The 2023 Hot and Spicy Festival (Apr 14-16) is under a week away and the question on everyone’s spice-awaiting-lips is: what vendors will be there cooking up a spicy storm? Well, this year we’re bigger and hotter than ever with 40+ vendors all lined up to set your mouths aflame!
We’ve got both old and new faces and a number of vendors have even created limited edition spicy dishes specifically for the festival. So without further ado let’s take a look at the who’s who at this year’s Hot and Spicy Festival.
TABASCO Brand
Besides bringing Louisiana spice born from the Tabasco peppers of Avery Island, American hot sauce brand and title sponsor TABASCO Brand will be bringing a few games for guests to try their hand at. There’s “Hot Shot”, a ball shooting game; “Looking for TABASCO Sauce”, in which participants need to find at least three bottles of TABASCO Sauce in one minute to win; and of course a spicy eating competition, each with great TABASCO Brand brand prizes in store.
JSS
Bilingual waimai delivery and shopping platform JSS is cranking up the heat, allowing guests to try Hainan ghost peppers, one of the hottest chili peppers in China. After testing your heat tolerance, you can take photos with a few big plush bears JSS will have on display (or bury your head in one to muffle your screams of pain from all the heat, either way works).
BREADISM
Korean-style bakery Breadism may be more known for their nearly 30 kinds of bread, desserts, and coffee drinks served up in a relaxed atmosphere, but they’ve also got some delicious cocktails up their sleeve as well. For Spicy Fest they’ll be showcasing one such cocktail that happens to have a kick: the Magma. Made with tequila, vodka, grapefruit juice, black peppercorns and Chinese red chili, this drink brings the heat in more ways than one.
SUSU
Vietnamese chain SUSU is more than just pho and banh mi. They’ve also got a selection of creative snacks, appetizers, and drinks on menu that make each visit an opportunity to try something new. Spicy Fest will bring one such opportunity in the form of SUSU’s Mala Popcorn Chicken – chunks of crispy boneless chicken coated in crunchy peppercorns and served with sriracha mayo dipping sauce.
fudi
The location sponsor for Spicy Fest, fudi’s motto, “fudi is for foodies”, is a testament to the massive selection of all kinds of products they have on offer. From quality meats to seafood to cakes to ready-to-cook meals and more, if you’re thinking of it, fudi probably has it. To tantalize your taste buds with spice, they’ll be bringing two menu items: the Jalapeño Cheese Bagel, a bagel filled with jalapeños, TABASCO hot sauce and fresh cheese; and the Jalapeño Hot Dog, a hot dog with jalapeños served on a crunchy ciabatta roll.
Latina
Latina will transport your taste buds to Brazil with their selection: spicy Brazilian pork sausage which sees links of pork married with an array of spices that bring both heat and a blast of flavor.
Dinner Bell Creamery
Dinner Bell Creamery is bringing their high quality cheeses for tasting and purchase, with three varieties on offer: shredded cheddar, American Swiss, and classic American. They’ll also be serving their take on tacos in the form of the USDA Prime Beef & Chili Taco with Dinner Bell cheese, a taco with top grade American beef, TABASCO hot sauce, peppers, onions, and double slices of award-winning Dinner Bell American cheese.
Shadow of the cloud
Shadow of the cloud brings the foods of Yunnan from the mountains and forests of the southwestern province to the table, with authentic Yunnan flavors through and through. For our event they’ll be serving up a Dai specialty from Xishuangbanna: foods crushed under mortar and pestle. You read that right, you pick the ingredients you want – sour, bitter, fragrant, infinitely spicy – and they’ll be pounded with mortar and pestle and served.
OATLY
OATLY is a leading oat-based food company. For over 25 years, OATLY has focused on developing their expertise in the field – as it were – of oats as a cultivated crop to promote human health and sustainability. They’ve used this expertise to churn out some great oat-based products, and will be helping guests at Spicy Fest cool down with six of their oat “ice cream” flavors: Original, Passion fruit, Mango Coconut, Raw Coconut Latte, and Jasmine & Black Tea Bobo.
Birdnest Tea
The folks at Birdnest Tea have taken two elegant fixtures of Chinese cuisine, the edible birds nest soup and tea, and combined them into a variety of flavors, from birds nest soup milk tea to green tea to Yunnan tea and more. The result is a concoction with a flavor similar to glutionous rice, with a sweet and refreshing taste.
Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to win a free cup of bird nest tea with Birdnest’s “10s Challenge” – using a “challenge machine”, all you have to do is stop the timer at the ten second mark to win a free tea!
