Beijing Boyce

It sounds like the Kokomo / China Doll standoff is over for now. Two co-owners of Kokomo told me last Thursday that Tongli Studio management fixed the damaged lighting console at the core of the dispute. I spotted no ominous guards as I headed upstairs to Kokomo last night, though I found the place closed (to be fair, it was around 2 AM).

Across the street, Lugas (ex-Saddle) is expanding. The place is more than doubling in size as it takes over a venue just around the corner, with the two spots being connected by a door. Expect a similar layout and decor, and a side room that fits about a dozen people. Luga says he expects to open the place on Friday.

Meanwhile, The Saddle Cantina opened Thursday with a party by Local Noodles. The spot was packed, the beer and Margaritas flowed. I popped in Saturday afternoon to try the food, as I’d received an email listing the opening hours from “afternoon” to 4 AM on weekends. I found it closed and since discovered the opening time is 6 PM. I returned last night for a few Stella at RMB40 per pop. The beer is literally ice cold, with co-owner Nick Ma explaining that it pours at -1 or -2 degrees Celsius. Ma provided a sample of the guacamole, which was tasty. The Saddle Cantina is much bigger and stylized than The Rickshaw, and the prices are higher. I’ll have more about this place soon.

On Sanlitun North, 1949: The Hidden City will start opening venues tomorrow. The first: Sugar (11 AM-7 PM; no wireless at the moment), a coffee bar that offers salads and other fare. The Noodle Bar (11 AM-7 PM) opens Wednesdays, while Duck de Chine is slated to take flight on the weekend. I sampled Duck de Chine’s menu last Thursday and, as one might expect, we had plenty of duck. Webs, livers, tongues, eggs, breasts - pretty much everything but lips, feathers, and bellybuttons. I also discovered from the chef that they can fit cook turkey’s into those wood-fired ovens - come Christmas, I’m going to be calling these guys.

Finally, I dropped into Nanjie in the wee hours last night and, as usual, it was bustling upstairs with the usual mix of locals and expatriates. With ten-kuai beer and a deck that is perfect for people watching - this place is hard to beat.

Where would you take James Bond drinking in Beijing?

Post your bar recommendations in the comment section here and you’ll be entered into the weekly Celebrity Pub Crawl draw. So far, the itinerary includes Centro, Red Capital Club, Q Bar, Lugar, The Westin, and more.

The winner will receive:

- A bottle of Grace Vineyard Tasya’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Torres

- A package of four books - Insider’s Guide to Beijing 2008, Mandarin Phrasebook, Healthy Chinese Cuisine: A Restaurant Ordering Guide, and Spicy Chinese Cuisine: A Restaurant Ordering Guide - from Immersion Guides.

The deadline for entries is tomorrow (Tuesday) at noon.

I’ll ask an esteemed member of the Beijing community - it was Palette’s Stefan Fleischer last week - to do the draw, with the winner being announced on Wednesday. (Note: I can only ship prizes to addresses in Beijing. One entry per week per person, please. To spread the wealth for this six-week contest, only one prize per person.)

So many Bonds, so many bars…

Martinis are nice, but nothing beats proper chilling with Bollingers…

We’ve done Crockett and Tubbs, The Desperate Wives and Homer Simpson. Let’s skip across the pond and get British spy - and martini and Bollinger lover - James Bond in on the action.

Post a comment about where in Beijing you would take 007 and you’ll be entered in the weekly draw. The prizes:

- A bottle of Grace Vineyard Tasya’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Torres

- A package of four books - Insider’s Guide to Beijing 2008, Mandarin Phrasebook, Healthy Chinese Cuisine: A Restaurant Ordering Guide, and Spicy Chinese Cuisine: A Restaurant Ordering Guide - from Immersion Guides.

The deadline for entering the draw is Tuesday at noon. The winner will be announced the next day. (Note: I can only ship prizes to addresses in Beijing. One entry per week per person, please. To spread the wealth for this six-week contest, only one prize per person.)

Connery, Moore, Brosnan… pick a Bond, pick a bar. ((c) KCI Library)

The boutique hotel in Sanlitun’s Swire hotel will go by the name The Opposite House. The restaurant and bar “concepts’” are being handled by David Laris Concepts. Expect to find two nightlife destinations: Mesh, a lounge, and Punk, a club that communications manager Alex Chen told me will be “more intense and underground.”

I’ll have more on this project soon.

See also: Swire to open Beijing boutique hotel*

* Thanks to C. Thompson for the link

Purple Lips Wine Tasting Room and Shop will hold its soft opening on Sunday, March 30. The shop will be open all day, with free wine between 6 and 8 PM, and 30 percent off on bottles. Purple Lips will offer ten wines for tasting daily - with the lineup changing every two weeks.

