Beijing Boyce

Catching up on a lot of work, news, email, sleep over the next few days. Some stuff going on…

Attention Bloody Mao fans: Stephanie Rocard says Mao Mao Chong, closed for the Chinese New Year, will remain so as it now goes under renovations. Look for it to reopen on March 2.

Gung Ho Gourmet Pizza Factory, with branches near Workers Stadium and in Lido, is experimenting with an online order system. If all goes to plan, it should be fully activated on the Gung Ho site within a week. Unfortunately, Chateau BB lacks Internet so the phone it shall remain. Speaking of which, Gung Ho remains among the most efficient in taking calls: my average order is processed in 60 seconds.

The signs for a new branch of Bellagio are up on the third floor of Swire Sanlitun Village South. Given mall hours, don’t expect it to mimic the nearby branch on Workers Stadium, known for late-night / early-morning dining and attracting a “see and be seen” crowd. Quite a bit of work remains before this place opens.

Finally, The Drive-Thru in Sanlitun Soho continues to roll out products. Ryan Johnston says recent additions include chipotle pepper powder and Guinness beer powder – with the latter, word is it takes a full bottle to get one gram. He also recently said the number of beers options available was at at 111 — and counting.

For those who can’t wait a few more days, here are two flashbacks to full-on Chinese New Year fireworks in Beijing.

Click the image below for a post with six photos near Workers Stadium.

And for those with access to Youtube, check here — given entry is free, it is hard to beat a show that features dozens of fireworks displays going off at once.

It’s one of the things I like about Beijing.

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Migas chef Aitor Olebagoya once invited me into the kitchen, pointed to a shelf above a cooking station, and pulled down more than a dozen brands of gin to sample. Given this, it is no shocker to hear that Migas plans to introduce a ‘gin and tonic cart’ as of February 10. The cart sponsors are Spanish brands Mare gin and 1724 tonic water. Migas raised the bar last year with its mix of packed parties, creative cuisine and visiting chefs, and its new bar and this GT cart suggest there is lots more to come in 2012.

The Spanish wine promotion at Modo finishes at the end of January. The next nation to be featured in the wine preservation machines’ 16 slots: France. Just before New Year, I organized a get-together for acquaintances on Twitter (my account is here) and Weibo (here) at Modo to try these wines. We paid rmb100 for a rmb150 wine card and snacks. Alex Molina of Modo was in a generous mood and opened several bottles for us to try — much appreciated! They included Viñedos Alión Ribera del Duero, Muga Rioja Blanco and Matarromera Crianza Ribera del Duero.

I had lunch today at newcomer Da Giuseppe Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant, in the former Budapest space in the China View complex, the same one with Hooters, Danger Doyle’s and ReFresh, on Workers Stadium East (see initial post here). Chef Giuseppe De Stefano worked at La Pizza and it shows in the excellent crust. While the pizza was a bit sloppy, the presentation and taste were above average, and the pasta was also good. I’ll back soon to try more items.

Following up on this post, on my way home last night, I stopped at Terra to check on the soon-to-open rum bar and the menu. The infusions include elderflower, cinnamon and tea and the menu lists the following brands: Ypioca, Sagatiba Velha, Captain Morgan, Zacapa, Mount Gay, Tonga Island, Bundaberg, Gosling, Havana and Troise Rivieres. Prices range from rmb28 for Myer’s to rmb180 for Zacapa XO. I didn’t have time to grab a drink or check if every bottle is already on the shelf but that is the lineup to expect when the bar officially launches after the holidays.

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Terra is reporting that it now has its barrels and booze through Customs and will open its rum bar downstairs after Chinese New Year holidays. Among the labels to be stocked are Zacapa, Mount Gay, Gosling, Trois Rivieres and Tonga Island, says Jennifer Eden, who adds that bartender Amanda Richter is working on some infusions.

The Loop in Shuangjing also has a modest but adequate rum list (see photo above) though I gravitate toward the wines, including a few options from Pikes. I remain a fan of the design of this place and of the menus created by manager Weiley Lu, formerly of Lugar (now Alba). Burger fans might want to give the one topped with foie gras, truffle, bell pepper and rocket a try (rmb78).

Pudao Wines in The Office Park will have free pizza on Thursday night for those sampling from the enomatic machines. Current themes include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Australian Shiraz and sweet wines, with  an ice wine from Canada. The prices range from rmb7 to rmb43 for a 25ml sample.

