BEIJING TODAY
War on waste
In the first few weeks of his leadership, Xi Jinping has shunned luxury sedans and lavish banquets to show himself as an opponent of waste. And there is no time for waste like Spring Festival. In the next few weeks, millions of families across China will dine out to enjoy the “face-gaining” experience of ordering food and leaving more than half of it to the garbage bin.
PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY
Read more on Pages 3-5
February 1 2013-February 7 2013 NO. 608 CN11-0120 HTTP://WWW.BEIJINGTODAY.COM.CN CHIEF EDITOR: YU SHANSHAN NEWS EDITOR: HUANG DAOHEN DESIGNER:YANG GEN
Books, buys for your break Page 7
Page 6
A young director’s Dreamland
IMF forecasts slower global growth in 2013 Page 2
Russia, Austria share their music Page 2
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February 1 2013
BEIJING TODAY
Editors: Huang Daohen Bao Chengrong Designer: Zhao Yan
Commerce & consulates
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China thrives amid slowing world economy By Bao Chengrong The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reduced its global growth forecast in 2013 and 2014 to 3.5 and 4.1 percent, according to an updated World Economic Outlook released on January 23. The report shows the global economy will pick up, but that the growth rate in most countries will be lower than the initial forecast published last October. The economic growth forecast of China this year and the following year remains 8.2 and 8.5 percent.
IMF pointed out that to ensure the rapid economic growth, China has to further promote its constructive marketing reform and realize the economic rebalancing adjustment through expanding more directions for private consumption. A Nielsen survey released this week echoed IMF’s forecast. It said the consumer condence in the world’s second largest economy rebounded in the fourth quarter last year as economic growth picked up. Consumer condence has
been given a boost, Yan Xuan, greater China chief for Nielsen, said at a press conference. Yan said it is a positive sign pointing to a healthy economy this year. In 2012, consumers were most concerned about income and health, followed by education, social welfare and food prices. The expected value of US economic growth will decrease from 2.1 to 2 percent this year while growing from 2.9 to 3.0 percent next year. A loose monetary policy
environment and the realestate market’s recovery will help improve the asset-liability ratios of American families and promote consumption growth. IMF expects Japan’s economy to grow 1.2 percent this year, but reduced its forecast for 2014 from 1.1 to 0.7 percent. IMF pointed out that loose scal policy should stimulate the economy in a short term. But without a reliable mid-term scal rectication plan, Japan still faces a high risk for decit. Europe will continue in
its economic recession. IMF’s forecast there changed from 0.2 percent growth to 0.2 percent recession. Germany’s economic growth rate will slow down while high debtor nations such as Spain will fall more quickly. Olivier Blanchard, chief economist of IMF, said during the early period of the European debt crisis, countries cut their budget too fast, sacricing room for economic growth. IMF estimates that for each euro reduced from the budget, 1.5 euro of economic growth is lost.
Russia and Austria join hands to spread music
Violinist Lidia Baich and Pianist Matthias Fletzberger Photo provided by Russian Cultural Centre in Beijing
First Belgian beer festival launches in Beijing By Liu Xiaochen Bar-goers had a raucous time on January 26 at the rst annual Belgian beer festival in Brussels Restaurant and Bar in South Sanlitun, hosted by Duvel Moortgat, a Belgian beer company, with support from the Belgian embassy. Four kinds of Belgian beer were introduced at the festival: N’ice, Houblon, Carolus and Maredsous. “Because Belgium is becoming more and more popular in Beijing, the business at Brussels is very good,” said Hannah Lincoln, who works with Duvel. “The Embassy of Belgium also supported us and their staff also came to join in the festival that day.” There was an interactive activity for participants, who were asked to post a picture of themselves with their favorite Belgian beer on their microblog. The winner won a free drink.
