Apologies for the light posting of late. I have focused on my social media feeds to push info during the coronavirus crisis. Here are some Beijing food and drink happenings from the past two weeks:
Hulu goes from to strength to strength, seemingly adding something new each week. First, it was home delivery in Sanlitun. Then, part of a kitchen was rented in Shunyi to enable delivery within 10 km of WAB. Hulu has also added over a dozen new dishes, done regular updates of its popular “power lunch”, launched wine delivery packages, done a one-kuai Duvel deal and, last week, opened its terrace early. While siblings TRB Hutong, TRB Forbidden City and Merci remain closed, Hulu has excelled. If you plan to eat on site, it’s best to RSVP as Hulu is busy, though with limited seating–tables have been removed to comply with the one-meter rule and there is a limit of three customers at each. UPDATE: TRB Forbidden City will reopen tomorrow night, Friday, March 20.
Paddy O’Shea’s has weathered many ups and downs the past six weeks, including cancelling its St Patrick’s Day party along with weekly events like the open mic night, but continues to serve clients. The venue is open weekdays from 5 PM, with daily food specials, and weekends from 3 PM. For example, on Tuesdays, buy an order of Irish poutine–it’s made with Guinness gravy!–for rmb 52 and get a free Guinness (rmb 60) or Magners (rmb 55). Paddy’s also moved its weekly quiz online to WeChat, starting 8 PM on Wednesdays, with four rounds and prizes from Hulu, CHEERS and Sherpa’s.
In B1 TopWin, about a half-dozen venues are open, with Middle Eastern specialists Shawarma and CHEERS Wine this past week joining the likes of Avocado Tree and April Gourmet. As is the norm in Beijing these days, temperature checks and name registration are mandatory at the TopWin entrance.
Detroit-style pizza specialists Pie Squared fired the pizza oven up last Friday, while Wolfgang’s Steakhouse did the same with its kitchen on Saturday. The staff at ex-Caravan have a new menu of burgers, kebabs, pastas and local favorites like homemade dumplings, 11 AM-2 PM and 5 PM-8 PM daily.
Groovy Schiller’s has drawn a steady flow of regulars, though seating is limited to three per table and every other table is kept empty. If you’re in the Groovy Schiller’s WeChat group, you can join the daily draw for free dishes and drinks, from burgers and sausages to curry and booze. The Rug in Sanlitun, WF Central and Chaoyang Joy City reopened: we can get mapo tofu pizza again! (Seriously, it’s delicious.) In China View, Gung Ho pizza has returned to regular hours while neighbor / Korean barbecue specialists IKI reopened this week.
Southeast Asian food specialists Mulu continue to add fresh dishes and push delivery. Boxing Cat Brewery has updated its happy hour / daily deals / lunch sets options. Biteapitta is open daily from noon to 9 PM, Tuesdays to Sundays. (Try the hummus.) And wine bar / cafe / restaurants The Merchants has reopened and is doing buy one get one free dinner during March, Wednesday to Sunday, RSVP suggested. Also check out their dessert and wine options.
Migas offers 50 percent off rice dishes, weekdays at lunch. Get free fries at Burger Box on Fridays with any burger or burger set, in store or delivery. Also try the BOGOF burgers and burger sets on Tuesdays. And you can still get a Long Island at bar scene veteran Jazz-Ya, opened in 1995.
This list is not comprehensive. There are lots more places open, like Red Lobster, That Other Place, Hatsune, Q Mex, Turkish Feast, The Local, Home Plate BBQ, Punjabi, Mala Bocca, O’Steak and more. And there are plenty that still are offline, such as Pachapapi, Pi Bar, Nanjie and Nuo Sanlitun or that are deliver-only, with the shining example of Pebbles–along with tasty eats, notably the chicken torta, there are good booze delivery, including Grenache for 元98 per bottle.
This list is just meant to give an idea of some stuff happening from the perspective of one person bunkered down in Beijing these days. Updates to come.
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Get regular Beijing updates via my Instagram and Twitter feeds. Also see my sibling sites Grape Wall of China, World Baijiu Day and World Marselan Day. Help cover the hosting and other costs of these sites with a WeChat, AliPay or PayPal donation.
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