We can’t hide our feelings towards Booth’s. Nope, not the high-end supermarket British variety, the cousin of Whole Foods in America, but the lovely Japanese cake shop, which first opened in 2014 nearby Liangma River and then followed up with a second branch in Wangjing.

The third branch of Booth’s Cake now settles in Sanlitun, in the inconspicuous alley of Xingfuyicun, next to Red Rose Xinjiang Restaurant. We have to confess, it’s been open for a while now but we still wanted to drop by and update you on what’s new at this three-year-old – and growing – chain.

Unlike their cozy and wood-laden Liangma River location, Booth’s Sanlitun branch takes a more modern aesthetic, largely using a gray and bronze palette. The pastries sit neatly in glass counters on top of black velvet, as if they were jewelry. If the appearance is more upscale, so are the offerings, which now include lava cake, pies, brownies, and tarts, which are all particularly fresh given that their central bakery is located nearby, we are told. There are also roll cakes (RMB 28-35 for a piece or RMB 60-130 for a roll), that come in original, chocolate, matcha, and red velvet varieties.

Napoleon matcha cake (RMB 36)

The new Napoleon matcha cake (RMB 36) is the real deal; the ultra-flaky and crispy layers are covered in maple syrup and house moist chocolate frosting and sliced banana in between. The roll cake (RMB 28) featured a fluffy chiffon-cake center brushed in slightly sweet whipped cream; we only wish that the cream was heavier. However, we respect the Japanese-style desserts here for not being too sweet. If you need a cup of coffee, they have plenty of options for caffeination too.

The modern interior at Sanlitun branch

The second floor is particularly airy and spacious, with a long table for 20 people, and several smaller tables, which makes it a popular spot for idle and wealthy youth to spend some time nibbling delicious cakes while taking a zillion selfies. During our visit, the fire alarm rang on noisily in the background. We looked around nervously, but the only movement at this half-full bakery was forking and chewing. I guess that goes to show how good the pastries at Booth’s Cake are.

Booth’s Cake
Mon, Tue-Sun 10am-9pm. Jia 6, Xingfuyicun Xili, Xinduyicun Qixiang, Chaoyang District (6462 1022)
布司蛋糕：朝阳区幸福一村七巷幸福一村西里甲六号

More stories by this author here.

Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @flyingfigure
Instagram: @flyingfigure

Photos: Tracy Wang, Dianping

Half a year after its closure, there’s finally word on what will become of Sanlitun’s white elephant. Yashow, once the go-to for bargain hunters across Beijing, will be taken over by property behemoth Swire and Kuntai, who will renovate it (yet again) and transform it into Sanlitun Taikooli West, reports Toutiao.

For years, Yashow (or 雅秀 yǎxiù) was a bustling market, home to mountains of knockoff clothing, suitcases, purses, pearls, fans, chopsticks, accessories, and even jewelry. At all hours, you’d see frantic locals and tourists alike haggling with vendors over various wares, coming to an end in December of 2014. After an eight-month-long renovation in 2015, the building reopened as a ghost of its former self, thanks to a combination of overpriced products and a strange, tacky atmosphere, as we reported at the time. It didn’t take long until the vendors left one by one, and Burger King seemed to hang on as its only surviving outlet.

Now, after being near-empty for a year, real estate tycoon Swire Properties has set their eyes on renovating the building that sits as a sad reminder of a Sanlitun past, especially when compared to the company’s glitzy Taikooli shopping compound to the east. On Dec 12, Swire signed a contract with the owner of the building, Beijing Kuntai Real Estate Development Group, that will allow them to rent Yashow in order to upgrade it.

Meanwhile, Swire Properties have also hired well-known international firm Arquitectonica to design the interior in accordance with “the Beijing Government’s call for ‘a new international area with fashion and culture,’” which we take to mean that the space will be revamped to have an art gallery-esque atmosphere in keeping with Swire’s two neighboring shopping areas, Taikooli North and South.

There is no word yet on when the revamp will commence, or for how long it will take for Taikooli West to open.

Other than Taikooli, other notable Swire properties in Beijing include The Opposite House, East Hotel, and Indigo Mall.

The news does not come as entirely welcome among Beijing’s F&B community, many of whom feel marginalized by heavy-handed lease negotiations that have resulted in abrupt closures of a number of popular venues in Taikooli South.

More stories by this author here.

Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @flyingfigure
Instagram: @flyingfigure

Photos: Toutiao, Kyle Mullin, Scott Devoy Su