The Beijinger Blog - agenda

Agenda's Out: Your Christmas and New Year Festivities Bible

thebeijinger — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:00:00 +0800

The secrets to surviving this Christmas and New Year with a BANG have arrived! In this issue of agenda, we give you the lo-down on the finest festive feasts in town for your Christmas dining pleasure, point you to places where you can get your own Christmas tree to complete your Christmas experience, then we list all the best party places to ring in the New Year in whatever atmospheres you want, and offer suggestions for spas and shops, so you can unwind after the Christmas celebrations and get ready in time for your New Year bash!

In Spotlights, Chef Blaine Wilkinson from Beijing Marriott City Wall’s Provincia gives us his thoughts on the restaurant, its “bar and kitchen theater” concept and his thoughts for the festive season. Meanwhile, the cool cat bluesmen from Black Cat Bone share their tales of woes and whiskey and the blues in Beijing, and the 2009 lunar calendar is decoded as part of the round-up.

And if you’re still not busy enough with all the festivities going on, try out some of the restaurants we suggest, such as the Hot Bean Collective, Shash, Grandma’s Kitchen and One East on Third, and our suggestions for bars, spas and retreats. Last but not least, there is, of course, our 14-day detailed listing of the best events around town to make sure you are getting the most out of Beijing.

New agenda: Winter Survival Issue

thebeijinger — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:00:51 +0800

Feeling the chill? The latest agenda is designed to guide you through the coming months with tips on what to eat to stay warm, where to shop for winter clothing and more. Take our cover feature, which highlights the many varieties of hot pot – both traditional Chinese huo guo and a few alternative twists on that formula – on offer in Beijing. Keeping with the unavoidable theme of cold weather, we’ve got a list of places to stock up on all those winter wardrobe essentials, and a roundup of fun ideas for indoor family outings.

In Spotlights, we talk to Domus’ new executive chef, Guillaume Comparat, The Ritz-Carlton Beijing’s spa director, Vanicha Phaphoom, gives us tips on winter skincare, and we go behind the scenes at Drei Kronen 1308 with brewmaster Hans Gerner.

We’ve also got new offerings like Igosso’s Italian cuisine, Cantonese dining in elegant surroundings at Beijing Empire, Room 101 is reborn as bar-cum-Mediterranean-restaurant Ginkgo, and the latest in a spate of new Wudaokou cafe-bars, Rendezvous. And of course, we’ve got detailed Day-by-Day event listings for happenings around Beijing over the next two weeks!

Agenda's Out: New Openings, Thanksgiving and more Kylie

thebeijinger — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 11:00:38 +0800

In the latest issue of agenda:

Save money on restaurants like La Paleta, Alba, Grandma’s Kitchen, Veg-On, Lantung and Shash with the great deals available in our coupon page.

Discover new openings including Olas Tapas Cafe, the latest Mediterranean restaurant from the people behind Mare; Stage One, an art gallery disguised as a bar, which comes complete with perhaps the most unusual bathroom feature in Beijing; and Plan B, a new bar in Wudaokou opened by students and, we suppose, mainly aimed at students.

Agenda's Out: Win Tickets to Kylie Minogue

thebeijinger — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 13:00:25 +0800

Here are just a few reasons to pick up the latest issue of agenda:

Enter our competition to win tickets to see Kylie Minogue’s Dec 1 gig at the Workers’ Gymnasium

Save money on eating out and more with the great deals available in our new coupon page

Discover new openings including the Park Hyatt’s China Grill and China Bar, respectively Beijing’s highest restaurant and bar; Californian cuisine and luscious desserts at Tribute North; elegant Western dining at Yellowstone, and MGM, the latest Gongti West Gate club dedicated to overstated decor and the joys of Chivas and green tea.

We find out what’s going down as Lan Club gears up for its third year, Cicilia Young tells us how her Pussycat Dance Studio helps Beijing girls find their inner Madonnas, and we look at some off the beaten Great Wall tracks.

Agenda’s Out: Element Fresh, Sexy DJs, and Halloween Parties Galore

thebeijinger — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:00:20 +0800

New spots featured in this issue of agenda:

Sandwiches, salads and smoothies galore at Element Fresh

A tour of North Asian flavors at Bei

Domus offers contemporary elegance by the Forbidden City’s walls

Water sommelier Forrest Zhao pairs mineral water with Macanese cuisine at Vasco’s

Cocktails and nightly jazz at Flames

This issue’s cover girl is DJ Ngelik, billed by Maxim magazine as “one of the sexiest DJs in the world.” In an interview ahead of her month-long residency at Zeta Bar, which kicks off on November 7, the foxy Venezuelan tells us about balancing careers as a DJ, model and designer and looks forward to her Beijing debut.

In our Spotlights, we talk to Amanda Powell and Deborah Lukic from The BookMark and Mosto manager Alex Molina. The Lists highlight some of the spookiest Halloween parties going down this year; we also round up the best of Italian dining and take a look at the best eats in the expat-centric Lido area; and if you work your way through all that eating, you’ll want to take a peek at our selection of gyms and fitness centers!

Agenda's out: Interviews with Chad Lager, Eric Abrahamsen and Salt's New Chef

thebeijinger — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:00:39 +0800

Like us, you're probably struggling to come to terms with the end of the National Day holiday, but Beijing’s cultural life stops for nobody, and there are plenty of big events coming up over the next fourteen days. Sure, Linkin Park have now canceled, but we’ve still got the visit of Grammy award-winning jazz star Diana Krall to look forward to. Other events to make a date in your diary for include the Oct 18 NBA showcase at Wukesong Indoor Stadium, where the Milwaukee Bucks will take on the Golden State Warriors (see the 7 Days e-mail newsletter for details of how to win 4 tickets to the game), the Chopschticks stand-up show at Block 8 on the same day, and the Vienna Boys Choir at the Poly Theatre on Oct 15. Find the full program for the fortnight in our Day-by-Day events.

