Hatchery’s inspired Sunday Morning Family Brunch day sounds eggs-benedict-legit! Families are invited to spend a Sunday morning enjoying awesome brunch options from their new a la carte menu by Goodday, a startup lifestyle brand that focuses on bringing high-end artisanal brunch concepts from around the world to China, plus activity stations for the kids to go brunch bananas on.

This really is the stuff that Sunday mornings should always be made of. The kids can go nut-butter-crazy at the Kids Corner, where on-the-hour bliss ball cooking and crafting classes will be taking place for kids aged 5-11 with Meredith of the Naked Nut Butter duo. Kids will also be getting stuck into cookie-making classes with the divine and tooth-achingly sweet Tianmi bakery, and every kid gets to ride on the sugar rush train with a free cupcake of their choice!

This Sunday is all about the kids, and they can enjoy not only all of the above, but sliders, fish fingers, popcorn chicken, cupcakes, and more from the brunch set from ARCADE! Games and activities will follow, along with what I’m sure will be afternoon-nap-time ready kids.

Wait. There’s MORE!

If that wasn’t enough to get you Sunday brunch ready, then dumpling giveaways from SanWuDing ought to do the trick. Little steamed bundles of joy await you, with a healthy selection of vegetarian and meaty dumplings from ARCADE’s newest resident entrepreneur.

Bookings for kids’ tickets are absolutely essential and you can scan the QR code below for more details. Be easy like Sunday morning, and get yourself and the family down to enjoy what sounds like pure awesomeness.

Hatchery Sunday Morning Family Brunch, Jan 20

RMB 150 (kids tickets). 10am – 3pm. January 20. ARCADE Restaurant, 5L Hotel Lobby, Jianguomen Outer Street, Chaoyang District (185 111 74021)北京市朝阳区建国门外大街1号5L饭店大堂右侧

Photos: courtesy of organizers

On a sunny Sunday while we where biking around, my daughter and I decided to stop for brunch in Solana mall. I had heard of Tribe; they have a kids play area so I decided it was safe to take my four year old.

The restaurant looks green and very calm. We searched for the giant pear door opening, and my daughter was off to play in a minimalist play area. I thought she would get bored very fast, but I was wrong and she was entertained till her food came, a kids’ tuna sandwich with kale. She enjoyed the tuna and I ate the kale. The restaurant was buzzing with families and friends gathering on Sunday and enjoying organic fare.

I enjoyed the adult menu with loads of healthy options and opted for a breakfast with smoked salmon. The menu caters to any kind of dietary restriction. I savored a refreshing pot of Chai tea, and without guilt ordered the vegan brownie and chocolate ice cream for my daughter. The restaurant has a kids toilet which my daughter loves, and a baby changing spot, kids’ cutlery and a special healthy kids’ menu.We both absolutely loved the desserts, and we can’t wait to have a tea and natter with other mommies while our kids are playing.

Pauline van Hasselt has been working for beijingkids since October 2016. Born in Wassenaar, The Netherlands, she moved with her husband and her 3 year-old daughter to Beijing in June of last year. Prior she lived in the Netherlands, Belgium, Paraguay, Texas, and London, studying and working as a chef. Pauline enjoys biking around Beijing, finding markets and new restaurants, reading crime and fantasy books in bed, and most importantly, turning her house into a home for her family.

We’ve had a really busy few weeks, but Shunyi Happenings is slowing down. We have fewer events to report this week. If you want to promote an event, store opening or closing, sale, and any other fun family friendly event taking place in Shunyi, please get in touch with our Shunyi Correspondent Anjana Kainikkara by emailing anjanakainikkara@beijing-kids.com 

Ayi Western Cooking Workshop at Chopstix and SporksFor adults.  Help your ayi work toward a perfectly balanced Western meal by signing her up for these classes that take place every Thursday. She’ll acquire the basic skills to make delightful meals with a focus on food safety, while your family will benefit from healthy, and nutritious food. Scan the QR code (on the flyer) to join their WeChat group or Facebook page and get regular updates. Registration required.
RMB 200 per class, RMB 525 for three classes (paid in advance). 10am-12pm, 1pm-3pm. Chopstix and Sporks, (Scan QR code)