Georgia's Feast
Celebrating eight years in the capital, Georgia’s Feast is not only Beijing’s premier Georgian restaurant but also a fantastic place to relax, listen to music, or dance, with ample seating, a bar area, upper floor and even KTV rooms designed in traditional European style. Georgia’s Feast will be bringing their Adjarian Khachapury for guests to try.
This proto-pizza of sorts is a boat-shaped flat bread – alluding to the skilled shipbuilders who call the area where this dish comes from home – filled with cheese (symbolizing the sea) and a fresh egg (symbolizing the sun), which when combined with the cheese lends the whole thing a creamier texture and light flavor. The twist? Georgia's Feast will be adding spice to this dish just for Spicy Fest, so if you've never tried a spicy khachapury, now's your chance.
Turkish Feast
Turkish Feast spares no expense in bringing diners the authentic flavors of Turkey, with everything from the ingredients to the utensils thought out with the most immersive experience in mind. For Spicy Fest they’ll be showcasing Doner Kebab, meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, shaved off and served in pita bread or with rice pilaf along with salad, as well as their beef burgers – all of this with an added kick from spices included just for the Fest!
Plan B
This Shuangjing stalwart uses the best local and imported ingredients to create some of the best North American and British pub classics in Asia. They’ll be making these classics extra spicy for Spicy Fest. On the menu will be Habanero Buffalo Wings, locally sourced deep fried chicken wings smothered and covered in a blend of habanero and buffalo sauces; Chili Cheese Fries, made with jalapeño beef and bean chili and cheddar cheese sauce; and special Habanero Pepper Jack Sliders, featuring beef patties smothered in habanero sauce and topped with pepper jack cheese.
Pandabrew × River melody & Mountain scenery
Pandabrew will be serving up Hunan style spicy during the fest, specifically their special Hunan Lo Mein, made using a marinade of their own craft beer and non-GMO soybean oil. Seeing as their head chef has over 20 years’ experience of cooking Hunan family style food, this'll be some Hunan food you won't want to miss. Plus, Pandabrew will have a selection of their craft beers on offer to wash it all down.
COMMUNE RESERVE Beijing
As the most high end brand of the COMMUNE family, COMMUNE RESERVE adheres to the value of "free exploration" and embodies the spirit of "TRUE TO THE CRAFT." They are committed to building and pursuing a high-quality dining and beer platform that can be enjoyed by all. For Spicy Fest they’ve created a Spicy Pizza featuring a tomato sauce base, mozzarella, chicken, chili flakes, basil, sweet piquanté peppers and roasted bell peppers.
Supanniga Eating Room
Hailing from Bangkok, Thailand, Supanniga Eating Room is their first overseas outlet in Beijing and has been recommended by Michelin Guide Thailand since 2018. Bringing the taste of traditional Eastern and Northeastern Thai home cuisine, Supanniga Eating Room will have two special spicy dishes to choose from at the festival. The first is their Tom Yum Goong, a classic Thai dish that builds on the original recipe crafted by Khun Yai (Grandma Somsri). It uses ingredients sourced from Thailand such as chili, galangal, kaffir lime and lemongrass to create the spicy and sour soup base combined with high-quality CP Prawns. The second is their Fish Ball Green Curry, which see hand-crafted fish balls served up in Supanniga’s traditional green curry sauce that will really spice things up!
Joe's Pizza
Established in 1975 by Joe Pozzuoli, who emigrated from Naples, the birthplace of pizza, to the USA, Joe's Pizza is a "Greenwich Village Institution" that has been offering the classic New York slice for the past 45 years. They opened up their first branch in the capital last year and even went on to win the 2023 Cheesy Pizza Cup. At the festival they’ll be serving their SPICY Supreme, which is the perfect combination of Mexican and Chinese chili peppers with basil and Italian sausage.
Q MEX Bar & Grill
As a Mexican restaurant it’s a no brainer that Q MEX will bringing the heat to the festival. This year their must try dish is the Spicy Chicken Adobo Tacos, made with grilled chicken leg sautéed with garlic, onion and adobo chili sauce, topped with chopped cilantro and onion.
