24 Hours in Beijing With Charles de Pellette
For our third installment in this 24 Hours in Beijing series, we sit down with Charles de Pellette—a British-born, Hong Kong-raised expat who’s been in Beijing for 13 years. He’s sold craft beer for Master Gao, mixed up cocktails behind the bar at Ron Mexico, and for the past 8 years has been at Home Plate BBQ, where he’s the Operations Director (and co-host of “Will It Smoke?”). Here’s how he’d spend 24 hours in Beijing—food, drinks, and a bit of chaos included.Must visit spot? The Hutongs.Yes, the Great Wall is more spectacular and the Forbidden City more magnificent, but to me, if you only get to go to one place, it’s the hutongs around Gulou in all their gritty, charming glory.Nothing says Beijing to me like the narrow streets lined with cars, tiny hole-in-the-wall shops, a scattering of restaurants and the occasional public bathroom—where a lack of doors (or even walls between stalls) can turn a routine pit stop into a much more social occasion. While “The Brickening” many years ago forced lots of bars and restaurants to close and making these alleys a lot less lively than in days gone by, they still are still the soul of Beijing. The Best Way to Start the Day? Late.This is a backwards day where we end on breakfast, so we will start a little later at lunch, rollin' out of bed and getting to our first stop for midday: Zhang Mama. Nothing wakes one up as well as a bowl of spicy 担担面 dān dān miàn, some 种水饺 zhǒng shuǐjiǎo (Sichuan-style dumplings) and an ice cold 北冰洋 Běibīngyáng to get the system going. We’ll be smiling all the way to the bill as it is damn near impossible to spend a lot with how cheap the prices are here.Afternoon: Hutong Wandering & BeersFrom there, we head deeper into the hutongs for a light spot of day drinking. First stop: Peiping Machine 北平机器 in Fangjia Hutong 方家胡同 for a pint or 2 of their beer. In the same courtyard is Aimo Town, a great little Yunnan restaurant with a nice raised terrace which is perfect to sit out on in the warmer months. There we’ll grab a plate of 酥红豆 sū hóngdòu (crispy red bean pastry) and some fried 耳块 ěr kuài (Yunnan-style rice cakes)—a perfect spicy-savory combo to snack on between drinks. The hutong crawl continues down at Side Street with a pint of Zeffer cider for one of my five fruit a-day quota, before meandering towards Great Leap #6 for another round. Along the way, we’ll grab a 驴肉火烧 lǘ ròu huǒshāo (donkey burger) from Wang Pangzi 王胖子—probably Beijing’s most underrated street food, more similar to a steak slice than a burger. The pastry is flakey, the meat is tender and lean, it's basically just delicious. Dinner: Peking Duck & Cantonese Comfort FoodOnce the sun starts to dip, it’s time for a change of scenary so we’ll hop on a bike and head over to Sanlitun. We can’t do Beijing without having duck, and Sheng Yong Xing 晟永兴 does what I genuinely believe to be the best Peking duck in the city. Yes, it’s Michelin-starred, but it’s not just fancy for the sake of it—the duck is next level, the skin perfectly crisp, the meat ridiculously tender. It's not just the duck though, the rest of the dishes on the menu also shine. Sadly, since we are on a mammoth food tour of Beijing, this visit we will stick to just the duck to share.Post-duck, we have a pitstop at Home Plate for a Pitmaster Porter (our winter smoked porter collab with Jing-A) and a few rounds of darts while waiting for a table at Yi Lou Yi Huo Guo 一楼一火锅饭店, a Cantonese spot in the same yard that reminds me of being back home in Hong Kong. The char siu is lavish in all the right ways and clams in black bean sauce are very moreish, decidely less so moreish today though with all the food we have consumed already throughout the day!Late Night: Spritzes, Techno & Breakfast FinaleWith dinner wrapped up, the obvious move is to head La Platea, aka Little Italy. We’ll grab a seat on the terrace, order a couple of Gin & Tonics or an Aperol Spritz to rehydrate, and if someone is still peckish, order a tapas of Prawns Pil Pil—nothing like garlic-chili breath to ward off the vampires! Most likely, Oshi will be at the decks like usual playing some eclectic beats to get people going before things get messy. Messy, of course, means dancing in a basement with a sticker over my camera on my phone so I can’t take photos as it ruins “the vibe”, aka Zhaodai. Time for some dark, dirty techno, or if I am lucky (rarely am I) some DnB, a few hours dancing in the dark, drinking matte matte and losing members of the group in the darkness of the dancefloor. Before heading home, there’s one last stop to make—a random little place serving breakfast to early risers and night owls alike. The order is always the same 小笼包 xiǎo lóng bāo, 蒸饺子 zhēng jiǎozǐ (steamed dumplings), and a little side bowl with vinegar and slightly too much chili crisp/chilli oil, washed down with an ice-cold Yanjing. The perfect final bite before the taxi home, blackout curtains drawn, and a well-earned sleep.Craving some more fun? Check out what Char
For our third installment in this 24 Hours in Beijing series, we sit down with Charles de Pellette—a British-born, Hong Kong-raised expat who’s been in Beijing for 13 years. He’s sold craft beer for Master Gao, mixed up cocktails behind the bar at Ron Mexico, and for the past 8 years has been at Home Plate BBQ, where he’s the Operations Director (and co-host of “Will It Smoke?”). Here’s how he’d spend 24 hours in Beijing—food, drinks, and a bit of chaos included.
