1,001 nights

add : gongti bei lu, chaoyang district
tel: 6532-4050/7243

for an exotic evening filled with arabian fanfare, 1,001 nights is the place to go. with gilded ceilings inside, entertaining belly-dancing and outdoor seating available, you will be pleased with the unique experience, with specialties including lamb and chicken kebabs and spicy pita bread. perfect for: an exotic arabian-style dinner out

absent club

absent club, situated on yabaolu in the beijing-russian residential area, is one of the latest specialist restaurants. the manager has a good reputation for running restaurants selling authentic russian dishes. its 'western toasted fish' dish served with "absent" vodka, imported from europe and only available at absent, is a unique combination with a genuine russian flavor. each night at 9:30 pm dancers from russia and brazil give an innovative performance combining traditional ballet, samba and modern street dance. absent club's unique cuisine and colorful entertainment make it a place you shouldn't remain absent from for long.
address: b1 huasheng building, no. 12, yabaolu, chaoyang district?

1,001 night

for an exotic evening filled with arabian fanfare, 1,001 nights is the place to go. with gilded ceilings inside, entertaining belly-dancing and outdoor seating available, you will be pleased with the unique experience, with specialties including lamb and chicken kebabs and spicy pita bread. perfect for: an exotic arabian-style dinner out

middle-eastern

￥100 - ￥199
hours: daily 11am-2am
tel. 6532-4050/7243

hong gui ren tea restaurant

conveniently located on the first floor of the bluecastle office tower, the restaurant does bigger lunch business than dinner. this is reflected in their very wide range of set menus which go for yy20-30. the chinese sign outside might mislead you to think this is a simple cantonese diner, when in fact they go the extra mile in many aspects not usually found in chinese restaurants. for an extra cost, there is the option to use olive oil in your meal. real tea is used in a number of dishes such as succulent oolong ribs, which nicely counters the fattiness of the meat.?while tasty, the secret recipe chicken wings were not worth yy28 for three tiny pieces. the best part of the meal was the a wang flower rib soup which clearly took many hours on the stove and many years of experience to strike just the right delicate flavor.

drink prices go down to half price after 10pm, which maybe a more tranquil time to come enjoy this cozy corner restaurant.

s126, bluecastleofficetower, xidawang lu, chaoyang district.
tel: 8599-9029

trakktir pushkin

if you're in love with traktirr's food and value, but are tired of waiting in lines due to the popularity of the place (it's been a fight to get a table after seven lately) hope is literally just around the corner. down the street on dongzhimen nei, the people who brought us trakktir brighten our borsch-loving lives with trakktir pushkin.? follow the yellow, red and green banisters to a pleasant dining room, where more seating downstairs provides ample space for those in desperate need of a hearty meal.? the menu is slightly different from the originals at traktirr, though the tender, creamy beef stroganoff is as? tasty and ample as always . the trout wrapped with mushrooms and cheese is simply delicious and all entrees offer a choice of sides.? early risers can chow down on a russian style breakfast just like good old stalin—try the sweet curds with sour cream and tea (yy15). drinks include varied wines and of course plenty of vodka. with the same reasonable prices, great service and outstanding food trakktir pushkin is likely to become as much a beijing staple as its elder sibling—start queuing up at the door.

address: 5-10 dongzhimen nedajie, dongcheng district.

tel: 8407-8158

perfect for: cheap eats

set foot in noodle loft and your eyes are immediately drawn to the flurry of noodle making activity. staff shape and cut yy10/bowl 'cat's ears,' 'scissors cut' or 'one chopstick' noodles right in front of you. waiters bustle efficiently amid a backdrop of hip music and large murals to serve you not only al dente noodles but also shanxi, fusion, and cantonese dishes, including abalone and shark's fin dishes (up to y688.) tiny pots of must-try shanxi vinegar decorate cozy tables. although the vegetables in "kuku xiang" (y18) were crisp, the intensive ground hot pepper left it barely touched. on the other hand, while somewhat oily, the "fresh fried bamboo with meat" (y18) was just right. salt lovers like us enjoyed larger portions of the noodle sauces; others should sample them in moderation. step in for some comfort food with a show to boot.

