Dear Cherry,

I have enjoyed the cuisine of BEI many times since it opened 2 years ago and the current menu has moved me to write about it.  Quoted here are some introductory comments from The Opposite House.  “BEI is a contemporary North Asian restaurant in the Sanlitun Embassy area of Beijing.  Located in The Opposite House, BEI was conceptualized by chef entrepreneur David Laris of Shanghai and designed by the world-renowned design team Neri & Hu.  The menu is inspired by the cuisines of Northern China, Japan and Korea.  Dishes draw from traditional flavors with influences from modern advances in cuisine and are composed of natural ingredients sourced locally and from abroad.  Each marriage aspires to maintain a delicate balance of flavor and texture while creating a new dining experience.  Chef de Cuisine Max Levy is a New Orleans born New Yorker who honed his skills under sushi masters in Japan as well as notable names in New York.  He started his culinary journey in a traditional apprenticeship in the French Brigade Kitchen.  As his horizons broadened, he started to see similarities in the foods of Asia and his hometown Creole cuisine.  The more he ate, the more he became obsessed, eventually devoting his career to sushi and the study of culinary bridges between cultures.  Max has worked in New Orleans, Colorado, New York, Tokyo, Hamamatsu, Shanghai, and now Beijing.  Restaurant Manager Diana Dang, originally from New York, has come to Beijing with a wealth of experience from her travels all over the world.  She has moved up very quickly through the ranks of some of the finest restaurants in New York, including the flagship restaurant of Megu, where she was maitre’d.  Diana brings a well heeled deft of exquisite service and style to BEI with her warm smile and generosity.” 

I arrived at 6:15 so I would have time for a drink in my favorite bar in Beijing, MESH, located in the lobby of The Opposite House.  Jimmy Wang made a perfect martini for me and I had a good talk with Michael Li, the other bartender on duty.  Usually working as a waitress in BEI, Rose Jiang was being trained to make cocktails in MESH, so I asked that she prepare my next martini.  Under Jimmy’s careful instruction she made the first cocktail she ever made and it was perfect and it was for me!  Good job Rose!  An honor and a delight, I will never forget it!  You get consistently excellent drinks at MESH.  I had a good chat with The Opposite House General Manager, Anthony Ross, about what is going on with him and my plans for the review.  My business partner and TV Host Johnny Chan and his wife Lily arrived and we went downstairs to BEI for dinner.  We were greeted by the Hostess, Selina Hu, who sat us at our table.  Allen Yang brought a chilled bottle of Champagne, a Duval LeRoy Multiple Vintage Brut, while Tina Yun brought bread and butter and explained them to us.  We talked with Chef de Cuisine Max Levy who selected my entire dinner, all surprises with Sake pairings.  The wine list and menu were quite extensive so we appreciated Max’s help.

The Wine List appropriately begins with Sake and includes 17 choices in various sizes and prices.  This is followed by 10 choices of Shochu.  4 Beers are available from Japan, Australia, USA, and China.  The entire hotel wine list is available in all restaurants, including BEI, featuring a very good selection of wines by the glass and bottle in all the popular varieties from all over the world.  The variety of wines available is very good and the prices are surprisingly reasonable, thanks to the studied efforts of Milan, the Beverage Manager.

