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Oct
8thIntroducing: The Noodle DiariesWell folks, this has been a long time coming… What started two years ago as a simple blog about my adventures in Beijing has taken a life of its own, especially as things relate to music in Beijing. It has become increasingly difficult to fit the food posts in this this format for me with most readers now expecting music related news, reviews etc…. So, as of today, the food section of this blog is frozen with all the content duplicated over at a new location: The Noodle Diaries: Tales of Chinese Food from Beijing and Beyond While ‘daze will remain the center of my music musings, along with whatever else I feel like blabbering about, new blog posts about food will all from now on appear on the new site. This is an effort not to dilute any of the information (food or music related) and make sure they both get their respective spaces. The noodle diaries will also explore my growing fascination with the universe of Asian Noodles, most specifically the Chinese variety….So please, update your bookmarks, share the news and tell your friends, food posts are back on the menu folks
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May
13thKungfu Hustle on Your Plate: Feng Bo Zhuang, Big Power Balls, Nine Pillars of HarmonyJust as i would think that i might be getting jaded at Beijing for whatever reason, I get lucky enough and have an experience that leaves smiles on my face. Walking into and dining at Feng Bo Zhuang 风波庄 was one of those! The best way i can describe it: You’re thinking you’re walking into a rustic restaurant for a meal and you find yourself in a Stephen Chow movie with swords, funky furniture and waiters talking weird…. yup, that would be Feng Bo Zhuang! I picked the place initially because it looked like the only decent eatery i could find on dianping close enough to pingguoyuan where my MIDI crew could meet and eat before the musical onslaught. Boy am i glad i picked that. The restaurant itself has an unassuming rustic wooden facade, much in line with those you see in old Kung Fu movies, down to the bowl of water outside to wash your hands. Once you walk in you’re greeted by smiling shouting staff dressed in replica outfits making them look as if they were ready for kungu class as opposed to serving you dishes. Everything from the tables to the bowls and plates is just like the movies. How about the food? It’s good! There is no menu to be had, the staff decides what to bring you and you can accept the dish or send it back. They also make it a point to ask whether anyone at the table suffers from any specific [...]
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Apr
27thXixia Fengxing: Ningxia Hideout for Homestyle Fare to Warm Heart and SoulAdmittedly, I’ve become a bit fascinated by all things Ningxia. I’ve developped an appreciation for the music that’s coming out of that province as well as the people. Now, we can add food to that list! From what I’ve read, the local cuisine has been described as “special and practical” which indeed matches my experiences so far. I might add the word “rustic” to those descriptives. Eating at Xixia Fengxing 西夏风情 is pretty much just like that. The restaurant is tucked in an alleyway north of yugong yishan making it a great little spot for a pre-gig meal. Adding to the neighborhood convenience, the place has rock n roll credit due to the owner, Sijia, being a regular on the Beijing music scene as the current drummer for Ska outfit, The Rudeness. The place is small and fits about 20 people on a good day. The food is prepared by Sijia and his mom who joined him from his home province of Ningxia to help out with culinary duties. I guess one way to think about this is a hui version of Jia xiang cai. I’ve eaten there a few times by now and always tend to get the same items on the menu: Rou Jia Mou and steamy hand pulled noodles in one form or another. I’ve had a few of the other dishes on the menu like a stewed beef with potatoes amongst others which were all satisfactory if not good. The flavors are fairly basic when you [...]
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Apr
14thYellow River Convert: Shaanxi Noodles Done RightI must admit i didn’t see what the fuss was all about on my first visit to Yellow River 黄河水陕西面馆(huang he) as my friends were all chanting their merit and praising their noodles. I found their offerings average at best! Fast forward a few months, I have changed my mind completely. It started a month ago as a “convenient place to grab a quick bite” during an intensive capoeira workshop in the vicinity. previous experiences made me think twice before agreeing and i strongly considered sneaking next door for a hotdog. Boy I’m glad I didn’t. The staff at the gongti location is super friendly no matter the time of day. They display an unusual amount of patience with those of the Genus-Expatus who are Mandarin-challenged as far as taking orders and even keeping the dialog simple enough to get things done. I’m sure being in constant contact with laowais has helped that attitude and I sincerely hope they keep it. The menu is simple enough, plastered in photos all over the wall that actually are quite representative of the dishes. What you see is what you get!!! There’s also a side board with a few chuanr options that should not be regarded as an afterthought. I’ve gone through a number of items there over the past week given that I average 2 or 3 stops/week and while just about everything was good and premium quality, some dishes just stand out: Youpo Chemian (油泼扯面): Sticky noodles topped with veggies dressed [...]
