Beijing can be overstimulating, to say the least. Let’s be real, sometimes even our sixth sense gets a decent workout, the one where you know that stick of chuan’r will get you sick for the next two days (but you gobble it up anyway). With such a wide variety of events, restaurants, and gigs to attend, we suggest bathing each of your five senses into one, if not all, of the nourishing goings-on below.
Taste
Vegan Dining by Dirty Beet
Vegan dining: a cuisine cherished by many and reviled by, well, just as many. Traveling a rocky road to prominence in the public’s perception, it nonetheless remains a popular philosophy thanks to its myriad benefits for the body, environment and we’d go so far as to include the mind. Practicing vegans and proponents of a plant-based diet won’t need much convincing, but if you cling to the outdated notion that vegans are culinarily limited to “rabbit food,” why not broaden your horizons this weekend at Ramo? Dig into some great set meals by Dirty Beet Vegan Cooking. Friday’s dinner will feature hearty options like pierogies and “chili sin carne,” while the Sunday brunch will serve up scrambled tofu and savory pancakes. The meals are intended to serve two, so that cute vegan coworker from marketing? This may be the time.
Smell
The Beijinger team is feeling exceptionally mysterious this week. Not only are we all guessing about the Saturday’s gig at Temple, but also scratching our heads over the sweet, sweet smell of the mysterious flowers surrounding Galaxy Soho. If the usual summer smells are a cocktail of hot sewage and trash mixed with the occasional stinky tofu cart, the last week has been treating us well (the AQI yesterday morning was 8. We didn’t even know that was possible). While you are out and about in Beijing, pay attention to the unusually pleasant smell lingering in the air and bringing out our love for the city. The said flower rows can be found on the inner west portion of the Second Ring Road, just south of Galaxy Soho. Is it jasmine? Is it magnolia? We’ll let you do the leg work and only reveal that you should be looking out for white petals. While the city officials might not be so excited to see you rolling joyfully in those roadside gardens, you can still walk around in them and get your lungs’ fill of fresh air.
Touch
Rumble in The Jumble at Modernista
Get your hands on those crafts! Or, if you are not that crafty yourself, get your hands on someone else’s crafts! And cookies. And old household items. Basically, go to Modernista and touch everything on display and make a few handshake deals. Our beloved everything art deco bar is hosting a market of everything, from homemade treats to secondhand clothes and books. Or so we think – the guidelines are pretty relaxed, so the only way to find out is to visit. Stuff some cash in your pocket and go exploring.
See
We want to spend all of our time outside. If time is in short supply and you can’t treat yourself with a motorbike trip to the mountains, touring Bejing on foot might prove just as pleasant. We’ve been hearing about hutong-themed projects more than usual lately, but this one seems the least pretentious and most frank of them all. There used to be a hutong named Xiaofangjia between Galaxy Soho and the East Second Ring Road. On August 18, 2002, Xiaofangjia Hutong was set to be demolished to make space for more compact residential and office buildings. At the time, artist Xu Yong took more than 130 photos of residents who were born and grew up in the area, and six weeks later the hutong was gone. Now, 15 years later, the pictures have found their way back to the former area as large prints and are being displayed on the walls of the now-gray residential buildings that sit in the old hutong’s place. Xiaofangjia Hutong (小方家胡同) can still be found on your Baidu maps, so you should easily locate the residential blocks if you circle the Galaxy Soho building by Chaoyangmen. For more information and history, follow BeijingHutongTeam on WeChat.
Hear
Rooftop Paradise Party at Hatchery
Ariana Grande is getting enough exposure so we shall turn to a slightly different side. We really like Hatchery. They are the naturally cool kid in town. There, I said it. Regardless of what you do, the result is a success if it seems effortless and with their good-hearted weekday deals, easy-going staff, and simple but delicious meals, it does all indeed seem effortless. Did you know they also have a rooftop? This Sunday, Hatchery will be spinning some disco and funk paired with tropical cocktails, nibbles and neon colors. Truth be told, this event could possibly go under any of the senses, that’s how fully stocked they are for this Sunday. The entry is free and what you decide to treat yourself to once you are on the roof is fully up to you. Party starts at 4pm. Cross your fingers for no rain.
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Images: BeijingHutongTeam, courtesy of the organizers