In Spotlights, we talk to SALT’s new girl in the kitchen, chef Ana Esteves, and go on a walking tour of Beijing with Beijing by Foot author Eric Abrahamsen. Formerly of The Rickshaw, now managing Tun, the aptly named Chad Lager gives us his insights into Beijing’s bar life, and as winter begins to cast a chilly shadow over the city, the less suitably named Spring Chang, director of JW Marriott’s Quan Spa, gives us some tips for keeping warm and well over the coming months. In The Lists, we round up some of Sanlitun’s best eating options, tighten the purse strings for a tour of Beijing’s cheapest bars, and in this issue's cover feature, seek out some of the best places to pick up gifts of all shapes and sizes for friends and family.

New issue of agenda

thebeijinger — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 08:00:00 +0800

We’re all looking forward to the National Day holiday, and this issue is packed with recommendations and event info to help you fill up your days if you’re sticking around Beijing. In a year when major live shows in Beijing have been dogged by uncertainty and cancellations, the holiday week should provide music fans some much-needed encouragement. The Modern Sky Festival (Sep 29-Oct 2) and the NOTCH festival (Oct 2-4) at Yugong Yishan are just two of the highlights in a fortnight also featuring the visits of French electronic duo AIR (Sep 26-27) and skate-pop rodent Avril Lavigne (Oct 6), Acupuncture Records’ first anniversary party (Sep 30) and the World Folk Song Festival at the NCPA (Oct 3-8). You’ll find all the details in our day-by-day event listings, although do take note that the Midi Festival, listed for Sep 29-Oct 2, has since been rescheduled (tentatively) for Oct 1-5 at the Midi School.

You might want to use the holiday to try new openings like Mosto, former SALT chef Daniel Urdaneta’s new restaurant, The Opposite House’s Mediterranean restaurant Sureno, or Let’s Burger, our favorite of the wave of burger joints to have hit Beijing of late.

Agenda's out!

thebeijinger — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:30:26 +0800

Our very last issue before the Olympics has hit the streets, packed with all the usual handy event listings, as well as plenty of dining, nightlife and shopping recommendations to keep you busy before the summer's big distraction arrives on August 8. This issue's highlights include interviews with Italian chef Eugenio Iraci from Cepe and Dorothea Adam of Yugong Yishan, as well as Lists featuring Beijing's best places for catching live jazz jams, Nanluogu Xiang shopping and our cover feature – with a sumptuous cover shot taken by our photographer Judy Zhou – on business lunch deals. And, as new places scramble to throw their doors open in time for the Games, we've got Try These write-ups on just-opened venues like mega-buffet import Todai, Nanluogu Xiang bar-restaurant-mini-spa Taste, and the Tsingtao microbrewery at the Solana mall by Chaoyang Park West Gate, which offers barbecue and teppanyaki as well as China's finest brewed on-site.

Let us know what you think! Get in touch with your comments and suggestions by e-mailing iainshaw@agendabeijing.com

Agenda's out!

thebeijinger — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:30:17 +0800

The new issue is out, and as well as featuring 14 days of events including Timo Maas at Coco Banana, July 4 parties, and the environmentally conscious Greening the Beige festival, we've got lists covering Japanese dining, Traditional Chinese Medicine, art galleries as well as our cover feature on imperial cuisine – have a glance at our cover image for a preview!

We've got some cool interviews this issue, which include a chat with Alexandra Pearson from The Bookworm, chef Laia Pons from Tao on Mediterranean dining, talking shopping with a Marie Claire editor and learning about life on the back streets of Beijing with a rickshaw driver who speaks 21 languages!

And that's not all – as ever, our Try These write-ups cover some great dining options, hot new bar openings like Klubb Rouge and China Doll, and even Beijing's first indoor snowboarding venue, Burton Qiaobo Mellow Park. The issue is all over town by now, so look out for a copy today.

agenda's out!

thebeijinger — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:30:02 +0800

The latest issue of agenda takes us through to the beginning of July, and August's big event looms ever larger over Beijing. With one month still remaining before the city goes nuts for a few weeks, there's no shortage of things going on, and we've got the best of the next two weeks of events in our Day-by-Day listings. Our cover feature is a look inside the out-of-town Crown Wine Cellar and an interview with the venue's GM, James E. Thompson. We also talk to Royal Restaurant boss Ni Xiaopei on eating like the emperors, and take some spa tips from Aye Mon Yee of the Heavenly Spa at The Westin Chaoyang, which opened last Saturday. Other features include lists covering the best of Sanlitun nightlife, eating Southeast Asian-style in Beijing, some choice out-of-town daytrips, and our picks of Beijing's best dining and shopping venues in Try These.

Let us know what you think! Get in touch with your comments and suggestions by e-mailing iainshaw@agendabeijing.com

agenda is still looking for interns to help with contributing to features, interviews, compiling and formatting event listings, and contributing new ideas as the magazine continues to develop and grow. Ideal candidates will have previous experience in journalism/writing, and should be energetic, organized and creative. In-depth knowledge of Beijing and Chinese language skills are a bonus, but not essential. All candidates are welcome to apply, but excellent English speaking and writing skills are required. If you’re interested, please e-mail your resume to iainshaw@agendabeijing.com