If you could only eat one nation’s food for the rest of your life, what would it be? All roads lead to Rome. Italian cuisine is primus inter pares for its unfussy use of the best ingredients and the fact Italians all seem to live a couple of days past forever.

Via Roma is a reimagining of The Kempinski’s La Gondola but it’s had more than a much-needed lick of paint. It’s now open all day with an airy, modern space to match. The new look is a breath of fresh air, as is the new service style. Everything but the a la carte dishes is presented via trolleys at the table, providing more of a family restaurant feel than most hotel eateries aspire to. The highlight is the wine trolley, which offers a chance to try several of 100 wines, each served by the glass.

Nice touches, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating and the eating is very good indeed. Chef Francesco’s menu of rich flavors at a matching price point (plus 15 percent) features the expected classic dishes alongside the delightfully unexpected – wood-fired goose liver pizza (RMB 258). The veal ravioli (RMB 128) is worth the trip on its own. Tender parcels of succulent calf smothered in sage butter will have you grasping for superlatives and bread to mop up the sauce, but perhaps not in that order. It’s no surprise the dish features on the degustation menu (RMB 598). Via Roma’s simple, decadent fare is your new reason to get a personal trainer on speed-dial.

Via Roma
Daily 11.30am-10.30pm. 1/F, Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Center, 50 Liangmaqiao Lu (6465 3388 ext. 5707)
花样罗马：朝阳区凯宾斯基饭店亮马桥路50号
50m southeast of Liangmaqiao station (Line 10)

This post first appeared in thebeijinger.com on June 13, 2014.

Photo courtesy of The Beijinger.

[Ed’s note] And now, a special announcement from our sister publication, the Beijinger:

The weeklong October holiday is just around the corner. To those of you who have already made travel plans: bon voyage, safe travels and don’t forget to send us a postcard!

Those of us who are staying in town aren’t getting such a raw deal, though. We here at tbj have got a ton of tickets for the China Open (Sep 29-Oct 6) to give away. Even better, they’re for the Diamond Court so you’ll get to see the stars. In fact, we’ve got so many tickets that we’re not even going to ask you a question like we usually do.

If you’d like free tickets to the China Open, simply email us at win@thebeijinger.com. Include your name and Chinese address, your preferred day and time (specify morning or evening) and the number of tickets you want. We will try our best to accommodate your wishes.

Photo: OnSugar

You may adore the Disney version, with its chubby mice and rousing musical numbers, but Beijing Playhouse’s production of Cinderella, done in the British Pantomime tradition, is a whole other beast – in a good way.

For the unfamiliar, Pantomime is a UK institution that used to be the crowd-pleasing, cross-dressing elephant graveyard for B-(to-Z) list celebrities and future stars, before reality TV came along. Now, it shares that talent pool with the likes of Dancing on Ice and I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! Case in point: David “The Hoff” Hasselhoff will be taking on the role of Captain Hook this Christmas in Bristol.

Beijing’s version won’t have Mitch Buchanan from Baywatch, but it will have (subtly) bawdy gags (for the mums and dads), silly physical humor, candy tossing, crowd interaction and a cast of characters rounded out by Mr. Buttons – the loyal friend who helps Cinders snag the prince, despite his own pining after the sooty sweetheart.

A set of tickets for you and your family to this year’s show is up for grabs in this week’s giveaway. Here are the details for the shows:

Wednesday, Nov 30
7.30pm
British School of Beijing (Shunyi)

OR

Friday, Dec 2
7.30pm
British School of Beijing (Shunyi)

For your chance to win, just leave a comment with your answer to this question: Who would you want to play Mr. Buttons here in Beijing?

The best answer wins!

And while we have you here, here’s our handy guide to crowd interaction at a panto.

1.    If someone asks you where another character is then the audience is generally being prompted to shout, “He’s behind you!”
2.    If there is some confusion and the character on stage then says, “Oh, no he isn’t!” You need to respond with, “Oh yes, he is!”

That is all. Good luck.

Contest ends Monday, Nov 28 at 11am.

According to a report from the Bureau of Transportation of Beijing, there are 67,000 registered taxis in Beijing and over 200,000 registered taxi drivers. There is no shortage of people to drive the 67,000 cabs … so where are they all?

Anecdotal evidence of taxi-related frustrations is on the rise; it seems like everybody in the office has a story about their recent struggles to hail a cab. If you are lucky enough to spot one these days, then you’ll need lotto-winning luck to get anything other than the world’s most dismissive hand wave from its driver. And this is when it’s not bad weather (and all Beijingers know that bad weather can mean as little as a couple of raindrops or being slightly breezier than normal). Or at changeover time (which seems to be about every ten minutes these days). Or at dinner time (the taxi man has to eat too). 

The average working time of a Beijing taxi driver is 14 hours per day and 427 hours per month – that’s 168 hours more than legitimate working hours, and their typical wage is less than the Beijing average. We understand that cabbies don’t have the easiest job, and that there will be mitigating circumstances at certain times, but what is going on with Beijing taxis? Where have all the cab drivers gone? Is it us that’s going mad?

We’ve checked the local media and there’s been no mention of a decrease in taxi numbers. The Global Times published a story on the difficulties of getting a legal taxi outside Beijing’s railway stations but that’s nothing new. We’d expect to wait for a cab at the airport or train station or outside the NCPA after a night at the opera, but why has the supply of taxis dried up in other parts of town? Without any official comment, and nothing else to go on, all we can offer is speculation and our own observations. We’re not saying that these are causes or knock-on effects, merely things we’re noticed.

• Increase in rickshaws (especially in Sanlitun)
• Drink-driving stops at major intersections
• Unwillingness of drivers to take fares (or use the metre)
• Huge spike in fake/illegal taxi drivers

Have you noticed this phenomenon too? What do you think is going on? What are the alternatives to waiting for a cab (when there’s no subway or you’ve no bike)?

Thoughts? Opinions? Share your thoughts on this issue in our Forum here.

This article is excerpted from thebeijinger.com.

Rumors have persisted of late that the buildings opposite the Canadian International School on Liangmaqiao Lu will be torn down and redeveloped. This speculation was bad for animals and lovers of Chinese culture, as the area’s Anjialou courtyard houses the Chinese Cultural Center and the International Center for Veterinary Services. That was the bad news, but here’s the good news: we spoke to both the ICVS and CCC, and they’ve stated that they’re going nowhere, putting our collective minds at rest.

When asked whether they’d be affected by redevelopment, a CCC spokesman said No, not really. All restaurants including Manzo have been torn down, but the CCC compound is still there and will not be demolished. The ICVS added: "There is one courtyard at the intersection of Liangmaqiao Lu and Anjialou that decided to redevelop its lot. It is a private lot, so the existing restaurants there were there (e.g. Sake Manzo) had to relocate. This is a private development project and is limited only to that one lot. The rest of Anjialou, including ICVS remains unaffected. ICVS is open for business as usual, every day, Monday to Saturday 8am to 8pm and Sunday 10am to 7pm.

As for the restaurants affected, there’s already a new branch of Sake Manzo at Tuanjiehu (more on that coming soon) and the already much-missed Morel’s still has its Gongti branch.

We’ll have more news on what’s going on as soon as we get it.

This article is from thebeijinger.com

Wanda Cinemas showtimes start at 2.10pm, with showings in English almost every hour. Last time is 12.05am.