The Great Thanksgiving 2011 Guide: Dining Out (And Win A Thanksgiving Dinner!)

Susan Sheng | Nov 14, 2011 4:00 pm | 14 comments | 6024 reads

It's that time of year again! Or, rather, ten days before that time of year. Keep in mind that Thanksgiving has proven to be a pretty hot ticket here in the Beej, so if I were you, I'd want to start planning. "Planning" being the loose term it is - personally, I consider making reservations plenty of planning. For those with aspirations a little higher than picking up the phone, we'll have a post on take-away turkeys tomorrow. Today, however, we look at Thanksgiving dinners out. We're even giving one of them away! Keep reading to win.

CBD/Downtown

Aroma
Gather in thanks at The Ritz-Carlton, Beijing, where dining is as peaceful and cozy as in the exclusivity of your own homes. An assemblage of international buffet flavors provide personalized selections for a graceful Thanksgiving dinner.
RMB 438+15% (includes free-flow local beer, house wine, juice and soft drinks). 6-10.30pm. The Ritz-Carlton, Beijing, 83A Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang District (5908 8777)

Asia Bistro
A real Thanksgiving in China experience, with a full buffet of fantastic Asian fusion dishes as well as the all-important turkey and trimmings. Sample classic favorites, new innovations alongside your turkey dinner. RMB 398+15% (includes free-flow house wine, local beer and juice). 6-10.30pm. 2/F, JW Marriott Hotel, China Central Place, 83 Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang District (5908 8995)

CRU Steakhouse
Homemade smoked salmon, roasted whole turkey with traditional chestnut stuffing, cranberry sauce and giblet gravy, served alongside mountains of themed trimmings and much more. Dessert is the ever-popular caramelized pumpkin pie with marshmallow topping and vanilla ice-cream. Book at least 24 hours ahead.
RMB 488+15% (includes welcome champagne, four person reservation minimum). 6-10.30pm. 2/F, JW Marriott Hotel, China Central Place, 83 Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang District (5908 8995)

East 33
A lavish seafood selection on ice, traditional Boston clam chowder and honey-glazed ham from the carving station. The roast turkey takes pride of place, with all the trimmings, stuffing and cranberry sauce, classic desserts like pumpkin pies, apple tart and all the treats of the season.
Lunch and dinner. RMB 388+15% (includes free-flow local beer, house wine and soft drinks). Raffles Beijing Hotel, 33 Dongchangan Jie, Dongcheng District (6526 3388 ext 5171/5331)

Jaan
Thanksgiving celebration with French flair at Jaan. Indulge in set menus specially concocted by Chef Laia Pons for lunch. Or try a flawless dinner with turkey carved tableside. Other delicate courses parallel with the inviting atmosphere, presenting traditional French flavors with unique festive twists.
RMB 288+15% (lunch), RMB 688+15% (dinner, includes paired wines). Noon-2pm, 6.30-10pm. Raffles Beijing Hotel, 33 Dongchang'an Jie, Dongcheng District (6526 3388 ext 4186/5331)

Nola
Family-style Thanksgiving dinner with Southern-influenced American dishes from Thursday through to the weekend. Bacon-wrapped date, anyone?
Price TBD. 6-11pm. 11A Xiushui Nanjie, Chaoyang District (8563 6215)


Lufthansa/Chaoyang Park Area

CBD International
A lush buffet spread, with the addition of traditional Thanksgiving roasted turkey with cranberry sauce and giblet jus, lamb leg with marjoram jus, shepherd pie, and many other Thanksgiving treats. Reserve a table of 4 or more and have their chef personally carve a turkey at the table. RMB 369+15%. Grand Millenium, 7 Dongsanhuan Zhonglu, Chaoyang District (8587 6888 ext 3013)

Chef Too
Sweet potato and marshmallow casserole, apple and pumpkin pie and turkey with giblet gravy are just some of the items on offer at Chef Too.
RMB 248. Three seatings: 4.30-6.30pm, 6.30-8.30pm, 8.30-10.30pm. Opposite of West gate of Chaoyang Park, Chaoyang District (6591 8676)

Grange Grill
All the Thanksgiving favorites in four or five bountiful courses, with a herb-butter roasted turkey as the star of the show.
RMB 468+15% (four courses), RMB 528+15% (five courses). 5.30-11pm. 2/F, Westin Beijing Chaoyang, 7 Dongsanhuan Beilu, Chaoyang District (5922 888)

Kranzler’s
An all-American celebration of roast Tom turkey with all the trimmings! Finish on a sweet high with a gourmet dessert buffet featuring pumpkin pie, pecan nut pie and freshly-made waffles with ice-cream and maple syrup.
RMB 498+15% (includes one lobster), RMB 398+15% (no lobster). 6-10pm. 1/F, Kempinski Hotel, 50 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang District (6465 3388 ext 4200)

