Spice, spice, baby at Karaiya Spice House

April 18, 2012

BEIJING, CHINA – In the world of pop music, watered-down imitations are never cool. Vanilla Ice gave rap a bad name, and lip-synching Milli Vanilli dug their own chart-tumbling grave. The same could also be said of food. Restaurants that water down the spice factor of traditional cuisines are often… (more)

Decadent duck at Made in China in Beijing

April 9, 2012

BEIJING, CHINA – The label “Made in China” has become a modern symbol of China’s manufacturing might and the republic’s status as the world’s largest exporter. So it’s a little funny that Made in China, the swish roast duck restaurant at the Grand Hyatt Beijing, is named after an emblem… (more)

A hutong gets a remake (via Malaysia) at Café Sambal

November 21, 2011

BEIJING, CHINA – As Beijing’s traditional hutongs (mazelike alleyways of courtyard residences) are increasingly “chai’d” (demolished) to make way for the sleek, modern high rises of the cityscape, they’ve almost become like “endangered” habitat to those who treasure history. At Café Sambal, a delectable Malaysian restaurant in the Gulou neighborhood,… (more)

Bourgeois decadence at Serve the People

August 27, 2011

BEIJING, CHINA – You can be excused for thinking that Serve the People might dish up the simple peasant fare eaten on the Chinese Communists’ Long March or have wait staff dressed as People’s Liberation Army operatives–after all, it is named after one of Mao’s favorite catch phrases. But in… (more)

Rolling with the sushi tides at Hatsune

July 13, 2011

BEIJING, CHINA – For sushi purists, cute and ironically named sushi rolls are like a death knell of authenticity. You can generally expect the likes of “Pimp My Roll” or “Moto-Roll-ah” to bring on the gasps and eye rolling you’d get from a serious oenophile who’s just been passed a… (more)

Hungry hungry hutong: sampling Beijing’s back alley eats

June 25, 2011

BEIJING, CHINA – Beijing and I have a dysfunctional relationship. I’m constantly threatening to leave on account of its bad behavior (dust storms, terrible internet connections, and complicated bureaucracy, I’m looking at you), but somehow…I just keep coming back for more. Try as I might to resist its charms, as… (more)

Hotpot gets haunted at Jin Gui Gui Jie Xiao Shan Cheng

June 18, 2011

BEIJING, CHINA – In all the cities I’ve lived in, I’ve always found a favorite late-night haunt, whether it’s been a pizza joint in New York or a diner in Chicago. In Beijing, my fave has to be the 24-hour Sichuan hotpot spot Jin Gui Gui Jie Xiao Shan Cheng… (more)

Healthy eats, not Happy Meals, at Element Fresh

May 20, 2011

BEIJING, CHINA – It’s too bad that across Asia, “Western” fare is most often represented by fast food joints and greasy spoons. True, one of the Western world’s most notable culinary claims to fame is burgers and fries, but with the proliferation of fast food franchises in the Far East,… (more)

A comfort-food cure for homesickness (and hangovers) at Grandma’s Kitchen

May 14, 2011

BEIJING, CHINA – Despite all the upheaval and rapid changes in Chinese society in the past couple of decades, filial piety, or respect for one’s elders, remains one of the foundational philosophies of life here. It’s a country where Grandma is treated like the wise old lady she really is.… (more)

Mutton, honey! at Crescent Moon

May 12, 2011

BEIJING, CHINA – Not many first-time visitors to China have familiarity with the Uighurs, an ethnically Turkic people who hail from the deserts of northwestern Xinjiang province and comprise one of China’s two largest Muslim ethnic groups. But as soon as you hit the dining scene in Beijing, you really… (more)