Chinese New Year is just around the corner, and while the real festivities don’t kick off until the end of the month, International Newcomer’s Network (INN) has invited local cultural education staples, Black Sesame Kitchen and Cultural Keys, to host a celebration next Monday (January 13), at their monthly meeting location on the third floor of the Capital Mansion Athletic Center in Chaoyang District.

Black Sesame Kitchen will introduce folks to the foods associated with Chinese New Year and Spring Festival, including demonstrations on how to make dumplings, the most important dish of the holiday, and yuan xiao — or tang yuan — a clear broth soup with sweet rice dumplings.

Likewise, Cultural Keys will be covering the basics of Spring Festival, from the history of the event to modern temple fairs, as well as the practice of giving and receiving red envelopes (hóngbāo), and the modern practicalities of the festival.

The event will last from 10am to noon, and entry costs RMB 60, which includes coffee, tea, pastries, and holiday treats. After the presentations, everyone is invited to join the Lunch Bunch for an informal gathering of food and socializing, at Fu Man Lou Chinese restaurant, a short walk away from the Athletic Center.

According to co-organizer, Maria Renee Cruz, “INN is all about spreading love and holiday spirit, plus making it educational and interesting for everyone.”

All tickets for the event will be sold at the door.

For more information, contact INN by email at innbeijing16@outlook.com, WeChat: innbeijing16, or phone, 8486 2225 ext. 12.

Capital Mansion Athletic Center, 3rd Floor, No. 6 Xin Yuan Nan Lu, Chaoyang District

Photos: Pixabay, INN

Beijing is a culinary wonderland where noodles float lazily on oceans of hearty soup broth, mountains of fluffy baozi reach into the heavens, and the smell of barbecue wafts through the streets like a dense morning fog.

Navigating your way through this illustrious landscape of traditional Chinese foodie bliss is enough to keep anyone’s belly full for a while. But once your sojourn is complete, or if you just feel like taking a detour every now and again, there’s always an eclectic mix of expats eager to share a new dish from their culture, and find fresh ways to spice up your palette.

On Sunday, Sep 22, local cooking-enthusiasts Sarika Dhami and Sharon Dekel will be hosting an Indo-Israeli Brunch Fest at Zhonghe Art Center (No. 190, Gaobeidian Ancient Furniture Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing).

Beginning at 11.00am, guests will be treated to a culinary adventure through India and Israel while indulging in some of the regions’ most classic fare. What’s more, given that Israel’s metropolitan hub, Tel Aviv, is known as the world’s most vegan-friendly city, the event promises to be a hit with all of our plant-based friends as well.

Indian favorites will include samosas, chicken lollipops, and tamarind and green chutney with Indian tea to wash it down, while the Israeli spread will consist of falafel, pita bread, two types of hummus, and Chinese tea. Tickets for the event run RMB 150 for adults and RMB 80 for kids, which, given the exorbitant prices usually charged for imported delicacies, seems like a particularly savory deal to us. In addition to the tasting, kids and parents will have a chance to bake some fresh pita bread, and be given the recipe so they can replicate this staple of Israeli cuisine at home.

“I feel like food connects people from all around the world,” Dekel tells beijingkids. “They can explore different flavors [and]histories around food, so it’s a really major experience in any culture that you are interested in getting to know. By doing Israeli food and Indian food in China, all the cultures come together, and we’re bringing our homemade food to your table, so it’s quite unique.”

As for Zhonghe Art Center as the event’s host, Dekel says, “it’s a great opportunity for people to explore Chinese art alongside delicious dishes. The space has a fish pond as well so kids can enjoy that while making some new friends from different cultures!”

For more information, and to reserve a space, you reach out to Sarika Dhami directly using the QR code above.

Photos: Shutterstock, Sarika Dhami & Sharon Dekel,

The holiday season is fast approaching, and that means Christmas fairs, turkey roasts, gift wrapping, and, of course, a toasty, warm house filled with the buttery smell of baking. But instead of dealing with cleanup, or for a lux change of scenery, book a class with you and your family at Domain.

Located at the swanky EAST Hotel near 798, we think many families in know agree the outlets at East and the connected Indigo Mall make for a great weekend family excursion. To sweeten the deal they will be hosting their Little Chefs cooking classes series from now through the holidays. Classes in the past include Halloween themed cookie baking and traditional Chinese mooncake making. 

For this holiday season, there are two yummy cooking classes still available; baking mini apple pies for Thanksgiving and assembling your own ginger bread house for Christmas.

