Beijing Boyce

There’s summer school and then there’s school to prepare for summer, and the latter is being offered this Wednesday and Thursday as Fongyee Walker and Edward Ragg present on Wines for Summer Drinking. These sessions run from 7 PM sharp to 8.30 PM at the Park Plaza Hotel and include a tutored tasting of eight wines that cover several different countries, regions and styles. Walker and Ragg have judged numerous wine tastings, led wine courses, written about wine and are self-professed “wine geeks”.

The RMB 250 price includes the wines, tasting sheets, advice on buying wine in Beijing, and a buffet dinner in the Park Plaza’s Bloo. To book a spot in either the Wednesday or Thursday spot, contact Fongyee Walker at fongyee@cantab.net.

You don’t see many events linking Texas and South Africa, but add one more to that short list when Beijing Wine Club holds a holding a fundraiser on July 14 at Tim’s Texas Roadhouse to benefit the HIV/AIDS programs run by Prevention through Education, a charity with which the wine club’s Gabriel Suk is involved. (Note: This event is at the new Tim’s, on Super Bar Street, across from 5:19 and Pili Pili.)

Look for five South African Western Cape Wines - three reds, two whites - and Tex-Mex food. There will be a raffle for cowboy boots, diamonds, wine and vouchers for Beijing restaurants, along with, states the invite, “Western-themed games where you can test your marksmanship skills or try your hand at lassoing a cow.”

The event is 150 kuai per person and proceeds go to a new PTE online peer counseling center. The sponsors include the South African Embassy, ASC Fine Wines, Tim’s Texas Roadhouse, SAB Miller and S.A. Michael Diamonds.

For information, contact Gabe at gabriel.suk@gmail.com / 13717871229.

Oh, how the mighty - I mean, mini - have fallen. Wonder Bar, which was Taniwha, which had been the reincarnation of that same bar from old Sanlitun South, has up and changed its name… again! The marketing geniuses behind this spot have come up with a beauty, too. It’s… [drum roll]… Taniwha!

This place has been a disaster from day one. It wasn’t long ago - late last year - that I wrote about its opening:

Eddie O and I showed up at this Tongli Studio bar last Saturday night to discover it was holding… a launch party! It was either a hide-and-seek event or an experiment in minimalist performance art, or perhaps they had already shot the patrons into outer space, because people were sparse. I hate to be mean, but Taniwha looks unfinished, there is hardly any seating, the dance floor beside the pool table ensures conflict between house music and eight ball lovers, and my drink was so-so. True, I’ve only visited once, but I have a feeling the review would be worse after a second visit, so I’ll wait and see if the place makes any changes. Given the traffic heading upstairs to Bar Blu, this location has potential for success, but the owners need to rethink its identity or, even better, get one.

In fact, for six months, it didn’t get better, and the place took on numerous names, at least in my mind - Taniwhat’swrong. Taniwhawful. Taniwhy!?

Then Roger Huong (First Cafe) jumped on board to turn the place into a jazz and cocktail bar in May. He had the bartender (Daniel), some loyalty (those who know him from his previous bars) and money for a re-design. But, it appears patience was lacking. In true Taniwha style, dance music replaced jazz within a few weeks and that meant quizzical looks on the faces of those I took there to introduce them to this “new jazz place.”

Taniwhatever…