All in One Market on Sundays
All Ages. If you haven’t already done so, stop by and check out the Riviera Sunday All in One Market, a regular feature in the community. It’s a family event with something fun for everyone – food, shopping and playtime for kids. A number of Beijing vendors sell everything from fashion apparel to household appliances to food and drink. Activities for the kids overflow with two huge bouncy castles, face painting, magic shows and more. Free. 11am-4pm. Riviera Country Club, No.1,  Xiang Jiang Bei Road, Chaoyang District (+86 10 84506888)

Art & Wine for Charity at Balmain Gourmet, May 28
Celebrate the simple pleasures of life. It’s not too late to register to view this fabulous art exhibition by Beverly Howard. Donna Brown will introduce the wines chosen for this evening, which pair perfectly with the mood of the exhibition. Tickets include four wines paired with nibbles, including gourmet sausages. Proceeds from sales go to support Little Flower Orphanage and towards a life saving surgery for a child in need. For more details or to RSVP, contact bevfhoward@icloud.com.
RMB 160. 6.30pm onwards. Balmain Gourmet Meat & Grill, South Gate of Yosemite A, YuYang Road, Shunyi District (18600039708, balmaingourmet@vip.163.com)

Photo: Le Living and co (Flickr), and courtesy of Balmain Gourmet, Cindy Young, Riviera Country Club.

If you want to promote an event, store opening or closing, sale, and any other fun family friendly event taking place in Shunyi, please get in touch with our Shunyi Correspondent Anjana Kainikkara by emailing anjanakainikkara@beijing-kids.com

Cocktails and Canapés at Clicia’s Designs, Apr 22
Cocktails and Canapés cooking class at Clicia’s Design is back! STARAfood Beijing will transform the tiny kitchen at Clicia’s Designs to host an inspirational cooking class with international flavors. Limited space. For sign-ups, please email starafoodbeijing@hotmail.com.

RMB 350. Fri, Apr 22, 1pm-3pm. Clicia’s Designs, Lake View Place Dragon Bay Villa, Huan Road, Building 1-Unit 8, Shunyi District

Roundabout Charity Book Fair at BIBA, Apr 23 & Apr 25
All Ages. If you missed the last Roundabout book fair, here’s your chance to catch the next one. BIBA is hosting a Roundabout book fair over two days to optimize sales and traffic. As always, all proceeds go to children in need. Stop by to browse their collection and stock up on books for the summer! Sat, Apr 23, 10am-3pm. Mon, Apr 25, 9am-11am. Beijing International Bilingual Academy, No. 5, Yumin Road,Houshayu, Shunyi District (8041 0390)

Cook-for-Hope, Apr 26

Cook-for-Hope is a charity cooking competition cum luncheon at Green T. House in Shunyi. The goal is to raise funds to cover the cost of Baby Pu’s diaphragm and heart reconstruction surgeries. Nine confirmed teams have signed up, with only one spot left. Teams will cook up a storm and indulge all attendees with culinary delights from Taiwan, Hongkong, China, Korea, Malaysia, Western (Nestle staff), Britain, Philippines (New Hope), and Singapore. Gather your friends, sign up to support this great cause, and cheer the participants while witnessing this competition. All donations will go to New Hope Foundation. April 26, 11am-2pm. RMB 1000 per team and RMB 300 per guest. Green T. House, 318, Shungbai Road, Chaoyang District (6434 2519)

All in One Market on Sundays
All Ages. The Riviera Sunday Food Market has now blossomed into the All in One Market. Every Sunday they’ll have vendors from all over Beijing, selling everything from
fashion apparel and household appliances to food and drink. They’re adding loads of more activities for engaging kids, including two huge bouncy castles, face painting, magic shows and more! Free.  Sun, 11am-4pm. Riviera Country Club, No.1,  Xiang Jiang Bei Road, Chaoyang District (8450 6888)

Food & Wine Pairing, Apr 28

All you Wine connoisseurs out there, here’s something that might perk your interest! You don’t need to fight traffic into the city to indulge your taste-buds with great food and fabulous wine. Sign up for this event and you’ll get to enjoy five treats created just for you by Boulangerie. While these are delectable by themselves, paired with five amazing international wines especially selected for this evening by Signature Wine, they’ll be absolutely divine. Apr 28, 7.30pm. RMB 100 Signature Wine Club Members, RMB 120 Non Members. Riviera Country Club. No.1,  Xiang Jiang Bei Road, Chaoyang District (wine@SigWine.com)

Photo Courtesy: Riviera Country Club, Clicia’s Designs, Roundabout, New Hope Foundation, Signature Wine Club.

