EAT: Bottega's Argentinian Dinner, Baozi Hongbao From Baozza, Antlers on Fangjia Hutong

Although Bottega, the winners of the Beijinger’s 2016 pizza cup, might be known best for its tasty and authentic Italian pizza, the restaurant is set to branch out for a special one-off meal featuring Argentinian wines and dessert. The set meal will cost RMB 328 per person, and will kick off at 7pm on January 17. Call up in advance to reserve your spot.

If you can’t get on the list at Bottega, why not instead get excited about Taco Wednesday at Beixinqiao favorite Más every (you guessed it!) Wednesday. Thankfully this event stretches beyond the tacos, with a 30 percent discount on the entire food menu, from 6pm to midnight. Couple up with their happy hour between 6-9pm and you've got some of the best Dongcheng food and drink on the cheap.

For another great deal, Baozza is running a promotion whereby if you place any order of these delightful parcels before January 20, you will also receive a cash hongbao hidden inside a red bouncy baozi. The money inside each one ranges from RMB 1 (don’t chip a tooth!) to RMB 100 – who knows, you might get a little extra pocket money this Spring Festival just by stuffing your face.

On another exciting note, if you like Taiwanese bao, which are a little like if tacos and roujiamo had delicious babies, you’ll be happy to hear that Antlers, a new bar on Fangjia Hutong, will soon have a full bao menu (see our samples pictured at top). We had a little taster of these buns and left intrigued with how this cozy and well-decorated venue will shape up. The beef was a favorite, which a huge chunk of tasty, juicy beef making one bun more filling than you might think.

Antler’s is currently in soft opening phase and won’t have food every evening, but they do have a well-organized beer fridge with beers ranging from RMB 20-40 in price, all marked to make it easier to pick. We’ll keep you updated when they open proper after Spring Festival, and are excited to see how their final menu comes out.

More stories by this author here.

Email: margauxschreurs@truerun.com
Instagram: s.xuagram

Images courtesy of the organizers, Margaux Schreurs