Adam Pillsbury
Best Dining Spots for Families - Dongzhimen
Din Tai Fung
Best Xiao Long Bao
Cuisine: Chinese (Shanghainese)
English-language menu: Yes
Kid-friendly food: Most kids love xiaolongbao (soup-filled round dumplings).
Three healthiest items for kids: Steamed shrimp and pork xiaolongbao, steamed green vegetable pork buns, fried rice with shrimp.
Kid-friendly staff: Very friendly towards kids, although not too many of the waiters/waitresses speak English.
Bathroom: Very clean washroom (hands-free soap dispenser and taps) and sit-down toilets.
Kids’ play area: Clean area with non-stop looping cartoons and stuffed animals.
Seating: Booths and comfortable high-back chairs; many highchairs available.
TakenosukeDining Out
Bring the Family: Lau Pa Sak
Was your favorite childhood restaurant impervious to change? If so, Lau Pa Sak may be for you. The clientele is composed of regulars, including cheerful huaqiao clans on weekends. As for the décor, a patron of seven years failed to identify any change after renovations in January; the sepia-toned photos of olde Singapore, the fruit shrine, the statues of deities Guan Gong and Shou Lao were all in their usual places. Also immutable is the menu, featuring well-executed “hawker” cuisine, the Lion City’s street food that fuses Chinese, Indian and Malay influences. A neophyte would be well advised to try the curry puffs (airy dough pockets stuffed with chicken and potato), Hainan chicken (slices of cold poached chicken served with rice and dipping sauces, RMB 40), Beef Rendang (spicy Malay coconut curry, RMB 50), and Nasi Goreng (fried rice with shrimp served with a fried egg and satay skewers, RMB 40). Some kids may feel more comfortable with a ham sandwich or cheeseburger, but one pint-sized regular who recently tried curry puffs and fish ball soup for the first time, exclaimed in reference to her past ordering decisions, “What was I thinking about eating only sandwiches?”
Daily 11am-11pm. Xindong Lu (opposite Canadian Embassy), Chaoyang District (6417 0952). 朝阳区新东路加拿大使馆对面
Bring the Family: Kong Yiji Dining Out
Family Outing: Season Café / Creperie
Art offers its own rewards, but if you need a sweetener to sell a family excursion to 798, consider a pit stop at Season Café / Creperie. Simple, fun and easy to eat, crepes are the ultimate Gallic comfort food, a staple of French childhood. Here, the savory galettes au sarrazin (buckwheat crepes) come with fillings classic (ham and cheese) and novel (bacon, scrambled eggs, fresh tomatoes and cheese). Perfect for dessert or for an afternoon goûter, the sweet, wheat flour versions can be ordered with honey (RMB 22) and Nutella (RMB 25). The restaurant sits down a quiet alley and its lack of pretension appeals to gallery-weary families.
Money: How We Spend - THE FAMILY OF SEVEN
Beijing families take on the financial crisis
As economies around the globe have slowed or fallen into recession, families in Beijing are reevaluating their budgets to prepare for potentially tough times ahead. Find out how different families make decisions about spending and saving money, whether they feel the effects of the financial crisis, and what their strategies are for making it through the downturn in one piece – or even ahead.
THE FAMILY OF SEVEN
With five teenagers under the roof, Karen and Phil Lanman spend conservatively and save as much as possible, putting away a total of almost USD 2,000 each month. Will, the oldest child, is in his first semester of college in the US, while Cody, 16, and 14-year-old triplets Zachary, Matthew and Anna attend the International School of Beijing. Karen’s husband’s job as an air attaché at the US Embassy pays for the family’s healthcare, house in Shunyi and the kids’ tuition at ISB, but with college ahead, the Lanmans are savers.
Money: How We Spend - THE MASTER SAVERS
Beijing families take on the financial crisis
As economies around the globe have slowed or fallen into recession, families in Beijing are reevaluating their budgets to prepare for potentially tough times ahead. Find out how different families make decisions about spending and saving money, whether they feel the effects of the financial crisis, and what their strategies are for making it through the downturn in one piece – or even ahead.
THE MASTER SAVERS
Gina Wang and her husband put most of us to shame; they sock away 60 to 70 percent of their monthly earnings. Since marrying in 2000, the couple has purchased a two-bedroom apartment near Oriental Plaza in Wangfujing, paid off the mortgage, tucked away a good amount of money for retirement, had a baby, and saved up USD 24,000 in cash to buy a Nissan sedan this January.
Money: How We Spend - THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
Beijing families take on the financial crisis
As economies around the globe have slowed or fallen into recession, families in Beijing are reevaluating their budgets to prepare for potentially tough times ahead. Find out how different families make decisions about spending and saving money, whether they feel the effects of the financial crisis, and what their strategies are for making it through the downturn in one piece – or even ahead.
THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
Money: How We Spend - THE BIG SPENDERS
Beijing families take on the financial crisis
As economies around the globe have slowed or fallen into recession, families in Beijing are reevaluating their budgets to prepare for potentially tough times ahead. Find out how different families make decisions about spending and saving money, whether they feel the effects of the financial crisis, and what their strategies are for making it through the downturn in one piece – or even ahead.
THE BIG SPENDERS
Christmas didn’t come last year,” says Nick Cochrane, an expat whose Beijing-based export business has taken a big hit from the global financial crisis. As major economies in Europe and North America weakened in the fall, Nick and his wife Katherine* acted quickly to slash their business and family budgets.
