"Bar"-becue: Iki's Second Branch Opens in China View

With its stylish Korean barbecue-meets-bar concept, the new Iki in Sanlitun's China View fills a hole in my heart that I didn't know existed.

Iki opened up in Shuangjing last year and quickly outgrew its space. Management deserves our hearty appreciation for deciding to bring things closer to the action with a bigger branch in Sanlitun.

It's tucked away just behind the Sanlitun branch of Gung Ho! Pizza, more or less at the intersection of Gongti Beilu and Gongti Donglu. A tip of the hat goes to Jim Boyce of BeijingBoyce.com, who managed to sleuth out the new location early.

The menu is an international mix with Korean favorites, Taiwanese sausage and even a few Western items like s'mores (RMB 60). Disclaimer: I tried to order the s'mores a few days ago and they said they wouldn't have them ready until probably next week. It's going to be a long weekend of repressing my urges for that campfire nostalgia, but I think I'll pull through.

We couldn't resist paying the extra RMB 7 to add a handful of mozzarella to our order of stone bowl rice (bibimbap, RMB 30). Purists (and the lactose-intolerant) might be put off by the combination, but I, for one, am quite happy to take my bibimbap with cheese. Photos can't do justice to this gooey delight, but here's one anyway:

We tried the Taiwanese minced garlic pork sausage (RMB 42) and were happy with the choice. We also enjoyed our side dish of kimchi (RMB 15) and the complimentary radish salad. An underseasoned egg tofu soup (RMB 22) was, however, slightly disappointing.

We didn't get a chance to try Iki's signature L.A.-style marinated short ribs (RMB 79), but we'll be back there soon. We'll let you know how they are in our upcoming review.

Iki knows us all well enough to combine the glory of barbecued meat with alcohol. It's got a stocked bar, Vedett on tap and a selection of Chilean wine.

Ultimately, the whole experience feels well-thought-out and offers great value. I know it's still early, but this place shouldn't have any trouble working its way into my Sanlitun eating-out rotation.

Iki. Daily noon-11pm. 111, Bldg. 3, China View, Gongti Donglu, Chaoyang District, (152 1006 4588)
朝阳区中国红街大厦三号楼111号

Photos: Josh Ong