The Menu was created by Chef de Cuisine Max Levy and includes Sake pairing recommendations:
set menu
 select one dish from each course
first course
pickle salad with watercress & tofu skin 
grilled salmon sashimi australian king salmon with x.o. sauce, broccoli rabe & sausage
main course
amberjack with crunchy poached egg, sushi rice & soy beans
wagyu tenderloin with fried rice, watermelon & kang kong
sweet
guanaja chocolate with miso caramel
mochi trio red bean, date and black sesame mochi with house-made                                                       
strawberry, pear and sesame ice cream
chef’s personalized tasting menu available upon request
vegetarian menu available
seasonal menu
 select one dish from each course
first course
hiramasa yellowtail
with ponzu vinegar, spinach and salmon roe
salmon with seaweed, celery and pork
tuna with wood ear mushrooms and water chestnuts
red clam and scallop lightly seared with garlic oil and vinegared radish medley   
sushi chef’s daily selection
mid course
lamb bacon wrapped in fresh tofu skin with scallop and soymilk
eel foie gras miso marinated foie gras with sweet grilled eel
wagyu shortrib with salted plum, winter melon and bone marrow
black chicken chawanmushi with matsutake mushrooms
morels with kao fu and soy beans
main course
smoked goose with nameko mushrooms and winter melon
kim chi pompano with egg, taro and bok choy
angus tenderloin with cucumber, morels, pickled garlic and watermelon
suckling pig with sweet chili, yam and kale
boston lobster with x.o. oil, tofu and housemade ham
sweet
choose from dessert menu
chef’s personalized tasting menu available upon request
vegetarian menu available
a sides                                  
cold dishes                                        
saltwater tofu fresh tofu made in-house from deep seawater with six sauces
RECOMMENDED SAKE: DEWAZAKURA GINJO
kanpachi salad japanese amberjack sashimi with baby spinach
RECOMMENDED SAKE: NANBUBIJIN HONJOZO
yuba salad tofu skin with watercress, yellow soy beans, radish sprouts, daikon,
wood ear mushrooms, ponzu, garlic oil, sesame salt and pickled egg
RECOMMENDED SAKE: DEWAZAKURA GINJO
miso foie gras cold marinated terrine of foie gras with miso mustard sauce and
crispy eel
RECOMMENDED SAKE: KUBOTA MANJYU
garlic chicken simmered fragrant black chicken breast with ishikawa beer,
garlic and peanut
RECOMMENDED SHOCHU: KAGURA TENSOKOURIN IMO
uzakyu two-day steamed and grilled freshwater eel with sweet vinegar,
salted cucumber and ground black sesame
RECOMMENDED SAKE: DEWAZAKURA GINJO
toro tartare tartare of blue fin tuna with sevruga caviar
RECOMMENDED SAKE: NANBUBIJIN HONJOZO
fresh oysters six tasmanian oysters on ice with sea water, ponzu and chili soy     
RECOMMENDED BEER: ISHIKAWA TAMA NO MEGUMI
tuna tasting five different cuts of tuna from japan and spain with five
house-made salts
RECOMMENDED SAKE: KUBOTA MANJYU
sushi selection eight pieces of the chefís daily selection with one roll
(a la carte choices available on separate menu)
RECOMMENDED SAKE: OKUNOMATSU ZENMAIGINJO
sashimi selection four varieties of the chef’s daily selection with one roll
(a la carte choices available on separate menu)
RECOMMENDED SAKE: KUBOTA MANJYU

b sides
hot dishes                                                      
silver cod and clams seared fillet with soy bean puree, hard clams and black bean sauce
RECOMMENDED SAKE: NANBUBIJIN HONJOZO
chicken buldak boneless chicken leg and wing grilled with mushrooms and cornmeal
RECOMMENDED SHOCHU: KOMASA WINDOWS KURO HONKAKU IMO
black pork belly smoked with black sugar miso with baby taro and tatsoi
RECOMMENDED SAKE: KAMOTSURU JUNMAIGINJO 8-NEN HIZOSHU
crispy suckling pig half belly and leg roasted to order with fermented tofu and kale
RECOMMENDED SAKE: TENGUMAI JUNMAIGINJO
blackmore farms mishima wagyu 250 gram wagyu rib cap with pickled garlic, cucumbers and morels
RECOMMENDED SAKE: KAMOTSURU JUNMAIGINJO 8-NEN HIZOSHU
lotus root with broad beans lightly fried with mustard, tatsoi and aged shanxi vinegar
RECOMMENDED SAKE: KAMOTSURU JUNMAIGINJO 8-NEN HIZOSHU
broccoli rabe stir fried with x.o. sauce and served with slow poached farm egg
RECOMMENDED SAKE: TENGUMAI JUNMAIGINJO
sweet potatoes pickled with sauteed sweet potato leaves
RECOMMENDED SAKE: DEWAZAKURA GINJO 
morels with kaofu and soy beans
RECOMMENDED SAKE: KAMOTSURU JUNMAIGINJO 8-NEN HIZOSHU
four sided bean roasted with razor clams, kimchi, beer and soybean powder
RECOMMENDED SAKE: TENGUMAI JUNMAIGINJO
fried tofu with mushrooms and sweet chili
RECOMMENDED SAKE: HAKKAISAN GINJO
crab miso soup whole grain red dalian miso soup with dungeness crab and
beiís jinhua ham
bacon miso soup whole grain white dalian miso soup with house-cured ham,
spinach and tofu
smoked tofu miso soup whole grain caramelized miso soup with smoked tofu and cabbage
wuji soup fragrant black chicken soup with ginger, garlic and mushrooms
duck rice heilongjiang organic rice with duck leg, liver and konnyakyu 
bamboo rice heilongjiang organic rice with seasonal pickles
black bean rice heilongjiang organic rice with garlic, chives and coriander
 
