Canada Grade-Eh Week

Canadian Food and Drink

Specials in Beijing

June 25 t0 July 1, 2012

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Nearly a dozen restaurants and bars in Beijing will team up for Canada Grade-Eh Week. The idea is to promote spots with Canadian owners, managers or chefs, spots doing something with a Canadian theme, spots that stock Moosehead, well, you get the idea. This page contains the following info:

1. Canada Grade-Eh Week specials by Beijing bars and restaurants.
2. Canada Day weekend events scheduled for June 30 and July 1.
3. Beijing establishments that stock or serve Moosehead beer.
4. Other spots with Canadian owners or managers (coming soon)

I’ll update this page with more events, addresses, and so on as the info is available. For a list of all posts written about Canada Grade-Eh Week, see here.

Note: I have done my best to provide accurate info or to use info provided by the venues. It is always best to check with venues re seating or availability.

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1. Canada Grade-Eh Week Specials

 

4CORNERS

Jun Trinh

Poutine

(Note: Closed Monday and Tuesday this week)

While poutine is often topped with mozzarella or other cheeses, Trinh intends to go the traditional route and says, “I will personally make my own squeaky cheese curds, vegetarian gravy and thick-cut fries for a splendid gooey mess of Canadiana.” Get your serving of poutine, plus a pair of Moosehead beers, for rmb88.

See this interview with Trinh, in which he reveals his Timbit favorites. Get more info from the 4corners homepage and its Weibo account.

Details: 6401-7797 / 西城 大石碑胡同27号 / Dashibei Hutong near the Drum Tower.

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A FOOD AFFAIRE

Simon Gauthier

Beefy Mac and Cheese, Nanaimo Bars

Look for a pair of dishes at the four A Food Affaire outlets. First up: Mom’s Beefy Mac and Cheese, which Gauthier says is a step up from Kraft Dinner, includes pasta, beef, tomatoes and bell peppers, and is rmb36 with a salad.

The second: Canadian favorite Nanaimo bars. Expect a chocolate base with oatmeal, coconut, peanuts and almonds, topped with a concoction of butter, whipping cream, sugar and vanilla, topped with more chocolate. A bar is rmb18 during Grade Eh Week and will be available in flavors such as cherry and mint.

See here for an interview with Gauthier in which he explains what would win a battle between Nanaimo Bars and Beaver Tails. Follow A Food Affaire on Weibo here.

Contact details: 1) April Gourmet, 1F Lianbao Apartments, Xingfucun Zhonglu / 朝阳区三里屯幸福村中1层, 6417 7970, 8am-midnight; 2) April Gourmet,  Building 7, Richmond Park, 9 Fangyuan Xili, Chaoyang District / 朝阳区芳园西里9号院丽都水岸会所7号楼, 8457-8116, 8-10 AM; 3) April Gourmet, Park Avenue, Chaoyang Park South Gate, 8-10 AM; 4) Ito Yokado Food Gallery, B1, Shimao Department Store, corner of Gongti Bei Lu and Xindong Lu / 10 AM- 10PM.

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THE CUT: FAIRMONT HOTEL

Marcus Routbard & Nick Stipp

Canadian tasting menu

(Note: Closed Mondays)

The Cut will feature a Canadian cross-country tasting menu, including steelhead trout from British Columbia, beef from Alberta, goat cheese crusted with flax seed from the Prairies, wine from Ontario, Quebec poutine and Atlantic lobster. Plus beaver tail for dessert. The four-course dinner is rmb588, or rmb888 paired with Stoney Ridge wines (add 15 percent surcharge). The Cut will also have New York strip loin, filet mignon and rib eye from Alberta available.

See this write-up of a taste test last Thursday and this interview with Routbard to see where he stands on cowbell use. The Fairmont Beijing website is here. The Fairmont will also be catering the CCBC Canada Day party, have a fantastic brunch on July 1 and feature Canadian beef specials throughout July — more details below.

