Zak Elmasri Archives - Beijing Boyce

El Nido is nine | Taco, draft beer deals all week long

August 26, 2019 BB 0

Hard to believe it’s been nine years since Xiao Shuai opened beer joint El Nido and launched a half dozen years of fun on Fangjia Hutong. That lane was hutong hipster central for a long […]

Fang-tastic | Second birthday dovetails with new venue

September 5, 2017 BB 0

By Jim Boyce | Look for Fang Bar to celebrate its second birthday in a new venue this Saturday. Opened in September of 2015, it is the latest to relocate from Fangjia Hutong after the […]

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 […]