One participant enjoys his Maredsous. Photos provided by Duvel Beijing
By Liu Xiaochen The Russian Cultural Center in Beijing and Austrian Cultural Forum held a small concert at the Russian Cultural Center on Tuesday night. Violinist Lidia Baich and pianist Matthias Fletzberger performed. Baich was born in 1981 to an Austrian-Russian family of musicians. Following her victory at the Grand Prix d’Eurovision in 1998, the young music star gave many performances with renowned international orchestras in concert halls around the world. Besides frequent concert tours abroad, she has performed at the Salzburg Festival. Baich plays on a violin made by Joseph Guarnerius de Gesu in 1727, provided by the Austrian National Bank. Pianist Fletzberger was born in 1965 in Vienna. In 1977 he won rst prize at a national music competition called “Youth Plays Music,” and was accepted into the special course with all tuition waived. During his studies he won several competitions, gave international piano concerts and performed on radio and TV. He participated in theater and conducted at the Vienna Festival twice. Since the autumn of 2008, he has been performing as a soloist and with Baich. “This is our rst time cooperating with the Austrian cultural institution,” said Ji Fengliang, item director of the Russian Cultural Center. “We hope to hold more cultural activities in Beijing in the future.”
February 1 2013
Cover story
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Restaurants are calling on their customers to order smaller portions or save their leftovers.
War on food waste
Half servings
Restaurants are also encouraging
By Zhao Hongyi Since his inauguration, President Xi Jinping has called on Chinese Communist Party members to tone down their extravagant conferences and dinners. Xi said at a recent conference that flowers don’t belong at conferences, “four dishes and a soup” is a business dinner and that luxury sedans are not necessary for official visits. Hoping to lead by example, Xi used ordinary vehicles during his visit to Guangdong Province in December and refused to be involved in luxury dinners with the local government officials. As is usual in China, the announcement has turned into a handful of political slogans aimed to reduce food waste.
their patrons to order half-size dishes to avoid contributing to waste. In Urumuqi, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, many restaurants are promoting the movement. At one hotpot shop, receptionists are encouraging customers to order halfsize dishes or mixed plates, and to send back any dishes that they have not used. “Actually, we’ve seen even more customers at our restaurant since implementing this,” said Xia Juntai, its reception manager. In Beijing, as many as 700 restaurants are now offering half-size dishes. “The campaign has increased our
customer turnover by 40 percent,” said Li Yanli, reception manager at Meizhou Dongpo Restaurant in Houhai. Many restaurants are also advising their diners to choose individual tables instead of the large, round table banquets. “Dinners can always turn down their orders if they feel full,” Li said. “Half portions and individual serving can cut down on half the waste,” said Tang Qingshun, chairman of the Beijing Catering Trade Association. “We hope more restaurants can participate. We would like to see 80 percent of the restaurants in Beijing doing this by the end of the year.”
Voices
Responses from individuals But some people say pushing this campaign off onto the public is just a way to help bad ofcials continue with their own bad habits. “These movements should focus on the business banquets and ofcial dinners,” said Wang Chonghui, a Beijinger. “They are more wasteful than any other group.” “Worse yet, they are doing this using public funds.” “The ofcials and the wealthy people are denitely the root of the problem,” said Zhi Dao, a netizen. “The food at the banquets of the Jiangsu Beijing Ofce averages 3,000, and they often order thousands of yuan worth of Maotai liquor.” “The central government has been stimulating internal consumption,” said Banuo, a netizen from Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. “These movements seem to contradict its longstanding policy.” But some people are more optimistic, saying the campaigns could curtail some of the more wasteful aspects of Chinese hospitality. “These campaigns call on us to change traditional habits,” said Bian Jiang, assistant chairman of the China Cuisine Association. “We hope people will be principled and able to do this on their own.”
Editors: Huang Daohen Zhao Hongyi Designer: Zhao Yan
Individuals, restaurants and charity organizations have been leading the charge against food waste since the start of the year. Xu Xiake, vice director of China Resources News, pitched the “Clean your plate!” campaign on his Sina Weibo, calling on people to take their leftovers home after banquets, similar measure to curve waste. Chen Guangbiao, a private entrepreneur known for his charitable involvement, brought 40 of his employees to a restaurant in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province to nish the dishes abandoned by others. Proponents also promote the use of recycled plastic bags, cutlery boxes and passing on the disposable chopsticks. The Jiangsu Province Dining Profession Association issued a notice to all restaurants in the province urging them to push their customers to form good dining habits. Chinese people are notorious for attempting to aunt wealth – even if they don’t have it. Many scrape day to day for the chance to show off their ability to waste incredible amounts of food in front of others at lavish banquets. Estimates vary, but most experts agree that 8 million tons of protein go to waste every year – enough to feed 200 million people. A report on CCTV showed one dish worth almost 700 yuan left untouched after a business dinner at a Beijing restaurant. A chef at the restaurant said that most of the time, half the food his customers order ends up in the trash.
