It’s no secret that the many of us in the jingkids editorial team loves Commune Reserve. Situated behind the classy shopping district of SKP and sporting high ceilings with chic interiors, the restaurant offers one of the best burgers in town, amazing service and also a pet-friendly patio.

KEEP READING: Commune Reserve Offers a Welcome Addition to Beijing’s Food Scene

Then, Commune X opened its doors earlier this year in Sanlitun’s popular Taikooli. Located on the fourth floor of the East building where Element Fresh used to be.

I’m surprised it took me this long before I set foot in it just last week, at the end of summer, for a taste of their new offerings.

Here are 3 reasons why you should bring your family and friends to Commune X in Sanlitun, or just watch the video!

1. Pet-friendly rooftop patio

While Commune Reserve has a spacious patio on the ground floor, Commune X elevates you literally to the top floor of Taikooli. In the late afternoon during summer and autumn, there’s just enough shade, sunlight, and a breeze for you to truly enjoy this brand-new patio space. And yes, it is pet-friendly!

2.  Brunch menu, Lunch Promos and Member specials

I don’t know about you but I didn’t know that Commune offered brunch! I cannot wait to bring the family to try, well, practically every thing on the menu!

Shopping at Sanlitun Taikooli can be tough on the wallet, so we save where we can. Commune X can help with its weekday lunch deals at just RMB 68! If you join the membership, you’ll also be entitled to enjoy buy-1-get-1 free pizzas on Mondays from 2-10pm! In fact, when you scan the QR code below to activate your free membership, you’ll get a 10oz beer on the house next time you visit.

3. New and specially designed menu items

Commune X and Commune Reserve are both updating their menu to offer some new culinary treats! You probably already know their burgers are mouth-wateringly delicious, so it’s no surprise that their new Classic Bacon Cheese Burger similarly hits the spot with a piece of thick, juicy miso-maple bacon and french fried onions! Pizza and truffle lovers can rejoice with the Tartufata pizza (RMB 98), which instead of using too much truffle oil as too many truffle dishes tend to do, perfectly blends cheesy with mushroom-y with authentic truffle paste.

And even though it’s not technically new, the Commune Crispy Chicken Wings (RMB 65) is absolutely a show stealer with its true-to-name crispy skin, tender meat, and fried garlic chips that meld wonderfully with the unique Asian seasoning of the breading.

Vegetarians and vegans have not been left out either! The Veggie Tacos are loaded with green and yellow zucchini, pico de gallo, and fried onions – which really make every dish pop! I was also very satisfied with the Vegan Coconut Smoothie which is made with VAI Creamery coconut ice cream and vegan milk – a delightful summer treat!

Speaking of VAI Creamery, Commune X offers 250g tubs of their ice cream in 9 flavors for dessert! Wanna bring a few tubs home with you? Get 20% when you pick up 4 flavors from the store!

Last but not least, editor Mina Yan and I have both brought our kids to Commune restaurants and have always been treated with good and attentive service.

Want to find more family-friendly restaurants? Join the Jingkids FamFriendlyEats WeChat group. Add TBJButler on WeChat to request to be added.

Images: Commune X and Commune Reserve, Vivienne Tseng-Rush

I’m currently on a trip 8,000 kilometers away from Beijing, visiting my husband’s family in the UK. The shocking events in Beijing and Tianjin have startled, shocked, and saddened us, and they have hit our close-knit Beijing community hard.

Beijing is special: open and friendly. In the expat community it feels as though we all share two degrees of separation, three maximum. Whether you call Shunyi, Lido, Sanlitun or CBD your hood, we are all creatures of habit. We roam the same streets and neighborhoods every day, we meander in and out of the same restaurants and shops on a daily basis. We recognize our expat neighbors. We know each other.

This is one of the reasons that the event in Sanlitun is so difficult to assimilate. Perhaps you were in the same spot just moments before or after that day, perhaps you knew the couple involved… I have a picture taken there last weekend when my husband Ross and 5 month old strolled past Uniqlo. Ross plays in the same football league as the man who lost his wife.

It seems as though the attack was random. It could have been anyone. Heartbreaking, and also terrifying. The sense of safety we felt in the city seems shattered in a matter of hours. The attacks coming as they did, just hours after the explosions in Tianjin, add to our feelings of disbelief and horror.

Watching footage of those monstrous explosions, while the story of the Sanlitun attack was breaking simultaneously was like witnessing a nightmare unfolding in an alternate universe. There isn’t anything anyone can say or do that will make the events of August 12 and 13  go away. Thinking in practical terms, perhaps now is the time to book a class to learn skills on how to provide a first response in an emergency situation. We can also be grateful for our community, and simply share our sympathy and support with each other.

Theresa Pauline is a yoga teacher, social entrepreneur, momma, wife, and beijingkids contributor. You can find out more about her at www.taozitreeyoga.com

Photo: Courtesy of the Beijinger 

It’s time once again for breakfast at Taikoo Li: the Apple faithful will be lining up in front of the Sanlitun Apple Store and its three other retail outlets on October 17, as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have been approved officially for sale in China and will go on sale then. 

The latest version of the groundbreaking smartphone arrives in Beijing 38 days after it went on sale in the US, Hong Kong, and other major markets. The China launch was delayed as the phone waited for regulatory approval from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and not, as some sources had suggested, anger over mobile service providers in China giving the game away early by offering iPhone pre-orders with official photos of both models prior to its launch on September 9.

The announcement of a release date will put a damper on smuggling of iPhones from the US and Hong Kong. Unlocked iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models have sold for as much as RMB 20,000. China Customs agents have been confiscating phones, including more than 800 in Shanghai. The basis for these confiscations is that travelers failed to declare goods of value purchased overseas, not because the phones were not officially available in China. 

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have racked up record sales, with 10 million sold in their first weekend of availability. Technology market research firm Gartner predicts the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will sell 10 million units per quarter in China. That’s a lot of phones. All three of China’s mobile carriers — China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom — will offer the new iPhone to their customers, as will Apple Stores throughout the country.

This post first appeared on thebeijinger.com on October 1, 2014.

Photo: The Verge via the Beijinger