Beijing Boyce

Café St. Laurent (which doubles as Alfa nights) is getting rave reviews for its weekend brunch. The menu is the brainchild of Canadian Embassy chef Billy Kawaja, on hand to ensure quality.

I stopped in on Sunday with Agent Red Wolf to give the house drinks and food a try.  

My CSL Bloody Mary (50 kuai) included soya sauce and wasabi along with a garnish of shrimp, cherry tomato and pickled asparagus, and was rimmed with nori (seaweed) and sea salt. Hearty enough to be a sipping rather than a gulping drink, I heartily recommend it and would love to see a version of this one with Clamato juice.

Agent Red Wolf described her CSL Frozen Mojito (45 kuai) as “it’s okay, average, like juice.” It’s hard to compare to the drinks at other spots, she added, as the frozen Mojito is a rare drink in Beijing.

On the food side, the asparagus omelet was fine. The side sausage was particularly tender and fresh, though the tomato pilaf was a bit time. Agent Red Wolf was happy with her ice cream platter describing it as as “presentable”, “delightful” and “it made me happy”.

While it was a bit hot at our seats near the door, the running water, ample space between tables, reasonably efficient service and Bloody Mary made this a worthwhile stop and I’ll be back to try some of other drinks and food on the menu.

Packed to the max last Saturday, the new and more upscale Nanjie had one of the more successful bar openings of the year. Located in the former Modern Nomads space, and across from Caribe and Banana Leaf, one word best describes the place: functional.

- The first floor, with a long bar at the back, saw dancers flank-to-shank and sweaty as they grooved to eighties tunes.
- Also full was the second floor, with a combo of lounges and long tables that make it easy to befriend neighbors; it’s a space quiet enough to talk.
- Even more sedate is the balcony at the front and side, packed with people seated at small tables or standing against the rail and watching life go by below.
- Throw in a busy patio and about 70 to 100 people out front, and the place is off to a running start.

A few other observations:
- Draft beer, including Stella and Hoegaarden, went two-for-one.
- While bottles of Scotch or Champagne might chill in buckets at other clubs, the table next us had a bottle of Smirnoff with cans of Red Bull as mixer.
- I didn’t try the food, but it looked tasty enough, and I hear good things about the pizza.
- The service was above-average, which will also help maintain momentum.

I spent an enjoyable hour on the balcony with Billy K watching as trays of Stella passed by, as groups of people gathered out front of the bar, and as the usual poor driving skills created unneeded traffic jams in the street out front. Oh, and as the occasional expatriate passed by in a sidecar that need some work on the muffler (look at me! I’m in a sidebar! Vroom, vroom!).

All in all, two thumbs up for the launch party.