Beijing Olympics Flashback Archives

Face value | The ‘real Beijing’ during the 2008 Olympics

August 6, 2018 BB 0

Welcome to my 2008 Beijing Olympics ten-year flashback series. The authorities spent a great deal of energy encouraging citizens to put their best foot forward. How successful were they? My results from a one-hour non-scientific study. [Originally posted […]

Sting operation | Foreign’s media’s infatuation with scorpions on sticks

August 2, 2018 BB 0

No Beijing Olympic Flashback series would be complete without covering the media’s obsession with a food that is about as common to the average Beijinger as sea cucumber is to New Yorkers: scorpions on a […]

Beijing Olympics flashback | The decathlon-esque bar crawl

August 1, 2018 BB 0

Ten years ago today, the one-week countdown for the 2008 Beijing Olympics began. The opening ceremony on August 8 would double as a coming out party for China and capture the world’s attention, for the breathtaking […]

The Frank! 33-year Beijing streak endures with new craft beer joint

[Update: I went to the soft launch of Sequoia Brewing last night. Good beer, good talk, good times. Opening hours for now will be 6 PM to 11 PM on Thursdays and Fridays.] More than […]
Comamos! TRB opens second Iberico in Beijing

Lucky to join the first lunch at Spanish restaurant Iberico, Liangma River edition, nearly 15 years after my first meal at then-new Maison Boulud in Beijing. The connection? Both were opened by the indefatigable Ignace […]
Sips & Bites

[People have asked for ages why I don’t post more updates. Partly because social media made info so easy to find; and I got busy with projects like World Baijiu Day; and I got a […]
Nali Patio | The Final Countdown

The end is nigh for Nali Patio, say four sources who are involved in this Sanlitun food hub and expect to end operations there in late June at the latest. Several also expect the landlord […]
Creak Show | Beijing’s Crispy Crunchy Snack

Crispy, crunchy and… creaky? The traditional Beijing snack gēzhi 咯吱 lives up to its name given it literally means ‘creak’. The sensation you get if you pop a piece in your mouth and crush its […]
Beijing breakfast | What $5 / 元36 gets at McDonald’s

My local mom ‘n’ pop breakfast joint, my go-to for jiaozi (dumplings), baozi (steamed buns), tea eggs and youtiao (deep-fried dough sticks), has been closed almost a month–I’m hoping the owners are simply on an […]
The Rug | Schnitzel Shan tops new brunch menu

A final Year of the Tiger lunch at The Rug—featuring two new dishes and two oldies but goodies—with old Canuck friend Bon S. Peel. Newcomers first: The “Double-Cheese Chicken Schnitzel” feels destined to be a […]
‘Sir, Lady Bar!’ | Dodgy Sanlitun Bar Street Done

Two warm Coronas with no lime for 元136. This felt like a fitting finish for that dodgy Sanlitun bar street and its near 30-year run. I moved to Beijing before the Olympics, 2008 edition, when […]