Misc. Beijing Eats and Drinks

Grilled skewers from street kitchen in Wangjing. 

Sichuan dry-fried green beens from street kitchen in Wangjing. 

Sautéed cabbage with peanuts from street kitchen in Wangjing.

Stir-fried beef and peppers from restaurant in Wangjing Commercial Center. 

Stir-fried beef with chiles and garlic from restaurant in Wangjing Commercial Center. 

Shabu shabu (hotpot) from Taiwanese Xiabu Xiabu in Wangjing.

Random Chinese dish picked up in Wangjing Hua Tang Mall's supermarket.

Three cup mushroom from Taiwanese Bellagio in Wangjing.

Stir-fried beef on steamed cabbage at Taiwanese Bellagio in Wangjing.

Plate of roast duck and pork at Taiwanese Bellagio in Wangjing.

Noodle soup from restaurant in UTown Mall basement in Beijing.

Set meals from fastfood chain Yoshinoya. 

Stir-fried liver/celery/chile, cucumber/celeri/chile, and beef and egg from street kitchen in Beijing. 

Beef noodle soup and sides of kelp and black fungus at restaurant in Wangjing Hua Tang Mall.

Banchan from Korean restaurant in Wangjing. 

Pajeon from Korean restaurant in Wangjing. 

Banchan from Korean restaurant Ai Jiang Shan in Lido. 

Grilled fish from Korean restaurant Ai Jiang Shan in Lido.

Fattoush salad, hummous and meat-filled pita at Dareen Coffee in San Li Tun.

Salmon Eggs Benedict at Vineyard Cafe in Yong He Gong.

Steak salad from Peter's Tex Mex in Lido.

Chocolate cake from Wish Restaurant and Lounge in Lido.

Waffle with berries and berry ice cream from Maan Coffee, Waffle and Toast in Lido.

Cappuccino, coke float, marbled brownie and apple pie from Miss Me café in Lido. 

Cappuccino and americano (Beijing's most expensive coffee!) from Fish Eye Café in San Li Tun's The Village.

Grain shake (?), americano and toast sticks (???) at Maan Coffee, Waffle and Toast in Wangjing.

Coffee and raspberry macaron at Ocean Grounds Organic Coffee in UTown.

Beer at microbrewery Great Leap Brewing (highly recommended!)

Beers by the lakeside at Stone Boat Bar in Ritan Park.

Flamme

Manhattan and Passionate Englishman.

A Paul Matthew creation, Campari Alexander

Dry martinis with the most fantastic blue cheese-stuffed olives.

Homemade chips with blue cheese dip.

Salad with smoked salmon.

Omelet, sausages and fruit salad.

Eggs benedict with béarnaise sauce.

Flamme
S4-33, San Li Tun Village
19 San Li Tun Lu
Chaoyang, Beijing

Notes:
A favorite of B and I in Beijing. Flamme is theoretically a steak house but it really is so much more than a steak house. On our first visit we randomly stumbled in to find that their happy hour deal is pretty extraordinary (50% off until 7:30pm every day, meaning most cocktails cost around 30rmb) and their head bartender Paul Matthew is doing an excellent job behind the bar. The cocktail menu is frequently updated and further, he is happy to freestyle. Aside from cocktails, Flamme serves delicious food. Everything from bar food to breakfast items, very reasonably price even. Make sure to stop by if you are ever in Beijing. Paul is around on Tuesdays and Fridays. Highly recommended.

Sunday Bar and Grill

Facade - Placed right behind the Focus mall, next to Holiday Inn, in Wangjing.

Bar atmosphere feat. old black/white movies.

Mint julep and cocktail, of which the name I forgot, featuring whiskey, amaretto and grand marnier.

Sunday Bar & Grill
Room 101, Tower C
Fang Heng Guo Ji
Futong Dong Dajie
Wangjing, Chaoyang

Notes:
This bar was B and I's local cocktail hang-out, which we only found as you could spot it from our stairway. During our time in Beijing we lived in the Wangjing area, also known as Beijing's Korea town and tech cluster, which Sunday's crowd also reflects. The bar is mainly frequented by white-collar workers enjoying post-work drinks. The bar itself is a Japanese style bar, specialized in single malts. The cocktail menu is classic and the generally don't freestyle or take requests. That does not matter much as the cocktail list is very extensive and the drinks are well-crafted. Cocktails are priced at 60-70 yuan, which I consider very fair. Highly recommended.

Blue Frog

"The Montana" and "The Zone"

Blue Frog
3/F Sanlitun Village South
19 Sanlitun Lu
Daily, 10am-2am
 

Notes:

Blue Frog is a Beijing burger instituion with their 1+1 burger deal every Monday from 4pm-close. Expect a bit of waiting time as the place is usually packed with burger-craving expats and exchange students. On this occasion we tried "The Montana" including onion rings and their low-carb burger "The Zone" served sans bun. The onion rings were sub-standard and drenched in bland BBQ sauce but other components such as the bacon and cheddar were of decent quality - same went for "The Zone" which also included pickles. Both burgers were grilled to our medium-rare preference but the total impression remained rather bland. The sweet potato fries option was however a good alternative to their normal, very standard fries. A decent value proposition on a Monday.

