EAT: New Restaurants to Try, Mutton at Shawarma, Hutong Market Tour

EAT: Your bite-sized guide to the best eats to be had in Beijing this week.

Start the new year by trying a new restaurant

Why not make 2021 the year you set yourself a resolution to try a new restaurant every week? Maybe you didn't make it to one of the many new restaurants that opened in Beijing in 2020; if so, now is the time to do so. Try grabbing a speedy pizza at The Pizza Show or warming up with some Southeast Asian grub at Kakikopi. Love xiaolongbao? Then you'll definitely fall for new Kerry Centre restaurant Paradise Dynasty's multi-colored versions. If you never made it to Yizhuang to try popular Western restaurant The Roots, then now you can find them smack in the middle of central Beijing above Paddy O'Shea's —  we've been hearing great things about the peri peri chicken and the baked Camembert. 

Mutton now on the menu at Schawarma

Branching out from falafel and chicken, the Topwin Center Shawarma is now wrapping up mutton as well. We got our hands on  one of these lamby logs and found that the mutton is in fact packed with flavor, and compared to the other selections, will produce quite an aroma, so be forewarned if you order it to the office: jealous coworkers will know, and may just want a bite.

Explore a local market with The Hutong

Every week on Wednesdays and Saturdays, The Hutong leads culinary walking market tours that will help you create your own Chinese kitchen, as well as to get over the intimidation and confusion of the Chinese food market. Their interactive and practical local walking tour will help you to explore the colorful and fresh items in a local market, and our knowledgeable guide will provide tips on how to incorporate Chinese flavors into your dishes back home while shopping and tasting authentic local street food as a meal on the way! The tour is priced at RMB 300 per person including street food and snacks.

Get a head start on Spring Festival food gifts at Park Hyatt Beijing

Start your Spring Festival gift shopping early at Park Hyatt Beijing, where they have a range of special festive goodies on offer. Treat a sweet tooth to some adorable citrus chocolates shaped like auspicious tangerines (RMB 199 for nine, RMB 399 for 25) or why not try a traditional poon choi, a Cantonese festive dish cooked in a clay pot and layered with ingredients like tiger prawns, Australian beef tendon, scallop, pigeon egg, braised pork, roast duck, mushrooms, pumpkin, and bean curd (RMB 888). Discounts are available through the hotel's WeChat mall — search for 北京柏悦酒店 on WeChat and then under "services" select 酒店商城 MALL. We'll be keeping our events section up-to-date with any Spring Festival happenings, so be sure to check back regularly.

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Images: Pixy, Pixabay, Joey Knotts, courtesy of the Restaurants, Tom Arnstein