I’m far behind my canteen diary project, and am just having a breather back home in the pore stuffing my face and going through loads of photos, editing them and catching up with my blog. I forgot how fast and free the internet is in the real world. I didn’t realise I ate at the canteen 4 times last week, well done me, which means I get to treat myself to several expensive meals this week in the pore. (well not quite since the savings don’t equate)

Overall satisfaction for the week: 5/10

On the best day we had sweet and sour pork done perfectly. The rest, well, it’s the same as every week. If anything, at least the quality is consistent, which is rare in China.

Miga’s a sweet new spot that soft opened last night at Beijing’s Nali Patio hotspot, adding to the Mediterranean vibe in the block. Looks like some healthy competition for Mosto, Niajo and soon to be opened Agua. I’m really looking forward to having dinner on the rooftop at Miga’s.

Under the creative direction of Chef Aitor Olabegoya who spends part of his time in Barcelona at his restaurant Pexiample, working on top quality wagyu at Nuestro Buey and his creative catering arm Dividano, the Spanish restaurant looks like it has so much potential to bring new good stuff to Beijing’s dining scene. The award winning chef’s experience include working at Michelin-starred Arola restaurant at the Ritz and many promotional trips to Asia to share the gastronomical experience.

Miga’s at Sanlitun Nali Patio
6 Floor

I am deeply attached to the internet and spend more than half my day trawling the web for useless and interesting information. And I’d like to conclude my recent find that I have a very happy cat, who walks around all day with her tail like that.

Isn’t she great?

This is a brilliant concept that made me chuckle!

The two artists Florian Jenett and Valentin Beinroth’s work is being revisited in Frankfurt at the Feeding the World exhibition. In 2003, they placed 50 ice handgun replicas around town in Frankfurt. Last year, they got more creative and launched the edible popsicle guns with flavours like coke, licorice, cherry and various food colourings.

Via Today and Tomorrow

The controversial artist best known for his performance works has bought a wrecked train and refurnished it for this installation to challenge our perception of tragedy, showing the prevalent sense of hope in times of adversity. The installation while massive and impressive in physical scale fails to provoke a deeper sense of reaction beyond that.

Separately, at the entrance of UCCA, there were two giant sculptures made of incense with dry ice momentarily coming out. If you look carefully, you’ll see skulls and faces. Kind of creepy and am not sure if it is independent of other show, but I suppose it somewhat ties in with the theme of death, life, hope and the belief of after life.

Exhibition through Oct 24, 2010 at UCCA Beijing.

Something new and rather delicious, a not so boney chicken dish cooked with soy sauce lots of cumin (yum!), ground black pepper, onions and some sugar garnished with coriander. Side dish of tofu was sour and it seems not fermented but the cooking method just didn’t bring the best out of those spongy wet bean curds. For dessert, I went with fake guilin gao that tasted, fake and tasteless, like synthetic agar agar. (the origin ones are made of ground tortoise shells, and I ate them often as a child, but will not anymore, knowing what it is.

Overall satisfaction: 7/10 only because of that stellar chicken dish, with fewer bones than usual.

Following the Hubei artist’s success of “Beijing Memory 1 and 2″ that he calls “wearable art” made of porcelain shards from the Qing and Ming dynasties strung together by steel, Li was commissioned by Lacoste to do a limited edition design for their Holiday 2010 Collector series complete with the crocodile logo. 20,000 printed polo tees inspired by the signature beautiful porcelain pieces are on sale—a collection for men and women.

Images via High Snobiety

Fortunately, despite just missing the Paris opening in June, the show will have a homecoming to Bejing this Autumn 2010, at Red Gate Gallery.

Li’s works are on show permanently at Beijing hotel The Opposite House.

Beijing Memory 1 & 2

This tiny spot in the nanluoguxiang alley is called 锣鼓洞天 which I’m not exactly sure how to translate, but the premise is that the concept revolves round the drum 鼓 and gong 锣 and the little street is a stone’s throw away from the drum and bell tower. 洞 is a figurative way of describing paradise found in a cave. While the small hole in the wall restaurant is hardly a dining paradise, it’s quaint, intimate and full of mismatched things.

The menu is frighteningly thick and serves a whole range of mixed regional cuisine, which are not done 100% authentic, but very delicious and not too greasy nonetheless. The signature dish is the bucket of rice stir fried with mixed (frozen) veg, while isn’t that tasty, it looks good and goes perfectly with the gongbao tofu and long beans.

The mutton soup reminded me of home, only that this Chinese rendition of gamey sup kambeng was cooked with carrots and preserved vegetables (hum choi in Cantonese!). The gamey flavour, tart and unami all mix together at once, and the wonderfully savory taste lingers on your tastebuds.

This little restaurant is a gem. Service is quick and efficient in this tiny little hole in the wall. Even the setting is endearingly mismatched with random tables and chairs put together.

Luogudongtian 锣鼓洞天
Nanluoguxiang 南锣鼓巷
102 Nanluogu Xiang, Dongcheng District
东城区南锣鼓巷102号
Daily 10am-midnight
Tel: 8402 4729

I’m not really a big fan of cupcakes, but have eaten and enjoyed many for the upcoming project slated to open next month at Sanlitun VIllage North. Looking forward to see the fully completed store designed by SF based Eight Inc, known for their Apple store design for Steve Jobs.

I finished up lunch in 15 minutes as it wasn’t anything particularly fun to linger over. I also tend to eat lunches alone alot—the only time of recovery when you’re not harassed by telephone calls and assaulted by emails (although I confess I sometimes answer my mobile with my mouth full since calls come at all times of day and if I am not catching up with my RSS feeds on net news wire at lunch, I am reading my work emails.)

Lunch wasn’t bad. Overall satisfaction: 4/10

The top right bowl of chicken in salty sauce is reminiscent of my mother’s rendition of steamed chicken marinated with soy sauce, thinly sliced ginger, shitake mushrooms and shaoxing rice wine. By steaming it, the grease also gets out into the gravy, which is delicious over a bowl of white rice. I had both rice and porridge at lunch. The catering kitchen tried to get creative with those sweet potato leaves and glass noodle by dousing it with what tasted like wasabi. 10 points for creativity, 0 points for taste. Good effort for thinking of alternative to Sichuan tongue numbing peppers. I think they just don’t get it. Maybe Northerners don’t have too much greens in their diet.