Going to Obentos on Mondays has become a bit of a ritual for me. Having survived another weekend of, well, I’ll leave that up to your imagination, nothing else strikes the right balance of healthy, substantive, casual, and reasonably priced grub in a way that doesn’t shovel more guilt onto my already fragile state.

Light and airy, Obentos has bagged the prime spot in Lido’s increasingly bustling Nuo Center

Of course, plenty of actually healthy people eat there too, as is apparent during a bustling lunchtime at their new Lido venue. Easily their best yet, the restaurant occupies the ground floor corner of Nuo Center, with natural light filling the airy space and illuminating the tastefully framed hangings that come straight out of the Obentos school of design.

Kick your meal off with a plate of seed chips, veggie sticks, and spiced pumpkin dip (RMB 28)

The new menu, meanwhile, adheres to the restaurant’s quest to make Japanese-inspired food that is healthy but not at the expense of flavor, or more importantly, the enjoyment of the diner. This summer menu is one of the best examples of this mission yet, with additions that are as tasty, but more rounded, than what would expect to find from your run-of-the-mill bento, for example.

Obentos does skip out of ingredients where others might

The Thai prawn cocktail summer bento (RMB 68) is absolutely bursting with the piquant notes and hearty crunch you’d expect from a Thai salad. More importantly, this is no two-prawn-bit, and you’ll need to dig through the generous layer of juicy prawns and crumbled peanuts to even get the greens. And whereas the salad is already sizable, it of course includes the usual brown rice and sides to more than satisfy any remaining hunger pangs.

One of the lighter options on this new summer menu is the “Ain’t No Grains Here Summer Bowl”

On the lighter side of the spectrum, the “Ain’t No Grains Here Summer Bowl” (RMB 60, add salmon for RMB 20) keeps things strictly lean but filling with a plentiful grab-bag of cauliflower rice, spiced kale, zucchini, pumpkin smash, rocket, and a gooey onsen egg on top for good measure. Wafu dressing, flakes of dried seaweed, and sesame seeds bring the dish together.

Adding these new options to the already bulging menu and a space that perfectly matches the breezy but accomplished dishes at hand, and you have another win for Obentos and Lido’s dining scene. As for myself, I expect to be occupied for many more Monday meals to come.

Obentos
Mon-Fri, 8am-10pm; Sat-Sun, 9am-10pm. 1/F, Nuo Center, 2A Jiangtai Lu, Chaoyang District (8433 0671)
朝阳区将台路甲2号金尚丽1层

Photos: Tom Arnstein

New food, who dis? French bakery chain Comptoirs de France has been a fixture in Beijing for so long (they opened their first store way back in 2006) that they can sometimes be forgotten in the flood of new restaurants opening and closing.

Yet the bakery, which now has 12 outlets in both Beijing and Tianjin, has never stopped testing and trying new menu items, and each season represents a new opportunity to re-discover the old favorite. The new summer menu, which we were invited to taste recently, is no exception.

CdF bring a taste of the south of France to Beijing with their new tomato and olive fougasse

Two new bread items on the menu take their cues from the Provence region in the south of France, with the tomato and olive fougasse (RMB 25), and Italy, with the cheese focaccia (RMB 18). As is to be expected from the bakers, the bread is excellent. The fougasse is appropriately dense and a bit chewy, although a little light on the olives and semi-dried tomato, while the cheese focaccia, made with a mix of Parmesan and mozzarella give a delicious crunch and would be ideal served warm, with a side of salad or even a bowl of soup.

The two new summer salads: mango shrimp, and roast beef (both RMB 56) are good but unimaginative when compared with the dense and flavor-packed bowls one can find at Moka Bros, Tribe, and co. Then again, salads have always been a blind spot in French menus (where they rarely deviate from a simple garden salad or a classic niçoise), so if anything, this weak spot on the Comptoirs de France menu just proves the authenticity of their origins.