Contact details: 8 Yongan Dong Li, 8511-7777, 6 PM to 10 PM, Tuesday to Sunday, 11:30 AM to 3 PM, Sunday

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NO MORE BUNZ

Simon Gauthier

Great Canadian Sausage

The Great Canadian Sausage is a 48-centimetre BBQ’d dog with Canadian cheddar and bacon. Get just the dog for rmb60 or the dog with two Moosehead beers for rmb100. Other toppings available include sauerkraut, olives, tomatoes, pickles, jalapenos and loads of sauces

Along with the Xindong Road branch, there is a No More Bunz near the south gate of Beijing Institute of Clothing Technology.

Click here for an interview with Gauthier on wieners and more.

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SWITCH! GRILL

Billy Kawaja & Adam Goodman

Maple Syrup-glazed Ribs, Caesars

Update: Switch will have Caesers on Sunday but not during the week.

Get maple syrup-glazed ribs, with fries and broccolini, for rmb160 during Grade-Eh Week. Even better, get it as an all-you-can-eat deal for rmb120 on July 1 (see below). Switch! will have also have Caesars available by the glass during Grade Eh-Week  and by the glass or pitcher on July 1.

See this interview with Adam Goodman. Follow Switch on Weibo here.

Contact details: 6553-5691 / 工体北路66号瑞士公寓2号楼1层 / West side of the Regentdale Center, behind Swissotel at Dongsishitiao

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STARFISH

Chris Herbert

Clamato Oyster Shot

(Closed Mondays)

Knock back an Oyster shot with Clamato and Crystal Head vodka from Canada. The shot also includes Tabasco sauce, Worchestire sauce, black pepper, lemon juice and house cocktail sauce, as concocted by Starfish’s Alisha Bailey. Given the size of this thing, I recommend downing it in at least two gulps: the first to take off half the liquid, the second to include the oyster. RMB68

Contact details: 22-1, Dongzhimenwai Dajie (across from the Embassy of Canada /东直门外大街22－1号（加拿大大使馆对面), 6416-5499, closed Mondays

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Thanks to our Friends of Grade-Eh Week…

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THE IRISH VOLUNTEER

George Smith, Gar Nunan & Rob Korfage

The Irish Volunteer has supported the Canuck community over the years with its down-home atmosphere and steady stream of hockey coverage. I’ll never forget being among the 80+ people squeezed into the Volunteer for that epic ulcer-inducing gold medal Olympic hockey game between Canada and the United States in 2010. Took five years off my life. Anyway, during Grade-Eh Week, the Volunteer will have some food and drink specials. There will be drinks with Canadian content:

• Moosehead lager (rmb20)
• Iced Tim Hortons coffee (rmb15)
• Iced Tim Horton’s coffee with Bailey’s (rmb35)

Drinks with hockey themes:

• The Penalty Shot (rmb10): An ice-cold shot of vodka.
• Icing (rmb15): Vodka on the rocks with a splash of orange juice, grapefruit juice or tonic)
• Dump and Chase (rmb30): A small Tsingtao followed by a shot of vodka, whisky or tequila.

And pizzas:

• The Canadian: With bacon, pepperoni and mushrooms
• The Sedin Twins: Pick any two meats from among ham, spicy salami, pepperoni and ground beef (too bad they weren’t triplets)
• The Larry Robinson a.k.a. The Big Bird: BBQ chicken topped pizza. (George Smith says the Volunteer cooks its own big birds.)

(Note: Canadian and Sedin Twins pizzas are rmb50 for 9-inch, rmb66 for 12-inch, rmb90 for 15-inch and rmb122 for 19-inch. Big Bird pizzas are rmb45, rmb60, rmb80 and rmb100 respectively.)

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FLAMME

Paul Mathew

(June 26)

For one night only — Tuesday, June 26, from 5 PM to 10 PM — English bartender Paul Mathew will sail the Atlantic (figuratively, of course) to make Canadian-themed cocktails while wearing a Mountie outfit and reciting Gordon Lightfoot lyrics. He says that, along with all of Flamme’s regular drinks, you can request:

• The Canadian Cocktail: Whiskey, triple sec, bitters and simple syrup. (You might want to specify how dry you want it.)
• The Quebec: Whisky, vermouth (or Dubonnet red) and angostura bitters.
• The Canadian Old-Fashioned: With Canadian Club and maple syrup.

