Friday, February 10 for a night dedicated to the spirit of generous giving and good food. Not only will foodies be spoiled with a special dinner, those who make the highest bids for Beijing’s Dashing Bachelors and Bachelorettes will again be once again rewarded with another dinner at One East!

The night’s rundown is quite packed in, so by signing up for the BJ FOoDiEs dinner, you’re also signing yourself up for a full-on charitable evening with all proceeds going to two very special charitable organizations: Morning Tears and Magic Hospital.

First off, foodies are treated to an indulgent, 3-course contemporary American meal at One East in the Hilton Beijing hotel.

While the restaurant is said to specialize in Steaks & Burgers, the BJ FOoDiEs dinner unfortunately will be serving neither.  But alas, you can enjoy everything from a crustacean sea platter this eatery combines hearty US dishes with a swig of innovative californian flavors

“Be WARNED – This is going to be a night of feasting, drinking, debauchery & party-tastic times.  It’s going to be one of the best TGIF CELEBRATIONS so do join us for the night….we’ll hopefully all remember it the next morning. WoOT WOOT ” – Xixi Cheng, Founder of BJ FOoDiEs

BJ FoODiES: ‘Teach’ Fiesta Charity Dinner at Casa Latina

Get ready foodies, BJ FoODiES July dinner will be more than just a charity dinner, it’s going to be a Fiesta!

Casa Latina is hands-down my top pick in Beijing for authentic Mexican. As Founder & Organizer Xixi Cheng says it best - “You won’t find no Taco bell Chihuahua’s here, this eatery is straight up mexicano & serves some lethal drinks to match.”

RMB 120 gets you a Fiesta dinner + Cuban ‘bucanero’ (Beer/Margarita/Soft Drink).

RSVP asap with the BJ FoODiES team: bjfoodies@gmail.com

“Be warned….consumption of tequila shots, pitchers of margaritas, sangria, cuban beer will be encouraged. VAMANOS DE FIESTA!!!”

RMB 120 includes Fiesta Dinner + Cuban Beverage

MEXICAN FIESTA!!!

“ENTRADAS”

Home made Guacamoles
Avocado sauce with lime & fresh cilantro

“PLATO PRINCIPALES”

Moros Y Crstianos
Mexican white rice stewed w/ Black Beans

Burrito Norteno
Flour tortilla stuffed w/ Ropa Vieja & Refried Beans

Entomatadas
Corn wrap filled w/ beef & tomato sauce & gratin cheese

Enmoladas
Corn wrap w/ chicken covered in dark Mole sauce

+ Glass of Cuban ‘BUCANERO’ Beer / Margarita / Softdrink

“Indulge for a Cause”

Event Details:

• Date: Sunday, July 17, 2011
• Time: 7:30-10:30
• Location: Casa Latina
• Address: Solana Bar Street, Bldg 8, Unit 3, 6 Chaoyang Park Road, 朝阳公园路6号, Solana蓝色港湾商业区8号楼3单元
• Cost: RMB 120 includes ‘Fiesta’ dinner menu + drink
• RSVP: E-mail BJ Foodies Team – bjfoodies@gmail.com

July Charity Theme: ‘Teach’

Established in 2008, Teach For China (TFC) is inspired by the vision that one day, all Chinese children will have access to a quality education.  Teach For China takes a unique approach to eliminating educational inequity by enlisting the US and China’s most promising future leaders in the effort.  In partnership with the global network Teach For All (www.teachforall.org), Teach For China recruits, selects, trains, and supports outstanding US and Chinese graduates to work side-by-side to deliver an excellent education in high poverty, rural Chinese communities.

For more information: http://www.tfchina.org/

About BJ Foodies Group:

Organizing monthly group meals at about RMB 100/head with food/drinks included, this group of dedicated foodies is all about “satiating their inner-foodie appetites for good quality food, conversation & fine wining/sake-ing/cocktailing/beering while indulging for a cause.”

BJ FOODIES PURPOSE:
1. Just to eat a nice meal & catch up with real people & friends outside the clubbing-disease we all suffer from called Vics/Mix.
2. Opportunity to contribute our little bits to society while doing something we love – EATING. The Charity aspect is a supplementary & added bonus BUT NOT the main purpose of the group

Best Hot Pot Deal in Beijing

Hot Pot is one of the only good things about Beijing’s unbearably cold winter season.