Pie making is deceptively easy, and the best way to demystify rolling and kneading dough is to learn from an experienced teacher. Have fun with your kids making delicious apple pies for Thanksgiving, with classes on Nov 10 and 17 starting at 2pm. 

Consisting of gumdrop stepping stones, candy cane gates and roof eaves thick with frosting, gingerbread houses are fun edible sculptures that are our personal nostalgic favorites. Take home a charming gingerbread house with classes held on Dec 8, 15, and 22 starting at 2pm.

Every class costs RMB 328 and includes a glass of free juice for the kids. For reservations, call EAST Hotel at 8414 9830.

Photos: andersruff.com, brighteyedbaker.com, wilton.com

Ayis in Beijing are a blessing and curse; cultural differences are very visible when an ayi enters your home to take care of you and your family. Cooking dinner is one of the issues you might run into. I personally had problems with all the wokking and the amount of fat used in my food, not to mention the air quality inside the house when you burn all this fat in a wok.

Gourmet Ayi provides cooking classes for your ayi in the comfort of your own home. These cooking classes aim to teach your ayi western home cooked meals, delicious and healthy. Having somebody teach your ayi what meals you and your family love to eat takes away lots of stress and time. Gourmet Ayi will teach the proper hygiene techniques – a very important aspect as I have seen my old ayi defrost meat on the window sill. If you have an ayi who is dear to you and you want to invest in her and your dinner, get in contact with Gourmet Ayi by scanning the QR code on the poster.

Gourmet Ayi works in a few simple steps: an introductory call, recipe selection, a supermarket tour and then cooking classes in your own home.

Gourmet Ayi is run by Marte van Os, who has more than eight years of experience in the food industry in the Netherlands and Beijing. She has made it her personal mission to share her food knowledge and create flavors from home in your Beijing homes.

Photos: Gourmet Ayi and Pixabay

I heard about WeChat three hours after arriving in Beijing. I thought, “This is an unnecessary app. I have WhatsApp, I don’t need WeChat.” Boy. I was wrong! We all need WeChat; my life has been so much easier since I got it, and I wish the rest of the world would get WeChat too. I have made many, many friends through WeChat. I have had many questions answered, many shopping experiences, and also great services at home. Here I’ll share some of my favorite WeChat contacts. Do you have any great WeChat contacts? Let us know!

Essential Oils

This mother is a coach that promotes the use of Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade essential oils, and gives workshops around China. She will be in Beijing at the end of this month. Her knowledge is extensive and she had great oil blend ideas for my rowdy toddler and for my house move. Add on WeChat: elsamailloux

Kids’ Organic Bedding

Looking for a great gift or some special pieces to decorate your kid’s room with? This mother just relocated to Beijing and she sells organic tipis, canopies, and bedding. Pieces of art in your kids’ room.  Add on WeChat: Littleecoone

Homemade Cereals and Pickles

Elvira started out making granola and her venture is becoming a big success. Though located in Shunyi, Elvira ships all over China. She now has other popular products like chutneys, relishes, and cocoa pops, all homemade and delicious. Add her on WeChat: asteroidelvira

Chocolate

As seen at markets, this chocolate maker has won many hearts with his delicious chocolate and special chocolate tea. Are you in need of a chocolate rush? Add on WeChat: cocodeers

Beef

Where is the beef? Need some grassfed beef from Uruguay? My mounth starts to water looking at the great pieces of meat these people (or cows) can get to your door in Beijing. Add on WeChat: castibeef

Skincare

Skincare from Siberia to your door. I love these creams. There are lotions for kids and adults and they smell good enough to eat. Add on WeChat: AldySha

Italian Cooking Classes

These two authentic ladies give cooking classes in Shunyi and downtown. Need to improve your kitchen skills or want to know more about Italian cuisine? Add on WeChat: CinCucina

Textiles

Baby it’s getting cold outside, get warm on the couch with a colorful throw. DdW Textiles’ handwoven, luxurious throws are 100 percent organic cotton. Add on WeChat: desireedewit

Dutch Snacks

For the Dutch folk in Beijing and the rest of China, you don’t have to live without Dutch cuisine anymore. This gentleman has been delivering traditional Dutch delicacies all over China for a long time. Get your Dutch friends together and make a big order. Add On WeChat: DutchySnacks

Shared Harvest

This farm is located in Beijing and delivers every week fresh greens to the door. You need to top up RMB 3,000 each time, but the fresh vegetable choices delivered are healthy, and will inspire you to cook some delicious food. Add on WeChat: wxid_y9wkwgbke7g322