And if you order before 7:30 PM, drinks are half-price

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HOME PLATE BBQ

Seth Grossman, Adam Murray & Victoria Liu

The starting point for our Canada Day-Fourth of July tour last year, Home is showing the city what fusion cultural fusion is all about. Order the Memphis “BBQ Poutine”, topped with cheese and either pulled pork or brisket, for rmb35, and get two bottles of Moosehead, either lager or pale ale, for rmb40. That’s rmb75 for food and beer, eh?

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THE BOX

Paca Lee

The official finishing point for our Canada Day-Fourth of July tour last year, this place will have a pair of Canadian items available during Grade-Eh Week. One is poutine, at rmb35, which is permanently on the menu. The other is beaver tails, also at rmb35, which are special for next week.

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12SQM

Li Mei & Joseph Kornides

Despite its Chinese-Australian ownership, 12SQM has a strong connection to Canada given strong evidence that the most-played song here over the years is Snow’s “Informer”. Imbibers can enjoy a buy one, get one free deal on six-year-old and twelve-year-old Canadian Club next week, while supplies last.

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PADDY O’SHEA’S

Karl Long

(June 27)

As the longest-standing Irish-owned Irish-managed drinking establishment that is a hop, a skip and a moose jump from The Canadian Embassy, Paddy O’Shea’s and manager Karl Long hold a special place in Sino-Canuck drinking history. To honor this, Long will have a special focus on Canadian content for his weekly quiz on June 27. You can expect it to be funny given that Long has been described as “The Irish Jim Carrey“. At least once. Just there, two sentences ago. Anyway, you might want to study my first and only Canadian quiz for possible questions.

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1. Canada Day Weekend Parties

 

CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

June 30, 3 PM

This annual event is organized by the Canada China Business Council. Here’s the blurb from the CCBC website: “Don’t miss the largest celebration of Canadian culture and heritage for the Canadian community and our friends in Beijing. Come and enjoy great BBQ food, Canadian beer, special entertainment, sport contests and so much more!” That much more will include catering by the The Fairmont Hotel, which will handle everything from burgers to Nanaimo bars.

The event starts at 3 PM and is rmb120 for adults (rmb100 prepaid), rmb60 for children 6 to 12 years old, and free for children 5 years and under. See more details on this CCBC page.

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THE CUT, FAIRMONT BEIJING

July 1, 11:30 AM

The Fairmont will hold a special edition of the hotel’s Sunday brunch, co-hosted by Canadian Embassy chef Rosalyn Ediger and Fairmont chef Marcus Routbard. We are talking about everything from Alberta beef and poutine to “timbits” and Caesars. Brunch is rmb458 with soft drinks, rmb588 with Canadian wine, beer and cocktails, rmb688 with Champagne. Children under six eat for free, while those aged six to twelve eat for half-price. Routbard was recently quoted as saying he used a cowbell during rhythm gymnastics at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Did he really say that? This is your chance to ask.

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SWITCH! GRILL

July 1, 5 PM to 8 PM

Switch! will do a twist on its weekly rmb120 all-you-can-eat ribs, fries and broccolini deal by glazing that meat with maple syrup on July 1. The drink deals include five bottles of Moosehead for rmb100. And there will also be Caesars by the glass / pitcher. Best RSVP for this one.

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4CORNERS

July 1, ? PM

Expect more than a few Canadians to gather at 4corners for some beers and comradeship. More details coming…

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3. Beijing establishments that stock Moosehead

 

• Bang Bang Pizza (by Hopson International Park in Shuangjing)
• Hot Cat Club (Fangjia Hutong, off Andingmen)
  
• George’s Bar (southeast corner of Workers Stadium)
• Grinders (Shuangjing)
• Home Plate BBQ (a block off Xiaoyun Road)
• Kro’s Nest (both Xiaoyun Road and Sanlitun South branches)
• Nanjie (Sanlitun South)
• The Box (Gulou area)
  
• The Brick (Shuangjing)
• The Corner (Lido area, in the same plaza as Jenny Wang’s, Cafe del Mar and Gung Ho)
• The Drive-Thru (Sanlitun Soho)
• The Irish Volunteer (Lido)
• The Stumble Inn (Sanlitun Village South)

More to come!