TimeZone 8 Editions 9($$)

Timezone 8 Editions

This restaurant is in the heart of the 798 art district, part restaurant part art book store. We picked Timezone because it was the busiest restaurant on the little strip; as they always say, “follow the locals”. This particular day was so beautiful! We sat outside in the cool weather at a little bistro table and just enjoyed the scenery. Kris ordered a hamburger steak, I ordered a pepperoni pizza and we shared a plate of fries.

The pizza was a tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, fresh cut tomatoes, pepperoni, green peppers and parmesan cheese. The crust was baked perfect, on a real pizza stone. I personally prefer thin crust pizza but this fluffy and evenly baked crust did not fail to impress me. Timezone sure knows how to make a classic just right.

The hamburger steak was not an all beef patty, most likely a pork blend. But it was still thick and juicy and so delicious. It came out with steamed vegetables in vinegar dressing and a wheat bread roll.

For taste I rate Timezone a 9 out of 10. Everything was unusually good, and the vegetables were an especially good touch.

For Price Timezone receives a $$ which is very common in China.

Over all I give Timezone a 9 out of 10. Surrounded by book stores and art galleries, lunch or supper here has that exclusive beatnik art scene feeling. I would say that a lot of the art galleries here are over rated, but dinner here will not disappoint.

Tree 10 ($)

Tree

This place is more of a bar than a restaurant, their Belgian beer menu is extensive, while their food menu is limited to pizza a few pastas and some snacks.

We ordered a pizza with pepperoni, artichoke hears, . It was decent, and baked on a think crust wich I prefer. But it wasn’t enough, and I was still hungry after we had finished the whole pie. We hand to order a plate of steak fries to finish up.

The beer on the other hand was exceptional. The Orval I had was almost its own meal it was so rich and smooth. The head lasted the entire drink it was so thick. This beer is a must try, it had absolutely no bite and it drink like milk. Perfect pairing for anything.

The atmosphere in tree gets pretty busy on weekends and is very popular amongst the other ex-pats in Beijing. It has the feeling of a local pub. It is though a little off the beaten trail, that means that only seasoned Beijiners go here and it had a little bit of a locals only feeling.

For taste I give Tree an 8. It was pretty good, but it’s a much better bar than a restaurant.

Overall I rate Tree a 10, but go for the drinks and not for the food exclusively.

Xiao 9($$)

Xiao

This restaurant serves food from Guizhou province. Traditionally food from this area is very similar to Shichuan food, but is usually served in small bite size pieces. This restaurant is located in the popular Gulou area of Beijing surrounded by trendy clothing stores, guitar shops and bars. The restaurant has a most interesting interior architecture. The dinning floor is set on four levels; four tables on each level.

We ordered three dishes and it was more than enough food for two people. Ham and Chicken soup, Pork Spare Ribs and Mint Chicken Wings. Everything was very good, and definitely had a distinguishable flavor different than typical Chinese food.

I was most impressed with the Mint Chicken wings. They were marinated in a spicy sweet sauce and stir fried, fresh mint added last to keep the flavor. The mint gave the spicy chicken a cool almost basil flavor reminding me of some Indian dishes. The pork was breaded with a flour and pepper crust and then fried in little pieces. It was wonderfully spicy, crisp and a perfect balance to the sweeter cool taste of the chicken wings. This restaurant is most famous for their soup, particularly their sour fish soup. But we ordered ham, I thought is was refreshing and the broth was very good, but it wasn’t really all that unusual or special.

For taste I give Xiao a 10, it was an adventure in taste well worth the visit. In fact it may be my favorite restaurant experience so far in Beijing. Everything was hot and so good!

For atmosphere I give it a 7. Xiao has that little family owned restaurant feeling. The tiered dinning levels were definitely a home job and it’s a little weird that the kitchen is located below the floor but every thing was very clean. One major down side though is that there is not a bathroom on location, you have to walk a block to get to the nearest public toilet, not really a problem for locals but a little inconvenient for foreigners.

For price Xiao gets a $ and ½$ for two people; about $30 American dollars in total.

Overall I give Xiao a 9. I loved the flavor and variety that this restaurant has to offer. It was a treat to try something different. But I did not like having to run around the corner to go to the bathroom and the facility was terrible, which has no reflection on the restaurant other than the fact that they didn’t have one, but I would walk the extra block to go to the public bathroom with the doors on the stalls.