Renaissance Café A splendid family-style Thanksgiving dinner buffet feast highlighting roasted turkey, pumpkin pie, corn, cranberry sauce, free flow house wine and local beer. RMB 238+15%, kids under 12 half-price. Renaissance Beijing Chaoyang Hotel, 36 Xiaoyun Lu, Chaoyang District (6468 9999 ext 3121)

Seasonal Tastes
There's something here for everyone, with a huge selection of Thanksgiving dishes added to the regular buffet lineup. Bonus: kids under twelve eat free.
RMB 398+15% (includes seafood buffet), RMB 438+15% (includes seafood buffet and beer package). 5.30-11pm. 2/F, Westin Beijing Chaoyang, 7 Dongsanhuan Beilu, Chaoyang District (5922 8880)

Union Bar and Grille
An all-American four-course Thanksgiving dinner with caesar salad, pumpkin soup, roasted turkey (gravy, carriot and mashed potatoes on the side) plus apple pie to finish.
RMB 260. 11am-11pm. S6-31, 3/F, Bldg 6, Sanlitun Village South, 19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District (6415 9117)

Lido

SALT

Enjoy SALT'S contemporary take on traditional fare: Roast Pumpkin-Pine Nut Foam with Smoked Duck Breast Ham, Ginger, Pears and Spiced Bread, Roast Turkey, Turkey-Fig Terrine, Spiced Apple Puree and Three-Colored Nutty Rice, and Pressed Roast Apple Tart with Cinnamon Caramel Mou and Walnut Ice Cream.
RMB 368. 5-10.30pm. 2/F, 9 Jiangtai Xilu, Chaoyang District (6437 8457)


Switch!
Three deliciously autumnal courses: soup or salad, grain-fed turkey with all the fixings and a delicate pumpkin tart with Grand Marnier chantilly. No walk-ins. RMB 198, kids under 8 eat free. Two seatings: 6pm-8.30pm, 8.30pm-10pm. 1/f UCCA Art Gallery, 798 Art Zone, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District (5978 4918)

Gulou

Culture Yard
A proper American-style Thanksgiving at the Culture Yard! Dinner includes mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, black beans, rice, sweet potatoes and more! Along with the all-important turkey and famous pumpkin pie dessert.
RMB 188, RMB 148 (kids, Culture Yard students). 7-10pm. 10 Shique Hutong, Dongcheng District (8404 4166, www.cultureyard.net)

Shunyi

The Orchard
Beijing's only multicultural Thanksgiving buffet, sans colonial connotations.
Dinner. RMB 300 (adults), RMB 150 (kids 4-12, kids under 4 eat free). From Jingshun Lu, turn left (west) at Shunbai Lu Intersection (turn at the driveway just west of the Hegezhuang Village sign), Shunyi District (6433 6270)

Shuangjing

Lily's American Diner
Lily's offers a set menu for both lunch and dinner, with soup or salad to start, turkey (including sides) and a sweet dessert to finish. Serving Thanksgiving meals through to the weekend.
RMB 109. 8am-midnight. Unit 2-18, Bldg 2, Tianzhi Jiaozi, 31 Guangqu Lu (northeast corner of Shuangjing Qiao), Chaoyang District (6592 5548)

Other Areas

Maison Boulud
Enjoy Thanksgiving in the heart of Beijing with a special set menu from Executive Chef Brian Reimer. Expect a glorious pecan pie.
RMB 488+15%. 6-10pm. Ch'ien Men 23, 23 Qianmen Dongdajie, Dongcheng District (6559 9200)

The Schoolhouse at Mutianyu

Give thanks under the Great Wall of China. Roast turkey and all the trimmings served family style and with a dessert buffet and live jazz. Kids' playroom with activities hosted by a professional teacher.
RMB 380, RMB 120 (kids 4-12, under 4 free). 12 Mutianyu Village, Huairou District (6162 6506, www.theschoolhouseatmutianyu.com)

For the ultimate lazy Thanksgiving...
To win a voucher for two for a sensational Thanksgiving buffet dinner at Asia Bistro in the JW Marriott, just tell us how you like to be thanked in the comments below. I'll start: really, you can't go beyond dinner and a kitten. Always a winning combo. We'll pick a winner before end of day Thursday (Nov 17).

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Nov 15, 2011: The post above has been amended to reflect a name correction ("Renaissance Beijing Hotel" to "Renaissance Chaoyang Beijing Hotel"). We sincerely apologize for any confusion caused.

Photo: Courtesy of JW Marriott Hotel, Westin Beijing Chaoyang and Kempinski Beijing Lufthansa Centre

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snackmonkey's picture snackmonkey Submitted by Guest on Fri, 11/18/2011 - 02:30

We enjoyed everyone's responses and would love to feed you all, but mattman_183 won us over with "...I invented with my own brain". We have a couple more Thanksgiving dinners to give away on Friday Nov 18 (a comp where you don't have to write an essay) so keep an eye on the blog!