Gung Ho! Pizza

Pesto chicken/four cheese pizza + Thai beef salad

Ready to eat! 

Gung Ho! (Lido Branch)
Shop 2 / Hairun Int'l Apartments
Cnr Jiangtai Rd & Fangyuan W Rd
Daily, 11am-11pm - also for delivery

Notes:
In my opinion Gung Ho! Pizza is one of Beijings more endearing food concepts. Not only do the delivery guys tour the city in a pink unicolor outfit on pink scooters with a little pink flag - the concept also features a wide range of inspired pizze, let it be baby squid and lemon aioli, pumpkin and sweet potato or Beijing duck with hoisin sauce. At our last visit B and I decided to share a pizza and a salad. Gung Ho! gives you the possibility to have "half and half" which we decided to go for - this time four cheeses and pesto chicken on a wholewheat crust. Crisp and boasting lots of flavorful blue and goat cheese on a more subtle base of ricotta and mozzarella. The thai beef salad included some very standard beef but also incredibly tasty marinated mushrooms, very crisp salad and a spicy, tangy dressing - generously served. Accompanied by a bottle of Grace Vineyards Chardonnay, this was a perfect meal for a low-key Friday night. Gung Ho!'s prices might be above that of other generic concepts such as Annies but sets itself apart by the use of high quality ingredients. Previously mentioned delivery service is easy even for expats like us to use - so Gung Ho! is highly recommended even if you just feel like enjoying a Beijing duck pizza on your own couch a hangover Sunday. Branches can also be found in Sanlitun and Shuangjing.

Heaven Supermarket

Young's Double Chocolate Stout and Blue Star Wheat Bear - RMB20 each

Heaven Supermarket
Sanlitun Bar Street Xi Jie, Chaoyang

Daily until late.

Notes:

Heaven Supermarket has for long been a Sanlitun institution among the city's youngsters - and for good reason. The shop might be host to spartanic interior, but the square-shaped room boasts an extensive selection (by Beijing standards) of imported beers, wines and spirits at very reasonable prices (again, by Beijing standards). By evening the room quickly fills up with groups of people, sitting in clusters on little stools enjoying a cold beer, a bottle of wine or something as classy as "一瓶 Captain Morgan with mixers" (overheard during our last visit). A great and cheap pitstop in the middle of Sanlitun. Recommended - but do remeber to go before it gets too messy as bar street tends to do on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Saveurs de Corée

Apéritifs (lemon soju + pomegranate soju) and banchan

Dubu buchin (crispy tofu w. onion sauce) + Kyeojachae (julienned squid, pear and egg salad w. honey mustard dressing)

Haemul pajeon (Korean pancake with squid, prawn and spring onion filling)

Bulgogi (beef filet in pear marinade, eaten in lettuce wraps)

Saveurs de Corée
20 Ju Er Hutong, Dongcheng
(Near Nanluogu Xiang's north end)
Daily, 11:30am-10:30pm

Notes:

Saveurs de Corée is a cosy restaurant situated in the heart of the Dongcheng hutongs. B and I went on a Wednesday night and started off with two different apéritifs, soju mixed with lemon and pomegranate. Very beautiful cocktail servings (which the pictures really don't do any justice) though they did not taste of much. We thus quickly changed to white wine to accompany our Korean feast. We started off with supposedly "crispy" tofu with onion sauce. The tofu was fried, though not crispy, which did not really matter - it was delicious paired with the onion sauce. Then came a gorgeous salad of squid, julienned pear, carrots and cucumbers tossed with lettuce in a sharp honey mustard dressing. A wonderful serving that I will certainly try to replicate myself. The pajeon was very traditional in its form but the fillings of squid and shrimp were of high quality. Finally, the bulgogi in pear marinade was very tasty, tender and satisfying. With this serious splurge of food including the apéritifs and a decent bottle of white wine the bill came to RMB443. Highly recommended.

Home Plate BBQ

Manhattan + Slow Boat on tap

Americana feast

Home Plate BBQ

35 Xiaoyun Lu courtyard, Chaoyang

(from Dongsanhuan Beilu head 20m north of Xiaoyun Lu intersercation and take the first right)

Chaoyang District
Daily, 11am-10pm

Notes:

Serving hearty American BBQ and additionally named Best Restaurant of the Year by The Beijinger, Home Plate BBQ has quickly become a Beijing institution among the city's expats. We went on a Saturday night before heading to Hilton's annual pole dancing contest. Drink selection is simple but decent. A Manhattan runs at around RMB30 and is served in a normal glass on lots of ice. Their selection of beer by the bottle is impressive and interesting by Beijing standards. Also they serve Slow Boat on tap, however I have on most occasions found that their beer lack character. As to the food we shared a BBQ platter of chopped brisket and pulled pork, both good quality but not mindblowing. The ribs were nice and juicy but still needed that extra something to make them truly outstanding. All this was accompanied by a very lovely coleslaw, texas ranch beans and very standard french fries. In total we had a lovely time at Home Plate BBQ. The atmosphere is great, the service attentive and friendly and the food should be able to satisfy any craving for American BBQ. Recommended.