Hidden Lounge – not so hidden given two bright signs – recently held a soft opening. In the CBD apartment complex in Shuangjing, the place is accessible down a staircase and via a sliding door, has plenty of nooks, crannies and seating areas, and featured an all-you-can-drink theme – rmb100 for men, free for women. It feels a bit like LAN on an extreme budget meets Kai Club but it is hard to tell based on an opening night visit. To be honest, the highlight was talking to the artist who has a studio at the far end.

A management rift at Fubar has reached the point where the police showed up tonight to deal with a dispute over one of the partners comping drinks. The incident extends to a bigger dispute late last week between original partners Chad Lager and Kevin Zhang — some say Lager was kicked out, Zhang says he quit. In either case, the situation is a mess, and a sad one given this place ranks among the city’s success stories of the past three years.

I have been to Fubar a half-dozen times in the past week, have heard both sides, and hoped they would work it out, even last night when Lager showed up for work and, despite the somewhat ominous presence of several security guards with his partners, left without incident. After all, the reason Zhang and Lager got together in the first place was because each provided something the other didn’t — Zhang brought financing and an ability to deal with property management while Lager oversaw design of everything from bar to menu, sourcing staff and alcohol, and daily management.

They survived some early struggles, when times were lean and a third partner, Ashley Howlett, came in with the financial support to put them — far — over the top. Fubar is now an established part of the city’s drinking scene.

Things don’t look good at the moment but here is hoping the sides can come to an agreement with which everyone is happy. If I ranked the Beijing bars that have meant the most to me, Fubar would be in the top ten, and it is among those places I have been able to document going from rubble to success. On that note, here are some photos of Lager and Zhang from happier times. May they return.

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Grace Vineyard has a new wine and it features the rare use, at least in China, of screw caps — see here for another example in Treaty Port.

First, the wine: it is called Tao Fu and, says CEO Judy Leissner, “refers to the peach wood charms hung on doors during the New Year” and that are thought to repel evil spirits. It is also a family affair: the script on the bottle’s side was written by Leissner’s daughter.

Made solely from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, Tao Fu is light and fruity, with the spirit of a Beaujolais Nouveau to it. I found aromas of candy apple and sponge toffee; other comments ranged from cherry to banana. It is a bit of an experiment, with only 2,000 bottles, and may ultimately join the portfolio. I was lucky enough to be a dinner where a bottle was opened.

As for the screw cap, I have talked to Leissner several times over the past few years about this closure and she says it is much harder to use than people might imagine. As examples, she cites the difficulty of proper calibration, that most screw cap knowledge in China relates to beverages other than wine and might not fully apply, and the sourcing of material – in this case, the bottles are from China and the screw caps are imported. And that doesn’t even include cost.

Anyway, it was fun to not only try a new label but also to see some scrap caps on a wine made in China. What I’m really looking forward is to being able to pick up such wines in a shop or supermarket. Hopefully, that day isn’t too far off…

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As I wrote last year in “I ate this thing and I liked it“, I am not a big fan of sea cucumber. It’s kind of the look of the thing. And the texture. And the taste. But the braised sea cucumber at Da Dong is one I can handle.

I had it Saturday night and The French Connection had a bottle of sea cucumber-infused baijiu on hand. I am not a big fan of baijiu. It’s kind of a ganbei and hangover thing.

But this one is pleasant enough. At 41% percent alcohol, it doesn’t have the firepower of some white spirits, and it does have a sense of sweetness. In relative terms, it goes down smooth. (I also noticed the half-bottle smelled a bit like Midori a few days later).

This product is made by Feide Organisms — which has the less than catchy tagline, “China’s famous production base of marine functional foods” — in Dalian.

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It seemed like only last month that Home Plate BBQ became the first spot in Beijing to stock bottles of Kentucky Bourbon Ale. In fact, it was three months ago.

Anyway, Brandon Hess of distributor Dxcel says the company just got its first shipment of draft Kentucky Bourbon Ale. Let’s see who’s the first to stock it.

This is just the latest draft brought in by Dxcel. Others include Rogue’s Dead Guy Ale (available at Grinders) and Brewdog’s 5 am Saint (Hess says it is on tap at new spot Vine Leaf), with Brewdog’s Punk IPA soon expected to be available in the city.

A lot of people like to argue about who has the best pizza in Beijing and the China View complex on Workers Stadium East alone offers enough places for a competition. There is Danger Doyle’s and its brick oven on the second level. On the ground floor, Gung Ho and Annie’s are side by side, as are often their delivery vehicles on the surrounding streets. And a few meters out back is The Den, which still offers half-price pies daily, 5 PM to 10 PM, after all of these years.

