Blue Star Restaurant featured music and Stammtisch

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

German Stammtisch

Beijing Blue Star Restaurant featured music and Stammtisch. For the music usually a large German crowd attends.
I have been made member of the German community since last year. usually a modest but nice group, all enjoying Blue Star Restaurant with the friendly service of Thorsten and his staff.

The special was “Berlin Night” with pork liver Berlin style, on 22 February 2023. The dish is pretty much the same as my mother used to prepare!
The clip I made for WeChat Channels that evening beat all the records with over 70.000 likes!

Brian and Kevin

On 17 February 2023 another evening of food and music in Blue Star.

I tried and loved the special dish “Kohl & Pinkel” (kale with pee) and the usual Flammkuchen, I also call it “German Pizza”.
The duo Brian and Kevin plays the type of music I love…

Old China Lunch 3 March

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

What is a normal attendance?

Our Old China Lunch 3 March saw a modest crowd of 28 members. Yes China is getting back to normal which also means people are busy traveling again or simply working! Still hoping we can go back to our pre-COVID figures of around 35. Slowly friends are returning to China.
Anyway we had some interesting guests who were very happy networking.

As always great food and lively chats.

The missing ones

Mark Levine and Peter Ritzen could not make it due to their busy schedule.
Both were all over the news, Mark with his mega birthday part on 18 February (I need to make a post about it!), and several interviews. Peter busy in Chongqing with his concerts, getting nationwide attention.

Hoping to see them again!
Next lunch: Friday 7 April.

Old China Lunch 3 February

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Beijing getting slowly back to normal

Our Old China Lunch 3 February 2023 marked the start of the post-COVID misery, with still a number of members waiting to return. Several members were still away on vacation so our total of 30 was pretty good.

Morel’s Restaurant did its best for the service as several of the staff have not returned yet.
Susan Morel had a gift for all attendants: a small cute rabbit to mark the Year of the Rabbit, it was a real pleasant surprise!
I am the lucky owner of both rabbits they gave out, the bigger one was for Chinese New Year. They keep me company at breakfast and lunch!

Good food: Oeuf en Meurette

Finally the restaurant had to increase the price for the lunch as all ingredients have seen a stark cost increase. But we still get a great deal.
See the pictures of some dishes, and the menu.
A real hit were the poached eggs, the first time they were served as far as I know. Done by Chef Renaat personally.

It is actually called as follows:
Oeuf en Meurette (Poached Eggs in Red Wine Sauce)
Or:
This classic Burgundian dish of poached eggs in rich, flavorful red wine sauce served atop garlicky toast.
In French:
“Œufs pochés sur du pain grillé aillé accompagnés d’une sauce meurette, composée de vin rouge de Bourgogne, de lardons, d’oignons et d’échalotes revenus au beurre.”

Next lunch is planned for Friday 3 March. I am curious if we can go well over 30 guests!

Hegang Xiaochuan and La Taverne disappeared

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Laohe Taitai Hegang Xiaochuan

That was the name of what we called “Chinese BBQ”; Hegang Xiaochuan and La Taverne disappeared from the larger Gongti area. The Hegang Skewers were located on Xindong Road, corner Xingfusancun 4th Alley, in the basement. It has been totally renovated and a new restaurant should open in the near future.
We liked that place, typical Chinese only. Friendly staff, pretty tasty skewers, hotpot and other dishes. And cheap.

I guess it closed due to poor business with COVID.
Beijing is becoming infamous by the many restaurants going bust. Often major reasons are excessive rents and poor management.

La Taverne is gone

La Taverne was on Gongti Xi Lu, fairly popular with French people. I liked the environment, interior was cozy, the outside area very comfortable and pleasant. We have very few outside seating like that in the larger Sanlitun area.
The restaurant was plagued by successive changes in its management and chefs. At times quality could be poor but they had some nice dishes.

Why it closed, no idea. The whole area was changed and one would not recognize the place. It is now part of an office building with a different gate.
I will miss those two places.

Chez Soi is now Le Sud

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Chez Soi

Chez Soi is now Le Sud but I must admit I miss the previous version. Caroline has always been very friendly and welcoming and I keep visiting the new place.
Chez Soi was never a luxury top-level restaurant but the atmosphere was cozy, some of the dishes were pretty good and overall prices were rather cheap. Some of the pizzas were very tasty.

See some of the many dishes I enjoyed. Looking at them I feel hungry…
Yes the windows were pretty bad and needed renovation, Of course Chez Soi also suffered from the COVID problems and many forced closures. These 3 COVID years have taken a big toll on business.
Major renovation was done for the new restaurant, very well done.

Le Sud first visit

Our first visit on 14 November 2022 was, well, a bit disappointing.
The dishes: crab salmon, foie gras, beef Wellington, bouillabaisse, Ile flottante, apple tart plus a couple of IPA. The bouillabaisse was a joke and the Wellington was (for me at least) a weird version.

Overall price was rather high, too expensive for the quality and quantity.

Bouillabaisse is a traditional Provençal fish stew originating in the port city of Marseille. This is how it is supposed to look like! There are some different ways to prepare and serve but here you find a good introduction.

Back to Le Sud

On 2 January 2023 we tried again. This time we were much more happy with our choice.

Better choice of beers and the heating was also better. Friendly service.
I was not convinced at all by the fries. Soggy.
The duck was great.
I will surely return to test more!