*** Brunch. The most important human invention ever. Here's some out there in Beijing. ***

The Taco Bar

Enough has been written about this Taco Bar place since it opened a month or so back, but in case you were looking to extend your affections for Beijing's most revered Mexican restaurant into their brunch menu, hey, here it is. As apposed to their dinner thing, which is a shared, mix-and-match sort of deal, you're looking at three options of Mexi breakfast platters, which are a given main course that comes with sides of frijoles negros, chips, and salsa. Here's the Chilaquiles Al Forno -- "baked tortillas, charred chilli salsa, grilled chicken, melty cheese". Chilaquiles Al Forno - 55rmb Kind of a simple but heavy tortillas dish that really fills you up. Fried egg on top, so you bash on the egg yoke, which slops down into the chicken and cheese tortilla. Here's the Tacos de Desayuno -- "scrambled egg, chorizo, melty cheese". Tacos de Desayuno - 55rmb This is the breakfast variation on their chorizo (pork) tacos, which is a wack of scrambled eggs and melty cheese added on in. The chorizo guys are really tasty, and the recipe transfers well as a brunch thing. And, for a desert, here's the Tortilla de Maiz Dulce -- "sweet corn pancakes, banana, brown butter syrup, seasonal fruit". Tortilla de Maiz Dulce - 55rmb Packing this one on in on top of one of the platters, this one's a pro move of true fat-assery. Buttery, syrupy pancakes sprinkled with powdered sugar. Good desert to split with your bleary-eyed hungover friends. Thumbs up for Taco Bar brunch. It's simple and a more laid-back thing than their dinner stuff, which can get sloppy and sprawling if you do it right. It was only about a third full when we turned up and was just a nice low-key sangria-drenched afternoon meal. Taco Bar's brunch is Saturday and Sunday, 12am - 3pm. 55rmb-150rmb per person depending on how much you drink. ***

Sureno

Sureno -- Sur-en-NYOH -- is the popular Mediterranean restaurant on the bottom floor of The Opposite House. It's been around for a minute, of course, but they seem to enjoy a pretty vaunted reputation in Beijing for quality plates. They recently relaunched a new brunch menu, which they do every few months. It's about two pages of starters and two pages of beefy mains -- mix and match to your predilections. Lots of pyrotechnical, wholly involved Euro cuisine ferried to your table on gigantic and important-looking white plates. There's also the option of adding in free-flow drinks: extra 98rmb for soft drinks and juice; 150rmb for mojitos, bloody marys, martinis; 200rmb for Duval Leroy Champagne. Getting into it, here's the Eggs Benedict -- "poached organic eggs, smoked pancetta, toasted brioche & hollandaise sauce". Eggs Benedict - 118mrb Creamy goodness, man. Nothing like a nice poached egg to reflect one's inner refinement. It's like really complicated eggs for lovely, wealthy, complicated people. Here's Laia's Steak Tartar -- "hard-chopped Australian sirloin, capers, gherkins, organic egg, mustard & brandy". Laia's Steak Tartar - 178rmb A real potent dish. Raw flesh, gherkins, brandy -- it's pretty intense. Powerful stuff. Getting this thing, you've got to be like a really rich werewolf. Like a werewolf with a trust fund. (Which I basically am.) On the main courses, here's a Black Cod Fish -- "grilled cod fish, grilled asparagus & all-i-oil sauce". Black Cod Fish - 228rmb Goddamn, this thing photographs nice. Look at that. It's like the cover of an in-flight magazine. Super impressed. But yeah, anyways, this one's some delicate cod realness, what can I say. Here's the Grilled Merguez Sausages -- "beef & lamb sausages, mashed potatoes, roasted tomatoes & asparagus". Grilled Merguez Sausages - 148rmb Got this one because these Merguez sausages -- hey, I've seen those at some other place around town. Sureno's take on the North African sausage is a pretty controlled affair. You've just got a line-up of beef and lamb sausages on your plate there, one and five all in a row. Simple and tasty, but not much to them. If I had it back, I'd probably re-up on something more involved. There's a seafood paella on the menu which sounds interesting... Atmosphere-wise, Sureno is simple and neat. When we went, it was just a few scattered tables of people maturely getting down on some fine Mediterranean cuisine. It's a good option if you want an international hotel-standards brunch but don't want to gorge yourself on one of those end-of-the-world five-star buffets. The quality is definitely there and there's nice perspective to the menu offerings -- lots of interesting stuff to try out. Sureno's brunch is every Sunday, 12pm to 3pm. Prices are subject to a 15% surcharge. Depending on if you tack a fee-flow deal on, prices are about 300rmb - 500rmb a person or so. ***

Frost

With the recent closure of Back Alley Bistro, Frost is now the only location in Beijing to blast on Chef's Jeff culinary offerings to this city. It's not brunch per se, but they've got a Breakfast Menu, which has eggs and stuff on it so GAME ON. Here's the most expensive, gust-bustingest thing you can get: The American Standard -- "3 eggs, 3 bacon, 3 sausages, hash browns, English muffins, and fresh fruit and a bottomless coffee or red tea". The American Standard - 108rmb Yeah, by my calculations that's one more sausage and bacon piece than what usually comes with the standard American. Not much to say here. It is what it is. Just a big plate of breakfast food. Hits the spot. The hash browns are exactly like McDonald's hash browns. It's a really big bowl of fruit. The sausages are righteous. Coffee's decent and bottomless. Every time I've gone, I've been the only one in here, so it's like a nice private gluttony session with some of the fine food groups that have made America what it is today. I like to set up my computer on one table over and watch Russian dash cam video compilations and ram bacon into my mouth. Hey, I know what I'm doing. Pro-tip: If you miss the breakfast menu, hit up Frost's tacos. They're fuckin' awesome and really cheap too. These are three duck meat tacos -- three for 38rmb. Great deal. They've got fish and pork variations as well. All very, very right-on. Frost's Breakfast Menu is available daily from 7am to 3pm. Prices are 45rmb - 100rmb or so. ***

Cafe Zarah

Again, it's not really a set brunch per se, but Zarah has one of the nicest outdoor eating and relaxing areas in Gulou, so, hey, maybe you'd like to see what they serve for breakfast. This stuff is available all the time. It's all very simple, cosmopolitan, and health-conscious food, I guess. Everything is basically a platter of meats and cheeses -- nothing to get too worked up about. It's kind of like they raided one of the delis near by and put together snack plates, really. Here's the Good Morning Beijing -- "two bread rolls, Gouda cheese, Camembert, Salami, cooked egg, jam". Good morning, Beijing! You dirty ole bi- Good Morning Beijing - 65rmb And here's one of the salads. Forgot which one it was, but I want to get my work to pay for it so I'm including the photo here. Offering my professional food critic opinion, it tasted green and entirely like a salad. Bread was nice. Yeah, Zarah's a nice environment for sure. Probably less then ideal if you're heading out looking to fill up on a breakfast or brunch, but if you're not all that hungry and just want to snack on some simple savory imports, they've got you covered. Their menu extends on in to sandwiches and stuff as well. Cafe Zarah is open daily from 9:30am. ***