For RMB120, patrons can try three wines and three of twenty meat and cheese items on the menu.

According to an email from Purple Lips, the shop is located opposite of The St. Regis Hotel, 21 Jianguomenwai Da Jie, inside Jian Wai Diplomatic Compound.

The project is by Diana Liang, who told me that although she is not an expert on wine, she enjoys drinking it, and seeks to learn more and offer consumers reasonably priced wine. She told me the 50-square-meter shop will be open daily from 9 AM to 10 PM.

For more information, contact Diana at 13701-168-132 / diana.liang.beijing@gmail.com.

(Hat tip to GA for the inf.)

On Tuesday night, The Wine Republic’s Campbell Thompson and I visited Jianwai Soho’s three-floor Les Millesimes, a wine club that includes a “cellar”, two restaurants, a cigar lounge, wine displays galore, and 17 themed-private rooms that range in size up to more than 200 square meters.
This place is big. If it were a wine bottle, it would be a Jeroboam, or maybe a Salamanzar.

The first floor has the entrance and “wine cellar“, which holds a Bordeaux-heavy portfolio, including Mouton Rothschild, Latour, and Petrus, along with a sprinkling of Champagnes and dessert wines. Thompson and I considered going halves on the Petrus 1982, but forgot our stacks of 100-kuai notes at home. He found the cellar a bit warm - the staff attributed this to the door being regularly opened.

Millesimes offers memberships for RMB20000, RMB50000, and RMB100000. The RMB20000 package, for example, includes a portfolio of 36 wines, which are stored on-site, a 50-percent discount on food and on additional bottles of wine, and access to the members-only third floor (the second floor is open to the public).

The more expensive packages include bigger portfolios and better wines, as well as larger discounts, with the RMB100000 deal allowing the member to assign three additional people access to the portfolio, something useful for companies using Les Millesimes for entertaining.

The second floor includes two restaurants. French restaurant La Maree is focused on seafood dishes. It’s well-lit, with  a blue-tuna colored ceiling and tables for two people and up, with four seats at the bar. Prices start at RMB45 for soup and RMB120 for main courses. Beers range from RMB25 for Qingdao to RMB50 for Duvel, cocktails are RMB40 and up, and there is small selection of Whiskey, though nothing notable. The wine list leans heavily toward French.

Meli Melo, a “French fusion” restaurant, is dimmer and cozier, though the seating looks a bit tight, as Thompson pointed out. A central area can easily be cleared out for dancing.

The members-only third floor includes a sizable cigar room, replete with lots of leather chairs and a walk-in humidor.
It also holds 17 private rooms, going by names such as Petrus, Napa and Beaujolais.

The Petrus room, for example, has a tropical colonial feel, with colorful murals, wicker furniture, thatch ceiling and round dining table that seats 12. The room requires a minimum bill of RMB3000.

(Thompson noted that the white wine here is being stored in a fridge made for red wine. How does he know? By how low the fridge temperature doth go.)

The Napa room is somewhere between 200 and 250 square meters and includes massive amounts of wood paneling and rough stonework.

Thompson and I ended up in La Maree sharing a couple of tasty appetizers - smoked salmon and crab salad - and a bottle of Couly-Dutheil 2006 from the Loire Valley, a lovely wine with apricot and melon flavors (”It has some sweetness balanced with acidity,” he said. “It’s slightly viscous, with a juicy roundness.”) There is 20 percent off during March and our bill, which included complimentary bread, came to RMB432.

Finally, we talked to about 10 staff members, hailing from China, Hong Kong and France, who were friendly, patient and attentive. Their language skills cover Mandarin, Cantonese, French and English.

All in all, it was a good experience. Some of the décor might not be up my alley, but that’s not to say it won’t appeal to the clientele, which appeared to be wholly local during our visit. My biggest peeve, as it is with so many of these places, is the promotional literature. “Les Millesimes - where symbolizes trends and refined taste,” “Tracing back to human civilization evolution,” and so on - surely, someone could be found to help write and edit this stuff, particularly if they were allowed to work in that wine cellar and sample some of its riches.

I hope to have some photos of Les Millesimes up shortly.

For Celebrity Pub Crawl III, readers were asked to recommend their Beijing bar picks for Homer Simpson. The name of everyone with a legitimate bar pick was written on a piece of paper and entered in a draw. Stefan Fleischer picked the winner, who gets:

- Four pitchers of Stella at The Saddle Cantina, the new venue by the guys behind The Rickshaw

- A bottle of Grace Vineyard Tasya’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Torres

- A package of four books - Insider’s Guide to Beijing 2008, Mandarin Phrasebook, Healthy Chinese Cuisine: A Restaurant Ordering Guide, and Spicy Chinese Cuisine: A Restaurant Ordering Guide - from Immersion Guides.

