Beijing Boyce

Time flies faster than a bottle of free Johnnie Walker Blue empties: October marks year one of this blog and year two of my e-newsletter. Both have steadily grown in circulation and I owe thanks to all those who have taken time to read them and to give support, inside information and constructive criticism.

In the end, the blog and newsletter come down to people. I have enjoyed meeting that broad swath of Beijing’s diverse (and often eccentric) bar population. They include the following (no doubt, I’ve forgotten some people - let me know and I’ll append this list):

- Owners such as Leo (Cheers), Keiko & Roger (First Cafe), Henry Li (Rui Fui), Phil & Sally (Phil’s Pub), Stefan & Johannes (Cafe Pause), Russell & Christine (The Pavilion), Roger (TRIO), Philip (Browns), Dave (5:19), Joseph & Lee (Cafe Europa), Cho (Bed), Amy & Jon (Stone Boat), Ai Wan (China Doll), and Jennifer & Frank (John Bull Pub, Sequoia Cafe)

- Managers such as Glenn (Pavillion, Browns, Frank’s Place, Paddy O’Shea’s), Joop (China Doll, The Bank, Mingle), Chad & Luge (The Rickshaw), Phoebe (Icehouse) and Jacky (Browns, Suzie Wong), and bartenders such as George & Echo (First Cafe, Midnight, Q Bar), Austin (Midnight), Alex (Phil’s Pub) and Badr (I’ve only had his drinks once, but they were good).

- Fellow patrons such as Agent Red Wolf, M-Dawg, Eddie O, Sir Campell T, Special K, Jolly, Winopete, O-Zone, The Flash, P-Dong, p3wong, The Cellar Rat, Kraft-D, The Rock, Funky Walker and Doctor E.

- Those who have helped bring readers, including Will at Imagethief and Dan at China Law Blog for links, the guys at Chinalyst for the blog award, Mark at CRI, Mike & Paul at that’s Beijing, and Adam, Reid & Gabe at the Insider’s Guide, whoever is behind the Yan Xishan blog, as well as everyone who has passed on the newsletter or passed on the link to the blog.

Others who have helped out: Don, Trevor, Kenn, Dan, Ali, Roger, Samantha, Ro, Janalyn, Kay, ET, GL, SM, Tom, Peter, Desmond, Finella, Adhiyanto, Traci, Bjorn, Hugh, Katy, Ben, Greg, Meg… my First Cafe buddies Oliver, Stefan, Joan, Kay, Janet, Herbert, Jason, Ping, Ken & Ken… the Friday night Sequoia wine crew, especially Alain, Alan, Arnault, Paul, Gabe and Jenn… the members of the Bourbon Rye and Whisk(e)y League (sorry I haven’t organized more events)… Mark “The Prince of Pinyin” Swofford (a good friend in Taiwan crucial to getting my two blogs going)… and many, many more.

The bar industry is not an easy one. Great places disappear along with the not-so-great ones, and those who venture into it are a diverse and usually optimistic bunch - and are usually good fun, too.

Once again, thanks to all those who have supported the blog and the newsletter over the past two years. As always, eat, drink and be merry. Cheers, Boyce

(If you’d like to get the newsletter, send an email to beijingboyce@yahoo.com with “sign me up” in the subject line. )

Halloween in the Beijing Boyce household brings out the swinger in some. Specifically, it is the only time each year that Zimbu - the plush monkey left behind in South Korea ten years ago by my friend Jen who left for Hamburg to get married and asked me to hang on to her collectible Beanie Baby as it is apparently climbing in value by 20 percent annually - gets out on the town. (Jen better figure in some depreciation on this little critter given the amount of beer, lipstick and sweat with which he’s been anointed over the past decade).

Anyhow, safely affixed to my shoulder, Zimbu made his first stop last Friday at the Altruistic Alcoholics bash at The Rickshaw, held to raise funds for migrant children. Manager Chad Lager and owner Kris Ryan dressed as Homer and Marge Simpson - Kris seems surprisingly comfortable in a strapless. The spot overflowed with party-goers who drank enough Halloween spirits that the charity took home over 4,000 kuai.

Kris and Chad: A scary couple…

The next stop for the monkey on the move was Mingle - a scary place given the wait staff / models dressed as sexy nurses, maids and, in one case, Pipi Longstocking (with the emphasis on stockings). By scary, I mean that having a randy monkey, even a plush one, among models brings a certain risk that only a half dozen double banana daiquiris can mitigate. Meanwhile, yours truly indulged in the Halloween cocktail, which sported two red hot peppers attached to the glass as horns. The devil is in the details, as they say. Most of the patrons dressed as Block 8 regulars - oh wait, those weren’t costumes.

Saturday night saw Zimbu riding shotgun on the shoulder again as we headed to Alfa to hang with Special K, whose costume was either that of a prep boy or the best-dressed man in Newfoundland. As rain pounded the roof of the enclosed deck, Zimbu engaged in small talk with various devils, angels, French maids, and whatnot. All in all, quite a tame weekend in comparison to the near-fight that ensued last Halloween at Rui Fu.

Two recent moves by TRIO remind me of the overnight transformation of the Boston Celtics into contenders - sorry, the NBA is about to start and basketball is on my mind. Before I get to that, a little background:

TRIO opened in May 2006 in the Lido area and featured three components:

• A reincarnation of the city’s oldest non-hotel bar, Frank’s Place, at ground level
• A seventy-seat New York-style grill and piano bar, The Park Grill, up top
• The high-end wine-centric The Cellar in, no surprise, the basement

Frank’s Place is doing fine, with regular improvements to the deck helping, but The Park Grill and The Cellar struggled. Two moves substantially shake things up.

First, The Cellar was rented to a company that operates eight wine bars in Seoul under the name Le Cave. Expect a diverse clientele as Cave aims to bring in the regulars and reach out to the large Korean and Japanese crowds patronizing the area.

Second, The Park Grill will transform into SALT, with former Alameda partner Gaby Alves and acquaintances taking over.

What does this have to do with the Boston Celtics? A few months ago, the Celtics were also-rans, with one all-star (Paul Pierce) and lots of players with potential. The team decided to win now, traded for two of the best players, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, and became instant contenders.

TRIO also has its star (Frank’s Place) and now it’s teamed up with a wine bar chain with a record (Le Cave) and a former partner in an award-winning restaurant (Alameda)

There is no guarantee of success with the Celtics - one of the stars could blow out a knee, the bench might be too weak - nor is there with TRIO - maybe the location doesn’t work or maybe the new relationships will bring friction.

But shaking things up with SALT and Cave is a good move. These places stand to bring a new crowd to TRIO and give the spot a second shot.

This story has been sleeping in the blog queue Rip Van Winkle style…

Gaby Alves, former partner in award-winning Brazilian restaurant Alameda, plans to open a joint on the upper floor of TRIO, in the Lido area. According to someone involved in the project, Gaby will team up with another restaurateur to launch SALT - you might have seen the ads in the city’s free English-language magazines. Rumor has it the place - to focus on contemporary cuisine - will open in late November.

Whew.

I first heard about this story eight weeks ago, but have avoided posting due to requests from several of the parties involved.

Being on board with a former partner of Alameda, one of Beijing’s perennial restaurant award winners, is a nice move by TRIO, and I expect SALT will bring in new clients to the benefit of all. I’ll have more on this in my next post…

Renovations were apparently done with super speed as China Doll is open again (see Tongli in Trouble). They had just enough time to change some light bulbs and buy new bottle openers for the bar.

Meanwhile, in Lido, The Cellar is now Cave or, to be less cryptic, the wine bar called the Cellar that was part of Trio,  which includes Frank’s Place and Park Grill, has been sold to a Korean company that is re-launching it as Cave. Tonight’s opening party drew a sizeable crowd and I’ll have more on this soon.

For now, it’s time for Halloween fun…

On those nights I am not traversing the town in my burgundy cashmere smoking jacket to attend events in support of charitable causes, I am occasionally found roughing it in places such as, say, The Rickshaw. Last Saturday eve was such an occasion. Any who spotted me no doubt noticed my table surrounded by six of the lovelier members of the fairer sex.

I would love to think that like moths to a flame they were drawn by my wit and charm, or by the shadows playing upon my face from the smog-filtered moonlight that made my profile particularly rugged. But given the scarcity of tables, perhaps the real attraction was the real estate (which included numerous chairs). Then again, it might have been the peaty Whisky I concocted earlier that night at The Dewar’s Academy of Whisky, and willingly allowed to be sampled.

I call that Whisky the Boyce Blend’r - it’s heavy on the Islay and drew praise as often as it was drawn from the flask by these connoisseurs. I believe there might be a market for it. Interested investors may inquire at beijingboyce@yahoo.com (note: smoking jackets are not cheap, thus nor are my services).

The bigger message is that if you haven’t attended Dewar’s Academy, I suggest trying to hitch onto one of the groups that will take the dozens of master classes yet to be held. This is a top-notch experience, and a free and educational one at that. Here’s the poster that the company sent me:

“Due to reasons beyond our control we will be closed tonight. We hope to be open again tomorrow. Sorry for any inconvenience.”

This is becoming a mantra for Bar Blu, which saw its windows darkened yet again last night.

Two floors down, Tanewha appears to be have bitten the dust after an identity crisis - there was a brief stint as Wonder Bar - and will become Golden something or other.

Meanwhile, on the other stairwell, China Doll is locked. “Sorry that China Doll will be closed for renovations these days. We will be open soon. Thanks for your cooperation.”

According to two industry insiders, China Doll’s problem is another kind of layout - one involving unpaid bills. Peeking through the windows, I spotted stickers on the wall that seem suspiciously like those on Browns‘ doors when that spot shut up shop. I could be wrong - does anyone have the inside scoop on this?

Cheers (with about a dozen people) and Kokomo (about half of that) remained open.

The Cellar Rat and I gave up on Tongli and headed around the corner to Mingle. This spot, run by ex-China Doll, ex-Bank guy Joop Shen, is tightly designed and held this night four small groups of people. A quick Bloody Mary and we called it a night…

Fill this under “painful landings.”

The Saddle, which spun off Cox and The Rickshaw, held a raucous closing party last Friday - the landlord wanted more rent and the economics of the business no longer made sense, went the thinking.

The party marked the final day of the popular Margarita and burrito spot. Or did it?

According to management, ever-popular manager Luga, who split time between Saddle and The Rickshaw, informed them that he negotiated with the landlord on the side and is taking over the spot. Again, according to management, Luga plans to do burritos - he has poached The Saddle cook - and signed a lease for lower rent.

Ouch.

Expect to hear more on this one…

Add The Junction on 6 to the rather short list of good cocktail bars in our city. The Mojito, the Hemingway and the Long Island Sunset I sampled with Special K - who gets a major hat tip for insisting I try this place - were superb. I haven’t been this excited about a bar since Chad Lager at The Rickshaw hustled me off to Ichikura.Junction 6 is a homey spot in that “we keep the freezer in plain view of patrons” kind of way: it offers minimal decorations, a simple bar, basic but comfortable tables and chairs, Cuban videos (with Chinese subtitles) on a flat-panel screen and, of course, the drinks. It won’t win any design awards, but I’ll take excellent cocktails over fancy decor any night of the week.

“I make the best Mojitos in China,” says co-owner and bartender Alberto Gil Heller.

No sugar rushes here. The Mojitos (35 kuai) are well-balanced, refreshing and perfectly minty, and come with a kitschy stir stick. This is a place I need to bring Agent Red Wolf.

The Hemingway - which includes rum, cherry liqueur, grapefruit juice and lime juice - is a beautiful marriage of ingredients, though a bit sweet for my tastes, thus making one enough.

We finished off with a Long Island Sunset, recommended by Alberto after a request for something drier. This drink is delicious (hints of cranberry and what he later told us was Whisky), a tad astringent and - be forewarned - deceptively strong. This is a cocktail to take your time with.

Junction also offers a range of spirits as well as foreign beers (Becks, Bud et al) at 30 kuai a pop, while the Qingdao is 20. The pizzas are ideal filler, and best eaten before you start on the cocktails.

Efficient service, great drinks and a bartender who cares about his craft - just what we need more of in this town.

The Junction on 6 is in building 6 in the Moma apartment complex. If you come through the main gate, you will find it to the left and toward the back. Look for a neon “cocktail” sign.

TRIO opened in May of 2006 and included: a reincarnation of the city’s oldest non-hotel bar, Frank’s Place, at ground level; a seventy-seat New York grill and piano bar, Park Grill, up top; and the high-end wine-centric The Cellar in, no surprise, the basement.

Frank’s Place has done well, particularly with the improvements made to the deck since opening day, but both The Park Grill and The Cellar have struggled. TRIO management reports the latter has been rented to a Korean company that operates eight wine bars in Seoul under the brand Le Cave. Look for a similar deal in respect to The Park Grill.

“The result is not that different from the original concept,” says one investor. “We’ve just teamed up with strategic partners.”

What it means is that the TRIO management can focus on its bread and butter - Frank’s Place - while its new partners can provide added marketing and sales power. This might end up being one of those win-win-win situations.

Also see Frank’s 1.2

I popped into Nearby the Tree last night, which opened on Sunday, just up the street from the Sanlitun police station. Regulars of The Tree will not be disappointed with the decor. It offers the same brick and wood feel of the original and is much more spacious. The first floor includes the bar, which not surprisingly has a good selection of Belgium beer.

While The Tree is known for pizza, Nearby the Tree will focus on pasta. The yet-to-open wide-open second floor has an elevated lounge area and looks as though it could hold 60 to 80 people. An open pasta station flanks the far end, taking a page from The Tree, where the pizzas are made in full view. According to a press statement, Nearby the Tree will also have a focus on wine.

Last but not least is a spacious deck that will be a welcome place to enjoy a Duvel or glass of wine come Spring.

Up the street from Caribe, Banana Leaf and Nanjie, Middle Eastern restaurant Sahara opened Sunday. A narrow deli-like area opens into a spacious two-story restaurant with full wraparound balcony. There looks to be room for more than 100 diners, with a private room for 50. The decor includes a fresco of dancing horses, a stage (belly dancing?), good lighting,  and ceremonial swords.

The opening saw a strong diplomatic turnout, including the ambassadors of Jordan, Tunisia and Iraq. I am no expert on Middle Eastern food but a festive mood, an extensive buffet and plenty of interesting people made it a good night. And men dancing with swords seem much safer in a place that does not carry alcohol.

I earlier wrote about the excellent time spent last Saturday night by the Bourbon, Rye and Whisk(e)y League, which attended Dewar’s Academy of Whisky and tried its collective hand at creating new blends that might set the world, or at least its liver, on fire. My own concoction, the Boyce Blend’r, passed a taste test at The Rickshaw later that night.

Here are a few photos from the blending room:

Mix masters Doctor A and Doctor E

It’s all in the wrist.

The man behind the X-Lander blend

Dude, you gotta try this stuff.

From Slovenia with love

No lab mice where injured in the production of these blends.

(I hope to get more photos up soon. Thanks to TS at BM for these ones.)

The first party I went to upon arriving three years ago was that’s Beijing Halloween bash at Tango. A year later, after a heavy-duty wine tasting at home on Halloween, I threw on a costume and headed to my second TBJ bash, again at Tango. And last year, I dressed as a pirate and taped to my shoulder a plush monkey that a drunk guy tried to pick a fight with (as recounted in Tales of the Plush Monkey). Yes, my friends: another TBJ Halloween party, this time Rui Fu.

Lots of vivid memories that won’t be added to this year BECAUSE THAT’S BEIJING IS NOT HOLDING A HALLOWEEN PARTY. Apparently, other venues get upset because that’s Beijing draws away their patrons. P’shaw! If other venues can’t get their scary act together, that’s their problem.

Truly disappointing.

Here are some of the upcoming Halloween parties:

The Rickshaw and Altruistic Alcoholics are teaming up for special cocktails, prizes and the usual fun, with a chunk of the night’s revenue going to charity, on October 26.

The Yen Fetish party will be held this year in The Place [my bad for originally posting the venue as 798] on October 27.

In Dashanzi, also on October 27, Acupuncture Records is hosting a bash.

Partiers in Shunyi can get out the toast, playing cards and flashlights as Pomegranate hosts its annual Rocky Horror Picture Show party. As the invite states, “This is probably your only chance this year to see grown men in lingerie!” The movie starts at 8:30 Pm. Call Mike at 13801-103-933 for more information.

Question: What’s five parts Islay single malt, three parts each Highland single malt and grain Whisky, and one part each Speyside and Islay single malts?

Answer: The Boyce Blend’r

That’s the name of the brew I created at The Dewar’s Academy of Whisky last night. Throwing on a lab coat and heading into the blending room is part of the master class that BRAWL - the Bourbon, Rye and Whisk(e)y League - participated in at Jianwai Soho.

Things kicked off with welcome drinks (Dewar’s 12-year-old) and a bagpiper. Memories of spitballs, cheating over a neighbor’s shoulder, and the politics of who sits where ensued as we entered class. The big difference: Whisky was never allowed in the classrooms of my youth (things might have been more liberal in the teacher’s lounge).

Class started with a video, projected on three wide screens - one in front, and one on each side. A helicopter shot took us across Scotland to the home of Dewar’s where, inside and warmed by a fireplace, our virtual host talked about the history of the country (it is birthplace of TV, Dolly the Sheep, and Halloween) and company (in the 19th century, an owner toured 26 countries and, as he sailed along the route, threw bottles overboard with a note promising that those returning them would be rewarded with Whisky).

As our virtual host exited through a door on screen, our live host - Jordan Campbell - emerged from a door cut into the backdrop. Over the next hour, we learned of different kinds of Whisky and how they are made and stored.

The highlight: the blending room where we created our own mix using grain Whisky and four single malts. Each participant received a Dewar’s flask so we could take our blends home.

We also did a blind tasting of Dewar’s, Chivas and Johnnie Walker. I found this part a bit leading - one did not have to be class genius to know number three was Dewar’s. It garnered eight votes, compared to two each for Johnnie Walker and Chivas (I picked the last). My advice to future tasters - go back and try each Whisky a second time before you vote.

Afterward, we relaxed in the lounge and enjoyed six tapas from Mare, picked by Billy Kawaja, the chef behind the Cafe St Laurent brunch. Most were a decent match for the Dewar’s, including grilled pork medallions with blue cheese, gratinated goat cheese bruschetta with anchovies, and deep-fried salty cod with green pepper.

A few notes:
- The temporary Dewar’s “castle” is well-designed, with two long bars, and a lounge,  a classroom and a blending room. This place had a bit of a Rui Fu feel, though rougher.
- The organizers are hesitant to open the 30-year-old Dewar’s Signature. If you put the stuff on display, you can hardly be surprised that people want to sample it after trying the 12-year-old. With 89 more classes to go, I’m sure there’ll be a few more requests to crack those bottles.
- The video is excellent, but can be dizzying at times.
- Overall, the event was well-organized, educational and fun. Given everything is free - our only cost was the tapas - it would be hard to find better value. I would recommend the master class to anyone interested in Whisky, a good time, or both.

Note: I hope to post some photos tomorrow.

I went to the Dewar’s Academy of Whisky launch last night. It marks the start of 60 Whisky-related events - master classes, parties, etc - to be held during the next 30 days. BRAWL - The Bourbon, Rye and Whisk(e)y League (the club founded by Ed Ohlin and myself) - will be the guinea pigs and take the first class tonight. A few observations about the launch party:

- The academy is a giant castle-like structure between buildings A and B in Jianwai Soho, and includes two long bars, an area for the master classes and a big open space for parties. The one thing they forgot was a Whisky-filled moat.

- Based on some of the imagery, Dewar’s hopes to do what Chivas did - cash in big time with young, rich Chinese. One poster features five well-dressed, attractive, young Chinese (evoking thoughts of Babyface). The women wear the types of short-skirted dresses that might be slipped off by moving a strap or two, while the men are in full suits with ties up and shoes tightly laced. I’ll let the psychologists explain what it all means.

- There were guys wearing kilts, there were bagpipes, there was a Scottish band - what else would you expect?

- One patron approached the bar, looked past the 12-year-old Scotch and spied a bottle of Dewar’s Signature. He asked for some… with Sprite. Before generalizations kick in, he was a foreigner, American I believe. There’s nothing wrong with Sprite and Whiskey, but best to use the cheaper stuff with mix, even when it’s free (it’s the principle of the thing).

I will have more later. Now, I must be off to class…

Saddle, the margarita and burrito spot that spun off Cox and The Rickshaw, bid farewell last night with a closing party that saw the bar’s fans turn up in droves. It also attracted the local police, whose interest lay not in enjoying the free Qingdao but in confiscating empty chairs and tables out front - unfortunately, after an initial four, there weren’t any to be had. The police parked their van out front, practically blocking the door, and appeared half-bored and half-annoyed. Which made me think - is dealing with the foreigners who habituate this area some kind of punishment?

Police chief: “Officer Lu, your performance has been substandard. We are transferring you to Sanlitun.”

Officer Lu [falling to the floor and clutching his head]: “Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Anyway, numerous regulars and some of the original wait staff were on hand and, at least the short time I was there, had a great time. Look for the owners behind this spot to open elsewhere soon.

A recent China Law Blog post provoked commentators to contrast Beijing and Shanghai taxi drivers. In my humble opinion, it comes down to one word - consistency.

Most Shanghai cabbies tend to have reasonably clean cabs and give reasonably good service. Beijing cabbies, in contrast, are all over the map. The taxis here range from spotless and fresh to filthy and smelling like the driver uses the glove compartment for composting. Some drivers readily turn the radio volume up or down, while others get offended and act as though you should feel privileged to be in their cab. They span the “friendliest guy in the world” to those who look as though they might slit passengers’ throats and stuff their bodies in the trunk (maybe that’s where the smell comes from).

But this is simply one rider’s opinion. To test it, I kept notes on the five Beijing taxis I took last Thursday.

1. The aroma of the taxi’s interior hovered between “moist tobacco” and “five-day-old skid-marked shorts” (don’t ask). The driver hustled me to work, provided change, and rode off without uttering a word, although he did grunt an affirmation when I provided my intended address.

2. This guy asked me if I was from Europe. I told him no. He said “okay”, played a Bob Marley CD and hummed along as I sang the choruses. We joked about how to translate “No Woman, No Cry” and it seemed as though he related the song to his marriage.

3. I clearly emphasized I wanted to go to Hua Reun Building, not Hua Reun Hotel, but the driver headed for the latter. Just when we got on track, he spotted a friend in another car and basically waved me out of the cab so he could stop and chat. I left without paying and walked off. He pulled up a few minutes later to offer a ride. I refused. Not only because he had been unprofessional, but also because his breath smelled like he’d eaten a month-old tuna and garlic sandwich wrapped in a dirty diaper.

4. Twenty seconds into the ride, this driver pointed to a public toilet and indicated with explicit body language that he needed to use it. I told him I was in a hurry. He drove on and became increasingly sullen. I gave him a four-kuai tip because I felt guilty.

5. This guy had his radio on loud, even though it only played static, but turned it down when requested. He used a flattened straw to clean out his ears while he drove. The trip was otherwise uneventful.

All over the map…

Still water still life

It’s not exactly turning water into wine, more like adding it to the product mix, as ASC Fine Wines introduces Voss to China and Macau. Summergate has Perrier, and now ASC is positioning itself to scoop up a bucketful of the premium bottled water market.

Beijing Boyce is a value-conscious consumer and has difficulty getting excited about things like this (I expect the stuff will cost more than 100 kuai for 500 ML at hotel restaurants). But he realizes some out there might be thirsty for information, so here you go:

- Voss springs from Norway and carries a hint of the Viking sweat that for centuries has steeped through the nation’s soil and finally reached its water supply.

- It is low in minerals and those it does have originate from the few micro-grams of pulverized Yangtze River dolphin bones added to each bottle, thus localizing the product and making it attractive in China as both a potential aphrodisiac and a rarity.

- The bottle was designed by the former creative director for Calvin Klein - apparently the director scrutinized a CK perfume sampler, dictated to lower-downs to “make it bigger and take the spray cap off”, and returned to sipping Whisky and water (Voss, of course).

Actually, only the bold parts above are true. As I said, I have trouble getting excited about this stuff…

Now for the consumer report: three people in my office have tried Voss and liked it - one even proclaimed it her favorite water. I also took a bottle to Mare last eve and gave some to a manager. “It’s soft,” he said. Well, there’s no doubting the water is good — it’s a matter of how much people are willing to pay for it.

By the way, Voss is popular with Lindsay Lohan. That’s not inspiring. I suggest trying to associate the water with someone a bit classier, say Scarlett Johannson.

And before anyone is so bold as to claim Voss as the purest water in the world, it is not. That honor goes to Canada.

In Beijing, Voss is available at Face, Centro and Lan.

I popped into the basement supermarket of the Lufthansa Center earlier this week and discovered a bonanza of booze. Decent selections of imported wine, vodka, gin, sake and Whisky were to be found, including hard to find (in Beijing) Woodford Reserve Bourbon (561 kuai) and an impressive range of bottle sizes, from minis to magnums.

The Chinese wine included Great Wall, Dynasty and Fengshou, with plenty of vintages - well, according to the labels - in the 1990s. It also included rarely seen Huadong, although no recent vintages. The Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon were both 2000, the Riesling a 2002. A decent range of Grace Vineyard wines are available, from entry-level offerings to the Chairman’s Reserve.

I picked up the Huadong Riesling 2002 (76 kuai) and a Grace Premium Red 2001 (108 kuai) for my next blind tasting.