One thing I love about China is that it is still addicted to shooting film. Cheap developing, lots of vintage gear – film has a stronghold amongst Chinese afficionados. Hence why Lomo is doing so well – they recently opened up the Fisheye Cafe in Beijing’s Sanlitun district with slick interior design and branding by Jellymon. Can’t wait to visit and try a cup of SF’s Ritual Coffee.. in Beijing!

Fisheye Café – 鱼眼儿咖啡
First floor, S1, The Sanlitun Village
19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District
北京市朝阳区三里屯北路19号
Beijing, China

“Truth. Kin has one of the best ramen’s in town. The broth is boiled for 8 hrs with different bones. The egg is imported from Japan and perfectly poached with a yolk like soft cake, and the egg white is silk like dofu.

They’re also the only place where you can read store-supplied Wax Poetics while slurping down your ramen and doing work on the free Wifi. Basically, Kin is my ish and they’re offering 20% off until September 30th. Please take advantage of it!”

via SIGNALS

宗祠 | KIN is the brainchild of Gary Wang (Shelter) and co. Check out this restaurant / boutique for amazingly soft and chewy snickerdoodles and fresh kicks, all tucked away behind a storefront on Maoming Lu.

Also check out their events on Facebook, looks like they are doing some film screenings and dj labs.

宗祠 | KIN
65-5 Maoming Bei Lu at Shenping Lu
茂名北路65号-5近升平路
+21 6217 3355

Montauk! The crew and I took a trip out to the very end of Long Island, NY for a weekend of fun, sun, and good eats. One of my favorite joints was called Cyril’s Fish House in Amagansett, NY. We liked it so much we stopped on the way to the beach, and again on the way back to the city!

What is a weekend at the beach without RAW BAR? i was dying to have oysters and clams on the half shell, and Cyril’s served it right up.

I had never had raw clams before, but for some reason I knew it would be something I’d like. Actually, I love them. They are so clean, crisp, and meaty, perfectly… 鲜甜 (xian tian), or fresh and sweet.

We tried out Cyril’s clam bellies, something else I’ve never had before. You start with a Ipswich clam, remove the tongue (mostly used for commerical food purposes), and you’re left with the soft flavorful clam belly, which Cyril’s fries up and serves with tartar sauce and a wedge of lemon. American seafood culture is definitely different from what I experienced in Hong Kong, where most items are steamed or cooked gently in a wok. In Montauk, most of our seafood options were FRIED. Not that I am complaining of course…

After all the fried clam bellies, we opted for an extra fresh grilled tuna steak over greens. The fish was so fresh, you could taste that it had been pulled out of the water that morning. Amazing..

Of course, what is a fish house without a lobster roll? Cyril’s ($16) is delicious, served on a potato roll hot dog bun and presented with plenty of waffle fries. The lobster salad is meaty and substantial, and not smothered in mayonnaise. Because you know, you gotta fit into that bikini!

Hope you’re having a great summer!

Enjoy!

Cyril’s Fish House
2167 Montauk Hwy
Amagansett, NY
+01 (631) 267-7993

Our Kaiseki menu. The selections at Kappo Yu change on a monthly basis.

We started our omakase with a rich flavorful soup made with highly sought-after matsutake mushrooms from Yunnan. The mushrooms were so flavorful, I think this was my favorite dish of the night.

Amazingly marbled kobe beef – so tender and flavorful. Coated with plenty of black pepper.

The uni at Oyama is the stuff dreams are made of, so I was really excited when I saw it on the menu at Kappo Yu. Unfortunately it was part of the worst dish of the night. Covered in a tomato-scented goo, the rich flavor of the uni was lost altogether.

The gohan (rice) dish. A slab of seared foie over perfectly cooked sushi rice sprinkled with salmon flakes, salmon roe, and fragrant green onion.

At Oyama, every bite is agonizingly delicious, and I feel like I need to carefully commit each flavor to memory. Only a few things on Kappo Yu’s menu really jumped out at me in the same way. Being a larger establishment, Kappo Yu also lacks the attentiveness and personal touch that Oyama’s 12 seater is so widely known for. If I had to to save up my kuai for one meal – I think I’d go with Oyama.

Enjoy!

Kappo Yu
33 Wuxing Lu at Huaihai Lu
吴兴路33号 近淮海中路
+86 21 6466-7855

Ponchiki offers one kind of donut ($3RMB), which is served up with your choice of honey, condensed milk, or chocolate sauce and then dusted with powdered sugar. The donut is on chewy and tough side, and takes a good pair of chompers to get through the whole thing.

Ponchiki also makes pirogis, which unlike their doughy Polish counterparts, feature various fillings stuffed in a soft dinner roll type bread. The potato and bacon pirogi ($4) was soft and yummy, and reminded me of the buns you get in Hong Kong bakeries.

We also tried the apple blintz – some chopped apples wrapped in a thin crepe. It was a little dry, definitely could have used some cream or cheese to moisten it up. But not bad for $3RMB.

