The Urban Edit
Hidden gem courtyard hotels are truly the best kind of surprise. You pick your way down a grey alleyway, past dusty bicycles and gossiping old ladies, and emerge into an oasis of comfort, calm and hospitality. Beijing’s The Orchid is the master of this transition, but another, brand new courtyard hotel has the same moves under its hat: introducing Le Zai Hotel.
Seeking out great dim sum this far north of the Pearl River Delta was once a quest doomed to failure. The naysayers will tell you there is NO good dim sum in Beijing. One must journey to Guangdong or Hong Kong for a bona fide cha siu bao fix. Well, naysayers… prepare to eat your negative words, drizzled in tangy XO sauce and bound up in a lightly steamed bun.
Jing Yaa Tang at the Opposite House, best known for classic Peking duck with all the fixings, has come to the rescue of forlorn foodies with one of the best lunchtime dim sum fests the capital has ever known. Every day from 12pm-2.30pm, the all-you-can-eat dim sum deal comes in at RMB 118 per person (+15%), with each dish you order on the check-box menu served to order.
Just a quick newsflash, folks: all Bespoke cars now carry copies of The Cleaver Quarterly, a brand new boutique print magazine celebrating Chinese food in all its delicious forms.
Gone are the days when trucks were meant for trucking stuff around while listening to classic rock. From L.A. to London, trucks have become mobile purveyors of high-end comfort food, with tweetable names like DOGZILLA (hot dogs), MEAT WAGON (burgers) and KEBABALICIOUS (err, not salads). And now, Beijing is in on the action. Feast your eyes on… BAO HOUSE.
Before we go on, let’s clear something up. Beijing has had food trucks for years. We practically invented them. Stick a snazzy logo saying “SPUDCYCLE” on the side of this guy and it won’t be long before it gets a Buzzfeed shout-out.
Beijing is hotter than a Sichuan peppercorn sandwich right now, and we’re not going to lie, we’re struggling. Our dedication to cycling to work may be a contributing factor, but being out and about in general is tough when it’s consistently above 35°C…
So what to do when you’re constantly hot and bothered? If your usual methods (drinking water, fanning yourself furiously with a notebook) aren’t working, it maybe time to make like a Beijinger and try something a little more quirky…
There comes a time in the life of every underground project when it can no longer be just a well-kept secret; when success leads to its inevitable evolution into something bigger.