Now we have another contender: Da Giuseppe Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant in the former Hungarian restaurant Budapest, originally site of the Norwegian restaurant 66 North. Fans of La Pizza — and I rank the pies there at the top — will likely recognize chef Giuseppe De Stefano either in person or on the large cutout in the second floor window. Da Giuseppe is open for business now, though it will close for about a week starting on January 21 and have an official opening after the holidays. In addition to pizzas, expect fresh seafood and a wine list with bottles starting at rmb135.

Note: If memory serves, operating hours are 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM and 5:30 PM to close.

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The Super Bowl — known as The Sweater Game and The Richard Robinson Annual here at BB headquarters — is almost a month away but prime seats at one place are already up for grabs. Andy Bright at Union Bar & Grille says the place will have a rmb150 breakfast, with sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, hash browns, pancakes, toast and coffee, as well as Bloody Marys at rmb45 and Bloody Caesars at rmb46 — that extra kuai is possibly a subtle attempt to keep away Canadians given they can get out of hand after major sporting events. I’ll have a longer list of venues showing the Super Bowl as I get more info.

See also: Super Bowl in Beijing wrap — 13 bars, 2 teams, 1 power failure

Chris Hebert of seafood restaurant Starfish says oysters will be on sale at rmb20 a pop from next Monday until they’re gone as this place will close for Chinese New Year. He also says lobsters, sold based on weight, will be 30 percent off next week.

Great Leap Brewery is closed but you can get a few pints this Saturday night as the owners will be holding an event at Vine Leaf, the new operation by The Vineyard, from 6 PM. The deal is three beers and a personal pizza for rmb180.

And Stadium Dog, which fronts Fubar, has added burgers to the menu. Chad Lager says the beef is from the same supplier as is used by Blue Frog. A burger is rmb40 and can be topped with the more than 15 condiments used for the hot dogs. Fries are extra.

Open soon for bahhh-siness.

Moment Cafe, Korean restaurant Ssam, bar V and The Drive-Thru will soon get a neighbor in their slice of Sanlitun Soho as Mongolian watering hole Yuan Chao is slated to open in the next few weeks. Run by Suliya Han, the place will stock typical beverages, including beer and spirits, as well as a relatively rare one — fermented mare’s milk. The place also has a stage at the back, for live music performances, and Han says that while there is no full kitchen, there will be snacks. Fans of this niche can check out Mongolia Bar in the China View complex on Workers Stadium East.

And speaking of Mongolia-themed bars in Beijing, here’s a blast from the past: Modern Nomads: Mongo-kitsch or Ulan Boutique?

U.S. college football fans seeking a spot in Beijing to see the BCS final between the top-ranked LSU Tigers and second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide: George at The Irish Volunteer in Lido, Vish at Frank’s Place, also in Lido, and Trevor at Grinders in Shuangjing say they will be open and have the game starting at 9:30 AM tomorrow morning. I also called The Den: the person who answered was unsure about the game, but this place usually carries major sports event, so if it closest to you it is worth giving a call in the morning. By the way, the hungry can grab the “big breakfast” at the Volunteer or items from Frank’s 24-hour menu, while Grinders should have food from around 10 AM. No word if there will be a pool on who’s the first to down an Alabama Slammer…

Call it going from hot to cold: bartender Coco Chen has left Flamme and is now making drinks at newcomer Frost near the April Gourmet a block north of Workers Stadium. Try the smoky martini next time you get a manicure at Frost.

Pudao has switched the wines in its five enomatic machines, each of which holds four bottles. The current themes are South Australian Shiraz, sweet wines, Sauvignon Blancs and Chardonnays from around the world, and “icon” wines, the latter including Chateau Palmer ‘Alter Ego’ and — something you don’t see very often — Chateau Musar from Lebanon.

Look for Vedett to be served this summer in 24 glasses that celebrate the Olympics. Each glass will have a different combination of the brand’s blue, white and yellow, says Nick Papa of Duvel-Moortgaat, which handles Vedett in China. The company’s draft De Konnick — which will soon be available in Beijing in bottles — is now at Bang Bang.

Korean restaurant Iki recently marked its first birthday and what a year it has been for this perpetually packed Shuangjing joint. IKI recently added new menu items and regular contributor Betty strongly recommends the “Korean nachos” and DIY s’mores. There are also rumblings the three partners might have another venue up their sleeves.

Importer and distributor The Wine Republic will hold a tasting of 50 wines, from seven countries, this Sunday from 2 PM to 5 PM at The Stumble Inn. Entry is rmb50 — refunded for those who buy wine.

Fubar in Workers Stadium is holding a “Sophie’s Choice” night on Wednesdays, with bartender Sophie Zhang, who also makes drinks at Flamme, coming up with original cocktails. The Lulu Galore Jazz Trio is also at Fubar on Wednesdays.

