Beijing Calling Cards

History is happening by the second in Beijing as the list of global leader visits grows. Beijing was ablaze with the visit of the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, on my last visit to Beijing back in April. Last week my arrival at the grandiose new Beijing Capital Airport was affected by the security surrounding the visit of Condelezza Rice, American Secretary of State and the Thai Prime Minister, Samak Sundaravi. The new Mayor of London has just finished his visit and so the list of dignitary calling cards goes on…

The relentless race towards the August 8 Opening of the Olympics continues with everyone tracking time before and after the event. The new pre-Olympic single entry visa for foreigners is causing havoc with expat businessmen based in Beijing, who are forced to returning to their home country each time of renewal or in one case I’ve heard about, moving their base to Bangkok. The Games Volunteers have hit the city in their spunky new uniforms and the athletes are starting to move in.
The historic first weekend charter flight to Taiwan has taken place this week with much ceremony, heralding the closing of the gap between the countries - an event which could not be imagined fifteen years ago.
And the changes in the city show. There’s more glass in the massive CCTV Tower since April, more landscaping and beautification – and signs in English are plastered around the city with an abandon that no one in the city could have imagined two years ago. In fact, you would hardly recognize the city from two years ago now that the landmarks have changed – with huge building projects dotted all over.

The Olympic Buildings might be finished ahead of time, but the wave of new restaurants is not. The food and beverage scene is caught up in the frenzy and numerous major restaurants scheduled to open months ago are still struggling to open their doors. All construction has now officially stopped, one month out from the Olympics and only one of the ten restaurants I’ve come to review is open – and that’s only a soft opening with no promotion.

As I lounged back in the soft sofas of Maison Boulud, I revelled in the fact that it was worth the trip. This brand new restaurant is the first of the establishments to open in the long-awaited Legation Quarter development by entrepreneurial genius, Handel Lee, who transformed Shanghai with Three on the Bund.
In the same way, he is bringing Michelin-starred restaurants, high-concept art galleries, an underground theatre and luxury retail to the beautiful old former U.S. Embassy, round the corner from Tiananmen Square.
Such a location! And a glamorous, grand-scale, high-end restaurant that could grace any capital of the world. I was lucky enough to enjoy the food of the Grand Master Chef, Daniel Boulud and meet him at work in the kitchen. Beijing is enhanced by the addition of a restaurant of this standard. No visit to this emerging global city will be complete without your finding this out!