Nearby The Tree

Dear Patrick

Our second Charity BBQ and Fancy Fair in the garden of the Embassy of Belgium was a real success. This success would have been impossible without the help of our sponsors, volunteers and the Morning Tears team.

For us, it was great opportunity to make people aware of the difficult situation in which children whose parents are in prison or have been executed have to grow up. The BBQ generated 60 000 RMB, which will be used for purchasing water and sanitation equipment for our new project in Henan: “Coming home, after the death sentence of a parent”. 80 children will spend in Henan the remains of their childhood under the wings of Morning Tears after being abandoned by their families because their parent(s) were convicted.

You were one of the sponsors, therefore I want to thank you personally for your commitment. We sincerely hope that in the future we can keep on counting on your support. Only together we can rebuild the world of children who lost their own.

Luc Poppe made a lot of very nice pictures of the event. You can have a look at a selection of them on http://picasaweb.google.be/pierre.schavey/BBQMT21June08.

Kind regards

Pierre and the Morning Tears team

Pierre Schavey

Morning Tears

Rebuilding worlds…

www.morningtears.org

A selection of some of the menu items available at the restaurant upstairs.

‘Nearby’ Antipasto - Assortment of marinated vegetables - Asparagus, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, olives, sweet peppers

‘绿树旁’意式冷蔬菜拼盘 - 芦笋，洋蓟心，番茄，橄榄，甜椒

¥40

Ricotta & spinach tortelloni arrabiata (Spicy tomato sauce)

十五. 奶酪菠菜馄饨配香辣番茄汁

¥55

Beef filet with paglia e fieno, seared tomato, & red wine glace

十七. 煎牛柳配双色鸡蛋面和红酒汁

¥120

Tuna panini With dried tomato pesto, onion, celery, & tomato

金枪鱼和风干番茄沙拉酱三明治

¥45

Home made Brussels Waffles - fresh cream and fruit preserves

比利时奶蛋烘饼

¥30

Lavazza Espresso Coffee

特浓咖啡

¥20

February 18th, 2008 | Source: Beijing Boyce

I [Jim Boyce] have been making the rounds with my laptop in search of spots that offer decent food, drink, and online access. This is part five of my winter wireless wrap-up. (Previously: The Bookworm, Sequoia, The Rickshaw; Le Petit Gourmand; The Stone Boat)

Nearby the Tree

The good
- Table seating downstairs in the bar and cozy sofa areas upstairs in the restaurant
- Good pasta and Belgian beer on the premises
- Above-average service
- Relatively quiet
- A nice view upstairs of trees

The bad
- I feel bad if I am hogging an entire lounge section to myself
- The hard surfaces downstairs means noise travels

Wireless
- While on my first two visits, I had a few problems (one time, I had to move to the far side of the restaurant to get a signal, another time, the signal did not work at all), it looks like the problems have been solved - the signal has been good on my last three visits, making this a nice place to stop for a few hours during the afternoon, after the lunch crowd is gone and the dinner crowd is yet to show up.

October 24th, 2007 | Source: Beijing Boyce

[Jim Boyce] popped into Nearby the Tree last night, which opened on Sunday, just up the street from the Sanlitun police station. Regulars of The Tree will not be disappointed with the decor. It offers the same brick and wood feel of the original and is much more spacious. The first floor includes the bar, which not surprisingly has a good selection of Belgium beer.

While The Tree is known for pizza, Nearby the Tree will focus on pasta. The yet-to-open wide-open second floor has an elevated lounge area and looks as though it could hold 60 to 80 people. An open pasta station flanks the far end, taking a page from The Tree, where the pizzas are made in full view. According to a press statement, Nearby the Tree will also have a focus on wine.

Last but not least is a spacious deck that will be a welcome place to enjoy a Duvel or glass of wine come Spring.

Nearby The Tree opened its’ doors to the crowds for the first time on Sunday 21st October for a quiet opening of the main bar. The intrigued punters were welcomed with free flow Prosecco and other drinks from the bar, including De Koninck and Hoegaarden on draft. A few things are not ready, like the menu and prices! which wasn’t an issue as the drink selection is similar to that on offer in The Tree and there was no charge on opening night. The upstairs open-space restaurant and kitchen will not be open until later in November but the chefs enjoyed practising in the new kitchen and provided simple snacks such as tomato bruschetta and meat panini.

Thank you to all those that turned up to support the event and we all hope Nearby the best of success in the future!

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Originally uploaded by nearbythetree

Here is a shot of the Open Pasta Kitchen with the new induction cookers and pasta sieves. The fresh pasta will be provided by Beijing Italofood and served with a range of stupendous sauces. The upstairs kitchen is due to open by 15th November 2007 completing phase two.