Capital Bites: Birthday BBQs at Tim's Texas, Terra, New Switch! Cafe and Sanlitun Sushi

This week, there's lots of new sushi in Sanlitun, not to mention celebrations galore: Terra hits two years with a summer party, Tim's is blowing out five candles, and Switch! opens their new cafe out in Shunyi. And of course, there's all the cheesy romance you can get with Chinese Valentine's Day this Thursday.

If you haven't already heard, the Sanlitun Noodle Bar opened a new, larger location. Those little shrimp up there (xiao hexia or "little river shrimp" on the menu), start with a paper-light crunch and are practically creamy on the inside. Delish. Read here for more on the noodle bar, like how the noodles are. (Spoiler alert: They're good.)

More sushi is coming to Sanlitun. At China View, there's Eastern Fusion Sushi. For now, they're offering 25% off on sushi, with buy-one-get-one-free on cocktails and beers.

Mermaid Sushi's also open around the corner, next to The Den. They're one-upping their neighbors with 30% off sushi until August 26. Not only have they got a serious neon mermaid theme going on, but we've heard reports that they also do a sideline in amber – as in the preserved tree sap we all remember from Jurassic Park, also known in legends as mermaids' tears. [Scratches head.]

For not-sushi, Würzburger Hofbräu has opened at International Wonderland. They've got a 20% off deal going on.

As mentioned, August 23 is Qixi, or Chinese Valentine's Day. We've got a roundup of all the ways to enjoy it here.

Tim's Texas Bar-B-Q celebrates five years with free BBQ, beer and soft drinks from 6-9pm this Friday, August 24. Live music starts at 8pm. For more info, call Tim's (6591 9161)

On Saturday (Aug 25), Terra celebrates two years with a summer party: specials on caipirinhas, Slow Boat beer and BBQ bites, with capoeira and swing dancing. Starts at 3pm. For more info, call Terra (6591 9148)

Also on Saturday (Aug 25), Switch! Cafe opens their new Shunyi location at Cathay View Plaza. If throngs of hyper kids is not your idea of a fun Saturday, you have been warned: This is a family-friendly event. For the rest of us, just know that there will be a bouncy castle. And popcorn, cotton candy and lemonade. Muahaha. There will, of course, also be more adult offerings: wine tastings, Vedett Beer and coffee from Rickshaw Roasters, along with burgers for RMB 20, hot dogs for RMB 10, and waffle-coned servings of gelato for RMB 20. That will run 2-6pm. For more info, call 137 1878 0944.

Photos: Marilyn Mai, Lilly Chow