Beijing - China World Summit Wing's The Lounge

One of the best things I got to do in Beijing recently was hang out with my buddy D from school.  Needless to say, especially for those who know me, that's quite a while ago.  And even more precious, D changed her flights to get home a day later so it turns out to be a great time together, even after all these years..

Given her line of work, we had every excuse to sit on the 80th level of the new China World Summit Wing and enjoy a glass of Rose, Moet of course.  With rumbling stomachs, reminiscing wasn't enough so...

We took a while to convince our server to get us a snacks and bites menu, which I think they finally took from the neighboring wine bar.  Apparently, the lounge had their own menu but we didn't think that scones and cakes went with the alcohol..

The order of deep fried salmon skin was a decent start.  The size of each piece, aside from convincing you that the skin is from a big fish like the salmon, was thin and crisp although the chef could have drained it a little better since there were oil droplets at the bottom of the bowl, making those parts less than crispy.  The tangy and laced-up ketchup was a nice break to the grease but not enough to make this go the distance.

We much preferred the Jamon Iberico ham with melon.  The twist to the usual is the slightly dehydrated and preserved melons sprinkled with olive bits to make it slightly savory but not overly so to detract from the natural sweetness of the melon.  Our only complaint was that there wasn't enough ham to go round - thin and long but definitely not long enough to make up the lack of girth.

A nice new place to hang and look out into Beijing city from a bird's eye view.  A clear day would have been a bigger bonus although one cannot complain by Beijing standards.  Just don't expect blue skies and white cloud all the time.

Level 80
No.1 Jianguomenwai Avenue
Beijing 100004
China
Tel: +86-10-6505 2299

Beijing - Park Hyatt

What's better than 2 nights in Beijing?

2 nights in Beijing at the spanking new Park Hyatt.  So new even cabbies don't know it.  It's not quite Park Hyatt Tokyo in service or Park Hyatt Chicago in coolness, but it is a Park anyhow, and whatever they lack in service, slight maintenance issues is made up for in a decent location, ergonomic design and crazy views from the top (or anywhere within the hotel).  

Here's mine from Room 3904, where you can see the traffic on Chang An Avenue on a clear day.  

Wake up to the smell of gourmet coffee with the Nespresso machine in your room - they even have 3 flavours for you to choose from, and you can go on caffeine extreme if you consume all 6 capsules they give you daily.  No need to even add water (they do it for you).  Just insert capsule and press the button - just don't forget to receive coffee with your cup!

F&B in the hotel is very commendable also.  The China Bar is a loungy place to enjoy some "cool factor" down time over drinks and soak in the bright night views of the city.  

With limited time, I ate twice at the Lounge, which is part of the lobby on the 63rd.  The description says it all - it is comfort food, both Asian and Western styles.  The spicy beef noodles was brilliant, and can match the one at the Cafe of the Grand Hyatt down the road, and the pot stickers are the healthiest and you can actually see the pork and prawn divide in the fillings.  And you can wash all of these down with their variety of health shakes and smoothies.  

Great place to stay and it could well be my regular provided the "corporate rate" is available!

2 Jianguomenwai Street, Chaoyang District
Beijing
100022
People's Republic of China
Tel: +86 10 8567 1234