Laksa Queen by MULU
Laksa Queen is a new quick-bite concept by MULU which specialises in the best Malaysian street food and quick kopitiam delicacies. Two dishes to watch out for at the festival are Sarawak Laksa, which has been described as “Breakfast of the Gods” by the late Anthony Bourdain and is a vermicelli noodle dish featuring a broth made with 36 kinds of herbs and spices and ten other ingredients garnished with shredded chicken, shredded omelette, prawns, fried shallots and coriander to create a wholesome comforting dish bursting with flavor. The other is Nasi Lemak, Malaysia’s national dish, and a common breakfast for many Malaysians. It sees fragrant rice cooked with pandan leaves, lemongrass and coconut milk, topped with hard-boiled egg, peanuts, anchovies, cucumber, chicken curry and the most essential part of the dish – spicy sambal.
La Platea
Mediterranean restaurant La Platea will be bringing a whole range of spicy specialties to the festival including Spicy Ragù Arancini, Spicy Chorizo Bites, Spicy Chorizo Trapizzino, Diavola Pizzetta and Spicy Cheesy Salami Piadina. The latter dish, Piadina, is a thin Italian flatbread, typically prepared in the Romagna historical region. For the Fest they have decided to prepare a special Piadina featuring Naples Spicy Salami & Asiago Cheese. A perfect combination that will “cheese” you up.
Ye Lounge
Perfect for this year’s jungle theme, Ye Lounge are an outdoor camping-style restaurant. Their must try dish at the festival is their Mexican Chili Beef Roll which sees slices of beef, vegetables and beans served with Mexican pickled chilies and Mexican chili sauce to bring double the spice.
Las Musas
Specializing in authentic Mexican street tacos and carefully crafted margaritas, Las Musas always uses the freshest ingredients and prepares everything from scratch. They’ll be serving up two special tacos at the festival: Spicy Roasted Tomato Habanero Chicken Taco and Spicy Green Chili Beef Machaca Taco. The use of habaneros and spicy green chilies from Mexico will combine perfectly with the meat to create a mouth-watering, sweat inducing taco experience.
Yao Cafe
Yao Cafe will be bring a huge variety of spicy dishes to the festival including, to name a few, Chinese Spicy Chicken, Sweet and Spicy Chicken, Spicy Hot Dogs and a Big Spicy Burger. The spiciest dish they’ll be offering is their Hot Dog with Crushed Chili and Cheese. To wash it all down they’ll also be serving a special Chili Mojito.
CARPACCIO
Dedicated to all things Italian, CARPACCIO is best known for their traditional Italian dishes such as pizza, gelato and coffee. They’ll be bringing a special Spicy Beef Pizza to the festival which features a thin, crispy base topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and spicy beef. The spicy beef is seasoned with various herbs and special Sichuan local spices to add a delicious spicy kick.
iGELATO
When you think of iGELATO, you’ll probably think of freshly made gelato with seasonal fresh fruit and nuts, but what you almost certainly won’t think of is spicy food. Well, for the spicy fest they’ll actually be bringing a special Hot and Spicy Dark Chocolate Gelato that combines the rich flavor of cocoa beans with a hint of chili spice.
Yu Chang Roasted Chicken King
Yu Chang Roasted Chicken King use a 300-year-old secret palace recipe for their marinade sauce that uses 26 different Chinese herbs. Their Yu Chang Pepper Chicken has an authentic Sichuan mala flavor mixed with tangerine peel to make a dish that, although spicy, will go easy on your stomach.
Handsome Cooking Guy
Bringing authentic north-eastern spicy food to the festival, Handsome Cooking Guy only serve up Liaoning cuisine. Their must try dish is the Signature Mala Grilled Chicken Rack which can be described as the soul food of the Shenyang Night Market.
Grassroots
Grassroots is a plant-based creamery that produces delicious plant-based dairy products from a proprietary blend of pea starches, oils, yeast and all-natural ingredients. For the Spicy Fest they’ll be serving up their famous Mac & Cheese but with a South-East Asian twist! Al-dente macaroni noodles smothered in a cheesy sauce made from Grassroots basil-infused Mozzarella and Grassroots Cheddar cheeses, topped with crispy smoked ginger “bacon bits” and a fiery basil and chili sauce.
Home Plate BBQ
American barbecue joint Home Plate will be bringing one of the newest additions to their menu to the festival: Mango Habanero Ribs. This rack of pork ribs is coated in a special barbecue sauce made from habanero chillies and mango to create a spicy dish with just a hint of sweetness.
BURGE'S Bistro & Bar
A European style bistro, BURGE’s have created a spicy dish especially for the Spicy Festival: a Spicy Chicken Sandwich that is unlike any other and comes straight from the minds of their dedicated chef team. Chicken thigh is marinated in a sauce made from milk and chili peppers for six hours, then it’s fried, smothered in a special secret sauce, sprinkled with smoked paprika and topped with coleslaw and cheddar cheese to make one juicy sandwich.
