Beijing Turns Red Hot at Day One of the 2019 Hot & Spicy Festival

The Beijingers | Apr 20, 2019 10:18 pm | Add a comment | 621 reads

Day one of the Beijinger Hot & Spicy Festival 2019 was a massive success today, thanks to all the delicious food and drink, fun party vibes, and awesome entertainment.

Despite a teeny bit of rain in the morning (we like to think that the gods of weather were just blessing us in advance), the sky was clear all day, and droves of spicy food-lovers were arriving at Galaxy Soho in droves from the moment the clocks struck 11am. Over forty food and drink vendors were prepped and ready to go, serving a dizzying array of hot, spicy, and downright delicious food from all over the globe including spicy octopus balls, delicious chuan'r, vegan meatballs, spicy crayfish, authentic Mexican tacos, chili ice cream, western 'bao' burgers, spicy sausages, slow-cooked brain, peppery sangria, fruity baijiu, and so, so, so much more.

Speaking of eating... things got really serious during the first round of the La Costeña Hot Chili Pepper Eating Contest as ten nutty contestants chowed down raw hot chilis, one after another on purpose. The pressure was on, and despite brave efforts on behalf of all the contestants, there could only be one winner for the day: Patrick McCarthy from the US. Bravo, Patrick. May your digestive tract be kind to you. Tomorrow at 4pm another ten insane people will take on the challenge for the second round of the contest, so be sure to get down to Soho in time to see who will survive.

Thumping tunes from superstar spinner DJ Aida gave way to our ultra-talented live entertainers, including super spicy dancers F.E Dance Studio and, Smooth Groove, the globe-spanning Beijing-based five-piece from America, Africa, and China whose funky rhymes kept us pumped for the epic Karaoke competition. Those that thought that this singing competition was just gonna be another KTV moment were proven way wrong, as gifted singers took to the stage one after another, belting out ballads, pop tunes, and rap and frankly, blowing us away.

Now, the official Hot & Spicy afterparty is still kicking on, at the lush Sanlitun-overlooking rooftop of The Bell & Terrazza Martini.

So what's next? Well, another full day of Hot & Spicy Festival tomorrow of course! Doors open at 11am, you can get tickets at the door and the weather forecast is looking very sunny indeed. Come on down, spice up your life, and join the party. We look forward to seeing you there!

Now scroll on to see more of our favorite moments from the day: