Beijing Boyce

The wings were frying, the beer was flowing, and the hula hoops were, uh, hooping as the latest American cultural contribution to Beijing – Hooters – held its VIP party last night. Suffice it to say that a night of free food and beer saw the invited guests happy, full and occasionally hooting, particularly when the Hooters girls broke into dance. (Perhaps the only unhappy person in the place was be the guy sweating his feathers off inside that owl mascot costume). I’ll have more on the VIP party in a later post…

Hooters, just in front of The Den, officially opens at 11 AM on September 12…

You heard it here first… 

Hot on the heels of creating an excellent weekend brunch at Café St. Laurent (Alfa), Billy Kawaja, executive chef at the Canadian Embassy, is teaming with Frank Siegel to create a new lunch menu at the original Sequoia Café, which will expand next door into the space vacated by Tim’s Texas BBQ.

Look for healthy soups, new twists on sandwiches, and pizzas to join the Sequoia menu.

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.

The new Nanjie will hold its grand opening this Saturday at 8 PM in the space that once housed Beijing’s home of throat singing, Modern Nomads, just across from Caribe and a new club that is getting set to open.

As Billy K noted on a recent visit, “This isn’t Nanjie.” Which means the decor and layout are more upscale than we expected. Take the second floor – it’s a dimly lit, spacious area with wood flooring and seating options that range from comfortable lounge areas for six to a long table that looks capable of seating two dozen, a setup that makes it very easy to meet people. Downscale prices apply, with bottled Qingdao at 10 kuai.

Another nice touch is a narrow second floor balcony that flanks the front and one side of the building, a nice spot for enjoying a beverage and watching people on the street below.

I have to admit I was a bit impressed and will have more on the new Nanjie soon. In the meantime, that opening is Saturday night at 8, with the first 30 people getting prizes…

Exposed concrete floors and low unfinished ceilings contrast with a wealth of paintings, bed-sized mirrors, voluminous curtains and assorted furniture from modern to regal – Lan, while reportedly covering 6,000 square meters, reminds me of an art installation that might be packed up and carted off in two days for quick reassembling in, say, Ulan Bator or Taipei.

I went there for a recent Freixenet sparkling wine party. As it turns out, this was one of those body painting, flair bartending and DJ deals. Not exactly my scene – excuse me, Mr. Bartender, isn’t the ice melting and diluting the drink as you continually toss that cocktail shaker behind your back? – but  it seemed to fit well with the venue.

Some quick observations on the drinking side of a spot largely focused on food (with the latter being overpriced if readers’ comments are any indication):
- There is plenty of eye candy: those distracted by shiny objects may never leave
- The floor space is intriguingly broken up into dining, drinking and private rooms
- The ceilings are surprisingly low, giving the place a kind of subterranean feel
- The door staff on the night I visited had minimal English-language skills
- The drinks are expensive: expect to drop 70 kuai on a cocktail
- The place is in an office tower in an area with very little nightlife, making the exit a sobering experience

A long observation: Lan seems part of the “make Beijing cosmopolitan” movement whereby our city is deemed to require world-class venues (look at us!) on par with London, Paris or New York. Note the media coverage heavily focused on the fact that internationally known designer Philippe Starck is the genius behind the design (look at us!) , with reportage on the food and drink either a side note or ignored altogether.

In short, this place is the anti-Suzie Wong..

Does it work?

In terms of a bar, strip away the décor and this place barely rates average. High prices, so-so drinks, no beer on tap, and a staff that doesn’t understand the words “toilet”, “exit” or “let me out”. Even so, it’s worth checking out once and, in the interests of fairness, I’ll give it another few looks. In the meantime, I’m interested in what others think…

Get to know your Sauvignon Blanc from your Chenin Blanc and your Cabernet Sauvignon from your Cabernet Franc as wine educators Fongyee Walker and Edward Ragg lead a tutorial titled “A Variety of Varietals: I” on September 6 at the Park Plaza Hotel in conjunction with the Oxford Cambridge Club Beijing.

“In this sit-down, tutored tasting you will enjoy a selection of eight wines, refine your tasting techniques and increase your vinous knowledge followed by a buffet dinner,” states the invite. In other words, you’re going to feel a whole lot smarter by the time you’re downing those plates of pasta and sashimi.

The 250-kuai tutorial fee covers the wine, tasting sheets (in English and Chinese) and a buffet in Park Plaza’s Bloo Dining. There are only 27 seats, thus reservations are mandatory, and those cancelling less than 48 hours before the event will still be asked to pay – don’t mess with these guys! For more details or to RSVP, contact Fongyee Walker at fongyee@cantab.net.

Walker and Ragg are both former captains of the Cambridge University Varsity Wine Tasting Team, have judged wine competitions, including London’s ‘International Wine Challenge’ and the ‘Shanghai International Wine Challenge’, co-author that’s Beijing magazine’s wine column and are able to draw air into their mouths while tasting wine, thus making that very weird gurgling/sucking sound (and can teach you that, too!).

By the way, I started a Facebook group called “China Wine”- anyone interested in the topic is free to join.