Hai Di Lao is an old Beijing favorite with its popular do-it-yourself sauce station and genuinely friendly service, but I find the long wait-time a drag and the super packed-out venue can just leave you feeling overwhelmed and even claustrophobic. While Hai Di Lao Hot Pot remains as one of my all-time favorite hot pot spot, I have recently discovered a hot pot deal so good that not only will it serve as a suitable alternative when Hai Di Lao is too busy, but may even be my new choice hot pot destination.

Introduced to me by my dear friend and fellow foodie, Xixi Cheng, Eight Birds Hokkaido Shabu Shabu (that is the entire name) offers an unbeatable “secret” set menu of only RMB 258 (can be shared between a group of 3-4) that includes everything from Kobe beef, abalone, fresh oysters, New Zealand imported meat…the whole sha-bang!

Here’s the breakdown for this ridiculously good meal deal (only RMB 258 for all the following):

Choice of drink:

Ice Lemon Tea, Milk Tea, Red or Green tea

Trio Combo Dipping Sauces with 1 raw quail egg:

Appetizers:

• Vegetable Salad
• Cold Tofu
• Secret Heart Sugar Egg

I have no idea what their secret is, but this Secret Heart Egg is off the hook good

Dumplings & Vegetable Platter:

Choice of 2 meats:

• Kobe Beef
• Matsusaka Pork
• New Zealand Sheep
• New Zealand Lamb cubes
• Diced fatty beef
• US Cephalomappa (Beef)

We ordered the New Zealand Sheep and Kobe Beef

Choice of 2 Seafood:

• Salmon Head
• Fresh Shrimp
• Small Abalone
• Fresh Oyster
• Clams
• Live Crab
• Shellfish

Noodles & Rice mixed with leftover hotpot soup:

Dessert:

Red Bean Ice Dessert, Fruit Panna Cotta Trio & Fruit

LumDimSum Snapshots of Eight Birds:

Review of Eight Birds Hokkaido Shabu Shabu: 5/F, South Place, The Place, 9 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District 朝阳区光华路9号世贸天阶南街5楼, Tel: 6587 1470

Best Part:

• RMB 258 Set Hot Pot Meal and get Kobe Beef, Abalone, Fresh Oysters, etc. (Group of 8 of us all paid about RMB 90 each)

• Super friendly service
• Loads of private rooms (if that’s our thing) and open dining space for main seating

Comments:

• Instead of a do-it-yourself sauce buffet l (similar to Haidilao), we still got three sauces that we all found quite different and tasty.
• Location was a bit strange – top floor of the back side of The Place where all these children’s play areas are located.
• Restaurant was very busy, but staff was all incredibly kind and helpful.

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

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

Eight Friends at Eight Birds (Total Coincidence)

LumDimSummary: Indulged for a Cause @ ROOM

Beijing Foodies 2 Year Birthday Bash was my very first time dining at ROOMbeijing and needless to say, I was absolutely blown away!

When I signed up for this event, I was stoked to see such a good valued meal – a 3-course menu + 2 glasses of wine for only RMB 150 per person. With 3 dishes listed under starters, mains and 2 desserts, I was expecting everyone to pick and choose their selections out of the set menu but then every single item on the menu came out family-style so we got to try everything!

For starters, we were served a 42-ingredient salad, tuna tartar with avocado and Italian ham with arugula salad.  While I was most intrigued to try the 42-ingredient salad, the tuna tartar won me over with the giant chunks of avocado and marinade for the tuna.

For mains, the rack of lamb and BBQ pork noodles were both tasty, but the star dish of the night was by far the Whole Roasted Baby Chicken.  Slow-cooked and soaked in whiskey for 24 hours, the chicken was incredibly tender and juicy and I was also a big fan of the sticky rice.

Ending on a sweet note, the ti-ROOM-isu was a giant block of goodness and the Milk Chocolate Mousse Bars were attached to a pile of POP Rocks!  Been ages since I’ve had pop rocks crackling in my mouth; it was such an unexpected treat!

LumDimSum Snapshots of the 8-dish Meal by ROOM:

OVERALL:

Serving 8 amazing dishes all family style, I applaud ROOM for offering this incredibly generous menu selection, for their very professional and efficient service for a packed house of 152 hungry diners, and hats off to owner Brian McKenna for doubling the total funds raised (RMB 12,759.70 + $50CND) with proceeds all donated to the featured charity group of this event: Compassion for Migrant Children (CMC).

This dinner was such a treat, I’d like to give a shout out and say thank you to Xixi Cheng & the BJ Foodies Group for organizing such a spectacular dinner event!

