EAT: Panettone, Deals at La Platea, New Dishes at Beyond Yakitori
EAT: Your bite-sized guide to the best eats to be had in Beijing this week.
Three places to pick up a panettone
Growing up in the UK, panettone was not necessarily a staple on our Christmas table, but since I've come to Beijing, I've grown to love this sweet Italian bread. If you fancy adding panettone to your Christmas table, here are three places where you can pick one up.
Nuo Universal Resort's pastry chef Jacopo Bruni is a dab hand with a panettone, creating a light and fluffy bread with a perfectly crispy top. He even hangs them upside down after baking to ensure that the light dough doesn't collapse in on itself (see above). The cakes are available for RMB 168 each and they require 24 hours notice to take away small quantities or 48 hours notice if you want to buy more than four. They don't offer delivery just yet, but as far as I'm concerned that's just another good excuse to head out to Universal. Call Cafe Royal on 5732 6330 for more info.
The pastry team at Opera Bombana are also busy baking up their own homemade panettone, made from a natural dough starter that dates back to 2006 and studded with dried fruits soaked in rum. Buy one at the restaurant or at their bakery counter on LG2 level of Parkview Green for RMB 198, available in classic or chocolate-cappuccino flavors.
Bottega and Forno are offering imported Italian panettone for RMB 128 each. Plus, spend RMB 500 in any Bottega group venue (including Bottega, Forno, El Barrio, and Daruma) and you'll have the chance to take part in their festive lucky draw for prizes like free pizza, bottles of wine, and more — claim your prize at Bottega Xinyuanli or Forno Taikooli.
Hatsune December special: Beef brisket yosenabe
Hatsune's latest limited-edition signature dish is a belly-warming yosenabe, a kind of "anything goes" mixed hotpot — yose comes from the verb yoseru, which means gather or collect. To make the dish, Hatsune uses premium short ribs, beef brisket, and beef belly all marinated in a special sauce and then left to simmer for hours to create a flavorful broth. The meats and broth are then served in a stone pot with mixed vegetables. The dish is available at all Hatsune branches until Dec 31.
New menu at Beyond Yakitori
After two months of hard work and testing, the team at trendy Japanese izakaya Beyond Yakitori has just launched an updated menu, making changes to more than 80 percent of their menu items. New dishes added include a totally delicious-sounding wasabi potato salad topped with homemade potato chips and wagyu beef fillet grilled on their signature binchō-tan charcoal grill and served with crispy burdock strips and a nori cream (pictured above).
Daily dining deals at La Platea
Cozy Mediterranean restaurant and bar La Platea (a personal favorite of yours truly) has just launched a bunch of new food deals, starting with buy-one-get-one-free trapizzino (tasty pizza pockets, see pic above) on Monday. The deals continue throughout the week with all tapas for just RMB 10 (with the purchase of a drink) on Tuesday, all-you-can-eat pizzetta (mini pizzas) for RMB 128 on Wednesday, and half-price charcuterie and cheese platters on Thursday.
Dec 19: Home cooking and wine tasting at Black Sesame Kitchen
Wastern home-style cooking meets Western wine tasting at this collaboration between China Wines and Spirits and Black Sesame Kitchen. Settle in at BSK's cozy hutong courtyard and enjoy a 10-course meal of Chinese dishes paired with four different wines from around the world. Dinner is priced at RMB 498 per person. Message BlackSesameKitchen on WeChat to book.
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Images courtesy of the restaurants