BEIJING TODAY
Clean your plate!
CFP Photo
February 1 2013
Cover story
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Official dinner
Lavish banquets key to corruption By Bao Chengrong
An estimated 50 million tons of Chinese grain go to waste each year – enough to feed 200 million people. The majority of this waste comes from one source: official banquets paid for with public funds. That may explain why the central government is hell-bent on slashing the number of local government liaison offices in Beijing.
BEIJING TODAY
Editors: Huang Daohen Bao Chengrong Designer: Yang Gen
Liaison offices provide lavish receptions to local officials. IC Photos Still wasting food? The central government has been encouraging business leaders and ofcials to shy away from ve-star banquets since the start of the year. But crafty ofcials have already found a loophole: liaison restaurants. A recently leaked banquet menu showed that the restaurant afliated with the Sichuan Province liaison ofce in Beijing charges as much as 18,000 yuan per table. The banquet prices at most restaurants afliated with liaison ofces hover around 5,000 yuan per table, not including alcohol and cigarettes. At the restaurant afliated with the Fujian Provincial liaison ofce, the least expensive group banquet is 2,000 yuan. Maotai is still the best-selling spirit at ofcial banquets. Most bottles cost 3,380 yuan, but Maotai aged for 15 years costs no less than 18,000 yuan, according to the restaurant for Hainan Province. The Jiu San Society estimates that ofcials across the nation spend more than 300 billion yuan in public funds on their banquets each year. These expensive banquets waste enormous amounts of food, as ofcials are loath to take anything home in a doggy bag. More than half the dishes end up in the garbage. China Agricultural University estimated that more than 8 million tons of proteins go to waste each year – enough to meet the nutritional needs of more than 200 million people each year. Ofcial banquets paid for by the public account for 93 percent of that waste. Clamping down The central government has nally taken notice. In late 2010, the liaison ofces of government departments and development zones were ordered to close within six months. The Government Ofces Administration of the State Council was assigned to per-
form spot checks on the local authorities, resulting in the closure of 625 ofces in November 2010. However, many evaded the watchdogs by re-branding themselves as restaurants or hotels. An employee surnamed Zhou at a Beijing ofce of Jiangsu Province was quoted by Xinhua as saying that liaison ofces exist to serve local ofcials and establish an information bridge between the central and the local governments. “We have 13 ofces in the city after last year’s closures,” he said, adding that most of the ones that closed were involved in trade and investment. Liaison ofces for local government and state-owned enterprises have two functions: to attract foreign investment and contracts and arrange lavish receptions for local ofcials. “The reason many provinces set up liaison ofces in Beijing at the end of the 1980s was because of the nancial system,” said Li Chengyan, professor of Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Peking University. The rst liaison ofce was set up in 1949 by the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Between 1958 and 1959, 28 more opened in the capital. These were swept away during the Cultural Revolution, but came back with a vengeance in the late 1980s. Li said the tax-sharing system implemented at that time gave the central government a lot of power to manage and examine transfers of money to the provinces. The liaison ofces served as a permanent location from which local ofcials could lobby the central government. It didn’t take long before they became entangled in horrible corruption. Today, many are “organizations” that use public funds to provide services to visiting ofcials.
Background
Dishes ordered at official banquets are usually abandoned untouched.
Ofcial table culture
British music broker Simon Nauber once said sharing booze is the fastest path to friendship in China. “Wine and table socialization” are just how people communicate. That’s why the business of the day at Chinese banquets is expanding one’s contacts for future business: food is generally an afterthought. Columnist Zhou Xiaoqun said anyone who wants to do business in China has to learn the untold rules of table culture – particularly when they need to deal with ofcials. The way to leave your leaders with a good impression is to get exceptionally drunk, and then still help the leaders drink if their alcohol tolerance is on the low side. Strong drinks are also closely associated with identity. Alcohol ranked “Very Superior Old Pale”
is for section directors, “Extra” is for commissioners and “XO” is for mayors. Wang Xudong, a commentator for the China Youth Daily, said having a banquet to enjoy the food isn’t a bad thing – the trouble is when it gets mixed up with ofcial culture, where bottles of liquor are often bribes. Wang said the fastest way to stem corruption would be to remove alcohol and cigarettes from the table at ofcial banquets. While strong liquor also has a place in Japanese and Korean banquets, they are rarely used as tools. Staff and managers contribute their own money to pay for banquets. South Koreans used to run up extraordinarily high liquor tabs. In the last decade, most have switched to lunch banquets, where the cost of alcohol will be signicantly reduced.