Review of ROOMbeijing: 301-302, 3/F, PARK LIFE, Beijing Yintai Center, 2 Jianguomenwai Street, 建国门外大街2号, 银泰中心3层 , Tel: 8517-2033

Best Part:

• Chef Brian McKenna’s innovative food creations and playful dishes. This is definitely a place for major foodies who appreciate creativity.
• You can count on quality ingredients and beautiful presentation.
• Very professional waitstaff and service was surprisingly efficient for a relatively new restaurant.
• Table set-up is as innovative as their cuisine – they have submerged lazy susan’s!  Each setting also has a unique utensil holder that fits everything from your chopsticks, fork, knife and spoon to your dessert utensils when you flip it over!  Love little details like that.  Very creative.
• The bathrooms are AWESOME.  My favorite part was the illusion mirrors ie. the “skinny” lengthening mirror.

Comments:

• This BJ Foodies 2 Year Birthday Bash was my first dining experience at ROOM, so my impressions of the food, decor and service may be unique to the average dining experience.  And while the 8 dish set menu + 2 glasses of wine was a steal at RMB 150, I have no idea what that price would have been normally.  But overall, in terms of food, ROOM delivered beyond expectations, the staff was very professional and everyone seemed to have a great night!
• While I liked the sofas and was a BIG fan of the table set-up (lazy susan & utensil holder), I was not a fan of the colorful chairs, the colorful walls and the giant, vibrant posters that look like movie advertisements.  I felt like I was sitting in a kindergarten classroom.

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

• Food: 9
• Atmosphere: 6
• Service: 9
• Overall Experience: 8

LumDimSum Snapshots of this BJ Foodies event:

Happy Birthday to…Everybody!

There’s something about August.  The past two weeks have been filled with birthday parties for everyone and their mother.

First, it was All-Star’s 1 Year Birthday on August 5th and then Bling’s 1 Year Birthday Weekend on August 7 & 8th.

Yesterday, August 15th, it was not only Hatsune‘s 8 Year Birthday Celebration at both branches, it was also Block 8‘s GM, Xixi Cheng’s birthday (a surprise party at Karaiya followed by a party at the Beach), and All-Star/Bling‘s owner, Ken Li’s birthday party at Bling, obviously.

Yesterday’s parties were off the hook, and today we celebrated Ken’s actual birthday.  Ken hosted his dinner party at Todai, which was fitting since his friends are all giants who can really make the most of this gargantuan buffet.  Todai was perfect for everyone to get together and gorge on a buffet that has something for everyone…and then some.

I was grateful to be a included in Ken’s birthday celebrations as he is someone I have always respected and looked up to (both figuratively and literally, he’s super tall). HAPPY BIRTHDAY to KENDOGG!!  Just Like That.

Julia, Ken & I at Todai

Ken with his Mama & 4 Birthday Cakes

*On the topic of Birthdays, it will be my 25th Birthday on September 8!  Stay posted on my birthday plans, and save the date for Saturday, September 12th for my birthday shenanigans and debauchery. Details TBA.

Review of Todai: Described as “the mother of all seafood buffets”, Todai is one of the largest buffets I’ve encountered featuring everything from salad and appetizers, pasta, pizza, sushi and seafood, teppanyaki grill, HK BBQ, dim sum, noodles, shark fin soup section, Indian & Tandoori section, and a massive dessert selection including crepes, outstanding fresh juice joint, wine section, and much, much more. RMB 198 per person for weekday lunch, RMB 258 per person for dinner.

Best Part:

• The HUGE Snow Crab Legs were the main attraction (don’t forget to ask for melted butter to dip)
• The Teppanyaki Grill selection serves up great filets and foie gras
• The Creme Brulees are shockingly well-done
• The crepes and souffles for dessert are amazing with the rich chocholate from the chocolate fondue!

Comments:

• Not impressed by the quality or taste of the sashimi or sushi rolls (I’m too spoiled by Hatsune)
• A place for people interested in quantity over quality – there was very little that was worth even trying
• If you want a solid buffet that serves everything your palate desires, then I recommend the Senses in the Westin, Financial Street.  You can also find here a list of the Top Weekend Brunch Buffets in Town.

Solana, No. 6 Chaoyang Park Road, Chaoyang Park – Northwest gate, next to Starbucks Coffee
朝阳公园路6号蓝色港湾商业区亮马食街

5905-6888