Age of the multishopping experience

Feeling peckish? No problem. Just snap up that swish jacket and that bonsai plant and head for the dining area

It's no use trying to pigeonhole Algorithm as a multibrand fashion boutique or a restaurant or a furniture store; It's all of the above.

Five minutes' walk from the Sanlitun area of Beijing, the store is located at a bustling intersection. The design is minimalist, the venue having transparent glass walls. The whole store becomes a window display as the glass walls frame the dining scene and fashion display inside.

In this store you can buy just about anything, from food to clothing, accessories, furniture and even the bonsai plants in the corridor so long as they take your fancy.

The menu is updated every season, and every dish is named after a city that has a personal story to tell. For example, the sandwich is named Copenhagen, where two of the founders say they met for the first time.

At a time when technology is making almost everything easier, Hu Nan, co-founder of Algorithm, believes that there really is nothing to match sensory experience and communication.

She wants to stimulate everyday life by giving a sense of ceremony to the tiniest things in life, she says.

"When we really pay attention to the minutiae of life we are happier," she says.

She studied economics at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing and later became the executive chief editor of Fashion China Magazine.

There Hu established an extensive network in fashion circles. She curated one of the first showrooms for Chinese designers during China Fashion Week and worked as a consultant on strategy and design to many fashion brands.

After working for a few years she went on to acquire a master's degree in business at the University of International Business and Economics and traveled to Europe during her study.