February 1 2013
Folk banquets
Cover story
5
Dining tradition comes with heavy cost By Liu Xiaochen
Even though many Chinese parents punish their children for wasting food, table waste accounts for 70 percent of the nation’s trash. As Spring Festival draws near and the thoughts of the nation turn to year-end parties and entertaining guests, finding ways to curb waste has been a major headache for the central government.
Background
CFP Photos
Why China loves its banquets For the past 2,000 years, China has been an agrarian culture. Unsurprisingly, the culture places great emphasis on cooking and dining culture. This extends to a series of strict rules for treating others, eating at home and conversation etiquette. Banquets are one of the most common activities used to communicate or commemorate a big day, and the most important day is Spring Festival. When Spring Festival approaches, people across the nation migrate home to share a meal with their families on the last day of the lunar year. And the last meal – the dinner on New Year’s Eve – is the most important family banquet. Families strive to make the meal sumptuous. In the past, people would slaughter their livestock and celebrate with a great feast. Today, city dwellers have adapted this into luxurious banquets. Weddings and birthdays are some of the other occasions where a banquet is common. The wedding banquet celebrates
the beginning of a happy marriage. Today, most are organized by wedding planners and held in expensive, star-rated hotels. Birthday banquets symbolize longevity and feature dishes chosen to honor someone for reaching a new milestone in his or her life. Business and ofcial banquets are also very common, and can be extremely excessive depending on how much of the public’s money is being used to support them. But at all of these, there is a bad Chinese habit of trying to show off to guests by ordering far more food than anyone can eat. For many, a banquet that ends without piles of food left on the table is seen as shameful. China Agricultural University has said China’s wasteful habits are brewing a crisis. After scanning 2,700 restaurants in large, medium and small cities, the university announced the nation was wasting 8 million tons of fat and protein each year – enough to feed 200 million people. And that was its conservative estimate.
Editors: Huang Daohen Liu Xiaochen Designer: Yang Gen
whether we eat at home or in a restaurant – as long as we get together.” Xiao Ma, a 25 year-old resident who has eaten out on New Year’s Eve as long as he can remember, said his family stopped going to restaurants in 2010. “When I was a child, booking seats was very easy. Some restaurants didn’t even require reservations,” Xiao said. “Every year, my family went to have supper on New Year’s Eve with my grandpa and other relatives. We usually ate at Tianwaitian Duck Restaurant, Ping’anli. Now we cook at home and go out to eat on the fth day of the new year, when it’s easier to get a seat.” “My family is pretty big, and we try to get together at least once a year. Eating out avoids the need for cleanup, but home cooking tastes better,” Xiao said. “I prefer to eat at home.” Fan, 24, agreed. “It’s hard to get a table. And besides, my dad is a good cook,” he said. “Actually, the traditional part is just getting the whole family together. Mothers and aunts prepare the meal and eat together. When people eat out, a lot of food goes to waste,” said Tomas Li, a 28-year-old ofce worker. “On New Year’s Eve, my parents and I make dumpling wrappers at 8 pm, fold them at 11 pm and eat at midnight while watching the Spring Festival Gala on TV,” said Allice Meng, 25. “I think that’s all it takes to make it a special night.”
