Capital Bites: Revisiting STAY, New Pies & Mr. Hong Comes to Beijing
I've been reading a lot about noodles this week. Mostly due to an initial bout of Googling the question "Who made noodles first", which I've discovered via the Beebs that yes, they're from China. Wonderful! My Italian friend now owes me a fiver. Not that noodles really have much to do with today's post, unless you're liking the look of the above – as tasty as it was pretty. Read on to find out where it's from, and other less noodly dining news.
The Regent's all-day dining restaurant, Cafe 99, has brought out a new a la carte menu. I can honestly say there's something on there for everyone (and it's not 20 pages long, either!). The kids' meals are super cute – the "Kung Fu Panda" is a dish of chicken nuggets, which I still don't get, but I'm not a kid anymore. For the adults, their Reuben sandwich is pretty darn good, as is the seafood pasta (pictured top.) Super-thick seared shrimp, and lush scallops. Oh Jinbao Jie, how delicious you can be.
We're told that Two Guys & a Pie have switched up their stock bases and added a few more options to the menu. New pies include a shepherd's pie, a sweet-potato topped honey-soy chicken and a Texas chili – we look forward to giving them a spin in the near future. Check out our previous experience here.
The new Bianyifang in Shimao Department Store is still offering their ducks at half-price, and will apparently continue doing so for the rest of January. However, you may be better off spending your pennies elsewhere; the combination of absurdly disorganized service and absolute pools of oil are terrifying. The shouzhua bing and eggplant dishes are lethal in that regard, but the duck is also greasesome. I'd give them a few weeks to sort out the service.
Speaking of Shimao, news has been trickling in about Hello Kitty Dreams Restaurant. Dianping.com alone features almost 30 negative reviews. If you've tried it out, let us know!
I was at S.T.A.Y. on Monday (Jan 9) for a tasting of Yannick Alleno's Black Truffle Menu, and was again drawn to their magnificent dessert selection. Probably good for you, since Chef Alleno's since departed with his truffles in tow, but the "pastry library" remains. Pictured above is a miniature rum baba, which definitely packs a boozy punch. Chef Alleno also revealed that on February 1, most of the current menu will be scrapped to make way for a fresh spring selection. Translation: If you haven't yet tried his fully awesome sea urchin thingum, you really should.
Tadka is holding their first wine dinner of 2012 tomorrow, Friday 13 at 6pm. You pay RMB 198+15% for five courses of quality Indian food, and four glasses of good wine. I don't think I need to point out that it's A+ value, do I? This month, the wines are all from Australia's Jacob's Creek.
Openings & closings now. Award-winning Taiwanese chain Chef Hung's Beef Noodle has opened on the fifth floor of Wangfujing's APM mall. They've won awards for being the best beef noodle soup in Taiwan. We're told that their first Beijing incarnation is a little spotty on quality but "when it's good, it's better than Bellagio." Not quite high praise, but certainly worth a try.
Also, French creperie Ouest has set up shop next to 2Kolegas in Liangmaqiao. Galette frenzy to come.
Finally, I leave you with the above image taken at Xiang Man Lou. Usually, I just let these things be, but maybe this time, I'll drop a note to management.
Photos: Susan Sheng