pier 8

no other restaurant in beijing can boast live lobster flown in from boston, usa, but at pier 8 restaurant and bar, it's just one more reason to welcome a new addition to the beijing restaurant scene. find yourself a seat in the plush booths on the second floor overlooking the stage or cozy up in the vip booths in the back and get ready to enjoy some classic american food. with stunning food presentation, affordable prices and large quantities, there is bound to be something for everyone with a menu that includes seafood, steak, pizza and pasta and of course the inevitable clam chowder (yy35) and boston lobster (from yy160-yy398). try the house salad (yy30) with home-made dressing, the grilled beef tenderloin, rossini style (yy165) or the generous american style pizza (yy 40-88, 9/12 inch).

if drinks are what you crave, head over for happy hour, every night from 4pm-7pm or better yet, round up the ladies on thursday night for ladies nights, with all drinks yy8 for ladies from 7pm-1am. with great service, pier 8 restaurant and bar is a breath of fresh air for those looking for some some traditionally out-of-reach seafood at a fair price in landlocked beijing-- just bring friends to help share the cab fee.

13 beizhongjie, dongzhimennei, dongcheng district
tel: 6210-9988

kushinosato

small and clean, this japanese restaurant seems to have established a name for itself already. what differentiates it from the many other japanese eateries in town is that it specializes exclusively in japanese style chuan'r (skewers of grilled meat or veggies) with a very limited side dish menu. having seated yourself behind the bar, the chefs then prepare and pass you chuan'r after chuan'r until you tell them to stop. while the cheerful chefs were a joy to watch, and the food satisfactory, this couldn't fully redeem the somewhat hostile service from the waitresses, nor the fact that we were being charged 2-4 kuai for a button mushroom on the end of a stick. however, all the vegetables are organic, and dining here undeniably makes for a unique experience. kushinosato is a good place for small parties with small appetites, but ravenous diners might be better off elsewhere—or be prepared to settle in for awhile.

2 xinyuan jie (north of adria), chaoyang district.
tel: 6462-1086

qu nar

qu nar, which of course means "go where" in chinese, may well be the perplexed answer to your question when trying to locate this restaurant as it's difficult to find. partially owned by artist ai weiwei and other bohemian types, qu nar is all industrial cool, complete with old fashioned exposed radiators and huge canvases of modern oil paintings.?
qu nar serves a classic cuisine from zhejiang province called jinhua. the baked dried vegetables and pork was succulent but salty. the famous jinhua ham made an appearance in a delicious soup with wax gourd that had a stewed-for-hours nutritious taste.?the restaurant's biggest specialty is the steamed dried yellow croaker, which had an unexpected chewy texture and quite intensively flavorful taste. however, as with a most of the dishes, the fish was too salty to truthfully represent zhejiang fare, known for being the milder of china's many cuisines. qu nar might have scored better had it not "run out" of some of the more typical zhejiang dishes on the menu.(maybe this is a testament to their popularity.) for the diehard chili-heads, a range of tasty sichuan dishes are also available if you're not in the mood for light food.
sleek, noisy, and a little chaotic, qu nar feels more like an artist's pet project than a smoothly run restaurant business. still it's worth visiting to try this unique branch of chinese cuisine and people watch the typical clientele are the creme de la creme of the beijing art scene.

address: no. 16 east 3rd ring road, chaoyang district.
tel: 6508-1597

c'est la vie

a bright pink sign served as our beacon to cst la vie, tucked away in an alley. the simple decor features bright but not overwhelming colors and a clean design. we started with dou jiao chao rou mo (beans with minced pork), finding that the beans were fresh and crisp with just the right amount of spice. however, hunan food isn't all fire and peppers, so we decided to try the recommended jinpai yangrou (gold medal sheep), as well as the gansun shao la rou. the latter's "la rou" or smoked meat combined with loads of bamboo made up for the meat's slight greasiness, but sadly the jinpai yangrou didn't quite live up to its name. the popular dessert known as ba si pingguo (toffee apple) is definitely for those with a sweet tooth.
all told the damages came to yy140 including two beers, making prices reasonable. portions were ample and the servers were friendly and efficient. if you are in the area definitely stop by, but it may not be worth the extra trip.

address:a 10 xinyuan dongjie, chaoyang district.
tel: 6467-4415/4416