Beijing Boyce

After a break of several weeks, sibling blog Grape Wall of China is back with the Friday food fight. Each week, a Chinese dish is presented and readers are asked to recommend a wine. Out of sheer desperation, this edition recycles an old story from Inner Mongolia – Earth-eating Girl Tilts At Guinness Record. See this post for full details and to recommend a wine that goes with dirt.

UPDATE: I went by Let’s Burger this afternoon and they said they don’t open until 5 PM. I guess it’s a daily thing.

One East on Third – 325 kuai.

25 Degrees – 110 kuai.

Blue Frog – 75 kuai.

There once seemed to be a shortage of decent burgers in this town. Now, it’s more a matter of financing them.

The newest outfit to join the fray is Let’s Burger, which management says will open at 5 PM today in new Nali (down from Pantry Magic). The menu includes a dozen kinds of burgers, ranging from the “Original” (RMB48), which includes 7 ounces of beef, to the “Let’s Burger” (RMB~150), which includes two kinds of beef, tiger prawns, foie gras, mozzarella, and avocado. The menu also has a half-dozen salads, five kinds of French fries (from RMB20), among other items. I’ll have more on this place… after 5 PM.

The three-floor Piazza Italia, a collaboration of more than a half-dozen major food and beverage concerns, is slated to officially launch in Guomao Huamao in October but will “soft open” in the next week or two.

I happened by last night and saw workers stocking shelves with pasta, tomato sauce, olive oil, potato chips, candy, and the like. This a massive and airy space – we’re talking thousands of square meters – with a downstairs décor that includes tans, light woods, and creamy marbles.

A quick breakdown of the three floors:

First: Includes a grocery (pasta, olives, juices, etc), Pausa Caffe (a sign listed Espresso at RMB18, Capuccino at RMB25, and Café Milano at RMB28), and Dolce E Salato, with “easy” foods such as pizza and sandwiches.

Second: Includes sections on Italian wines, meats, and olive oils, a pasta bar called Tutto Pasta, and a cooking school called Boscolo Academy.

Third: Includes a restaurant called Boscolo and chill out area called B Lounge.

The team behind the project includes Crai, a distribution chain, Cavit, which represents Italian winemakers, and Frantoi Artigiani D’Italia, from the olive oil sector.

I heard O Sole Mio playing while I was there. Let’s hope the musical selection is a bit more upbeat. How about some Pia Zadora (hey, she is half-Italian!).