And the winner is: 8 Songs.

Congratulations and thanks to everyone who participated. Celebrity Pub Crawl IV starts tomorrow.

Before I get to the now very public fight between Kokomo and China Doll in Sanlitun’s Tongli Studio, some notes from a walkabout I took at 7:30 last night.

Walking the gauntlet of neon-laden bars on the main strip, I heard three “lady bar” offers, far from my record of 13, though to be fair, it was early.

Security guards still line the fence in front of that huge empty building in back of the bars. A long, ongoing dispute between building management and construction workers continues, and the workers have a poster-plastered van parked in front to repine*.

In the new Nali Studio, Saddle Cantina is almost ready to go for this Thursday’s launch. Next door, the new Muse looks close to being finished.

Meanwhile, the lights were out in the new Project H2O and in the new China Doll, though I did see work being done on the latter last Friday. Speaking of unfinished projects, what’s happening with that boutique hotel in the Sanlitun project? Is it going to open by the Olympics?

And here’s another question: Le Freak! by Party la in the Thai Empress Restaurant. Anyone been there?

Around the corner, The Tree, Smugglers, Kai Club, Butterfly, Shooters and Fish Nation are all in their proper spots, while in Tongli, Le Bistrot Parisien had a decent crowd. I ate there last week and had a good steak.

And then there’s Kokomo and China Doll.

Following reports that China Doll security recently beat a customer and prevented patrons from going to Kokomo upstairs, a message from Facebook group China Doll Club Heads states that a water leak from Kokomo damaged China Doll’s lighting console, that Kokomo has been “remiss in fixing the damage” and has threatened China Doll, and that security was added to protect China Doll staff and “pressure Kokomo to repair the console…” Re the beating, it stated security was attacked first.

“We have been left with no other option as we are not the first club in Tongli to have been threatened by Kokomo and refuse to be ‘bullied’,” it states.

Kokomo responded, also via Facebook, that Kokomo did leak water into China Doll and agreed to fix the lighting panel but was told by “an authorized repair center” that the damage could not have been caused by the leak. It adds that China Doll security has stopped people from entering Kokomo, but the police have been unable to stop this due to a lack of evidence.

Kokomo owners have been “pushed around by China Doll’s security force” and the situation culminated “Friday night with the unfortunate beatings of customers wanting to go to Kokomo,” says the statement.

The Kokomo statement also refers to this video that purportedly shows China Doll security forces blocking customers from going upstairs.

Frankly, the last thing any bar should do is bully customers. China Doll says it isn’t doing this, Kokomo and several readers tell me it is. I’ll leave it up to readers to decipher the video.

Kokomo’s statement notes, “If this is a case of their feeling we owe them money, why not file a civil claims case and pursue the issue through peaceful, legal means.”

Exactly. Solve this privately. Don’t impact customers and don’t bring undue negative attention to Tongli at a time when the authorities are hypersensitive.

For more details on the situation, see this thread on The Beijinger.

* This word is brought you by Special K.

After spending months on renovations, Maggies no sooner re-opened than it was closed, including its famous hot dog stand out front. According to a sign on the door last night:

This bar is closed for five days due to fire control alterations, we are sorry for any inconvenience

Maggie’s bar management

2008-3-21

Hmmm…

It’s a dog’s life.

(Hat tip to The Cellar Rat for the tip.)

Photos courtesy of Richard Liu of The Beijing Softball League

China recently held its first Major League Baseball games as the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres faced off at Wukesong Stadium. I grabbed a taxi downtown, inched along in a traffic jam, listened to one of those cross-talk radio shows that sound like a trio of cats trapped in an oil drum - all of the trappings of a typical day, except I was going to a MLB baseball game! In Beijing!

Here is some play-by-play, with photos, inane commentary, and more…

Pre-game
British people… in the parking lot… going to the game… I hope there’s no trouble.

The crowd is bustling, the security is efficient, the Zhongnanhai crowd is having its last puffs, and the weather is nice: cool and breezy, with sunshine fighting through light haze.

Outside the stadium, locals try to throw baseballs into the strike zone. The result: balls wildly flying six feet wide or short. Basically, they are throwing baseballs like I hit golf balls.

Inside, Jet Li throws the ceremonial first pitch. Why? He once played shortstop for a minor league club in Cheektowaga, New York - actually, I made that up, I have no idea why he was there. He throws it right down the middle. Steeeee-rike! Looks like he might also be good with a bat.

