Rotary Club of Beijing in April

Rotary lunch 6 April

Rotary Club of Beijing in April had a busy month, started with the board meeting before the lunch, in a private room of Kempinski Hotel on 6 April 2021.

Lunch was in Via Roma, the Italian restaurant of Kempinski. PE Didier inducted our new member Vivian.

A new venue: Encuentro

The dinner on 13 April 2021 was held in the new South American restaurant Encuentro, located opposite Worker’s Stadium North gate.

Happens that our guest Iris from Panama is a professional food expert and has been advising the restaurant. She also tried an impressive and colorful cocktail, or was it a fruit cup…

Two new members were inducted by PE Didier, Hans and Chris.

A Spanish evening in The Roots

On 27 April 2021 the Rotary Club of Beijing had a Spanish-themed evening party, attended by visiting Rotarians, guests and Rotaractors. Full house at The Roots Restaurant that did a good job with the food, drinks and service.

PE Didier presided the dinner and brought along two guitarists (both from … Xinjiang, not Spain) who entertained us during the evening.

See here a short video (VPN needed in China):
Rotary Spanish evening in Beijing The Roots on 27 April 2021, https://youtu.be/0YBakPzOmQQ

Famous Cao Cao

We finally met in person

I mentioned the famous Cao Cao earlier. As it happens a lot, being a regular in Morel’s Resturant also allows me to meet a wide range of people, some simply nice, some unexpected, some, well, simply famous.
With the restaurant recently hopelessly full, some patrons are “forced” to sit at the chef Renaat’s table, the usual table for Renaat and Susan (and me). Often turns out the best that can happen to you!

On 2 March the “VIP table” had the Amcham president and our long-time friend Gaiya. And Cao Cao, the Internet celebrity, famous foreign actor and now also author.
I admit that I had at first a bit of a mixed opinion about such a “celebrity” but meeting him was a real pleasant surprise. He has a very interesting background, many fascinating stories to tell and he is a very “international person”.
He had just returned from a movie shoot in Jilin, having the leading role in a new Chinese movie. That experience was a unique story in itself.
He speaks fluently the Beijing Chinese dialect. And he made this clip about the Morel’s Restaurant that clocked some 45 million views (no typo here). He is on Douyin “caocaolaile666”.

You can watch the video here (there is no suitable link to Douyin…): https://youtu.be/lm24WNVqr-o
That video is largely the explanation why the restaurant has seen an invasion of Chinese… He has also other very popular Douyin videos…

Cao Cao dinner and books

That video led to the creation of a “Cao Cao menu” in the restaurant… He loves the steak with béarnaise and a waffle. As you can see, and accompanied by his usual bottle of Belgian beer (St Bernardus).

Jonathan Kos-Read (“曹操 Cao Cao”) is his real name. His book “The Eunuch” is to come out very soon, see the cover where you read about his background. Interesting and impressive; the book is pulished through Earnshaw Books, of Graham Earnshaw, whom I met a couple of times, see here in Shanghai.

Jonathan also joined our Old China Hands lunch on 5 March and I donated my book of jokes to him

SKP the Beijing super mall

Exploring total luxury

Finally I visited SKP the Beijing super mall, on 9 January 2021.
You could call it the temple of capitalism, luxury shopping, extravagant consumerism.
It houses about any famous international brand, clothing, shoes, kitchen ware, watches, jewelry, anything. Bring your credit card…

We had dinner in the Macau Taste restaurant, in the connected China Central Mall, through underground level 1. Nice food!
You also find around there an Apple store and many banks.
We did not visit SKP-S.

I also had the experience to buy a small kitchen knife. Indeed normally NO ANY SHOP sells knives. If you need knives for your kitchen in Beijing, good luck. Hey, it is a weapon!
I did find exactly what I wanted, though super expensive. I succeeded to buy it after filling out forms, contact data and copy of my Green Card. Tip from the shop: do not take the subway with it… We went by Didi…

About SKP and the new SKP-S (Select)

One of the most upscale malls in Beijing, SKP is filled with shops selling pricey designer goods. Shop in comfort then have lunch at one of the many restaurants, many in China Central Mall connected to SKP.
Located on Jianguo Road, West Dawang Road and near Dawang Bridge. See the maps.
See this website with many great pictures: https://superfuture.com/2020/01/new-shops/beijing-skp-s-mall-opening/

Says the website:
As the planet’s biggest luxury market, you’d say China is the holy grail for any self-discerning brand operating in fashion’s upper echelon. The SKP mall in Beijing has long been the home of glittering trophies from the realm of fashion and lifestyle, featuring a myriad of flagship stores of relevant brands from across the planet. Interestingly, SKP is state-owned, and it looks like the venture’s raison d’être is aligned with the harsh government crackdown on illegally imported luxury goods in recent years. As a consequence of local market conditions, SKP mall in Beijing is slowly transforming into a department store, aiming to offer a more cohesive shopping experience to the Chinese capital’s most discerning shoppers, and which is able to rival some of planet’s most prestigious shopping grounds along the way.