Tough Tongue
Specializing in chuanr and fresh beer, Tough Tongue are bringing the heat with their Spicy Tough Guy Fried Rice. Fresh shrimp and shredded pork neck is added to their spicy fried rice along with Chinese kale for a healthy kick. The spiciness is the highlight of this dish but isn’t overpowering and is balanced out nicely by the other ingredients.
BRAIN FACTORY
A Sichuan-style barbecue joint that specializes in, well, brains, BRAIN FACTORY will be serving up their signature Spicy Roast Brain. The brain undergoes a four hour pre-treatment and is then marinated in a secret red sauce made from 21 different spices and grilled along with some side vegetables before finally being served with a sauce made from six different types of chili peppers to create one spicy dish.
Nashville
The first country music restaurant bar in Beijing, Nashville, was founded 26 years ago, in 1996. For the Spicy Festival they have two must try dishes: Signature Spicy Pork Ribs that sees Spanish black pork ribs marinated for 24 hours in a secret chili sauce then roasted until they are charred on the outside but still tender and juicy on the inside. The other dish is the Roasted Devil Spicy Chicken Wings which consists of selected, large chicken wings marinated in a secret sauce made from Yunnan devil chillies.
LINGXIA
LINGXIA was founded by Nicola Saladino, an Italian architect based in Beijing whose passion for gelato inspired him to return to his hometown to learn the art of making gelato and then bring the tradition back to China. Their gelato only uses natural ingredients and, unlike other gelato shops, they don’t use any artificial flavors or colors. At the festival they’ll be serving up a special Chocolate Chili Gelato.
MEDI
Focusing on the specialties of the Mediterranian, MEDI will be showcasing their Moroccan Spicy Meatballs with French Fries at the festival. The meatballs are made from beef and lamb, mixed together with onions, secret seasoning and homemade Moroccan chilli sauce.
CHEERS
CHEERS has been celebrating drinking wine as a lifestyle in the capital for over 12 years. Their flagship store in Sanyuanqiao is more than just a wine shop, it’s an experience. There’s a terrace open for events, Sunday brunches, afternoon tea, wine tastings and more. CHEERS will be bringing a little bit of that same atmosphere to Spicy Fest with a kick thrown in in the form of Spicy Sparkling Margaritas and Mimosas.
Each has hot sauce mixed with either premium tequila and lime or orange juice, with the option for sparkling wine to be added to make it extra fancy! If spicy isn’t your thing, they’ll also have red, white, and sparkling wine on offer to imbibe in.
Slavno
These cured meat and jerky specialists will be bringing something a little different in the form of spicy dried chicken jerky. Made with air-dried chicken breast meat, the jerky is spiced with Sichuan pepper for an added bit of heat.
Slider Nation
Beijing’s first steamed slider joint out delivering and serving gourmet comfort food to the masses. With their 100 percent imported Wagyu beef and duck fat fried French fries, these guys have made a name for themselves as a “go-to” for upscale, addictive fast food. Slider Nation will be cranking out their Bloody Mary Kits, made with chili-infused vodka and a special blend of spices; as well as their “Death by Donnie” sliders.
Inspired by Beijing’s resident expat comedian Donnie Fan, who once asked for his “Angry Slider” to be over the top out-of-bounds spicy. Think of these as the already hot Angry Slider with pickled jalapeños and habenero special sauce topped with some “Death by Donnie” flakes, which are so hot they brought the staff to tears.
Also on deck will be guest bartender SUMMΛ$HU, who will be whipping out special shot concoctions for folks to enjoy.
Taiba Shawarma
Taiba will be making their signature chicken shawarma with a bit of a twist – adding some Mexican heat into the mix. The result is a chicken shawarma wrap made with freshly roasted chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, the chef’s secret garlic sauce, and a spicy jalapeño sauce for added spice.
THEODORE GELATO
Specializing in handmade gelato that is low-fat, low-sugar and has zero additives, Theodore Gelato is bringing gelato with a healthy twist to the festival. With a variety of colorful and tasty flavors there is plenty to choose from!
Now that is one impressive array of vendors! So what are you waiting for? Get your Hot and Spicy Festival tickets now by scanning the QR code below!
READ: Early Bird Tickets for Hot and Spicy Festival 2023 Now on Sale!
Images: courtesy of the venues, The Beijingers
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