River North’s Ben Pao Chinese Restaurant honors each of China’s four culinary regions this year. “Check, Please!” host and Master Sommelier Alpana Singh will kick off the celebration Beijing, when she pairs hot pot dinners with wines on November 12. “Everybody literally cooks their own food, tabletop,” says managing partner Ed Culleeney. The tasting tour, scheduled to run through December 28, will feature such specialties as shredded star anise-braised pork. “We cook it down with star anise, cloves and cassia bark, a cinnamon-like ingredient,” Culleeney says. “Then we serve it with lotus buns, pineapple hoisin sauce and pickled vegetables. You can make a sandwich.”