BEIJING TODAY
Since December 2012, many restaurants have been posting notices that call on patrons to make reservations when planning their year-end banquets. Most restaurants have been booked full since the middle of the month, with only a few dining halls still available. “The dining rooms for the dinner on New Year’s Eve have been fully booked for the last month. We only have a few tables left in the hall,” said an employee at Quanjude Restaurant. The competing Donglaishun has vacancies, but only because it does not allow advance booking. Farm stays in the outlying suburbs are also accepting dinner reservations for the eve of Spring Festival. For most people booking their New Year’s banquets, cost is not an issue. Among the various grades of hotels and restaurants, the price for a New Year’s Eve dinner ranges from 500 to 8,000 yuan with 13 to 29 dishes. The average bookings cost 2,000 yuan. This year’s dinner price is relatively stable when compared to last year’s. Most large restaurants have not raised their prices. One manager said that most of the people booking tables are frequent customers. One 36-year-old Beijing resident surnamed Chen is eating out for New Year’s for her rst time. “Every Spring Festival, I have to prepare food for a dozen relatives. It is nerve-racking and tiring,” she said. “Restaurants can prepare many dishes much faster. I think it is same
February 1 2013
Art
Love and nostalgia mix in acclaimed young director’s new comedy
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By Chen Nan
Utilizing projections and animation, Passenger in Dreamland is a multimedia stage drama about friendship, dating, break-up and nostalgia. Focusing on urban life, it explores the cost behind China’s dream of modernization. While some Chinese mourn the loss of the past, others strive to move on and treasure every moment in life.
Director Huang Ying
can be extended and show many imagined scenes.” She said that Huang frequently tries to use different devices to express his thoughts, and that multimedia is a necessity. Initially they tried to arrange the set to recreate Beijing’s old landscape, but failing that, they gured using light and shadow would work better.
Comedies are always popular in theaters. Audiences welcome funny performances and subjects that are close to daily life. But Passenger in Dreamland is a different kind of comedy, poised to captivate Beijing audiences by arousing memories with its down-toearth and soft narration, striking a balance between the sweet and bitter. Currently playing at Nine Theater, some of the scenes are feature predictable punch lines, but viewers are expected to fall in love with its earnestness.
From science to drama
Huang, 34, has been on a tear over the past few years, and has gained notice for his remarkable output at such a young age. He’s fond of showing the world a different side to his work. His style varies greatly, from the “Shakespearean Series” to the “Beijing Trilogy,” namely Jujube Can’t be Moved (2006), Peking Food (2009) and Hurry Hurry (2009), and from environmental theater to unplugged open-air performances. “Each of Huang’s works presents a review of and revolution against the previous one,” a theater reviewer said. “I think every director wants to try different things,” Huang said. “When audiences look at a director like me, sometimes they typecast me.” He wants to defy those judgments, so that’s why he constantly experiments with styles and subjects. Although his drama career
BEIJING TODAY
Editors: Huang Daohen Liu Xiaochen Designer: Yang Gen
Authentically Beijing
It’s rare for a dramatist to break the traditional theater mode of storytelling: featuring zany plots and romantic storylines. While director Huang Ying’s Passenger in Dreamland has elements of those, it stands out for its focus on bona de modern life in Beijing. Huang’s new work was rst staged last year, and is now being revived as part of “Beijing Story” in Nine Theater’s Black Box Theater Festival. The work intertwines several stories that depict special moments in the lives of Beijing’s residents. The play features scenes of ordinary people affectionately greeting one another and tearfully seeing each other off at train stations. It demonstrates that love and nostalgia are indeed always around us. “This is a play close to your life,” said Jin Meng, who watched the performance last week. “It touches upon problems we face and reminds me of anecdotes I’ve encountered. It’s quite touching.” “My inspiration for the story came from living in Beijing,” said scriptwriter Zhou Jiansen. “We incorporated a lot of visual humor in the hope that the audience will think about what they are seeing. When in the theater, we just want them to feel the warmth and treasure trivial moments.”
