Capital Bites: Hot Dogs and Poutine in NLGX, Karaoke Kitchens, More Shengjian Bao
This week, decisions about food have mostly been: "Anywhere with strong air conditioning." Apparently food tastes better when you're not sweating directly into it. (Just ask the contenders in our hot chilli pepper eating contest on Saturday.) That aside, we're looking forward to new eateries around town (from chef's tables to more fried baozi), French wine dinners and hotels who care about social responsibility (or at least care that people perceive them as caring about social responsibility ... ).
Brian McKenna's been posting teasers on Weibo for the impending opening of his new restaurant, Ino. In an email exchange, he chose to stay tight-lipped about details, but we'll keep you posted as soon as hear more about the offerings and opening dates. If he hasn't changed his mind from what we reported earlier this year, it'll most likely be a small, chef's table concept, which means very few seats and exclusive dining.
Someone up there is hearing our shengjian bao prayers, because another joint called Xiao Longtang has just hit town. Their first outlet is in Jianwai Soho, but they have plans to expand aggressively. We tried an order of their buns, but unfortunately they were far from being fresh off the pan. Taste was good but we'll have to go back and get 'em fresh for a fair assessment.
Last week, the InterContinental Hotels Group hosted their annual Cuisine for Charity cooking competition, in which 15 of their hotels throughout the city (including brands like Crowne Plaza, InterContinental and Holiday Inn) gathered to compete in a variety of cuisines – seafood, entrees, desserts, etc. The most exciting was the Black Box competition, an Iron Chef-like segment where chefs are given boxes of ingredients that they must use in a dish. (This year, it was surf and turf ... bit of a cop-out if you ask me. Where's the kangaroo meat or sea urchin?) The event helps raise funds for good causes; in the past, they've contributed to the building of six schools in rural areas, and this year they partnered with Project Hope to benefit Chinese youth.
Beijing Boyce gave us an initial tour on his blog, but one of our colleagues went to check out the new Kara Kitchen space at Gongti, and we are excited about the possibilities. Many of their rooms are styled as "karaoke kitchens," where friends can gather to cook while watching images on flat-screen TVs. Whether that's experimental art films (like the ones they currently have running on their screens), cooking shows or the traditional bikini-clad women in bad music videos, we're not sure. It's also going to be an event space and there's a studio on site where a CCTV channel has already begun producing a cooking show. Is this the developing seed of China's own Food Network phenomenon? We hope so.
This Thursday through Saturday (Jul 5-7), Scarlett Wine Bar and Restaurant at Hotel G will be hosting dinners with a four-course classic French menu designed by visiting chef Sylvain Royer for RMB 368. Options include veal carpaccio, sea bass with Iberico ham, red wine braised beef cheeks, creme brulee and more. To reserve, call 6552 2880.
As usual, lots of new openings around town too. Lucky Street seems to be giving itself a makeover. A new French restaurant, Chez Julien, is on its way, and there's a new sushi spot, Nami Sushi Royale, that replaced Di Napoli. Over on Nanluogu Xiang, there's a tiny sandwich shop, Panino, just opened on the south end, as well as a hot dog and fries place called Nova's. Yes, they do serve poutine. We'll have these places checked out for you soon.
Geba Geba's also got a third location near Dawang Lu, at the west end of the Dazhong Electronic building on Jianguo Lu. We'll be reviewing that for you, too.
In the meantime, stay cool and eat well.
Photos: Marilyn Mai, IHG