Want millions of people to debate your very own dish at a popular local restaurant? Have that desire to share those delicious fall/winter recipes? Then Element Fresh wants you to help create their upcoming fall/winter menu with your very own recipe. The family friendly restaurant chain with branches in Beijing and Shanghai collaborated with China’s Grand Slam Champion, LiNa on a number of dishes since last year. These are a must try for anyone who hasn’t. We personally like the salads and smoothies (the avocado coconut smoothie is a healthy delight that rescues the sweet and savory areas of your tongue from the blandness of all other everyday smoothies).

If you wish to win RMB 10,000 cash and have a tasting with the champ then scan the QR code in the above image and start working. The recipe will have to use superfood ingredients for tingling the tastebuds and prove nutritious. Follow the instructions on the submission site and start promoting on your wechat to convince friends and fiends to vote for your dish. The competition deadline is June 6, 2016.

Good luck and hopefully, we can get at taste of your dish in the new menu very soon.

Photo: Courtesy of Element Fresh

Two names associated with a healthy lifestyle, recently retired tennis star Li Na and Shanghai-based restaurant chain Element Fresh, are serving up a new spring/summer menu called the Element Fresh & Li Na Vitality Series.

“I am more than an athlete, with many roles to play. I love the challenges, the diversity of my life and I love fresh food, the source of vitality!” Li said of her new turn in the kitchen.

The first three entrees in this series are: Blue Cheese, Chicken and Apple Salad (an American-style chopped salad featuring grilled chicken breast, blue cheese, California raisins, apple, crispy bacon, chopped lettuce, and honey-mustard dressing); Warm Spinach Salad and Salmon Fillet (flash sautéed fresh spinach, carrots, edamame, green lentils, and yellow bell peppers with seared salmon, finished with grilled cucumber flowers and lemon-tarragon dressing); and Fire and Ice Tuna (spicy ahi tuna grilled medium rare, ice greens with cucumber, jicama, and wasabi vinaigrette, and kombu potato salad with shiso and sesame).

Li, who is expecting her first child this summer, is also touting two fresh shakes: the Red Dragon (a combination of orange and red dragon fruit); and the Avocado-Coconut Smoothie (fresh avocado, coconut milk, bananas, spinach).

Wait, avocado, coconut milk, and spinach?

We stopped by Element Fresh in Tai Koo Li Thursday night to taste that last item. The mix of coconut and avocado made it probably the creamiest smoothie we’ve ever had. While the green color speaks of avocado and spinach, the taste is all coconut. It’s a pretty nice addition for the warm-weather menu.

The Element Fresh & Li Na Vitality Series menu items are incorporated into the Element Fresh Spring/Summer 2015 menu, look for the distinctive red logo to try them.

This post first appeared on thebeijinger.com on April 3, 2015.

Photos courtesy of Element Fresh

When speaking exclusively to both beijingkids and theBeijinger last year, Li Na said that she was ready to win and indeed she was. Twice denied her favorite Grand Slam, women’s world number 4 finally lifted the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup on January 25 saying, "finally I got him, her, finally got her. Last two times were very close."

She beat Dominika Cibulkova from Slovakia 7-6 (3), 6-0 and later congratulated her opponent for a good game and wished the 20th seed the best of luck in her future games. Li Na becomes the oldest woman to win the Australian Grand slam at the age of 31 (she turns 32 next month) in the Open era.

Aside from being widely popular at Melbourne park, she is best know for her post- match interviews and she did not disappoint her fans during her first victory speech. Li Na had a list of people to thank starting off with her agent Max, "for making her rich."

Then her physiotherapist who she has worked with for four years without incurring major injuries till last year’s final. She did admit that that fall was her fault but thanked him by saying, "you are doing a good job."

Seven months ago, Li Na had considered leaving the sport she came to love but was talked out of it by her coach, Carlos Rodriguez who she also acknowledged in her speech for his cool demeanor and believing in her according to ESPN.com

"When he was coaching me he always say believe in yourself. He always believed in me, I never believed in myself. That was my problem."

Li Na after huggin her opponent and fighting back tears ran to shake hands with her coach on the sidelines wearing a big grin.

She finished off with her husband Shan Jiang, former coach and constant traveling companion saying, "so thanks for him give up everything just traveling with me to be my hitting partner, fix drinks, fix the racket. So thanks a lot, you are a nice guy." She had to wait for the laughter to die down at the Rod Laver Crowd to continue,"Also you are so lucky, find me."

Watch her shortened speech here on the official Australian Open Website. 

We have not seen the last of Li Na as she vows to be back at her favorite major next year to win again.

Read our blog to find out about Li Na’s biography and thoughts on the ‘tiger’ parenting style.

Photo courtesy of Sunday world

Chinese sporting royalty Li Na may now be reveling in her position as Asia’s most successful tennis player, but it took 15 years for her to begin enjoying the sport, she revealed yesterday.

Speaking exclusively to beijingkids on a visit to the International School of Beijing (ISB), Li admitted that tennis was “not my choice” and that her pursuit of sporting success was “for my family.”

The world’s third-ranked player went on to question the “tough” training methods used in the Chinese coaching system during her youth. While a strict sporting upbringing may be responsible for her unprecedented achievements, she advocated a softer approach to the youth game.

"When I was young the coach was tough. She was very nice, but the way she trained was tough,” she explained. “Right now [China] has many tennis academies that bring in a lot of Western culture [and]learn a lot from the West.

“Children have a good time when they’re starting their tennis because if you’re doing well, the coach gives you some positive [encouragement]. For us it was always negative which made me a little bit sad when I was growing up.”

With the trajectory of her early career directed by the wishes of her late father, Li’s newly-translated autobiography My Life also details the unrelenting criticism of her coach Yu Liqiao, who instilled a seemingly pervasive sense of self-doubt. While she now believes tennis to be “an amazing sport”, the star’s successes have not convinced her of the benefits of the “tiger” parent approach.

"Everyone’s different and if one day I’m a mom then for sure I’ll let my children choose [what]they prefer. When I grew up I hated that feeling so I don’t want to give that back to my children.

“The champion is not the winner,” she told us. “You need to be for yourself. It’s not like when I was young and [I had to] follow what my family said."

Quietly fearsome on court, the softly-spoken and unassuming Grand Slam winner was also keen to underplay her importance to the game in China.

“People always say ‘oh Li Na, Li Na’ but you know in China there are 5 million Li Nas. So which one do you want to be?” she said.

After speaking with beijingkids and meeting with young players at ISB’s pollution-free tennis dome, Li addressed around 400 members of the school community in a Q&A with three aspiring young student journalists. She spoke about the support she offers to seven Shunyi orphans and urged the school’s young tennis players to build a positive and communicative relationship with their coaches.

My Life was published December 1 by Viking, a Penguin Group imprint.

beijingkids was granted an exclusive interview with Li Na alongside sister publication The Beijinger. Read her views on the state of Chinese tennis and the upcoming Australian Open here.