There are a lot of other little shops around the intersection of Xiangyang & Changle – steamed bun shops, noodle shops, and my favorite – pancakes cooked on a griddle and stuffed with Chinese garlic chives or scallions ($1.20 RMB). Do try to get them when they are hot and fresh – or else they become stale.

Ponchiki – 棒极圈
612 Changle Lu at Xiangyang Lu
长乐路612号近襄阳路

We were a table of four, and ended up ordering 3 servings of the large mussels ($198). We tried them three different ways – with white wine, cooked in Hoegaarden, and with garlic and cream. All three preparations were pretty tasty, and cooked with a generous amount of aromatics. The wine and Hoegaarden varieties were a bit on the salty side, so get the cream-based one if you are a chronic bread-mopper like myself. I once had mussels imported from Holland, and since then I’ve been under the impression that all European mussels are as huge and meaty as these ones. But I guess in Belgium, its a little different. The mussels we had ranged from medium to tiny, but were exceptionally fresh. Each order of mussels comes with a small side of fries – thick wedges fried until crispy and seasoned generously. Can’t say they are the most authentic, most addictive Belgian frites I’ve ever had, they were just average. With the addition of an authentic Belgian beer and some bread, we left the place stuffed. The bill came to about $160/head which I thought wasn’t too bad at all.

If you’re in the mood for mussels or looking for a good Belgian beer, do give Chambar a try.

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010
Pop Up Market at Central Studios
10am – 4pm
1F Bldg I, 751 Huangpi Nan Lu at Jianguo Lu

Come join us for Jellymonification, the She Eats Stall, yummy treats, dope beats, and lots of cute shit from my closet! The best part? A share of the proceeds go to Roots & Shoots Million Tree Project! Come eat, drink, buy, dance, and have fun!

See you there!

Simon’s is situated in a cluster of new businesses in northern Jing’An – some Hong Kong style restaurants, and funny looking cake storefront. Walk past Simon’s open kitchen and check out the chef masterfully wrapping dumplings before taking a seat upstairs in their bright and comfortable dining room.

Simon’s menu closely resembles that of Ding Tai Fung, but with one major difference – the price! Everything is extremely affordable. We started our meal with an order of the drunken chicken in Shaoxing wine ($28RMB). The chicken was flavorful and tender, but poorly butchered, with shards of bone making the dish difficult to eat. Next up we had the signature braised beef noodle with tomato ($22RMB) – absolutely wonderful! The broth was a bit oily, but fragrant and rich. The noodles were accompanied by chunks of fork-tender brisket and tendon. Definitely try this at Simon’s, you’ll be glad you did!

But of course, what we really came to Simon’s to try was the soup dumplings. In addition to your classic pork and crab roe + pork, Simon’s also lets you get creative. You can pick a filling (mushroom, Sichuan mala spicy pork, chicken, and sweet red bean amongst others) and the wrapper it comes in (plain, or wrappers infused with fresh-pressed beet, spinach, or carrot juice). We decided on a steamer of the hairy crab roe + pork ($29RMB for 10 pcs) and a steamer of the pork in a spinach wrapper ($21RMB for 10 pcs).

Simon’s xiao long bao are really good. Like at Ding Tai Fung, the wrapper is unbelievably thin, slightly chewy, and folded into a multitude of neat little pleats at the top. One nibble and the perfect amount of hot, flavorful soup comes gushing out. But unlike DTF, the hairy crab roe + pork buns are full of crab flavor, and the price is a steal!

But of course, the true test of a masterfully created xlb is the original pork dumpling. It should be flavorful, full of soup, a good mince, and have a strong but delicate wrapper. Simon’s pork xlb are pretty good – thin wrapper, lots of soup inside, but the texture of the pork is not quite right. Instead of being springy and resilient, the pork is minced too finely, resulting in an almost crumbly, grainy texture. The spinach wrapper was a fun addition, but don’t expect to taste the juice.

Although I still think the soup dumplings at LLF are unmatched, I’m happy to add Simon’s to my ever-growing list of xlb spots. It’s a great alternative to DTF when you have guests in town, or if you want to enjoy a basket of xlb in a comfortable atmosphere instead of perched on sticky stool at LLF.

Simon’s also delivers! I’ve got my whole office ordering from them now; the braised beef tomato noodle + sauteed spinach makes a great lunch.

Simon’s Kitchen － 小黑厨房
555 Anyuan Lu at Jiaozhou Lu
安远路555号近胶州路
+86 21 3353 3977

The chocolate-orange mud cake sounded absolutely irresistible, so we ordered a slice a la mode. It definitely lived up to its reputation – the cake was incredibly moist, dense, and spiked with orange fragrance.

Being the overly-indulgent eaters that we are, we also tried out the creamy hot chocolate. It had a silky smooth texture and was full-bodied and rich in flavor. Definitely the perfect dessert for chocolate-lovers.

HoF is open until midnight or later, so it’s a great place to catch a late night treat.

Enjoy!

House of Flour
30 Sinan Lu at Huaihai Zhong Lu
思南路30号近淮海中路
+86 21 6093 2058
www.houseofflour.com