Sewing Classes

I have wanted to pick up my sewing, and really learn the craft of creating fabric delights. Jen from the SLab located in the Hutongs has many classes to learn this skill. Add her on WeChat: JenPohland

Stone Relocations

I had to look for a moving company that would not charge an arm and a leg. My choice came to Stone Relocations, and although their website is bilingual, the phone is not always picked up by a bilingual person. No worries; for great service in English, add this Stone representative. Add on WeChat: weiwei626500

Photos: Vendors and Pixabay

In need of a date night? Leave the kids at home and consider heading out to Conrad Beijing’s Chapter restaurant next week from October 19-25 as the hotel will welcome a world renowned chef from popular Chez Leon restaurant in Brussels. Opened in 1893 just outside Brussel’s Grand-Place, Chez Leon started with five tables and has since expanded to become a go-to favorite with local and international crowds for its unique atmosphere and take on traditional Belgium cuisine. The executive chef from Chez Leon, Olivier Van Weijnen will oversee Chapter’s Brussels Week and will be on site preparing well-known and not so well known dishes to be served alongside imported Belgian ales.

Cost: RMB 328+15% service charge per person
When: October 19 to 25, 6pm to 10pm
Tel: 6584 6270
Where: Conrad Beijing, 29 North Dongsanhuan Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Tel: 6584 6000

Photos: Courtesy of Conrad Beijing

I was lucky enough back in May to receive some Birthday vouchers for The Hutong Cooking School. When I first arrived in Beijing, I did a couple of their classes, plus one of the tea tours. That was many years back, when the number of cooking classes available was much smaller. Today, they offer a wide range of culinary programs, with a schedule of over 20 different kinds of classes all run from their fully equipped teaching kitchen. Covering different regional and global cuisines, in the Yunnan class students learn to cook delicious mushroom dishes, exotic rice dishes, dried chili stir-fries, and foods steamed in lotus leaves. Tastes of China, teaches classic Chinese kitchen techniques, such as stir frying, braising, deep frying, and Chinese cleaver knife skills. You can also learn the art of making noodles, dumplings, and xialongbao.

I decided to try the Thai cooking class, as it’s one of my favorite cuisines. We would be cooking three dishes – green curry chicken, Thai pineapple rice, and Thai beef salad. The class was small and our teacher Sophia was both enthusiastic and informative, taking us on a culinary tour of Thai tastes, techniques, and ingredients. She offered practical tips on where to source ingredients, and suggested substitutes if you can’t find the real deal. The first part of the class involved a lot of chopping, slicing, and dicing, to prepare all of the ingredients for the green curry paste, and for the rest of the dishes. It is harder than it looks to get your shallots so finely chopped and your carrots looking uniform. Once everything was prepared, we moved on to the cooking part, where we all had the opportunity to get involved with some hands on cooking.

All classes are 2 ½ hours, and at the end you get to enjoy the dishes you’ve cooked, with enough for a doggy bag too. The Hutong kitchen is clean and well-organized, with a viewing mirror so you can see what’s cooking. All of the ingredients used are fresh and of very good quality. Sophia suggested we try the recipes at home within a week of taking the class, when everything was still fresh in our minds. So the following weekend I ordered a couple of deboned chickens, and headed off to Sanyuanli to get everything from lemongrass to sweet basil, pineapple to round eggplant. The recommended palm sugar proved elusive, so I substituted with something my Ayi said would be fine.

I will be honest and say I exceeded my own expectations. The chicken was beautifully tender, the eggplant cooked perfectly, and the sauce was thick, creamy, and coated everything beautifully. My other half felt it could be spicier, and I had to agree, although it was spicier than the version we produced at The Hutong. Next time I will add more green chilies to the paste. The pineapple rice was soft sweet, the pineapple contrasting perfectly with the crunch of the carrots and cashew nuts. My shrimps were cooked well, but they weren’t as strong in flavor as those at The Hutong. I’ll spend a little more money on that element of the ingredient list next time.

I now feel confident in making a good green curry chicken with Thai pineapple rice, and next weekend I’ll do the Thai beef salad. I still have more Hutong vouchers to use, so after the summer break I’m booking myself on to the Indian cooking class, to learn how to griddle breads and make a proper masala.