space oddities
fish head whole japanese fish head roasted with (or without) kimchi
RECOMMENDED SAKE: TENGUMAI JUNMAIGINJO
lobster whole atlantic or australian lobster
king crab whole alaskan king crab
PLEASE RESERVE ONE DAY IN ADVANCE
kobe ribeye 300 gram seared 9+ ribeye of a9 kobe beef
PLEASE RESERVE ONE DAY IN ADVANCE
RECOMMENDED SAKE: KAMOTSURU JUNMAIGINJO 8-NEN HIZOSHU
whole suckling pig naturally raised whole suckling pig with house special sauce selection and seasonal vegetables
PLEASE RESERVE ONE DAY IN ADVANCE
RECOMMENDED SAKE: TENGUMAI JUNMAIGINJO
raw (sushi or sashimi)
fish is flown in daily from all corners of the world,
depending on where it is best in season
 
TUNA
bluefin tuna        
bluefin chu toro 
bluefin otoro             
bluefin head toro
negi toro
seared toro
skipjack
YELLOW-TAIL 
shima aji                    
kanpachi                      
MACKEREL
mackerel
horse mackerel
SHELLFISH
scallop                              
red clam                          
dungeness crab
sweet shrimp                      
botan shrimp              
squid
oyster            
EEL
white freshwater-eel
dark freshwater-eel       
FISH OF THE DAY                 
ocean trout     
salmon
salmon roe
omelette
MAKI (ROLLS)  
negi toro                  
tuna                    
toro
yellowtail
salmon                   
SPECIAL MAKI
toro & shiso          
tuna & wood ear
eel in cucumber
eel & foie gras
dark grilled eel
white grilled eel                    
fresh crab                                
fresh crab in cucumber
fried oyster
VEGETABLE MAKI
japanese radish sprout
japanese plum
cucumber                      
japanese pickeled radish                                
japanese gourd                                
avocado
whole live fish cooked to order
lobster (boston)             
lobster (s. africa)
flounder (japan)

