[Photo provided to China Daily]

Carnivore haven

Meat Mate, offering premium beef and lamb from Australia, opened over the weekend as a butcher shop with packaged foods and wines from around the world. Temptations from the shelves include a meat-matching array of sea salts and intriguing nibbles like gherkins in green-tea marinade. A grill chef is on duty for those who can't wait to get home to get their rib-eye or chops cooked. The check-out process was chaotic at the opening, but the quality meats at competitive prices make the short wait well worth it.

Meat Mate at Sanyuanqiao Fenghuang Cheng (behind the Galleria). 010-5625-5588.

BEIJING-SHANGHAI

Tastes of two cities

Raw Eatery and Wood Grill of Shanghai teams up with TRB-Bites in Beijing to tempt diners in each other's city. Chef Juan Campos and his team at the Shanghai restaurant come to the capital on Wednesday with flavors inspired by South American and Spain, infused with the smokiness imparted by the high-temperature, charcoal-fueled Josper oven. Bites' kitchen team heads the other way next week, serving up its take on modern international cuisine in Shanghai. The one-night-only dinnertime events in each city cost 588 yuan net per person ($87) for the five-course menu.

Wednesday at TRB-Bites, 95 Donghuamen Daijie, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6401-6676.

Oct 26 at Raw, 2/F, 98 Yanping Lu, Jingan district, Shanghai. 021-5175-9818.