To Try List: American Chef Rick Bayless Comes to Beijing, New Beer, Wine, Pies & More

New restaurants, dining deals, drinks discounts, guest shifts, pop-ups, and more happenings on our to try list this week.

Famed American Chef Rick Bayless Headed to Beijing for One Night Only

For those of us who grew up or have lived in the States (our American editor, included), one of the most extensive introductions to Mexican cuisine and cooking came from one man: Rick Bayless. Whether through cooking shows like Mexico: One Plate at a Time or in his restaurants or cooking books, Bayless’ passion for the food and culture of Mexico was truly contagious.

And now, you can join Bayless here in Beijing for one night only, on Friday, Feb 23 at the Ritz-Carlton, where he’ll join his former apprentice, Pebbles Courtyard owner Ray Heng, to sample eight agave spirits paired with an eight course Mexican meal (courtesy of Pebbles), and eight stories from the award-winning chef.

The agave spirits in question are four expressions each from ArteNOM tequila and Mezcal Don Amado, the latter of which is making its debut in China at the tasting. Tickets are selling fast, and as you’re reading this they *might* already be sold out, so grab them soon! 

If you miss the chance to grab a spot, there’ll be future opportunities to try Don Amado and Pebbles’ countless other agave spirits, with Heng telling us he’s planning an agave spirits bar for the first floor of the restaurant. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime, scan the QR below to grab a spot or head to Pebbles this weekend for brunch and some margs and mezcal.

Pebbles Courtyard
74 Wudaoying Hutong, Dongcheng District
东城区五道营胡同74号
Hours: Tue-Fri 5-10pm, Sat-Sun noon-2pm, 5-10pm
Phone: 010 8404 0767

Overtone Brewing Opens Its First China Branch 

Scottish brewery Overtone has just opened its first ever China branch in Gulou. Founded in the summer of 2018 in Glasgow, Scotland by Bowei Wang, Dan Miller and Martin Connaghan, Overtone Brewing has a focus on New England style IPAs and producing big, bold flavors. Overtone is situated on Dongsi Beidajie, pretty much smack bang between Beixinqiao and Zhangzizhonglu, with their shop boasting a relatively large space with understated black and grey color scheme. At the back is a long bar with over 20 beers on tap plus a beer fridge to the side.

From classic beers like their Czech Verbel (RMB 60) to more unusual offerings like the Maple Nutter (RMB 80), there is plenty of variety to choose from and if you can’t decide or want to sample a few, they offer tasting paddles complete with tasting note cards for each beer. Along with beer they’ve also got a tasty looking food menu with dishes like Fish and Chips (RMB 128), Cheese Beef Sourdough Bread (RMB 168) and a Spicy Beef Burger (RMB 68).

Overtone Taproom
75 Dongsibei Dajie
东城区东四北大街74号
Hours: 6pm-1am
Phone: 185 1351 5303

Pie Near Brings British Style Pies to Solana

Pie lovers rejoice! A new pie shop, Pie Near, has opened in Solana and it offers up a great range of both savory and sweet pies. On the savory front they have classic fillings like Steak and Mushroom (RMB 35) or Pepper Chicken (RMB 28) along with more unusual options such as Pesto Chicken (RMB 28) and Pulled Pork (RMB 28) all encased in buttery, flaky puff pastry. For those with a sweet tooth they have numerous choices with everything from Apple Pie (RMB 30) to Key Lime Pie (RMB 35) or the decadent Mississippi Mud Pie (RMB 35).

It’s not just pies they have though, with the menu also having other pastry delights like Quiche (RMB 25-30), Sausage Rolls (RMB 28) and Chicken and Pineapple Curry Puffs (RMB 25). They also have Scones (RMB 12-20), Eggs Benedict (RMB 25-50) and even Fish and Chips (RMB 40). As a special promotion for their opening all pies are also currently buy two get one free!

Pie Near
BS-50, 1F, Solana, 6 Chaoyang Gongyuan Lu, Chaoyang Distrcit
朝阳区朝阳公园路6号蓝色港湾1层BS-50号
Hours: 8.30am-10pm
Phone: 183 1125 9770

Sip Siip Offers Free Flow Wine in the CBD

If you’re a fan of wine, then you’ll love new spot Sip Siip that’s just opened at the bottom of Zhongjun World City. Located on the same strip that houses Q Mex and Bottega, Sip Siip is a wine bistro that has a stunningly cheap wine free flow deal. For only RMB 99 you get three hours of free flow from a selection of 30 different wines. The wine is self service from smart wine machines, and when you purchase the free flow deal you’ll be given a bracelet to activate the machines.

The wine selection includes 28 main grape varieties from 14 famous wine regions with the selection rotating each month, keeping the most popular ones and changing out others. Along with wine they also have a menu of Yunnan food created in partnership with Yunnan restaurant Under Clouds. The food has been designed to be shared in a tapas type style with dishes like Yunnan Ham and Cheese Platter (RMB 158) and Mint and Beef Rolls (RMB 58). 

The interior décor gives off wine cellar vibes with arched ceilings and orange brick tiled walls with chic white leather booths along the sides perfect for enjoying a cosy dinner with plenty of wine. The space was actually designed by famous architect Zhao Fang who also designed Under Cloud’s Parkview Green location. 

Sip Siip
Unit. E130, 101 1F, 8 Jinhui Lu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区金汇路8号楼1层101, E130单元
Hours: 5pm-1am
Phone: 130 2125 0871

Italian Chinese Fusion Food at abboCCa

Italian bistro abboCCa recently launched their special Chitaliano Menu, where Chinese and Italian flavors meet for tantalizing flavor combinations the likes of which you’ve never tried before. Available now until Feb 29, the creative menu includes dishes like Mozzarella & Pork Fried Dumplings (RMB 38/4 to RMB 75/8), Harbin Red Sausage Pizza (RMB 58/small, RMB 89/large) and Instant Noodles with Ragù Bolognese (RMB 68). 

abboCCa
103, 80 Courtyard 4, Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区工体北路4号院80号楼103
Hours: 10am-midnight
Phone: 010 6591 8060

Last week of Duli Pop-Up at Ori Sake & Food

There is just under a week left (until Jan 31) to try the scrumptious offerings from Shanghai vegan bistro Duli’s pop-up store at Ori Sake & Food. Since the pop-up opened, it’s attracted many a hungry customer with the most popular dishes being the Mapo Tofu Hummus (RMB 79), Tom Yum Wonton Soup (RMB 72) and Corn & Cauliflower Fritter with Bao (RMB 89). 

As a special send off for their final week they will be introducing their Duli Sichuan Burger (RMB 76). It features a Beyond Burger patty topped with tofu crisp, tomato, cabbage slaw, chili aioli and avocado dressing. If you’re not able to make it there this week though, don’t worry! Duli’s pop-up store will be reopening in March and we’ll be sure to bring you all the details when it does. 

哦了 Ori Sake & Food
47 Jiaodaokou Nandajie, Dongcheng District
东城区交道口南大街47号
Hours: Daily, 6pm-1am (special hours for pop-up)
Phone: 132 4076 8756

READ: To Try List: New Menus, Tapas in JinShang, Bagels and More

Images: courtesy of the venues, Dianping, Katie Coy