Restaurants newly opened in party zones

Fusion barbeque combines Korean and American styles

Banana Fish, on the third floor of Tongli, has developed a reputation for having a nice ambiance and quality grilled food at affordable prices. It remains to be seen whether its reputation rubs off on its newest neighbor, Bambu BBQ.

Both are owned by Jay Liu, who lived in Los Angeles for two decades before returning to China just before the Olympics.

Dining around town, Liu found that quality steak costs much more than in the US, even though ingredients and labor are both cheaper here. He decided to offer customers steak and barbeque at more reasonable prices.

Bambu BBQ expands on this concept. In the US, barbequing is a popular backyard activity enjoyed among friends and neighbors. Liu wants Bambu BBQ to have that laid-back atmosphere.

There are 23 kinds of meat available, including prime beef (88 yuan for 180 grams), beef chuck (68 yuan for 180 grams), chicken breast (25 yuan for 200 grams), squid (32 yuan for 200 grams), shrimp (22 yuan for four pieces), sweet potatoes (8 yuan) and abalone mushrooms (18 yuan).

The restaurant has a signature sauce bar with 20 kinds of sauces for diners to mix and match. After ordering the meat and making your sauce, sit back and relax while restaurant staff does the grilling for you.

Bambu BBQ’s cocktails (30 yuan each) include mojitos, cougar juice (vodka, watermelon and lime juice) and lychee beauty (vodka, lychee liqueur, raspberry, lime cordial and lychee juice).

Salads start at 15 yuan, with 45 yuan getting you unlimited plates of salad starting September 5. Beijing Today recommends the green papaya salad, which is crispy and fresh. Also available is curry fried rice (15 yuan), minestrone soup (15 yuan) and potato leek soup (15 yuan).

Bambu BBQ has a major promotion going on now: order any meat or seafood and you will get an equivalent or lower priced meat or seafood for free. The promotion lasts until September 4.
 
Meanwhile, there are 12 new dishes at Banana Fish. We recommend the grilled bacon, chicken and mango (48 yuan). The mussels promotion is also good: only 50 yuan for unlimited mussels, which are freshly prepared in white wine or pepper.

Bambu BBQ
Where: 311, Tongli, 43, Sanlitun Bei Li, Chaoyang District
Open: 11 am – 2 pm, 5-10 pm
Tel: 6415 7166