At RMB 56, the roast beef and mushroom sandwich is a hearty lunch option

Thankfully, the tender marinated beef (supplied by French steak restaurant O’Steak) reappears in the more successful roast beef and mushroom sandwich (RMB 56). Served with mushroom, lettuce, and onion in a soft roll instead of the traditional baguette, it is a delicious and hearty lunch option.

So far, so good, but, the new range of patisseries are the real stars of the show. Served warm as the bakery recommends, the mini baked apricot and raspberry cake (RMB 39), is an absolute triumph, the almond-flour based dessert hitting the exact right balance of sweetness and tart summer flavors. Another classic French treat, the generously portioned Paris-Brest (RMB 39) is good enough to make you want to ride the famously grueling bicycle race after which it’s named, in order to earn the substantial calories therein, as is the chocolate chou (RMB 15 for small, RMB 39 for large), which is made with imported chocolate from the famous French chocolate makers, Chocolatier de l’Opera. In fact, the mini chocolate chou is among the desserts that Comptoirs de France supply to Air France first class customers, so good news fellow cattle-class warriors, even if we can’t afford to fly in luxury, we can enjoy at least some of the perks.

The baked apricot raspberry cake (RMB 39) hits the perfect balance of sweet and tart

While these desserts sit firmly within the canon of French patisserie, the strawberry and vanilla ice cream macaroons (RMB 19, pictured at top) most decidedly do not. And that’s what makes them so fun. A disc of Baxi brand ice cream is sandwiched between the two airy, candy-colored shells of a French macaroon, making a deliciously silly, refreshing summer treat that we suspect will fly out of the store’s refrigerated shelves during the warmer months.

This new fresh summer menu reinforces why Comptoirs de France has been able to endure in an unforgiving Beijing food and beverage scene that has felled so many others. For more than 13 years they’ve made it their simple goal to serve fresh, authentic French food with high-quality ingredients right here in the capital. If it’s been a while since you dropped by one of their stores, perhaps now’s the time to say re-bonjour; hello again!

READ: Over 60 Topping Options Make JW Froyo Dongzhimen’s Coolest Dessert Shop

More stories by this author here.
Email: annahartley@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @its_annahartley
Instagram: @its_annahartley

Images courtesy of Comptoirs de France

Your appetite naturally longs for more light food as the temperatures soar. The new Tribe Summer Menu is the perfect because each of these dishes perfectly complements this hot summer Beijing weather!

Using the freshest seasonal ingredients (like zucchinis and peaches) for inspiration, Tribe aims to create new dishes that best utilize these healthy ingredients in a way that excites customers’ eyes as well as their tastebuds.

Two of the new dishes in particular that are on top of my personal recommendation list: Voodles (aka Vegetable Noodles), and Coconut Yogurt.

What exactly are voodles? They’re literally noodles made from vegetables! For the summer menu, Tribe has created 3 different voodle dishes to meet all of your faux-noodle needs—Bown Down To Beef Voodle Ramen, Tenacious Tofu Voodle Ramen, and Persuaded By Pesto Voodles, with Zucchini Voodles and Carrot Voodles as main ingredients.

Bursting with juicy flavor, Voodles are both a great paleo alternative to traditional pasta and an effective way to make sure you’re getting enough veg.

Bow Down To Beef Voodle Ramen

Tenacious Tofu Voodle Ramen

Persuaded By Pesto Voodles

The coconut yogurt is subject to 48 hours of fermentation before it’s ready to be served. One primary summer fruit is used in each option (pineapple in one version and peaches in the other), and the coconut yogurt bowl built around this fruit. It’s a great yogurt option for vegans as well as those who are lactose intolerant.

Pleasure from the Pineapple and Coconut Yogurt Bowl (left) and Peach Me Right Coconut Yogurt Bowl (right)

Check the website for other all-stars on Tribe‘s summer menu.

Tribe Solana

About Tribe Solana

Contact: 5905 6256; Tim@tribeorganic.com (English); summerchu@tribeorganic.com (Chinese)

Opening Hours: Everyday 8am – 10pm

Address: Building 9, Unit L-BS-51a, Chaoyang Park Rd

Photos: courtesy of Tribe