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Mar
28thTime Out Beijing Awards 2011: Critically Boringly YoursHot on the heels of The Beijinger Readers awards, the Time Out Beijing Awards took place last thursday with a panel of “experts” making the picks. This is a complete departure from readers’ awards as it rewards quality versus popularity.. or so they say. Let’s take a look at this year’s categories and winners: – Reader’s Choice: Maison Boulud à Pékin – Best Lunch Deal: Ai Jiang Shan – Best International: Aria – Best Wine Experience: Modo – Best Interior Design: Capital M – Best Service: Maison Boulud à Pékin – Best New Restaurant: Ssam – Best Regional Chinese: Karaiya Spice House – Best Chinese Fine Dining: Tiandi – Best Asian: Bei – Chef of the Year: Matthew McCool (Aria) – Restaurant of the Year: Bei for a more complete list along with the Merit Awards, check the time out website There’s a whole bunch of thoughts crossing my mind about these awards so I’m gonna try and put them in order somehow…. bear with me folks! The Panel: This is what makes the Time Out awards stand out supposedly as they use a panel of experts to pick out the nominations and winners in each category. This guarantees the quality of the winners making them “the cream of the crop”… Well, this year, Time Out dining editor Lillian Chou is the only recognized food expert on that panel. The other four members are outstanding representatives of the media industry and probably know their dishes but that doesn’t make them [...]
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Mar
23rdThe Beijinger’s 2011 Restaurant Awards: Blabbers, Ramblings and Alternatives.This past Monday, The Beijinger announced their winners for the 2011 restaurant awards, all voted on by readers. I might not agree with a lot of their selections or with the winners but i must respect them as the popular choices by that species known as the Genus-Expatus. Looking at the list, one can’t help but notice that Chaoyang in General and Sanlitun more specifically still reigns supreme. Establishments like Mosto, Le Petit Gourmand, South Beauty, Haidilao, Middle 8th and more. Like it, love it, hate it or whatever, it’s just a reality. To get exposure and food traffic, you wanna be in the holly quadrant: dongzhimen, liangmaqiao, guomao, jiangguomen. Interestingly enough, this year, there doesn’t seem to be much controversy/comments or reactions to the results. Last year’s edition caused quite a few stirs online and offline with people agreeing/disagreeing with over 30 comments on the original post as well as enough reactions around Beijing to keep the conversation going for a while. This year, it’s pretty darn low key so far! I was really pleased last year with extra categories for Chinese restaurants but unfortunately, that has gone by the wayside. GM Mike Wester explained that there wasn’t enough nominations to warrant a real category for many types of Chinese cuisine…. how about that Beijing? There’s more of you having an afternoon tea than eating Xinjiang food? really? wow, I had no idea that we got so posh in a year. That said, joking aside, what do you expect [...]
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Mar
9thRuxiang Piao Piao, Ordos Representative Office: Taste, Smell and Sound of the Grasslands, right here in BeijingThis was one of the first “provincial” restaurants I wanted to try in Beijing, especially after i read about their yurts and the famed lamb that fell right off the bone. Alas, all my attempts to find the original location, as outlined in the insider guide to Beijing, fell by the wayside… until now. A few weeks ago, on my regular dianping sweep, I saw pictures of this place that had yurts in the yard and i jumped in excitement. To make things even better, just a few days later, the restaurant showed up in CNNGO’s list of most bizarre restaurants in Beijing. Ruxiang Piao Piao 乳香飘飘 (Ordos Hotel Restaurant 鄂尔多斯宾馆内): The place is apparently managed by the Ordos Representative office and would be more genuine that the official Inner Mongolia rep office restaurant. I had to gather the troops and go… The restaurant is located inside a hotel. The hotel itself is in an obscure alleyway. The alleyway is hidden at the back of a hidden street… Let me tell you folks, finding the place ain’t easy the first time around…. heck, it’s almost faster/easier to head over to inner mongolia for a meal! Good luck! Patience little ones, for it shall be rewarded! I was a bit disappointed that we couldn’t get to sit in a yurt but that’s what you get for trying to organize a dinner party for 14 people last minute. The staff was nice enough to set us up with a table in the [...]
