WesternTaste.com - Quality tasting events in western gastronomy - Executive Chef Robert Gynne and Food & Wine Writer Sofie Johansson gives you his and her top 5 hangouts in Stockholm and Beijing (The Beach - Block 8, Qbar, SuperGanBei, Carl Michael, Sibiriens Soppkök, Kung Carls Bakficka...)

Top 5 Favourite Spots in Beijing & Stockholm

It is hard to know which place that gives you the best experience in a city in terms of food & beverage. That is why WesternTaste.com has asked two experts in the area to pin down their favourite spots in each capital.
Both of them live and work or has been working in each city which gives them a good perspective and insight of the area. Robert works as a respected Executive Chef and Sofie Johansson works within the telcommunication business for Ericsson, however do not get fooled by her profession, she has a palate that cannot be bought or tought. She even exceeds people within the business, even some sommeliers. She has been consulting for WesternTaste.com for a long time as a food & wine critique.

stockholm, sweden

Executive Chef at InterContinental Hotel Group
Food & Beverage Writer
Robert Gynne works currently as an Executive Chef in InterContinental Hotel Group. He is about to take his journey towards the east to work in one of the most respected brands within the hotel business, InterContinental Taba Heights, Egypt.

Robert is not a freshmen in this field, he has worked in the hotel business for a very long period of time. From working in one of the most respected hotels in Stockholm (Berns Hotel) to beeing educated by Hilton Hotel School of Management to beeing able to travel and work all over the world makes Roberty Gynne one of the most repsected chefs in his profession. He has also been taken care of one of the largest properties in Starwood hotel group, Sheraton Great Wall in Beijing during the Olympics with 6 restaurants under his demanding control. The most important points to a chef is standards, quality control, service and excellent skills within food & beverage which Robert obviously has.

Kung Carl Bakficka
Try brunch at Stureplan District in Stockholm. This small restaurant does not look much from the outside however once going inside the design is modern, beautiful and giving an ambiance of standards. It is part of the famous hotel; Kung Carl. In Bakfickan, it is served international food with a small Nordic and South European touch. The kitchen has very extensive qualities and they focus mainly on having the highest standards with the most fresh and best raw materials. You should definitely try their lunch service which is truly authentic traditional Swedish home cooking with a modern twist. Between 12:00-16:00 on the weekends it is served a superb and amazing brunch.

www.kungcarlsbakficka.se

Döden i Grytan
An amazingly great Italian neighbourly restaurant with very romantic settings, large portions of food, which brings you the great value for all you big eaters. A lot of love, passion and dedication on the plate from the kitchen makes the gastronomic experience an unforgettable one. The wine list is pure Italian with great staff and superb service.
Finally a real authentic Italian restaurant in Stockholm!
www.visomkanmat.se

Caliente
This place is Stockholm’s best tapas restaurant. On the street address; Flemminggatan 22, is a small, rustic tapas bar with friendly atmosphere, Caliente. The best time to visit is during the summer when you can sit on their famous terrace. Really nice food, the cosy and intimate mood while sitting close to the other restaurant guest creates this genuine and authentic South American feeling into it. Lovely staff which heightens the standards and service even more.

www.caliente.se

Sibiriens Soppkök
Sibiriens Soppkök literarily means Siberia’s Soup kitchen and not Garbage Pale which it can be mistaken for (since the words are very similar in Swedish). However I can assure you that the food is not. The restaurant is a small intimate family restaurant located on the street of Roslagsgatan in Vasastan District. The restaurant has one specialty and that is to serve soup from all over the world. It also comes with excellent food, great wines and fantastic & professional personnel.
www.sibirienssoppkok.com

Carl Michael
Swedish fine dining at the famous and beautiful location of Djurgården in Stockholm. Opposite of the city’s amusement park; Gröna Lunds entrance you can find Carl Michael. It is an ambitious Swedish restaurant for the food lover that craves rustic and season based dining with a modern touch of the classical and traditional Swedish culinary scene. It is focused on fine dining and season based pairing of raw materials and professional gastronomic experience. This is a must for the special occasion.