Projected animated scenes Multimedia
is
another
Photos provided by Huang Ying highlight of the drama. During the performance, several paintings and other images are projected as the background. Lighting and integrated set design are painstakingly coordinated as well. “But top-notch tools, techniques and stunts can’t beat the interaction between people,” Huang said. He also said that what really matters is the actor’s ability to connect with the audience on an emotional level. Having a character dragged into a romantic encounter seems like a requisite for
dramas these days, but Huang lends originality even to this hackneyed setup. For instance, he shoots the dating couple’ expressions and projects them onto a big screen, so that audience can notice their delicate and subtle look changes, which is quite similar to presentation of movies. An Ying, the producer, said multimedia is becoming a trend in modern plays. “Stages are similar to a fromed photo, and few effects can be shown in it,” she said. “With multimedia, the stage
spans a decade, it wasn’t until 2011 that Huang catapulted to the top ranks, with Cooking a Dream. The play, based on a novel from the Tang Dynasty, A Story of a Dream, has a history of more than 1,200 years. “I hope to convey a story with the most oriental thought with the most Chinese technique,” the director said. Staged at Le Festival d’Avignon, it ran for 24 performances, and won audience approval as the best Chinese production. “The rehearsals helped me reect on how I felt when I rst took up theater,” Huang said. “It also claried how I can produce dramas and what kind of dramas are most needed in China.” Beijing born and raised, Huang is enthusiastic about telling Chinese stories. He wasn’t always interested in theater, however. He majored in biochemistry and molecular biology in school. When he was freshman, he attended a performance at Beijing People Art Theater called Antiques. “I found drama fascinating because it can apply comprehensive devices, and I believe the director can fully explore his creativity,” Huang said. After that performance, he seldom missed the chance to see a play. Thus hooked, he took part in student theater at China Agricultural University, appearing in several plays and further hones his playwriting. He broke into Beijing drama circle while at the Central Academy of Drama as a postgraduate. Huang produced To Be Continued and staged it in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. “I was very fortunate – although I didn’t come from a classic background, I do have more than 10 years of experience making dramas,” he said. Huang currently splits his teaching at Beijing Film Academy and studying in New York.
February 1 2013
By Annie Wei Every year, we look forward to the Chinese New Year holiday. For many, it’s the only chance to reunite with family in their hometown. For others, it’s a time for traveling. But then there are those who choose to not pay for expensive flights or sit in traffic jams, instead preferring to sit at home and enjoying some valuable me-time. It’s for those people that we recommend these two stores.
Vintage telephone, starting at 700 yuan
Shopping
Books and exercise for your holiday break
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Page One Sanlitun soon to open around the clock
Photos by An Jianguo
Cashmere hat, starting at 110 yuan at Taobao CFP Photos Free ice skating spot at Liangmahe river
Photo by An Jianguo
Blades for the outdoors
Ice skates, starting from 180 yuan at Taobao
Do you often feel depressed in winter, especially on murky days? There are two things that might help a little. One is to drink coffee – research from the Harvard School of Public Health discovered that caffeine has a stimulating effect on the brain, acting like antidepressants. Another is to exercise. In Beijing, one can walk to the nearest park, where you can practice tai chi with older citizens or ice-skate on frozen lakes. All you need is to dress warm, perhaps with a pair of blades. They are available at Taobao starting from 180 yuan.
Editor: Wei Ying Designer: Zhao Yan
Inside Page One in Sanlitun
BEIJING TODAY
Books are a source Austin, as well as Chinese of knowledge, inspiration books published in Taiwan and adventure. They and Hong Kong. broaden one’s worldview On the second oor is the and experience. children’s book section. You And they’re perfect for can nd many toy books those who are staying at and Barbie collections, also home this holiday. many nice gift options. For years, Sanlitun We liked the beautiful has lacked a good bookcupcake cases and toppers store. But that changed Cake cups and top- (156 yuan) with vintage rose on Wednesday when or fairy themes, and ideal pers, 156 yuan Page One, originally for a young girl’s birthday; from Singapore, opened also good are notebooks a store there, its third (starting from 54 yuan), gift outlet in the city. wrappers made with dry Unlike its rst store owers and leaves (price in the basement of to be determined), vintage Guomao Wing Summit telephones in black, orange, Hotel, the Sanlitun locadark blue and navy green tion is spacious, with (starting from 700 yuan). Gift wrapper two oors and big winAfter Chinese New Year, dows, offering a more comfortable Page One will stay open around the reading environment. clock, a great comfort for many crePage One specializes in art and ative industry professionals and coldesign books. Readers can nd many lege students who are accustomed to about fashion, architecture, home working at night. decor and lifestyle. There are cookPage One - Sanlitun books by Jamie Oliver and Martha Where: 1 F, Sanlitun Village, 19 Stewart, a ne jewelry design collecSanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District tion by Anna Hu, a full collection Open: 11 am – 10 pm of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Jane Tel: 6417 6626
February 1 2013
Food
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New comfort Asian food at Sanlitun By Annie Wei The dining scene is evolving fast, especially in Sanlitun, where increasing rent has forced old vendors away and allowed new ones to try their hand. If you’re in the neighborhood looking for simple Asian food in a comfortable environment, there are three new options.
