Capital Mmmm

Back in September, you may remember that Dave and I attended the "soft opening" of Capital M, a new restaurant in Beijing that "overlooks" Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Well, since then I have been back twice - once for dinner with Ben, and once for Sunday brunch with my parents and their friends, Matt, Laura and baby Annabelle.

Here I am with mum on Qianmen Dajie which runs South from where Capital M is located and which has been revamped in the style of a "traditional, grandiose" Chinese street:

Dinner

Ben and I had just eaten at LAN (see previous post) a few days earlier, and were just about ready to eat our fill again when we arrived at Capital M. We had delicious cocktails, and I had a raspberry cosmopolitan which was delicious! Ben had the dubious Hurricane that he always orders, always forgets he's had before, and always enjoys, which is a strange mix of rum and fruit juices. But he liked it. As always!

I didn't have a starter, but I managed to make significant inroads into Ben's parsnip soup to compensate. It was really tasty, which was a bit surprising seeing as I have yet to see a parsnip in China! I had the lamb as a main, and it was tender and juicy, and a huge portion. Ben had the duck, which he enjoyed. It was served as a breast and a leg (v. fashionable, don't you know...).

And on to the desserts! I had tried miniature versions of these at the opening, and was impressed (Lemon meringue pie! Crumble! in CHINA!! Amazing.) Ben had the Tarte Tatin, and it was delicious.

We were particularly pleased by the option to order wine by the caraffe, which meant that we were able to indulge in our individual preferences for red and white, without having to order an entire bottle of each, and then feel obliged to drink them both... (Yes, I know....). It was about GBP including our wine and 2 cocktails each, so better value than LAN, better food and a more enjoyable experience overall!

Brunch

Due to political crackdown (/other miscellaneous technical incompetencies, perhaps on my part....) I have now been to Capital M twice for brunch since I started drafting this post. The second time was less of a success due to a mammoth 5 hour karaoke session with Lisa and Soph (more on this later...), and I only managed to eat half an egg, and I had to give away my cocktail... So - we'll concentrate on the first time!

The Capital M brunch menu is a choice of 2 or 3 courses (c Y218 and Y268 respectively) and includes a cocktail - the Sunday Pimms was refreshing, and perfect for an early Sunday afternoon! The starter of poached egg and asparagus was delicious, although I am not quite sure where they found asparagus over here at this time of year!

There was a good variety of starters and mains on offer, and a nice choice of lunch and breakfast foods. my choice of Chicken Saltimbocca did not disappoint, and I finished up with a delectable Tarte Tatin!

I will be returning, just not with a hangover. That made it a very expensive (half) egg!

I am running a bit out of steam on this already long post, so am going to call it a day for now!