Eat beat

BEIJING

Sweet and salty

The capital's sugar cravings were on the salty side recently, as The Hutong hosted its annual Cookie Monster Charity Bake-off. The judge's award went to Queen of the Cookie Jar, a chewy white-chocolate chip oatmeal confection drizzled with salted caramel created by Jamie Kung of Sugar & Spice. The crowd that came to sample the bakings of the 20 contestants, meanwhile, voted for A Salty Surprise, a chocolate-chip cookie that Becca Ruskin, Rachel Friedman and Sydney Hess took to new heights by adding pretzel pieces, browned butter, sea salt and chocolate-peanut butter ganache. Organized by Beijing foodie Kristen Lum and The Hutong cultural center, the bake-off raised 10,133 yuan ($1,535) for the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center, a local preservation organization.

Cheers wine dinner

Who could fail to love wines named Tussock Jumper malbec and Fashion Victim moscato? Luckily, the contents of these affordable bottles are as tasty as they are amusingand about to be nicely matched with dishes by chef Rob Cunningham at a pop-up dinner at Feast in Beijing's East hotel. The April 21 event includes four courses cooked with the wines they are paired with from Cheers, starting with a prosecco and canapes of blue-cheese tartlets with leek. Dinner with wine is 288 yuan plus 15 percent service charge.

April 21 only, East Beijing Hotel, 22 Jiuxianqiao Road, Chaoyang district; 010-8426-0888.

Deer delight

New Zealand venison is making a foray into top Beijing hotels and restaurants, with the meat's importers hosting a tasting last week at The Hatchery in the capital. "Our meat is farm-raised," says John Sadler, director of Mountain River Venison, "so people are usually surprised that it's tender and doesn't taste gamey". Media and local chefs, such as Xu Long from the Great Hall of the People, sampled an array of tasty dishes from grilled cuts to a hearty curryall served with Villa Maria wines from New Zealand. Several high-end eateries in Shanghai already have the company's venison on their menus, says importer Hunter McGregor of Shanghai Rata Trade Company.

HONG KONG

Celebrity chef en suite

Pierre Gagnaire returns from France to his namesake two-Michelin-starred restaurant Pierre this month with a "tribute to Hong Kong" tasting menu. Besides incorporating ingredients that are local favorites, the menu features oysters done three ways, pan-seared langoustine and jellyfish with grilled shiitake pickled with locally brewed beer. The four-course menu is HK$988 ($129), while seven courses are available for HK$1,688. Gagnaire will be present for both lunch and dinner from April 14-20. The tasting menus will remain available until April 30.

Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road, Central district; 852-2522-0111.