The Orchid Hotel plans to start weekly Saturday night wine tastings, says owner Joel Shuchat. This place has done a few test runs, including one with six Chiantis., and he expects to make them regular starting in three or four weeks. More on this soon.

Finally, work on Switch Grill at Dongzhimen — sibling of Switch in 798 — is quickly coming along: Billy Kawaja says construction should be finished this month and then it is on to training. Here’s hoping the place adds a hot dog stand this summer that matches the caliber of the one in 798.

The Workers Stadium is seeing shades of red with a trio of openings over the past year or so.

In the eastern base of Workers Stadium, we have the relatively new lounge Pink Life.

Across the street on the north side, in the new Shimao Department Store, we have the new Hello Kitty Store (photo:

And across the street on the east side, in the China View complex, we have the company colors of Gung Ho pizza.

Call it a pink triangle. Maybe someone can make a pink square, and add some masculine balance at the same time, by opening a Spinal Tap-inspired bar called The Pink Torpedo.

"You realize I'm not responsible for what happens if you drink this, right?"

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I appreciate talented Beijing bartenders who will indulge the nonconformist requests of customers like me. Last year, Paul Mathew came through not once, not twice, but at least a dozen times. Whether it involved unusual drink items, strange combinations or rarely seen technology, I enjoyed trying those concoctions, even more so when they tasted good. And I can safely say that seeing Mathew in action is like watching a wild-haired maniacally laughing mad scientist — without the unkempt do, lack of restraint and crazy.

Anyway, here is a “top five” of drinks that helped distinguish last year from any other for me. And I should note that these are not representative of the cocktails Mathew usually makes — I recommend his Passionate Englishman, Sazerac and Smoky Martini, among others. These are drinks simply made for fun.

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–five–

Manhattan with a Changyu Twist

With my computer in the repair shop and an hour to spend before picking it up, I stopped at a supermarket (I think it was “Wu Mart”), moseyed about and happened upon a one-liter bottle of Changyu Vermouth. My annual home use of Vermouth — both imported and domestic — is zero milliliters so I called Mathew to see if he had any interest in the bottle. He did, I grabbed it, and the next day at Flamme I enjoyed a local twist on a Fighting Cock Manhattan.

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–four–

Rose Tea Smoke-Infused Martini

A few days after Laurent Greco came to town and got out his smoke gun for some cocktail classes, Mathew brought his own into Flamme for a long afternoon / evening of experimentation. He immolated everything from mint tea to powdered coffee in order to infuse everything from wine to Bourbon. Most of it smelled like plain old smoke, including the raspberry tea I brought — not even a hint of fruit. But the rose tea-infused Hendrick’s gin martini? That one stood out.

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–three–

Licensed to Kim Jong-Ill

Mathew brought a bottle of ginseng liquor to a guest bartender session at Mao Mao Chong and I asked if he would take a drink we tried earlier and include some North Korean spirit in order to, hopefully, get a candied ginseng effect. The result might better be described as “dirty candy”, but the drink — dubbed the Licensed to Kim Jong-Ill — tasted OK. One part each of Wild Turkey, ginseng liquor, Campari and Vermouth. We tried a few other experiments, including a Kim Gin-Il Tonic, but these were less inspiring both in terms of taste and nomenclature.

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–two–

Buffalo Wing Martini

I like Buffalo wings. I like martinis. I dream of merging them — with some blue cheese-stuffed olives as garnish. Some people reacted to this idea as though I had suggested support for panda hunting, painting the Great Wall, and serving baijiu in elementary schools. Chill out, cocktail aficionados. Anyway, Andy Bright at Union provided the wings, Mathew used them to infuse the vodka, and the resulting martini would at best be described as “interesting“. Hmmm. Maybe I should use Bourbon next time. By the way, when I told frequent drinking buddy Mr Hao — who considers a glass of cold vodka to be a “martini” — about this top five, he suggested putting the “nefarious” Buffalo Wing cocktail as number one, much as Time magazine once made Hitler its “Man of the Year“. Alack and alas, I saved that spot for another drink, mainly because it represents the kind of fun that ensues from an impromptu night out — my favorite kind.