+ SNACK SAFELY +

Susan Sheng
Assistant Dining Editor

beautifulmachine's picture beautifulmachine Submitted by Guest on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 12:53

At a recent dinner party, a friend mentioned "Pay It Foward" when we were talking about movies and TV shows Kevin Spacey had acted in (he was going to be in town for the Shakespeare play). "Pay It Forward" was about a young boy whose teacher challenged the class to an assignment about how each one of them could contribute to making the world a better place. The boy's project was to do a favor for three people and then have them each do three favors for others.

When I saw this question on how I like to be thanked, I immediately thought of the movie. People that you have helped show their thanks in a variety of ways. Some shower you with cases of good quality Baijiu and cartons of premium Zhong Hua cigarettes, wine and dine you at the city's top seafood restaurants and KTV lounge, and some simply call you up to say thanks or write you a thank you note. All are priceless and I appreciate their different modes of gratitude as long as all the above items are procured legally (smuggled product will not be tolerated). However, in most cases, the transaction ends right there. You help someone and in order to thank you, they buy you something you like. And that's that. It ends there.

Now, imagine if each person I do a favor for does a favor for three other tortured souls as a way to thank me. Imagine if all who have received help follow the rules. Pretty soon, we would run out of people to do favors for even in this densely populated city of Beijing! Ahh, if only! If not, a fantastic Thanksgiving buffet dinner at JW Marriott Asia Bistro would work too.

ataraxia's picture ataraxia Submitted by Guest on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 00:27

Beijinger Thanksgiving Limericks

There once was a girl in Beijing
Who found both turkey and mantou thrilling
At the Marriott buffet
She gulped quite an array
And waddled home joyously belching

There once was an expat in Beijing
Who had no idea what she was doing
Aiya! She cried
Until she found this site
And now her meals are amazing

In more seriousness though, my Thanksgiving in Beijing would try to live up to the credo of Ming Tsai’s old show, East Meets West. I intern at an NGO that works with migrant children, Chinese ethnic minorities, and other vulnerable populations, and it would be lovely to bring in a couple of pumpkin pies with real whipped cream and buttery, flaky crusts. (Thanks for the suggestions in that other post!) One of my favorite parts of work is learning about other cultures, and at the risk of sounding like a sanctimonious sap, sharing is at the core of Thanksgiving. Plus, have you seen little kids eat something yummy for the first time? Their expressions are hilarious.

The perfect Thanksgiving dinner would consist of both American and Chinese dishes. Alton Brown’s idiot-proof Good Eats roast turkey, cornbread stuffing, real cranberry sauce (none of that oblong canned crap), Paula Deen’s heart-attack-on-a-plate gravy, garlic mashed potatoes with a hint of paprika, collard greens, rotating alongside crisp roast duck, spicy chuan’r, sautéed pea shoots, and fresh mantou on a giant, autumn-themed Lazy Susan. Never mind that I don’t have an actual dining table, let alone an oven, or many kuai...a girl can dream, right?

After-dinner festivities would include board games and hot drinks. Card games like Egyptian Rat Screw and Spit are particularly amusing when everyone is trying (and failing) to stave off food comas. The day would end with me curled up in bed, Skyping with my family, before succumbing to a turkey-induced slumber.

A Thanksgiving tableau of that quintessentially East Meets West couple, Wendi “ThunderFist” Deng and Rupert “Montgomery Burns” Murdoch

Mattman_183’s hilarious post inspired me to write this:

SCENE: (A $1.2 million siheyuan fortress in the heart of Beijing, Thanksgiving Day. The place is deserted except for WENDI, a scowling, statuesque woman in an ill-fitting pink jacket. She sits next to and glares at her husband RUPERT, a shrunken saggy pumpkin of a man who is dozing and drooling on the sofa. A SERVANT enters to prepare the Thanksgiving feast.)

WENDI: Why are we watching Bill O’Reilly again? If I have to hear about Muslims ruining the Christian sanctity of Thanksgiving one more time today…He should be promoting my lousy new movie Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. If The Smurfs can win the box office, why can’t I?

(The SERVANT brings a selection of cream pies to RUPERT.)

SERVANT: Mr. Murdoch, what kind of pie—

(WENDI screams and right hooks the servant in the face. She adds in a high kick for good measure. RUPERT still has not moved.)

WENDI: I’ve been practicing since last time.

mattman_183's picture mattman_183 Submitted by Guest on Wed, 11/16/2011 - 17:42

Not sure about setting the bar high...I mean, what wouldn't you do for a for a sensational Thanksgiving buffet dinner?

Anyways, writing a few paragraphs is much easier than what I had to do before to get a Thanksgiving dinner.