My Dining Experience:  The Restaurant Manager, Diana Dang, brought our Amuse Bouche, Freshly Shucked Tasmanian Rock Oyster with Seawater Foam.  The raw oyster was tender and juicy and the saltwater foam provided a little saltiness to the flavor mix.  It was delicate with a lingering salt aftertaste.  Anna Li brought soy sauce to the table and manually ground fresh wasabi on a shark skin board.  Ada Zhang brought my first course, Black Fin Tuna Head Toro Sashimi with Tuna Bone Marrow Jelly and Coriander Oil.  A thin slice of a large radish was on top.  My accompanying Sake was Hakkaisan Ginjo.  The tuna slices were from the back of the head and super tender.  It tasted very good and I never had tuna bone marrow jelly before.  It was light and a little salty and a good accompaniment to the raw tuna.  The Sake was very smooth and matched well with the flavors of the dish.  Diana brought my second glass of Sake for the second course, Kubota Manjyu Junmai Daiginjo, and then the food, Honey Miso Foie Gras with Miso Mustard, Wo Sun, Xinjiang Dates, Goji Berries and Eel Powder.  Wow, how does Max think these things up?  This was served with some traditional Chinese bread called Mantou.  The Wo Sun is a Chinese vegetable that was opaque and looked like a slice of a root vegetable, but it is not a root.  This was all served on a white teardrop shaped plate with a pearlescent boarder, very pretty.  I loved the Foie Gras on the Mantou, which provided a hearty crunch to the smoothness of the beautiful Foie Gras terrine.  It was very smooth and crispy as a combination and a little sweet.  The Sake provided a tart bite to the smooth and sweet combination of the other ingredients.  Diana brought my next Sake, Nanbubijin Honjozo, which was much different than the others.  I was excited to find out what my next course was.  Ada brought my Wagyu Shortrib of Beef with Salted Plum Sauce, Wintermelon, Mizuna, Purple Potato Salt and Daicon Radish, a baby not yet fully grown.  The beef was fantastic, marinated in garlic and different kinds of radishes.  This dish was spectacular and the best beef dish I have had in this restaurant.  Ada brought my next Sake, Kamotsuru Hachinen Junmai Ginjo, again totally different, and then my Fried House Made Tofu with Enoki Mushrooms and Mapo Tofu Sauce with Coriander Oil and Tomato Powder.  Chef Max Levy came out to see how we were doing and we talked a lot about ingredients.  Not usually a Tofu fan, I was amazed with the taste and crunchy consistency of the 2 large squares of fried Tofu.  When dipped into the dark sauce it was a little spicy.  Located on the plate between the Tofu was a bundle of Enoki mushrooms bound by a belt of fresh chive.  More structured and tight than Tofu usually found in the South of China, this was the best Tofu ever for me and the Sake was well matched to the sauce.  This is the first time I have written about Sake pairings so please forgive my enthusiasm for some fabulous new flavors.  Cherry Zheng brought my next course, 4 Sided Bean with Razor Clams, Kimchi, and Soybean Powder and Ada brought a special Chinese wine, Jingmen Guo Liang to go with this spicy dish.  The Soybean Powder and Kimchi Sauce were applied on top after the beans were fried and there were lots of spice and bite!  Ada brought my last glass of wine, Caoyuan Muwa Horse Milk Liquor, a horse milk based Bai Jiu from Inner Mongolia, followed by my last course, Grilled Hiromasa Fish Head with Kimchi, 4 Sided Bean, Garlic, and Sautéed Kale.  The fish head was coated with chopped herbs and broiled in the oven.  Looking at a big fish head on the plate in front of me, and a glass of horse milk wine from Inner Mongolia, I felt like I was going on a new adventure and so it was.  I started with the eye muscle and it was really smooth and reflected the flavors of the herbal coating.  Then I tasted the horse milk wine and was shocked by the mildness of the flavor and how well it went with the fish, a lot of new experiences here.  I could not believe how much tender and juicy meat was in that head and it seemed to go forever.  The horse milk wine was sweet and smooth and totally new to me.  I wanted more, something I never thought I would say about Bai Jiu!  This dish was a delightful surprise.  Cherry finished me off with an unexpected dessert, Shiso Plum Ice Cream with Cotton Candy.  I used the spoon to mix the cotton candy into the ice cream and ate it together.  It was smooth, cold, and sweet.  With an Amuse Bouche and 7 surprising courses, this was a dinner to carefully savor.  There were many new flavors jumping out at me throughout my dining experience.  Simply stated, this was the highest quality and best multicultural North Asian Cuisine I have had, and the service was excellent.  Many thanks to Chef Max Levy, Diana Dang, and their staff of professionals for a job well done.  I will return soon!  Now, back to MESH for a Manhattan! 

CHEERS!

My Best as Always,

Randy