Must visit spot? The Hutongs.
Yes, the Great Wall is more spectacular and the Forbidden City more magnificent, but to me, if you only get to go to one place, it’s the hutongs around Gulou in all their gritty, charming glory.
Nothing says Beijing to me like the narrow streets lined with cars, tiny hole-in-the-wall shops, a scattering of restaurants and the occasional public bathroom—where a lack of doors (or even walls between stalls) can turn a routine pit stop into a much more social occasion. While “The Brickening” many years ago forced lots of bars and restaurants to close and making these alleys a lot less lively than in days gone by, they still are still the soul of Beijing.
The Best Way to Start the Day? Late.
This is a backwards day where we end on breakfast, so we will start a little later at lunch, rollin' out of bed and getting to our first stop for midday: Zhang Mama. Nothing wakes one up as well as a bowl of spicy 担担面 dān dān miàn, some 种水饺 zhǒng shuǐjiǎo (Sichuan-style dumplings) and an ice cold 北冰洋 Běibīngyáng to get the system going. We’ll be smiling all the way to the bill as it is damn near impossible to spend a lot with how cheap the prices are here.
Afternoon: Hutong Wandering & Beers
From there, we head deeper into the hutongs for a light spot of day drinking. First stop: Peiping Machine 北平机器 in Fangjia Hutong 方家胡同 for a pint or 2 of their beer. In the same courtyard is Aimo Town, a great little Yunnan restaurant with a nice raised terrace which is perfect to sit out on in the warmer months. There we’ll grab a plate of 酥红豆 sū hóngdòu (crispy red bean pastry) and some fried 耳块 ěr kuài (Yunnan-style rice cakes)—a perfect spicy-savory combo to snack on between drinks.
The hutong crawl continues down at Side Street with a pint of Zeffer cider for one of my five fruit a-day quota, before meandering towards Great Leap #6 for another round. Along the way, we’ll grab a 驴肉火烧 lǘ ròu huǒshāo (donkey burger) from Wang Pangzi 王胖子—probably Beijing’s most underrated street food, more similar to a steak slice than a burger. The pastry is flakey, the meat is tender and lean, it's basically just delicious.
Dinner: Peking Duck & Cantonese Comfort Food
Once the sun starts to dip, it’s time for a change of scenary so we’ll hop on a bike and head over to Sanlitun. We can’t do Beijing without having duck, and Sheng Yong Xing 晟永兴 does what I genuinely believe to be the best Peking duck in the city. Yes, it’s Michelin-starred, but it’s not just fancy for the sake of it—the duck is next level, the skin perfectly crisp, the meat ridiculously tender. It's not just the duck though, the rest of the dishes on the menu also shine. Sadly, since we are on a mammoth food tour of Beijing, this visit we will stick to just the duck to share.
Post-duck, we have a pitstop at Home Plate for a Pitmaster Porter (our winter smoked porter collab with Jing-A) and a few rounds of darts while waiting for a table at Yi Lou Yi Huo Guo 一楼一火锅饭店, a Cantonese spot in the same yard that reminds me of being back home in Hong Kong. The char siu is lavish in all the right ways and clams in black bean sauce are very moreish, decidely less so moreish today though with all the food we have consumed already throughout the day!
Late Night: Spritzes, Techno & Breakfast Finale
With dinner wrapped up, the obvious move is to head La Platea, aka Little Italy. We’ll grab a seat on the terrace, order a couple of Gin & Tonics or an Aperol Spritz to rehydrate, and if someone is still peckish, order a tapas of Prawns Pil Pil—nothing like garlic-chili breath to ward off the vampires! Most likely, Oshi will be at the decks like usual playing some eclectic beats to get people going before things get messy.
Before heading home, there’s one last stop to make—a random little place serving breakfast to early risers and night owls alike. The order is always the same 小笼包 xiǎo lóng bāo, 蒸饺子 zhēng jiǎozǐ (steamed dumplings), and a little side bowl with vinegar and slightly too much chili crisp/chilli oil, washed down with an ice-cold Yanjing. The perfect final bite before the taxi home, blackout curtains drawn, and a well-earned sleep.
Craving some more fun? Check out what Charles and Home Plate are up to for this Monday (Feb 10)'s Super Bowl, with an American breakfast buffet and five hours of free flow drinks. Check out the details in the poster below:
READ: 24 Hours in Beijing With Foodie Emperor Preston Thomas
Images: courtesy of Charles de Pellette, Uni You and Joey Guo
