This Week: Australian Food and Wine, Fideua at Migas and Dining in the Dark

The holidays are over and it seems like the Beijing dining scene is wasting no time in getting back into full swing.

Migas has a special promotion on authentic fideua from the city of Gandia in Valencia. Brimming with shrimps, prawns and monkfish, the dish is similar in style to a paella, only it's made with thin noodles (called fideos) instead. Their recipe comes from champion fideua chef, Chef Amadeo: it doesn't get much more authentic than that. The fideua is priced at RMB 218 until October 19.

You may think Australian food is all "throw another shrimp on the barbie" but there's some great fine dining to be done in Oz, without even touching on the wines. And Hilton Beijing Wangfujing are setting out to prove it this week with their Austalian food, art and wine experience. They're bringing in Australian chef Steve Szabo who will be creating a menu of Australian dishes matched with wines from producer Molly's Cradle. You can also enjoy art from indigenous artist Carol Martin and a didgeridoo performance from expert Phil Walleystack. The five course, wine paired menu, which includes highlight dishes like king fish carpaccio and twice-cooked pigeon, will set you back RMB 950.

Three Michelin-starred culinary maestro Umberto Bombana is back in town this weekend serving up a white truffle tasting menu at Opera Bombana. The five course menu, priced at RMB 1,888, includes dishes such as homemade tagliolini with butter, parmesan and Alba white truffle (I had the black truffle version earlier this year and can vouch for its deliciousness). Be sure to call as soon as possible for reservations – whenever Bombana himself is in town tables book up fast.

If all of this just sounds a little too "normal," why not spice things up by dining in complete darkness at Parnas for their new event, The Noctural? Dining in the is supposed to heighten your sense of taste, which Parnas aim to take advantage of with their three course fine dining menu and wine pairing. Expect more of these one-off monthly events from Parnas (including a cabaret night) in the coming months.

Don't miss these dining events and promotions this week:

• Eat for free at the Westin Beijing Chaoyang. Dine at one of their four restaurants and receive cash vouchers for the same value. Sounds too good to be true? Try it out for yourself and see.
• Step back in time at The Hutong this Saturday as they recreate an 18th century feast from Chinese fod traveler Yuan Mei's epicurean tome The Food Lists of the Garden of Contentment. This is a chance to experience traditional techniques and recipes like Yunlin duck and eight-treasure meatballs, many of which have been lost to modern cooks. 

More stories by this author here.

Email: robynnetindall@thebeijinger.com
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Photo: Courtesy of Migas