Interesting events happen every day, every hour in the bustling city of Beijing, and not even our staff can cover it all! While we were busy with families and schools at last weekend’s JISE, local writers and professionals Dr. R.M. Clarken and O.C. Tennant attended the Nu Women Empowerment Summit. We asked them to share their experiences.

Dr. R.M. Clarken

Saturday was an unexpected day of inspiration at the Nu Women Empowerment Summit at the trendy Hotel Jen in the CBD. From the first invitation, I knew that this would not be a typical business meeting for professional women, as the formal program stressed the need to wear comfortable clothes and shoes to fully participate in the afternoon activities. This particular detail piqued my interest and ensured my attendance.

When I arrived on Saturday morning, I was met by a small group of about 50 women gathered in an open conference hall that was filled half with chairs and the rest with yoga mats. Before starting the program, we mingled while sipping cappuccinos and watermelon juice and nibbling on snacks. After a meet and greet, we sat down to listen to the exceptional speakers, whose experience in China ranged from a few years to several decades. With so much wisdom to share, the presentations could have gone on and on, but instead, each woman spoke from the heart for only 15 minutes, sharing a great deal in a short period of time. This quick-paced outpouring invigorated the audience and gave us much to think about and talk about over lunch.

The afternoon was a marvelously choreographed assortment of activities to move us out of our heads and into embracing and empowering our bodies. With mini sessions in yoga, meditation, and improv, our small band of women bonded as we stretched our physical, emotional, and mental muscles. The afternoon wound down with a few more delightful speakers, music, and socialization. All in all, it was a surprising break from the locked-down experiences that typify 2020. I will definitely be in attendance at the next event.

Dr. Clarken has worked in education for more than 15 years and is currently a principal in Beijing. She first came to China 25 years ago as a high school student and later returned to Sichuan as an environmental education Peace Corps volunteer. For the last eight years, she has been living and working in Beijing with her husband.

O.C. Tennant

As I scanned through the faces in the WeChat group the night before the Summit, I remember feeling like I was in a safe space with people who, although unique and different from me, were similar in the area I value most: having a true desire to better themselves and others. Now, mere days after the summit, I have fulfilled my hope of making new friends while also connecting more closely with old ones and, most importantly, connecting deeper to myself.

The thing that set this summit apart from other conferences and women events I’ve attended is that it addressed all aspects of who I am as a person. Sabina Brady’s “Tackling Systemic Issues Head-on” stimulated me as a professional and academic. However, Enoch Li’s transparent testimony of her battle with chronic depression in “Playing Your Way Back to Mental Health” helped me remember to never stop having fun.

The organizers did not just stop at educating us on topics relevant to women on their transformation journeys. I was also able to immediately apply what I’d learned and felt in practice during a heart-opening yoga session, as I crawled like a cat on the floor doing contact improv, and while yelling out suggestions for the Beijing Broads improv games.

I have already shared my experience with friends and family in the US and China and even my partner, asking him to do some of the contact improv exercises with me the next day. Summits like this not only have the power to transform us as women but transform our communities as well. I highly recommend all women attend the next event. See and crawl with you there!

A proud “Georgia Peach” (from Georgia, USA) and graduate of Vanderbilt University, O.C. Tennant’s interest in the effect of international experiences on human development led her to work for the U.S. Department of State; to serve in Ecuador, Kenya, Peru, Tanzania, and now China; and, in 2016, to found Omega Mind, LLC. Most recently, Omega co-hosted the Beijing International Travel Conference and helped create cross-cultural videos for the China Tourism Film Festival. She has been in China for more than two years now and at any given time can be found painting, reading, writing, dancing, or studying nutritional therapy.

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Photos: Charlotte Smith, Authors

Last weekend we saw one of the city’s favorite family-friendly brunches reopen with all its tasty glory. Feast (Food by East) at East Hotel Beijing has finally re-started its semi-buffet weekend brunch. It’s got to be one of the best buffets in the city, so we’re happy with the development, but with COVID-19 turning the food and beverage industry upside down, germaphobes like me have some health and safety concerns we want answered before we’re comfortable picking up a plate and heading to the buffet again.

We had a chat with Tim Hunt, Executive Chef/F&B Director of East Beijing Hotel on the latest Feast semi-brunch comeback, to find out how they are handling the transition back to buffet dining and keeping their customers happy.

The DIY salad station.

Was there ever a formal notification from any local authorities banning buffet setups?
As always there is no 100% clear direction given on buffets service, so in general, they were never been banned. But we need to listen to our customers and respect what they require and what they believe is acceptable during special periods in these recent months. So it was more of a business call when we closed all our buffet meal periods.

Has the Feast team had to change any of its food preparation procedures in light of COVID-19?
There have been so many changes during the last six months and they can come overnight. Sometimes we have had to change the menu in the morning for that day’s lunch due to a change of policy. But luckily due to our company’s own internal policies, almost all these new government policies have been something we do on a daily basis anyway.

Not a salmon in sight, but there are plenty of other options to choose from.

The seafood has always been a very popular part of the buffet… will there be restrictions on the types of food offered?
The only item which has no clear direction is that of salmon as still not been cleared to be sold yet. All our other seafood items have been tested for and came back negative. Basically, the policy on the seafood is that you must test your own supply before you can serve. So that very next week we had all our imported seafood tested, our suppliers did the same and everything came back negative. At present almost all our menu is made using fresh local seafood due to the recent outbreak to see if anything else happens as its better we be safe during these times.

See food, eat food.

Have there been concerns about food safety?
Yes and no. We have good procedures in place and we follow all local government requirements. I would rather say I have had more concern about the safety of our food handlers as our associates meet and have to deal with a lot of different people during the days and weeks. So personal hygiene has been a big one for me and to ensure associates look after themselves and more on the service side of things then the kitchen. As servers have to deal with clearing and tidying up after customers and as we all know there are different levels in customers throughout this industry

What happens if someone coughs on the food?
All the food which goes onto the buffet is for that meal period only, all customers must have their health kit checked. If we see or hear any customers mention someone coughed around our food, we will remove it immediately. Also, our associates have been briefed to inform us if they have any concerns that a customer may not be well.

Will the kids’ play area be open and what activities will be available for children?
The kids’ corner is back up and running just like the old days after it had its big deep clean during the pandemic. There will be a few brunches in the near future which will have a lot more activities for kids. We will also be launching our Little Chefs cooking classes in August with our very popular pizza making class. The kids’ area is tidied up and sprayed down with sanitizer after every meal period whether its breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Greg serenades you as you go for seconds.

Feast’s weekend semi-buffet brunch is every Saturday and Sunday from 11.30 – 2.30 pm for RMB 288 per person including free-flow house wine, craft beer, and soft drinks. For kids ages seven to 12 enjoy half price and kids six and younger dine for free. For an extra perk, Greg from the hotel’s band will be giving a solo performance every last Sunday in July, August, September from 12-3 pm. For reservations, call 8414 9898 or email restaurantreservation@east-beijing.com.

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Photos: Nicole Wang