Capital Bites: Obama Fried Chicken, Ssam's Tofu Mousse and the Last of Summer Dining

Whilst I'm patently aware that being in Beijing cuts one off from the many long weekends and extended religious holidays of the West (plus the accompanying glut of chocolate. Easter, I'm looking at you!), something about getting a whole week off is kind of amazing. This National Day holiday, I advise you all to sleep well and snack safely. If you're heading out of the city, don't forget to check Dianping.com for places to eat (you might need someone who reads Chinese to help you out). After all, not every city has the Beijinger. If you're staying in town, however, click on for some edible happenings in edible Beijing.

Weibo user binson posted the above picture of Obama Fried Chicken, situated "next to [her] school," which is apparently somewhere in Beijing. We suspect it might be a Photoshop job, but we shall see. If any readers have seen it, please let us know in the comments! The minute we find out where this is, we're going.

National Day week would be a good time to grasp at the dying straws of open-air dining, especially given the beautiful weather today. We rounded up some rooftops and open-air dining for you last year, but I'm also very fond of the little outdoor tables at Modo. They turned one yesterday (September 29)

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very spectacularly, might I add! – with a free-flow small-plate feast. Modo chef Daniel Urdaneta also plies his trade at Mosto, where there's a new autumn menu.

Something else to consider – brunch. For those who don't like to DIY, make sure to get your brunching in before the cold makes hermits of us all. I'm a firm fan of the Fizztastic brunch at Vasco's in the Hilton Beijing Wangfujing – or rather, I'm a firm fan of the grilled lobster there. I had the pleasure of devouring the particular specimen above last weekend.

Jinshisong.com food delivery, the Kro's Nest and Duvel's are celebrating Kro's new Sanlitun store with free beer and pizza from 7pm. There'll also be giant novelty pandas and crows running around, or rather, just one of each.

Eudora Station are doing a special National Day brunch menu created by their international chef, Kimmo Lahti, running from October 1-7, 11am-3pm.

Papabubble, Barcelona-based purveyors of artisanal hard candy, have arrived in gallery-cafe-design store UA Town at the Place. The brand rates pretty high in the New Yorker's eyes, and we'll be checking that out soon for your boiled-sweet satisfaction. In the meantime, have a look at their website to get an idea of what they have to offer.

There are still two days to get double Gung Ho! points on your order. Spend 80 kuai or above and you'll receive two whole points, and so on. See what you can get for your points here.

And lastly, in general discovery news, I had lunch at Ssam recently and tried a light-as-air chocolate-tofu mousse with peach chunks. It's at least twenty times as good as a Tofutti Cutie. Eating would be twice as nice if everything had a rhyming name. Chef Andrew Ahn assures me that there are absolutely no dairy products in his mousse.

Photos: Susan Sheng, Weibo user Binson