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Dec
28thLord of the Xinjiangs: One Yogurt to Rule them all at the Urumqi Representative OfficeA little over two years ago, I embarked on a journey to try all the provincial restaurants in Beijing. I’m still going strong but after such a long time, I was overdue for a pilgrimage to place where my infatuation with various Chinese cuisines started: Xinjiang Fanzhuang 新疆饭庄 inside the The Urumqi Representative Office Restaurant 乌鲁木齐驻京办. Pre-BeijingDaze days, most of my reviews ended up on the Beijinger and i was lucky that the review was still there even though i forgot all about it! What stayed with me however was the memories of great food, the best yogurt I’ve ever had in China as well as the lousiest pushiest staff i had encountered. I was anxious to see how the memories would stack up after having been to Xinjiang a few times and trying some of the better alternatives in Beijing itself. The plan was set in motion for 8:00 pm on a saturday, giving us enough time to sample the good and order what we needed before the kitchen closed. It wasn’t a problem getting a table for 10 at that time! I had tried calling to reserve earlier but they said they couldn’t do it for that hour. Location: Whereas two years ago we had all sorts of problems finding the place, it turned out to be a breeze this time around. Most people ended up taking the subway and getting off on the line 2 stop of 车公庄chēgōngzhuāng. From there on, it’s a 10mn walk and trust [...]
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Dec
2ndXinjiang Islam Provincial Restaurant: Found the Cream of the Crop?A little while back, I’ve finally managed to gather the troops and head over to the west side of town for the last of the Xinjiang Provincial restaurants in Beijing that had managed to evade me: The Xinjiang Islam Restaurant 新疆伊斯兰饭庄, attached to the provincial representative office, inside the Xinjiang Hotel. It is located inside the courtyard of the Xinjiang Hotel, not to be confused with the other establishment that is right on the street. I headed over there on a cold november saturday night with some of the usual suspects that were willing to brave the temperatures and tag along for a meal on the less travelled western side of Beijing. The restaurant was quite busy on both floors but we still managed to score a table for 10 persons around 8:00 pm which is usually their busiest hour. I’m gonna take a slightly different approach on this review and try to have it organized! The Menu Probably the biggest and most extensive menu out of all 3 Xinjiang provincial restaurants. Not only did it have all the classic dishes but it also boasted a few options I had not seen at the other two especially as far as their variety of fish and beef dishes. Dishes were listed both in English and Chinese with good pictures, clearly organized according to meat type and what not. It’s very much foreigner friendly! The Service Probably the biggest surprise of the night: The staff was amazingly on the ball with a [...]
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Nov
11thGuo Yao Xiao Ju: Believe the hype on this Tan gem being one of Beijing’s best restaurantsI take awards in china not with grains of salt, but mountain sized blocks of it! but when i hear that a hole in the wall restaurant wins the distinction of being the best in Beijing and then that distinction is actually confirmed by foodies like Eileen Wen Moonie whose opinion i trust, I get curious. And when i get curious, I get the crew out for a meal! As yours truly had Birthday drinks in the Gu Lou area, Guo Yao Xiao Ju 国肴小居 seemed like the best option for a good dinner in good company… and it panned off! The restaurant is tucked in an alley off of Andingmen nei, just south of Fang Jia hutong but it’s quite easy to find compared to other places i’ve ended up at over the past few years. The outside is fairly standard but once you go inside, a surprise awaits: The coziest, classiest little gem in Beijing! It’s clean, sober without being over the top! 3 waitresses were on hand to deal with 4 tables and 1 private room. Yes, it’s small and reservations are recommended. They boost a simple menu with the names in English and Chinese, making it relatively easy to choose and deceivingly simple to navigate. The deception mostly comes in from the fact that some of the dishes are individual servings whereas others are in fact center plates to be shared! I wish they actually were more specific about this. how’s the food? Legit! Between 10 [...]
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The Mini Skinny
What once started as my personal ramblings has morphed into the number one collective resource about underground live music in Beijing and China. All bands, all music, all Rock n Roll, all the time with a little side of eclectic topics.. best of all, it's still as BIASED as ever
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- Joann on Quickslants: Jurat, PiL, XTX, Yangjima for a Loaded End of Week
- On The Scene: 2013 Strawberry Festival Day 1 | Live Beijing Music on MIDI 2013: Anywhere, Anytime, Thanks for the Rock n Roll
- ex virility pill on Quickslants: Jurat, PiL, XTX, Yangjima for a Loaded End of Week
- ruby on MIDI 2013: Anywhere, Anytime, Thanks for the Rock n Roll
- Beijing Daze on MIDI 2013: Anywhere, Anytime, Thanks for the Rock n Roll