EAT: Greyhound Cafe at Shin Kong Place and Romantic Valentine's Cakes

Thai-fusion restaurant Greyhound Cafe has opened its second restaurant in Beijing with a new space in trendy Shin Kong Place. The new space is a perfect fit for SKP, all bare white tiles and angular lighting fixtures – neighboring restaurant FA Cafe is similarly styled. I called by and tried a selection of dishes, my first meal at a Greyhound Cafe in a long while, and was particularly impressed by the "interactivity" of many of the dishes, including a tasty smoked salmon carpaccio with fresh Thai spices, served with lettuce and herbs for wrapping (pictured above). A rendition of pad thai was pretty close to the mark and their Thai-style iced tea is absolutely spot on, just on the right side of sweet.

Speaking of sweet, keep your better half sweet this Valentine's Day with these special dessert deals. Slow Boat Brewery have teamed up with new delivery bakery Sweet Tart (look out for more on them in the March issue of the magazine) to offer one-off chocolatey cupcakes made using Slow Boat's Vanilla Stout. Stop by the Taproom on Valentine's Day only and pick one up for RMB 30.

Elsewhere, artisanal gelato company Vivi Dolce are offering "macalatos", macaroons filled with their signature gelato. A genius pairing if ever there was one. A gift box of six macalatos in rose and chocolate flavors surrounded by beautiful roses costs RMB 298 plus RMB 15 delivery fee. order via their WeChat: vividolce.

Other events and promotions not to be missed this week:

• Feast's (Food by EAST) popular weekend brunch just got that little bit better witht he addition of a free-flow option. RMB 118 (plus 15 percent service change) get's you free-flow Chandon sparkling wine, Lapostolle red and white wines and Tsingtao beer, plus soft drinks.
• A good lunch deal at the new Great Leap Brewing #45 Brewpub during their soft opening: get a huge slice of veggie (RMB 25) or meat (RMB 35) pizza, with the option to a Pale Ale #6 for just RMB 10.
• For a fancier lunch option, call by Mio at Four Seasons where a two course set lunch of delicious Italian classics will set you back RMB 198.

More stories by this author here.

Email: robynnetindall@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: Robynne Tindall