Neighborhood Watch: Miao Wong, Managing Director, ARP Creative/DOT Records

As the promoter of Beijing’s first minimal techno label Acupuncture Records, Miao Wong knows how to throw a bash and get it on the lips of every party animal in Beijing. You may also know Miao for her part in developing Beijing Sonic, a collaboration between Tree Music and Shadowplay X Waveform, which ran earlier this month and featured performances by local and international musicians, and visual artists. She found time in her busy schedule to show us around her neighborhood of Xiaoxitian.

WALK
We first took a little stroll around Xihai to build up our appetite for dinner. This relaxing lake and public area is a beautiful place to watch the sun setting in the west. It had just rained so the air was clean and the sky was a beautifully radiant peach color. She showed me the now defunct Obiwan, where her and her friends first promoted minimal techno in true party fashion. The lake was nice with couples walking dogs, men playing chess, and old-timers fishing. At the north end of the lake, you’ll find the PLA theater, if the pageantry of military-themed ballet and opera is your thing.

EAT
Next we went to Xinjiang Jiashi Restaurant. She frequents this place because of the complex and unique flavors of Xinjiang cuisine that, even though she has a flair for cooking, she feels is impossible to reproduce. We first ordered these deliciously baked lamb baozi (RMB 4). I had never seen this before, and they were crispy on the outside with fragrant chewy lamb packed in the middle. Then came the main attraction, nangbao covered in lamb (RMB 48), blanketed in a deliciously spiced gravy, carrots, and green peppers. This was truly an exceptional rendering of the Xinjiang staple.

SHOP
We next passed through the bustling night market that lines Wenhuiyuan Lu. There was a huge selection of trinkets on offer with many tables set up all the way along the street selling everything from jewelry, discount clothing, and some delicious looking snacks. The tables are usually set up by 9pm every evening, weather permitting. It was more or less your standard fare, but on a good night, the street is packed with these independent vendors. We passed by the jewelry stand and looked at some of the rings and necklaces, laughing with the seller because for everything we touched, she would ring out with a “piao liang.”

This article first appeared in the September issue of the Beijinger.

Photos: Kipp Whittaker