Capital Bites: Parkside Bar & Grill, Luga’s Banh Mi & Hutong Summer Fayre

Some years after American foodies declared banh mi their new darling of the sandwich world, the Vietnamese street snack has landed in Beijing. And it’s thanks to good old Luga. Well, and Jun Trinh, his very able Canadian-Vietnamese chef. Remember Luga’s Pho Pho on the terrace opposite Tongli Studio? It became Luga’s Baan Thai. And now it’s Luga’s Banh Mi. They only had to buy a couple of new letters to change the sign this time – clever, eh? The basic sandwich, featuring a crusty baguette filled with pate, mayonnaise, pickled carrot and daikon, cilantro, and your choice of meat, from five types of cold cuts to roasted chicken, beef, pork belly and meat balls in tomato sauce, costs RMB 26 and up. Pho and Vietnamese appetizers are also on the menu.

Uptown, the food is now flowing out of the kitchen at Parkside Bar & Grill, opposite The Rosedale Hotel in Lido. Chef Zachary Lewison from Union Bar & Grille has teamed up with former Blue Frog GM Lee Mitchell to design a Gastropub style menu with a focus on steak, fresh seafood and salads, targeting a midrange price point somewhere between Element Fresh and SALT.

Got plans for this Sunday? Why not head over to The Hutong for their annual Summer Fayre. From 2pm their traditional courtyard rooms and terrace will be packed with vendors and local producers selling and sampling everything from tea products to homemade brownies, Dutch cheese, new world wines and natural body scrubs. Sounds itchy.