The Hutong Kitchen
Classes RMB 300 (RMB 260 Members)
1 Jiudaowan Zhongxiang, Beixinqiao, Dongcheng District (159 0104 6127, info@thehutong.com) www.thehutong.com Chinese 中国北京东城区北新桥九道湾中巷1号

beijingkids Shunyi Correspondent Sally Wilson moved to Beijing in 2010 from the UK with her husband and son. Her daughter was born here in 2011 and both her kids keep her happily busy. In her spare time, Sally loves to stroll through Beijing’s hutongs and parks. She is a (most of the time) keen runner and loves reading: books, magazines, news, and celeb websites – anything really. Sally is also a bit of a foodie and loves trying out new restaurants.

Photos: Sally Wilson

Cooking classes are a great way to learn more about a particular cuisine, to understand about the ingredients, and of course learn the techniques to produce certain dishes. The Westin Beijing Chaoyang recently launched a new sushi cooking class, at their fine dining Japanese restaurant Mai. The aim of the class is to enable participants to make basic sushi at home. For those unfamiliar with the sheer delight that is sushi, it is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice, combined with other ingredients such as seafood, vegetables, and sometimes meats. There are three key elements that define great sushi – fresh ingredients, how you cook the rice, and how you roll.

Cooking sushi rice is a time consuming process, so we were pleased that all of our ingredients had been expertly prepared for us. The chef began the class by explaining how to cook perfect sushi rice. The process involves washing the rice six to seven times, soaking the rice in cold water, drying it out, and then sitting the rice in water again, before you start cooking. It is also important that you leave the rice in the pot once it’s cooked, without removing the lid, for about 10 minutes. Doing this stage properly, will make a big difference to how good your sushi rolls will be. Today we would be making makizushi (rolled sushi), specifically norimaki (nori roll). Cylindrical and formed with the help of a bamboo mat known as a makisu. Makizushi is generally wrapped in nori (seaweed), but is occasionally wrapped in a thin omelet, soy paper, or cucumber.

We began with a cucumber nori roll, so we could practice our rolling technique. The chef explained that sushi is 60 per cent visual. From the beginning, you need to keep it as unprocessed as possible. The more you touch the ingredients, the more you alter the natural appearance and flavor of the sushi. There is a very exact tradition of spreading the rice on the nori, and sushi masters study for years to learn the proper technique. An example of the proper way is to lay the rice on the nori in only six movements. I’ll be honest and tell you it took me a lot more than six movements. The idea is to spread a tennis ball size amount of sushi rice on the nori, without pressing enough to squish the rice. When looking at the rolls, you should see the individual rice grains, not a pressed block of rice around your roll.

Once our rice had been spread, we added a long strip of cucumber as our filling, and began to roll. After you have rolled up the rice, nori, and ingredients, you place one end of the mat back over the roll and press lightly. When you press on the sushi mat, the chef explained you must do so evenly and gently. The idea is to lightly press the sushi roll into a square shape. Everyone in the group did really well, with pretty consistent results. Next up was a larger nori roll, which we filled with cucumber, omelet strips, mushrooms, and crab mixed with mayonnaise. This roll was more tricky, and I had one end with contents spilling, the other end with not enough ingredients. Chef advised that it’s better to have overfilled ends, as you can tap the filling back in quite easily.

Our final roll was uramaki inside-out roll. This medium-sized cylindrical piece, with several fillings, was innovated as a result of the creation of the California Roll, a method originally meant to hide the nori. Uramaki differs from other maki because the filling is in the center surrounded by nori, then a layer of rice, and optionally an outer coating of roe or toasted sesame seeds. Once we had spread the rice, we laid the nori over the top, gently pressed down and then flipped the whole thing over. Whilst holding our breath. Thankfully mine stayed in one piece, and it was time to add the ingredients across the middle. Once we’d rolled, we topped it off with roe and gently used the mat to press the roe down.

To finish the session, chef deftly made a temaki hand roll, a large cone-shaped piece of nori on the outside with the ingredients spilling out the wide end. It was like a beautiful sushi bouquet. Our sushi rolls were cut, and the contrasting colors of the ingredients looked impressive. Mine weren’t perfect, but they were pretty good for a first attempt. It was a fun and informative cooking class, and I know enough of the basics now to give it a go at home. The cooking classes at Mai are held on the first Saturday of every month from 3-5pm. RMB 380 per person includes a set menu dinner, Japanese tea, cooking ingredients and materials, and the chance to interact with the chef. Half price for kids aged 4-12 years, free for kids under 4 years. All prices are subject to 15% surcharge. To reserve a place, email rachel.xie@westin.com or call 5922 8880.

