I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there’s not much I find more decadent and sumptuously delicious any day or time of the week than a board laden with cheese and premium cold cuts, partnered with a good and generous pour of wine. You can then, of course, imagine my elation when I found out for as little as RMB 120 you can have your fill of free-flow wine and beer, cheese, olives, homemade breads, and cured meats four times a week at four different Annie’s and Ponte restaurant and bar locations across the city.

Fancy extending your weekend? You can enjoy real Italian Aperitivo from Wednesday to Saturday, to the background of live jazz! Last week, I enjoyed a Saturday night at Ponte in Lido. The service was exceptional, the free-flow generous, and all the edible offerings were of excellent quality. I was quite staggered by the generous portions of imported meats and cheeses, and my glass was never left empty for long.

The live jazz trio played a combination of dinner jazz classics along with more uptempo fusion blues and soulful melodies. The night was more than a Wine O’Clock session. The dimly-lit and intimate dining space, immaculately dressed staff and attentiveness bestowed upon each individual either dining alone or with friends created a wonderful atmosphere ripe for chatter, laughter and entertainment all in one.

Book your table now at either Annie’s, The Place on Wednesdays, Annie’s, Sanlitun on Thursdays, Annie’s, Sunshine 100 on Fridays or Ponte, Lido on Saturdays. Perfect for dinner dates or a night out with friends, but to be honest who needs an excuse to enjoy a cheese platter with wine?

RMB 120. 6.00pm – 9.00pm.  Annie’s, The Place, East of the Place, South of Central Park (010 8590 6428). Annie’s Sanlitun, China View Building (010 8587 1469). Annie’s Sunshine 100, Guanghua Lu (010 8589 8366). Ponte, Lido, 6 North Road, Zone 1, Block B (010 6591 1931).

Photos: Nicole Bonnah

If you ever had the chance to go out to dinner with a group of Italians you will know this is not easy. In Holland we agree to have pizza, we all stand up and walk to the door, and go to the restaurant. Easy as pizza pie. It doesn’t work like that in southern Italy, where my husband comes from.

I remember the first time we agreed to eat pizza with the family. I basically stood up and put on my coat and wanted to leave. Turns out this is not how it happens. The restaurant needs to be debated, eat in or take away needs to be discussed, and many other things I did not understand. Fast forward to two hours later, we were still not in the restaurant and I was hangry. How do you get a group of Italians to come to a restaurant quickly? After five years of marriage to a Italian man I still have no answer.

The only real solution was moving to Beijing, where there is a very limited choice of Italian restaurants so the discussion is not as complicated. For this weekend’s “No Cook Sunday” I decided to take my small half-Italian child to the new Bottega restaurant, which is very conveniently located a short ride from my home. It was their opening party and we did not want to miss it. We bumped into our Italian family friends, and had a big family lunch at Bottega.

We loved the open space of the restaurant and the terrace at the front; there’s enough space for kids to run around. The restaurant has a changing area and highchairs for kids. They also provide place mats kids can draw on, and pencils. This is always a huge hit with my four year old as she is obsessed with drawing (on anything).

I totally listened to Luigi, the head of the Italian family I was having lunch with, as they know best about food. I was not let down; we ordered pizzas galore and even a deep fried calzone pizza. Save this dish for your cheat day, it’s the best thing since sliced bread. Our kids had pasta and desserts with gelato. They played outside with a cardboard box and we drank some daytime spritz. I think its incredible that I have to move to China to feel a bit more relaxed: a bit less Dutch and maybe a bit more Italian.  Bottega made that happen for me, and I won’t hesitate to recommend this restaurant to all the families living in Beijing.

For more information on opening times and locations click here.

Photos: Bottega and Pauline

If you still need another reason to relocate to Wangjing, Annie’s, that staple of western family dining in Beijing, has decided to give you one more. Not content to await the completion of Wangjing SOHO, Annie’s has opened a new location in the Daimler Tower on 8 Wangjing Jie (it’s the building with the giant Mercedes hood ornament on the roof).  The restaurant, located on the second floor via the east side of the tower, features similar décor to the other locations and the same reliable menu full of reasonably priced favorites and kid friendly options.

Although the place is already busy at lunchtime with hungry office workers from the neighboring Microsoft and Caterpillar Towers, the evening is still quiet and we had the dining room practically to ourselves while we ate. There is no kids play corner at this location, but they do provide the dough, pizza sauce, and cheese so that your little one can try their hand at making their own mini pizza pie. While supplies last, they are also giving each dining party a free gift of two.

For more information, reservations, directions, or delivery in the Wangjing area, call 010 8476-0398.

Photos courtesy of Christopher Lay.