A new family-friendly restaurant could be a nice place to hang out this weekend for those living in Chaoyang. Huiben Weidao opened eight months ago on the second floor of a shopping mall called Tongzhijia (Kid’s Home) next to Laiguangyong metro.
The second floor of this mall is mostly rented by all kinds of language schools and other educational centers for kids – which were all, to be fair, pretty empty early Tuesday afternoon when we went to scout it out. More people are said to come on weekends. The mall even has a big rock-climbing wall that would be loved by young naturalists. Mini-buggies for rent are perfect for 3 to 5 year olds.
Passing all the playgrounds, we came to a new restaurant located on the west corner of the mall. The place is not that big, but looks adorable with origami on the ceiling and colorful pictures of dishes arranged as funny faces all around the walls. The manager of the restaurant, Coco, kindly agreed to tell us about the place.
Huiben Weidao is a family-oriented restaurant. It has lots of meals for kids, a playground area where the youngsters can jump and run while wiped-out parents are having lunch. Although most of the visitors are Chinese, Coco says that the café is also popular among local expat families—mainly from the Chaoyang, Shunyi, and Haidian areas.
The restaurant has cooking classes and storytelling hours for RMB 295 or RMB 466, if the kid stays for a meal afterwards. No more than 8 children per class are accepted. All classes are held in Chinese, but the actions are not really complicated, and it can be a fun way for kids to learn some basic words while baking pizza.
A birthday party package is also available. For that there’s a fixed price of RMB 6,800 for a 4-hour venue rent plus a full buffet. (This price applies for fewer than 10 people; extra attendees will be charged more.) As for decorations, the customer has many themed options from Frozen to Superheroes. One of the extra services Huiben Weidao offers might sound attractive for those looking for an unusual way to celebrate: you can bake a birthday cake right there with assistance from the chef!
Huiben Weidao also has a discount system with a rechargeable card, that, if you put RMB 1,800/ 4,800/ 8,800 on it, gives you a discount of 5, 10 or 12 percent. Family meal sets are also on promotion. Until the end of July payment through Alipay will save some money as well! In any case, be prepared to spend around RMB 80-100 per person.
So, our verdict is that it’s a nice place to come if you live nearby and want to have a quiet family lunch before exploring the attractions around, but it may not be worth coming from far away.
Huiben Weidao
Open Tuesday-Sunday. 10.30am – 8.30pm. 朝阳区望京广顺北大街19号六佰本商业中心二楼A08.
Photos: Anastasia Levina, beijingchihuotuan
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