Our favourite incubator where foodie ideas are hatched and grown will soon be taking up a new residence in Sanlitun. Say goodbye to Hatchery’s retro 80’s interior at their Guomao-based Arcade restaurant, and hello to their new collaborative project in trendy Sanlitun. Look forward to more food ideas worth growing, a continuation of awesome tasty offerings, and a chance to unwind.

Hatchery is a platform that has been dedicated to supporting and growing China’s next generation of food entrepreneurs and concepts. They support, showcase, and hatch creative food ideas, and have partnered with a number of entrepreneurs in the Beijing expat community. They are best known for their hatched concept, Common Burger, where you can munch down on gastronomic burgers, such as the Roast Dinner, and inspired sides like the Mac ‘n’ Cheese bites.

At Canteen, you can opt for more healthy options with veg- and meat-laden pasta and salad bowls. Inspired by surfing trips to Bali with beachside smoothies and poke bowls, the second of Hatchery’s hatched projects has succeeded in bringing a slice of paradise to Beijing in the grey and winter months with healthy but hearty options, and brightening up even the brightest of summer days with colorful bowls of yumminess.

Before swinging by their new joint, it’s time to say goodbye in style with an epic closing party. There will be food and drinks specials, including the droolingly moreish Fries with Chicken Salt (RMB 15), Dan Dan Nachos (RMB 35), Chicken Shawarma (RMB 45), Larou Yacai, Fried Rice (RMB 25), Mayan Bowl (RMB 50), Vanilla and Sesame Butterscotch Milkshakes (RMB 35), and Chocolate and Pecan Milkshakes (RMB 35).

Expect copious amounts of food and beverages, and entrance is free! Bring along friends, perch up at the bar and celebrate the old while bringing in the new. Keep an eye out for more information regarding their new location set to open on May 1, but for now you may be keen to make your reservation. If so, don’t delay and secure your spot by sending an email to: m.leine@hotmail.comor WeChat: Maddy_Madeleine.

Arcade by Hatchery, 5L Hotel Lobby 1 Jianguomen Outer Street, Chaoyang District. 北京市朝阳区建国门外大街1号5L饭店大堂右侧 (6500 2884).

After living and working around the Shuangjing area for three years, I’m finally starting to feel like our ‘hood is shaping up into a fantastic area for family life.

Mind you, I use the geographic term loosely – "Shuangjing" is technically a bridge south of Guomao on the east Third Ring Road – but most expats seem to use it as a blanket term for the entire area running south of the Tonghui River/Jianwai Soho complex and east to Dawang Qiao/Dawang Lu. The southern border is essentially the south side of Guangqumennei and Guangqumenwai Dajie, which intersects Shuangjing Qiao itself.

Years ago, when I had just arrived in Beijing, traveling south of Guomao was like a trip to the badlands – decaying roads, decrepit factories and dust were just about the only features of the place (the land where Pingod now sits was once a beer factory) – and I never would have imagined raising my family here, much less moving to the area.

Yes, the area still has a ways to go – from finishing up all the construction projects to improving the overall transportation situation (especially along Baiziwan Lu), but a spate of new venue openings in the past year has truly invigorated the entire area.

But as with the rest of Beijing, what a difference a decade makes – it’s now quite evident that after a few key construction projects are done (not least of which is the CCTV Tower complex and giant air force housing compound just east of the Third Ring Road along Baiziwan Lu), Shuangjing will be one of the most desirable places to live in Beijing.

Firstly, there’s the Pingod complex, which lies just south of Baiziwan Lu about 500 m east of the Third Ring Road and encompasses the blooming 22 International Art Street and Today Art Museum on its northern side. We spent a pleasant weekend here with our daughter and our friends’ families re-exploring our own backyard.

Sunday lunch consisted of a grilled fish (kaoyu) lunch at the hip, but kid friendly, If Yu Yuan, lying just east of the Today Art Museum on the north side of the Pingod compound. Like most of its neighboring restaurants (including the ever-crowded Xiao Xiao Jiu Jia and the nearby Sushi Bar), this place tends to attract youthful hipsters and trendy media types, but is entirely accommodating to families with small kids and serves very good fish and jia chang cai to boot. A few other restaurants new-ish looking places have opened up (more on this to come) along the strip and there is a Beijing-style dairy dessert shop towards the east end that attracts lots locals.

On the other side is the 22 "Art Street" itself. When we first moved to Pingod in summer 2008, this place was depressingly deserted, more of a dusty wind-tunnel than burgeoning gallery district (all it needed were some tumbleweeds to complete the effect).

But things started picking up last year with a spate of new gallery and cafe openings, including Dao Le and The Place Cafe that have added variety, culture and class to this hipster haven. The strip is also home to a host of design firms, hair and nail salons, clothing boutiques, the Modern Sky Record Label offices and theaters.

My personal favorite remains Unconditional Love Cafe, which has been serving some of Beijing’s best coffee (not to mention a good selection of imported beers) from this spot since 2008. Their frozen coffee drinks are sublime and this cafe is a great place to sip al fresco while you watch your little ones wreak havoc on the surrounding public sculptures.

Of course the main attraction of 22 Art Street is its many galleries, as well as the Today Art Museum housed in an iconic brick building at its western end. Over the weekend, the Fat Art Exhibition (a collaboration between curator Karen Smith and Beijing music label Modern Sky) was going on in Exhibition Hall 3 of the Today Art Museum and featured exhibits of eye-catching installation works by notable artists like Wang Jinsong and Liu Wei. Though edgy, most of the pieces are "kid"-accessible and it’s worth taking a look if you’re in the area.

More Fat Art displays are on the fourth floor of the Today Art Museum, with a few provocative pieces by Chen Wenlin ("How to Flee"), Hong Lei and Yue Minjun.

The Fat Art exhibit is going on until May 24th and there is also an exhibition entitled "Absolut Art," curated by former tbj Art Editor Carol Yinghua Lu, going on the third floor that runs until May 22.

There’s certainly much more to Baiziwan than just the Pingod Art complex itself – two blocks south of the 22 Art Street is the Tianzhi Jiaozi complex, home to another batch of great eateries and bars, including Lily’s American Diner, Grinder’s, The Brick and Zhuang, as well as The Loop just around the corner – all of them are great for a post-Pingod pit-stop.

If you’ve exhausted all choices at the discount book carts around Beijing, then you’ll be happy to hear about the grand opening of Page One in Guomao are, as reported by the Beijinger.

It looks like the bookstore competition in Beijing is heating up: Page One, a shiny (and rather sexy, to be honest) new bookstore just opened in Guomao today, at the Summit Wing section of the China World Mall. About 65% of their over 150,000 titles will be in English, covering art/design, food and wine, children’s books, etc.

Actually, the shop features an excellent selection of children’s books! A cursory glance revealed popular imported titles that aren’t found in other bookstores around town. The staff seemed tolerant of browsing and reading aloud to children. However, expect to pay premium prices for the imported books.

You can read more here from thebeijinger.