That reminds me. Beijing having no extradition treaty with the US is also something I'm thankful for.

Sida's picture Sida Submitted by Guest on Wed, 11/16/2011 - 17:10

I like to be thanked with a handwritten letter. It shows that the person took the time to make the thank you personalized, instead of grabbing a pre-made generic card or sending a quick email with a pretty template. Telecommunications is wonderful for the business world, but lacks that personal touch.

toffba08's picture toffba08 Submitted by Guest on Wed, 11/16/2011 - 13:48

When my niece was sitting for her college entrance exam, I promised I would take her on a vacation someplace if she passed. More than two years have flown by and I have yet to fulfill my promise and go on this aunt-niece holiday. It was always one of two reasons: I had to work late or I had to go out of town for meetings.

She has just started her third year at the Petroleum University in Chang Ping. She constantly performs outstandingly in all her classes and is also an active participant in several extra curricular activities. With such a busy schedule, she often tells my sister she hardly has time to eat proper meals, let alone come home for the weekend. So now, even if I do manage to take time off from work, I will have to consider my niece's availability before planning our long overdue vacation. Sometimes with our hectic work schedule, we often forget or even ignore the people closest to us and time just flies by. Before I know it, she would be graduating and have a job of her own. She would find a nice man and get married, and start her own family. Then, she would never ever have time for her aunt.

So for me, the best way to be thanked on this year's Thanksgiving is having my niece's company for dinner, better yet if the dinner is in a 5 star hotel setting:) (Hint! Hint!) She deserves time off from school and to be pampered by her aunt, and of course, to be spoiled by Asia Bistro's indulging spread of Thanksgiving buffet, even if it is just for one evening.

smj's picture smj Submitted by Guest on Tue, 11/15/2011 - 11:44

I cook three meals a day , make sure the house is spotless, the clothes are washed, the bills are paid in time...
I go to work, I try to exercise to keep fit...

I would like to be thanked, maybe not everyday, but once in a while... like maybe a nice cozy quiet dinner... It'd make all I do for you totally worth it!

Lusi's picture Lusi Submitted by Guest on Tue, 11/15/2011 - 02:51

Having people we love and who love us back is one of the most important things throughout our lives. Love gives us warmth and strength when we need it the most. No matter the distance, people we cherish and who cherish us back will remain in one another's hearts, and we will think of each other especially during important holidays when we finally have time to breathe, and wish that we could all be together. We miss each other. On Thanksgiving, we don't only celebrate with the people who are there physically, but we also think of the people we love but who can't be there.

"Together forever, never apart. Maybe in distance, but never in heart.”

So on this very special day, I'm sending all my love to people around the globe whom I love, care about, cherish, trust, cannot live without and appreciate to be in my life.

Since I'm without family (whom I miss greatly) this year, my thanks would be:
Having a very romantic evening together with my loved one to celebrate each other's presence and the love we have for each other. Let this day remind us to appreciate our loved ones and what we have in our lives that we cannot take for granted. I thank my mum for bringing me to the world, for giving me a brighter future, for giving me unconditional love, and for being my mum. My goal is to bring happiness and fortune to people's lives, especially my loved ones. If I can put one smile on just one person, I've already gained something valuable in my life.

.::. Being true to ourselves makes our lives more joyful .::.

mattman_183's picture mattman_183 Submitted by Guest on Mon, 11/14/2011 - 17:44

What would my thanks be?

Turducken. Deep fried to perfection and care by Shu Qi, who is wearing only an apron while I watch football on a wide screen complete with surround sound and a dog who has been trained to deliver me a cool beer on my command.

In between games, I would be visited by the Foo Fighters who would play several songs dedicated to my awesomeness and who would later be invited to my Thanksgiving Feast Extravaganza which also will include famous guests such as Conan O'Brien, Kanye West, and Jon Stewart among others.

Afterwards, I would hold my annual thanksgiving middle east peace talks, which would break new ground and set forth a plan in which both sides agree to Palestinian statehood (until things fall apart later in the year.)

We would then go outside to play our annual all star football game where my team would win due to a spectacularly thrown Dmitri Medvedev to Louis C.K. touchdown pass.

Later, Beyoncee would bring out her famous Pumpkin Pie which would be enjoyed by all except for Kevin Spacey who ended up being kind of a downer and would not be invited the next year.

As the day came to a close, I would say goodbye to all my guests and turn on the cleaning robot, I invented with my own brain, who would make the house spotless.

I would complement Shu Qi's Turducken and she would thank me, saying that she had a good time, and would like to do some more cooking with me that night. I would tell her no, because I ate so much already and tell her she should have ate more at dinner, finally seeing her off.

When she was gone, I would eat as much food as I wanted because I tricked her, and I would eventually pass out into a 11 hour food coma at the table ending the best Thanksgiving ever.

And that is pretty much how I would like be thanked.

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