Mai Japanese Restaurant
Open Mon-Fri 11.30am-2.30pm; Daily 5.30-10.30pm
Level 2, The Westin Beijing Chaoyang, 7 North Dongsanhuan Road, Chaoyang District

beijingkids Shunyi Correspondent Sally Wilson moved to Beijing in 2010 from the UK with her husband and son. Her daughter was born here in 2011 and both her kids keep her happily busy. In her spare time, Sally loves to stroll through Beijing’s hutongs and parks. She is a (most of the time) keen runner and loves reading: books, magazines, news, and celeb websites – anything really. Sally is also a bit of a foodie and loves trying out new restaurants.

Photos: courtesy of The Westin Beijing Chaoyang

Charlotte Friis Lodahl is a Danish mother of two (4 and 7, both daughters) and a 10-year resident of Beijing. Since taking a break from her career in product marketing for Nokia in 2011, she has been spending her time consulting, doing charity work, and enjoying quality time with her daughters – during which she stumbled upon a talent for making spectacular home-made cakes. We sat down with her for a brief Q&A before her cake-baking workshop scheduled for next week.

Q. Why did you start making your own cakes?
A. I make my own cakes first of all because I like to know exactly what my kids are eating. Apart from the additives that come in store-bought mixes and mass-manufactured cakes, I’m always reading about food scandals here – so I prefer to make my own. The other reason is out of guilt: Where I come from, we have a tradition of making our own cakes, and I was feeling bad that I hadn’t done that for my own children here in Beijing.

Q. Tell us about your first attempt.
A. My first cake was a Barbie cake. The thrill in my daughter’s eyes when she saw it was indescribable … and it was even better when she showed it to her friends. She was so proud of the cake and so proud to tell her friends that her mother made it by hand.

Q. That’s it? You just up and made a masterpiece on the first try?
A. Not exactly. A did a few trial runs, and looking back on it, it looked so easy … but there was a lot of screaming and swearing and ordering people to get out of the kitchen during the process. However, once it was there, even though it wasn’t perfect, I was very proud because people actually recognized what I made.

Q. How long did that first cake take you?
A. Actually, including the trial runs, it took an aggregate time of about 48 hours to complete it. Nowadays I’ve improved my track record considerably – from top to bottom I can make a cake almost in any form you can imagine in a bit less than 8 hours. The cakes are no longer just cakes for me: they’re more like art. Luckily for me, people like to eat my art.

Q. What’s in your cake repertoire at this point?
A.  I’ve made the Death Star, a Teddy Bear, a shark, Spongebob … I look for a new challenge each time. To date the biggest challenge was a 4-tiered castle. My older child is totally into the movie “Brave” and she wanted a castle like the one in the film – and by then my 7-year-old was pretty jaded over the ‘mom makes the homemade birthday cake’ bit, so she wanted to be a part of making it as well. That adds a new level of complexity to working in the kitchen. She ended up doing an awesome job and we had so much fun together.

Q. Any cake disasters to tell us?
A. I made a shark cake on request for my daughter Asta’s 3rd birthday. I thought in order for it to be authentic, the inside should be red, but when the kids cut into it at the party, they started screaming “the shark is bleeding! The shark is bleeding!” It took a while for me to get them to realize it was make believe, but eventually they got over it and enjoyed the cake.

Then there was the first time I tried to make a castle for my daughter: I used a mold, but I couldn’t get the cake out of the mold and it broke in several places in the process of taking it out. I managed to salvage it by covering it up with some grass and flowers made out of frosting, so in the end it was still a hit with the kids.

Q. Have you had to fit out your kitchen with tons of gear to get started?
A. Not really. I bought a good rolling pin and a knife, and I already had a decent baking pan, but that’s basically all I started with. I have an old, crappy oven that was installed probably 20 years ago in my flat. My most loved piece of equipment is my KitchenAid – which does all the mixing for me. It’s not a “must-have,’ but it makes life easier. You don’t really need anything but a knife, a rolling pin and a pan to get started.

Q. What will you be teaching at the workshop?
A. It’s really just a basic intro to give people a taste of what it’s like to make your own cake, and give people the satisfaction of bringing home something they’ve made by hand. Unfortunately we won’t have the full eight hours it would take to make everything right then and there from scratch, but everyone’s going to walk away with basic framework for making any of these cakes at home, as well as developing some passion for the art of cake-making. Participants will also get to do the part that people really see – the exterior decorations.

Charlotte’s workshop takes place Wednesday, June 11 at the Siemens Test Kitchen from 10:30am to 2pm. Participation in the workshop is restricted to a maximum of 10 individuals. The price for this workshop is RMB 300, which includes a take-home custom cake, refreshments and a light lunch. Full details and registration information can be found here.