Greyhound – Fashion brand doing modern dining
Editor: Wei Ying Designer: Zhao Yan
We weren’t convinced on this place when it rst opened – and customers were sparse. A local designer insisted we try. “I bought a belt at Greyhound many years ago when I was in Hong Kong and it is still my favorite piece,” she said. That sounds like a brand that cares about quality. The fashion brand has expanded into the food Inside Greyhound Cafe industry, offering modern Thai cuisine, with outlets in Bangkok and Hong Kong. The restaurant’s special recommendation is Thai iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk (36 yuan) and Thai iced tea with milk (36 yuan). We tried its its hot buttery tea (28 yuan). Made of Thai herbs, the tea has a lovely blue color, which turns purple after adding some honey and stirring. We liked its deep-fried chicken wings (58 yuan). The middle part of a chicken wing is halved then deep-fried, leaving a drier texture but all the taste. However, the serving is quite small. Its fried rice with pound prawn (108 yuan) was also yummy. Light Tom Yum soup (88 yuan) is the traditional Thai Tom Yom Koong with prawn and ravioli, not very spicy but with a good balance of avor. The restaurant is nicely decorated, with a gray concrete wall, high ceiling and cozy sofas. Greyhound Cafe Where: S1-30b, 3/F Sanlitun Village, 19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District Open: 10 am – 10 pm Tel: 6416 3439
BEIJING TODAY
Butterfly tea, 28 yuan
Jubang – Korean kitchen
Vegetable starter, 50 yuan
Next to Niajo, the Spanish restaurant on the third oor of Nali Patio, the Korean restaurant Jubang takes over for what used to be a cake and coffee store. Its decoration suits Nali at night. The dining section is more spacious, with an open kitchen, an industrial ceiling and brown wood tables and chairs. The menu is simple, with, soup, rice, barbecue, hotpot and noodles. If you’re not sure what you want, feel free to ask. Ginseng chicken soup (128 yuan) is an ideal choice for winter, and also a Korean staple. But Jubang’s ginseng chicken soup is a bit salty – the waiter explained that Koreans normally pair rice with the soup, but they can also add unsalted soup for balance. Some dishes rarely seen in other restaurants include buduitang (58 yuan, a soup made of ham, kimchi and noodles), meaning “army soup,” which can be traced back to wartime when starving people used cans left behind by Ameri-
Inside Jubang
Photos by An Jianguo
can soldiers. Banzhupi (45 yuan), spicy pork skin mixed with sesame and chopped shallots, is chewy. Zhengrou (95 yuan), pork belly simmered with garlic for three hours, then cut into thick pieces and placed on lettuce, comes highly recommended. It’s also a typical Korean dish, but normally eaten with vegetable wraps and paired with kimchi. Try the kimchi pork belly pancake (48 yuan), served in four small sizes. Spicy chicken (89 yuan) is served in a hot iron pan, topped with melted cheese and spicy chili sauce. The restaurant offers Korean distilled spirits and plans to add some wine selections soon. Jubang Where: C308, Nali Patio, 19 Sanlitun Lu Open: 6 pm – late Tel: 5208 6071
Wangjiasha – upscale Shanghai snacks
Deep-fried chicken wings, 58 yuan
Photos by An Jianguo
Next to Greyhound is The food is quite another newly opened expensive, considering you can nd the same items restaurant, Wangjiasha. from Dingtaifeng, a The brand was founded Taiwan restaurant known in Shanghai in 1942 and introduced to Hong Kong for its handmade steamed in 2002. Now it belongs buns with fresh ingredients, or Meizhou Dongpo, to Gaia Group, same as a restaurant chain that Greyhound. serves Suzhou and ZhejiIt specializes in Shangang cuisine. hai snacks, especially xiaolongbao – steamed But if you are in Sanbuns with llings such as litun, there are no better buns in such a comfortable pork (22 yuan for ve environment. buns and 44 for 10), crab Wangjiasha roe (38 yuan for ve), Steamed buns, starting from dongporou (38 yuan), Where: S1-30A, 3/F 22 yuan CFP Photo tender square cubes of Sanlitun Village, 19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District braised fatty pork, and dandanmian (38 Open: 10 am – 10 pm yuan), a Sichuan noodle available nationTel: 6416 3469 wide as a street food.