EAT: New menu at Beyond Yakitori, New lunch Menu at Bottega, Hongbaos at Mosto
EAT: Your bite-sized guide to the best eats to be had in Beijing this week.
New menu at Beyond Yakitori
Beyond Yakitori continues to go above and beyond what you'd expect from a Japanese izakaya, recently coming out with a new menu of small plates that blend Japanese and Western elements into something thoroughly modern. For example, the homemade chicken liver pâté (pictured above) comes with a hint of yuzu-infused honey, which lends a sweet, citrusy element that contrasts nicely with the iron-rich liver.
The menu also launched alongside a brand-new selection of natural wines — we tried a crisp, light Gruner Veltliner that paired very well with seafood dishes. Owner Chris Niu told us that he and his team have been working on a bistro concept featuring natural wines and charcoal-grilled dishes with a Mediterranean influence for the past few months; they plan to launch this concept in a new location, but for now, it is driving their interpretation of the new menu at Beyond Yakitori.
As Chris rightly says, there are a lot of Japanese restaurants in Beijing doing "authentic" Japanese cuisine, so it's exciting to see a restaurant stepping out of their comfort zone and trying something new.
The headline dishes on the menu feature premium meat and seafood, but against all odds, the standout dishes during our visit were actually vegetable-focused. Take the assorted veggie salad, for example. No limp lettuce leaves here, this is crisp tomatoes, radishes, and brussels sprouts in an intensely savoury truffle dressing (bumped up with hint of soy) — it's enough to make even the most hardened of brussels sprouts haters swoon.
We also love the potato salad, which arrives at the table studded with homemade potato chips and conceals a perfectly soft boiled egg within its potatoey depths. That being said, do not miss the grilled jumbo prawns, which come with perhaps the most delicious garlic butter (again with a hint of truffle), we have ever tasted.
While small plates might be the focus of the new menu, don't neglect the actual yakitori, which is among the best on offer in Beijing, cooked over a white-hot binchōtan-fired grill. Their chicken is top, top quality, so this is a great place to try cuts that you might not dare touch elsewhere, such as chicken hearts or gizzard, which have a texture similar to thigh meat but a much more intense flavor.
New set lunch menu at Bottega
Take advantage of all that extra time you'll have over the CNY holiday to try Bottega Xinyuanli's new set lunch menu. For RMB 98, enjoy two courses from a selection of warming, wintery dishes such as bacon and mushroom arancini, gnocchetti pasta with red pepper sauce and mini pork meatballs, and risotto with cauliflower, anchovies, pine nuts, and Parmigiano Reggiano. Work up your appetite before lunch with a walk along the newly-renovated Liangma River, just a few minutes down the road.
Limited-edition northern Italian menu at Frasca
If there was ever a cuisine that suited Beijing's frigid winter, then surely it is the food of northern Italy. Carbs in multiple forms, cured meats, plentiful cheese — what more do you need? It seems Frasca at the Opposite House would tend to agree because they have just added a series of northern Italian classics to their menu. Choose from dishes like Emilia Romagna style gnocco fritto, deep-fried dough balls served with speck ham, or canederli, a type of bread-based dumpling from Trentino-Alto Adige.
Of course, the wines of northern Italy are also making an appearance here. Head over between 6-8pm, Sunday to Thursday, to enjoy buy-one-get-two wines by the glass from the "Frasca Aperivino" menu.
Get hongbaos when you dine at Mosto
Finally, a little hongbao deal for CNY. Dine at Mosto between Jan 31 and Feb 7 and receive a hongbao (aka a lucky red envelope) that might contain 20 percent off your next meal, a glass of house wine or a free dessert.
READ: Michelin Releases 2022 Beijing Guide
Images courtesy of the restaurants