A must at least once in a life time!
www.carlmichael.se

Written by: Robert Gynne

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beijing, china

Marketing Executive at Ericsson
Food & Wine Writer
Sofie Johansson works within international marketing at Ericsson in China. She has a great insight in the culinary scene in Beijing. Why, it's because she simply does not stop beeing curious and experiment in terms of food. She has almost tried every single restaurant that is worth visiting in Beijing and can therefore provide Western Taste with a good insight in the amazing experience within food and beverage in the city.

Many chefs, Food & Beverage Directors and other interesting aspects of the culinary scene in Beijing respects her opinion and aspects of food in the city.

Please enjoy some of her favourite locations in Beijing for a relaxing evening.

The Cellar - Hilton Wangfujing
If you want to experience something out of the ordinary and have a cosy private dinner, you should try out the cellar at Hilton Hotel in Wangfujing. It is located on the fifth floor among other restaurants, but it is secluded so that you have your own private wine room. You will be seated surrounded by hundreds of different wines while you're beeing served some amazing food. You usually get a pre-decided 3 or 5 course menu when you call them and make the reservation. You can either choose the Chinese or the Macaunese/Portoguese food for your specialized menu. The sommelier, Peter, is a terriffic host and he knows exactly how to take care of you. He knows how much or how little service that is appropriate at the right time. You feel really special when you sit in the room with your company, 2-6 people, and you have the candles and the superb wines around you. Not to mention the food, it is really well prepared and gives you a blend of innovative amazing flavours.
www.hilton.com

La Bai De Anges
A French wine bar in Hou Hai, owned by two brothers from Nice. The bar is named after the famous bay in Nice. It is hidden in the hutongs of Hou Hai and can be difficult to find if you’ve never been there before. Great wine bar, relaxing and easy atmosphere. They’ve got a wide range of different wines. All wines are of very good quality and valuable for money.
It is really great to just sit here a Friday evening or Wednesday evening and just relax. It is a good place both if you’ve been somewhere for dinner before and just wants to calm down or if you plan to have a night out it is a good place to start your drinks. They also have a small range of cocktails as well as cheese platters and coffee.

www.la-baie-des-anges.com

Qbar
In Nan Sanlitun Lu on a roof top you can find Qbar a very famous cocktail bar among Beijing expat community. They make great cocktails. Their signature cocktails are Pina Colada, Mango Mush and Strawberry Daiquiri. People are crowding at this bar. They have just recently renovated their terrace, which also is one reason why people come here, the ability to sit outside during spring/summer/autumn. The new terrace is very nicely done in wood and it feels like a lounge with sofas and cosy sitting. It is a great place to just sit and sip on your cocktail. I often go here not only during the weekends but also during the week because it is so close and relaxed.
www.qbarbeijing.com

Aperitivo
In Sanlitun on the street behind 3.3 you will find this bar which is owned by an Italian. On their out door seating you can sit and look at all the different kinds of people that rumble around in Beijing.
They have a signature cocktail that’s called Aperitivo: White wine and Campari with an orange wedge and ice. Perfect for summer!! Well it works well in winter time to, but it is a great feeling to sit in their outdoor seating sipping on this. A great start on the weekend is to wake up late, take a walk around Sanlitun and then you end up at Aperitivo for a late breakfast/lunch. They have spaghetti, salad, bruschetta and pizza. I love their different kinds of bruschettas and it is so nice to nibble on. They have also a wide range of wines, cocktails and other beverages. The owner makes a killer Long Island Ice Tea.

The Beach - Block 8
This is the place where all the “posh” Beijing people (both Chinese and foreigners) crowd in the weekends. The roof top of Block 8 has a fantastic and famous terrace. It is made to make you feel as if you are at the beach. On the terrace there are comfortable sofas, a big nice bar with a lot of cocktails and posh surroundings. But the reason why I love to go here is because it is so nice to feel as if you’re not in the big city. You lie there in your sofa and pretend you’re off on the beach. It doesn’t matter that famous Chinese people go there, I don’t have a clue who they are anyway. Being with your friends, drink some cocktails, listen to some great music and just relax is a nice feeling.
During the Olympics it cost 15 000 RMB for each table to book and the lines were crazy outside.

stockholm, sweden

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beijing, china