Celebrate Spring With These Seasonal Foodie Offerings

Following the rather unseasonably cold weather last weekend, we sure are happy to see that the weather for this Qingming holiday weekend is set to be much warmer. So, what better way to celebrate the spring warmth than with some new seasonal foodie offerings around the capital? 

Great Leap

A little while ago, Great Leap launched some new spring dishes, including the Spring Ginger Chicken (RMB 88/half, RMB 158/whole), a play on the classic Chinese dish paired with pickled vegetables and mushrooms. They also added a range of great vegetarian options, including Crispy Mushroom Fries (RMB 38), Fried Cauliflower Wings (RMB 38), or for the more health-conscious, a Green House Salad (RMB 32). At their Lido branch, they also now brought back The Green Machine Pizza (RMB 95/12", RMB 115/16"), which is loaded with greens and mozzarella cheese. 

COMMUNE

We mentioned earlier in the year that COMMUNE had launched a spring menu, which included fresh offerings like the COMMUNE Peking Duck Pizza (RMB 119), made in collaboration with Peking duck stalwart Dadong, and the Pulled Pork Pizza (RMB 119). There were also two new burgers – a Smoked Brisket Burger (RMB 158) and Pulled Pork Burger (RMB 88) and a plethora of other dishes. Now, they've just announced a few more spring offerings, including COMMUNE Roasted Chicken with Black Rice, Slow-Cooked Beef and Spinach Salad and Italian Beef Meatballs. You can read more about them here.

La Copa

Spanish restaurant La Copa has recently added some new specials to welcome in spring. There is a Burrata Salad that pairs creamy burrata with fresh fruit and jamón ibérico, a refreshing Tuna Tartar, smoky Grilled Cauliflower and Grilled Wagyu, which features M5 Wagyu beef oyster steak topped with a parsley sauce.  

La Copa
Rm 108, JinShang Yuan, 20, Xinyuanlixi, Xindong Lu, Chaoyang District
新东路新源里西20号金尚源大厦一层108
Hours: 6pm-11pm
Phone: 198 0020 3903

Café Zarah

Zarah is celebrating the warmer weather with a Spring Brunch this coming Sunday (Apr 6). They'll be offering their all-you-can-eat buffet brunch with some spring specials to welcome the season like Fresh Vietnamese Summer Rolls, Rainbow Veggie Tortilla Rolls, and Salmon & Radish Bruschetta with Spring Chives, along with their usual array of cold cuts, cheeses, freshly baked breads, cakes and more.  

The Spring Brunch will run from 10am to 2pm and costs RMB 228 for the all-you-can-eat buffet; RMB 388 for the buffet plus three hours free-flow beers, wine, sparkling wine and specialty cocktails; or RMB 98 for entry for kids aged 6-12 (kids under 6 are free). To reserve your spot, you can check out the contact details below.

Café Zarah
46 Gulou Dongdajie, Dongcheng District
东城区鼓楼东大街46号
Event hours: Sat, Apr 6, 10am-2pm
Phone: 010 8403 9807

Sediment

Wine bistro Sediment is also doing a spring brunch this holiday weekend, running from Apr 4 to 6. Diners can enjoy a main course which has options like Spanish Tortilla with Roasted Pepper and Parmigiano, Mediterranean Style Codfish and Beef and Onion Stew Pasta. Then there will also be an appetizer buffet with offerings such as Homemade Foccacia, Cold Cuts, Fried Pizza Buns along with a dessert buffet. You can see the full menu below. 

Sediment's brunch will run from noon to 4pm and costs RMB 198/adult and RMB 138 for kids aged 6-12. To reserve your spot, you can check out the contact details below.

Sediment Wine Bistro
2-111, Bldg 28, 17 Jianguomen Waidajie, Chaoyang District
朝阳区建国门外大街17号28号楼底商2-111室
Event hours: Apr 4-6, noon-4pm
Phone: 137 2005 3716

Brownstone

Another Spanish restaurant with fresh spring offerings is Brownstone in Sanlitun. They've added some seasonal delights such as Pan-Seared Green and White Asparagus with Sour Cream Cheese, Mediterranean-Style Seafood Spring Rolls, Madrid-Style Roasted Spring Chicken, Beef and Manchego Cheese Toast and Berry Basque Cheesecake.

BROWNSTONE
S4-33, 4/F, Taikooli South, 19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区三里屯路19号太古里南区三层S4-33单元
Hours: 11am-midnight
Phone: 010 5211 8278

Tribe

Healthy food spot Tribe recently launched their spring menu, and this year, the focus is on creating diverse dishes that blend Chinese and Western flavors. All of the new dishes are gluten-free. For meat eaters, they've got options like Winner Beef Cauliflower Bowl, Sunkissed Thai Cod with Sauerkraut, Naughty Beef Gluten-free Penne with Tomato & Cheese Sauce and Have Faith in Sichuan Peppery Chicken. 

They also have a range of new vegan dishes such as the Vegan Gluten-free Black Bean Burger, The Peace of My Heart Tofu Gluten-free Fusilli with Pesto and In Bed with Roasted Baby Potato and Cowpea Salad. You can read more about all the new spring offerings here.

TRIBE
K139, Bldg 9, Solana, Chaoyang District
​朝阳区蓝色港湾9栋一层K139
Hours: 10am-10pm
Phone: 010 5905 6256

Burge's Bistro

A few weeks ago Burge's Bistro added a range of new spring dishes and drinks to their menu, and theme is all about peas. On the food front they've got Spring Seafood Risotto, Pan-Seared Sea Bass with Pea Puree, Assorted Meat Sauce Tacos and Basil and Preserved Plum Cherry Tomatoes. Drinks-wise there is the Sweetpeas Gin Ricky (RMB 59), the Milk Punch (RMB 59) and Kiwi Sour (RMB 59). You can see more details on these in the poster below.

Burge’s Bistro (Sanlitun branch)
6 Sanlitun Nanlu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区三里屯南路6号
Hours: Mon-Fri, 5pm-2am; Sat-Sun, 11am-2am
Phone: 010 6506 8288

Burge’s Bistro (CBD branch)
1/F, Fortune Mall, 7 East Third Ring Middle Road, Chaoyang District
朝阳区东三环中路7号财富购物中心一层
Hours: Sun-Thu, 11am-midnight; Fri-Sat, 11am-2am
Phone: 176 1071 3837

READ: To Try List: Dastaan 4.0 Opens, New Menu at Pebbles & More

Images: the Beijingers, courtesy of the venues