On Sunday, as one does, we hosted a neighborhood virtues-based children’s class for our daughter and a handful of her friends. It is the type of class where kids learn about generosity, kindliness, and humility so that afterwards they can fight over who gets the snacks first. Anyway, our friend had brought over his two daughters (ages 4 and 6) and, despite not having twins, looked shattered from a lack of sleep. When the class finished, we encouraged him to leave his kids with us and to go home and take a nap. At first he protested. How could he burden us with two more children when we already have three of our own to look after?

The truth is, once you have three kids in your home, one or two more hardly makes a difference. I explained that he was actually doing us a favor. If Reina has friends over to play with, she won’t make so many demands on our time to keep her occupied or complain that she is not getting sufficient attention while we look after the boys.

This is one of the ironies about having multiple children and why the bigger the family the more likely the parents are to host play dates. I love it when my daughter plays at one of her friend’s homes, but then there is also the trouble of getting her to and from said play date. Honestly, most of the time it is simpler for me if her friends come and hang out at our place.

Maybe things will change when the boys are old enough to go on play dates of their own, but for now, we might as well let the kids come to us. At least this way I don’t need to worry about where they are or what they are doing. It also makes it easier for me to leave the kids home alone if I need to step out for a coffee or just a nice stroll. After all, if there are several virtuous six-year-olds at home, what could possibly go wrong?

Photo courtesy of Scoot Van Der Chij (Flickr)

Sunday brunch is a popular affair among families in Beijing, especially during holidays and special occasions. For Mother’s Day, we decided to join the Sunday crowd and take Savvy out for brunch at 360° Casual Dining at Hilton Beijing Capital Airport. As soon as we approached the restaurant with our party of nine (another family joined us), we knew the day was going to be a memorable one.

The hostess greeted us with a warm smile and was comfortable speaking to us in Chinese and English. Since we had a stroller (double wide too), one of the staff helped navigate our way to the table, where he asked how we wanted everything set up so that parents and children were all comfortable. Once ensconced at our table, we began fanning out to investigate the extensive brunch offerings and activities for the kids.

Even though it was Mother’s Day, Hilton management gave due consideration to the contentment of the younger guests as well. Food and Beverage Manager Ohad Tiktinsky – himself a father – knows that happily-engaged children means Mom and Dad can relax and enjoy their meals.

Accordingly, there was a mini-buffet for the kids with pasta, finger sandwiches, vegetables, and fruit. The regular buffet also had many kid-friendly options, like Chinese noodles, pizza, fresh-squeezed juices, and – of course – ice cream, and popcorn.

Best of all, there’s a playroom for kids down the hall from 360° to rival any restaurant play area in town. There was a bouncy castle, a ball pit, coloring tables, a rotating palm tree, and more. Once the kids had eaten their fill, they were easily occupied for nearly an hour before returning for drinks and more food, which gave the adults time to really enjoy ourselves.

And enjoy we did. The name “360°” applies to the food options, as there is something to satisfy all your gastronomical desires: teppanyaki, fresh seafood (oysters, scallops, Alaskan crab, and shrimp), soups, salads, Italian food, beef Wellington, all manner of breakfast fare, fresh fruits, cheese, Indian cuisine – and the options went on.

Plum in the middle of it all is a large dessert section with apple crumble (yum), chocolate chip cake (yum), a chocolate fountain (apply liberally), homemade ice cream (Ohad recommended the mango – yum), and – as if that were not enough – a cotton candy machine.

All in all, we had a glorious couple of hours to eat delicious food and enjoy the company of good friends without feeling like we had to keep our children occupied or worry about the trouble they might be getting into.

The next time you and your family crave a Sunday brunch, head out to Hilton Beijing Capital Airport and take in the spread at 360°. Your stomach – and your children – will thank you.

When? Every Sunday from 11.30am-3pm
How much? RMB 398 +15% service charge (includes champagne, wine, and other alcohol), RMB 338 + 15% service charge (without alcohol), RMB 169 + 15% for ages 6-11, free for kids 5 and under.

For directions or online reservations, visit Hilton Beijing Capital Airport’s website or call 6458 8888.