The opening of SKP-S (SKP Select), a distinctly design-led south wing is part of this newly adopted strategy. In a bold move, the company has teamed up with Gentle Monster, the Seoul-based eyewear brand known for its bold and highly evocative retail design, to create premises fit for today’s generation of digital-savvy shoppers.

Exploring food in Beijing

Cocottine by Flo

Some of my experience in exploring food in Beijing. Sadly many restaurants disappear after some time as dispute about rent and other are a market killer. That was also the case with Flo in Taikoo Li… Gone…
This Flo outlet is in Parkview Green, the impressive glass building in Dongdaqiao Lu.
Date of visit: 18 December 2020.
Nice surrounding, good service. Cost for the Osso Bucco and Risotto Seafood Chicken was RMB 416, not cheap but still reasonable, it was too much for two persons. Yeah, doggy bag.

The architecture of Parkview Green is unique and the shopping center has a bit of everything. Mandatory shopping with my guide Sophie who works there and finally convinced me to explore the building.

HULU TRB

On Saturday 14 September 2019 another visit to HULU in Taikoo Li, I am never disappointed by the dishes and service. Good management by Ignace.

During September 13 – 18: a special week “Best of Brussels & Guest Chef Maxime Maziers”.
In celebration of 25th friendly city anniversary of Beijing and Brussels, the Belgian culinary luminary, Maxime Maziers, has embarked on an extraordinary dining journey in Beijing, to uncover the Best of Brussels for the gastronomic aficionados from the Far East at Hulu by TRB.
Prior to taking over the previous three Michelin starred Restaurant Bruneau, where Chef Maxime Maziers worked closely with the founder of Restaurant Bruneau, Jean-Pierre Bruneau for 5 years, the young talented Maxime humbly decided to delve into his later incomparably audacious cooking identity from numerous highly regarded establishments. Now he returns back to his root, being elected as “Young Chef of the Year 2019” by Gault & Millau, Chef Maxime Maziers is ready to sprinkle his gastronomic wisdom into a series of meticulously cultivated dishes in combination with the iconic Lindeman Beer that best capture the Best of Brussels.

See some of the special dishes!

O’Steak, French Bistro

The restaurant is well know, as it name says, for its steaks. Location is in front of April Gourmet near Chunxiu Lu. Overall tasty, nice presentation. Simple but cozy environment; rather small in size.
I still prefer Morel’s for steak as I am suspicious about those steaks in other restaurants that are a bit too tender … because of tenderizer and other stuff.

I chose the mushroom risotto and duck leg. Both very tasty. Date: 9 November 2020.

Morel and Gilbert were on Mafengwo

Mafengwo (马蜂窝)

On 25 November 2020 Restaurant Morel and Gilbert were on Mafengwo. As usual I was not really aware what was going on. I just followed orders…
The platform:
See: https://www.dragonsocial.net/blog/what-is-mafengwo-content-ota/

Mafengwo started as a travel forum for independent travelers. Users on the platform share their journeys, travel tips, itineraries, recommendations, and feedback with other users on the platform. Its user base has increased over time and has developed into an enormous millennial traveler community. One of the best ways to understand how it works is to think of it as the Chinese equivalent of TripAdvisor, Lonely Planet, and Expedia combined.
Mafengwo  presents a powerful opportunity for businesses to target young Chinese free & independent travelers
See here details of the website/app performance:
mafengwo.cn is ranked #42 in the Travel and Tourism/Travel and Tourism category and #6884 Globally.  https://www.similarweb.com/website/mafengwo.cn/

It was live

I thought, well, another interview. Only later I realized it was live… and I was online for quite some time. If I knew I would have acted a bit more “careful”…

Guess what, within hours my interview had over 300,000 views, with all kinds of funny comments (also about my sweater).
I could not find a link to the interview, one can only watch through Mini Program, I guess 201125 mafengwo3.jpg might give a clue how to find the long program.
As I always say, life in Beijing is never boring and Morel’s Restaurant is where the action is…