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–one–

Titanic II

If memory serves, it was a gray and murky day, one of those [insert scary number] parts per million deals where you needed a drink to help wash away reality, if even for a few moments. I ended up at Flamme, it wasn’t too busy, and Mathew made some concoctions based on names I threw at him — I remember one of them being The Green Lung. But the one that still makes me laugh turned out to be Titanic II. The movie falls into the “so bad you can’t stop watching it” category, thus, in terms of quality, the ratio between it and this drink is almost immeasurably high. Almost. I was able to calculate it at 142. Anyway, this concoction, with tequila and two kinds of bitters, is a favorite since it includes both the iceberg (an apple juice ice ball) and the ship (the garnish). Check out the peel — you don’t see craftsmanship like that any more.

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–special mention–

Red Wine and Coke

People like to make jokes about people in China who mix wine with Coke even though this practice is common in other countries (see Spain et al) and makes sense especially if the wine is, let’s say, lacking — and lots of local plonk is. Anyway, Mathew actually agreed to promote the combo one night (see photo above) at a superb happy hour price of rmb13 — no charge for the Coke.

See also:

• Titanic II: Now a cocktail complete with ship and iceberg
• Spice up your life? The Buffalo Wing Martini Experiment
• Licensed to Kim Jong-Ill: Where Kentucky Bourbon meets Korean liquor
• Where’s there’s smoke, there’s Flamme: Paul Mathew gets out his gun
• Sips in Beijing: Changyu Vermouth, Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon, Schorsch Lager
• Flamme special: Beaujolais Nouveau and Coke at RMB13 per glass

Skimming through a year of blog posts and photos leaves me amazed at how much stuff happens and how fast things change in Beijing. Here are 21 photos of things I tried in the past year — except for one that is an obvious fake. I’m not saying these are a top 20 of things I tried — and this post could include 100 photos — but that they are some fun and/or interesting ones. Oh, and I included a fake in there — should be pretty easy to pick out.

Kentucky Bourbon Ale at Home Plate BBQ

Smoked rose martini at Flamme

Gansu's Sunshine Valley wine at The Loop tasting

Jasmine MarTEAni at Twilight

Vedett, with staff pics on labels, at Saveurs de Coree (h/t Cuason & Carney)

Ningxia's Jia Bei Lan wine outside Aperitivo

Yunnan papaya wine at Jam

Part of a superb lineup at new bar The Malt

Caramel liqueur at Q Bar

White wines from Grape Wall Challenge at Modo

Colorful cocktail at Union

Uruguayan wine from Torres China

Bourbon at Chef Too

Single malt and tea at The Orchid Hotel

Scottish brand BrewDog at El Nido

Martini magic at George's Bar

Shandong's Treaty Port: rare use of screw caps in China

Martini at Fez atop Spanish restaurant Agua

A wine with some kick

Grace, Silver Heights and Helan Qing Xue wines

Unlikely combo: 1968 Beernauslese with 2010 Erguotou

Birthday Duvel at Mao Mao Chong

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And that Chateau LaFight is the obvious fake — it came from one of this year’s April Fool’s posts.

Dried goods at Drive-Thru

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Former The Brick owners Ryan Johnston and Cici Feng Johnston have opened their shop The Drive-Thru in Sanlitun Soho. The focus is on beer and spices, particularly on delivery, although the shop has everything from custom-made bicycle to shawls to pipes. The beer list is already big, and growing, and Ryan Johnston says he aims to get Slow Boat Brewery and other local craft beers. He is also busy dehydrating basil, parsley, mint and chipotle peppers, grinding nutmeg, mulling uses for these blocks of rock salt, and planning to reduce beers such as Guinness to powder. The Drive-Thru is on the north side of the third floor of building 5. The phone number is 8590-0390.

Speaking of Slow Boat Brewery, Seth Grossman of Home Plate BBQ says his joint just off Xiaoyun Road should have its beers on tap just after Chinese New Year. Home Plate will hold its monthly beer, blues and BBQ night on Thursday. And Grossman says to look for new stuff on the menu once chef Adam Murray returns from his vacation.

And speaking of craft beer, Great Leap Brewery has closed its hutong location off Nanluoguxiang for the winter. A press release says the decision was made “to focus on the bigger picture” of “building a brand” though some might wonder about the timing given Great Leap finished enclosing its courtyard a mere two weeks ago. Great Leap was also recently forced to withdraw its beers from Paddy O’Shea’s, The Brick and other bars due to the lack of a license but it looks like fans of the place can still get their fill given plans to do “pop-up events” and provide kegs for private parties.

Finally, Gung Ho has a third outlet? Well, no, but patrons of Frost, co-owned by Jeff Powell — who consulted on the initial Gung Ho recipes — have been gobbling down pies. Powell says he’s is averaging better than a dozen a day, with the high being more than 30 pizzas. Patrons can also order salads and Powell will throw them into a bowl. And he says he is planning to introduce bratwurst in the next couple of weeks.