Better than that, I spot a guy wearing a shirt with the faded logo of the defunct Winnipeg Jets. The Winnipeg Jets!

Top of the first
The guy behind me is going “ai yaaaa”, “ai eeeee” and “ooooo” on every play. If the pitchers throw as high as his voice, it’s going to be a long game.

Bottom of the first
A base hit, the runner advances to second, he steals third, and then scores on a sacrifice fly - baseball at its best. Padres 1, Dodgers 0.

By the way, I’ve always assumed baseball would never work in China because the fields take so much space. But Japan, South Korea and Taiwan aren’t exactly laden with vast tracts of cheap land and the sport thrives there. Plus, I just read Murray Ross‘ “Football Red and Baseball Green“:

“[Baseball] was an instant hit during the Industrialization [in the US]… It established an artificial rural environment, one removed from the toil of an urban life” and “everything exists in harmony.” Migrant workers, here’s your sport!

Top of the second
Someone walks by and says the hot dogs, by Tim’s Texas BBQ, are sold out. Uh oh!

Bottom of the second
A shrill-voiced emcee comes on the field and announces it’s time for a contest. Near home plate, people play a video game that is projected on the stadium’s screen. All I can see are the words “Ketchup wins!” Huh? I’m getting hungry.

Top of the third
After a foul ball, the announcers say, in Mandarin and English, “Be careful of balls batted into the stands.” Well, duh.

I decide to support capital punishment for abuse of Thunderstix, those inflatable tubes people bang together. I accept using them to rally your team, or when prompted by the announcer, or even to fight off bugs. But randomly pounding the things together for hours? Crank up the electric chair.

Besides, we have built-in Thunderstix - they are called “arms” and “hands”. Used properly, they create a sound known as “clapping”.

ThunderStix as far as the eye can see

I head for a hot dog: Tim’s has them after all, but runs out as I get to the front of the line. Fortunately, a new batch shows up 10 minutes later. A bit too much bread, and no ketchup, but they’re OK. Beer is ten kuai a can.
Top of the fourth
It’s 3-1 Dodgers. The Padres have runners on the corners. Antonelli hits into a double play, but the runner on third scores: 3-2 Dodgers.

The dancers come out and do some hip hop thing. Why aren’t the Hooters girls having a dance-off / Jello wrestling match / wing-eating contest against the other teams’ cheerleaders? I sense a missed sponsorship opportunity.

Bottom of the fourth
“Be careful of balls batted into the stands.” Major League Baseball, thank you for caring.

Two on for Harrison, who doubles down the line and scores both. Padres 4, Dodgers 3. I miss the Padres going ahead 5-3 because I’m listening to a foreign journalist interview the guys behind me.

“MLB is really popular here, the kids really love it,” says one. (Really?) Another, who plays for a school team, says, “I like the spirit… The rules are reasonable.”

The reporter asks how much a glove costs, if the coaches are good, and if people in China know Doug Ault Babe Ruth.

Unbelievably, he misses two crucial questions: 1) when a Chinese team wins a championship, do players spray each other with Champagne or with Changyu sparkling cider; and 2) are Communist party members required to cheer for the Cincinnati Reds?

By the way, I spot the fan of the day - a guy wearing a knapsack with a mannequin sticking out of it. You just know you’ll see this guy again.

Rumor has it mannequins got in for half-price.

Bottom of the fifth
Three up, three down…

The emcee is out again for a DHL-sponsored game called the Pagoda Shuffle, a version of the three shells game, on the stadium’s screen. Guess which pagoda the baseball is under!? They mailed in this one.

Top of the sixth
Another game, this one for Snickers: Two guys race against each other to put on a pair of baseball pants, a baseball shirt, and, over both of them, an official Beijing Olympics brassiere and panties. Yes, I made up the last part, but are you telling me some Fuwa-inspired lingerie wouldn’t sell? A Beibei bra, a Jingjing thong? Think about it.

“Ladies and gentleman, please beware of balls batted into the stands.” “Ladies and gentlemen, your heads are like melons, these baseballs are like rocks, so stop being a nerd and bopping your first date with your ThunderStix and pay attention to the game. It’s not only for your safety, but also for your dignity.” Much better.

By the way, my early vote for player of the game goes to Matt Kemp. Every time the Dodgers’ outfielders finish warming up, he throws the ball into the stands, the game’s highlight for fans in my section. Mike Baxter, his Padres counterpart, is pretty stingy with his balls.

Bottom of the sixth
The pitcher takes a line drive to the body, his glove flies off, he scrambles to the ball, and he throws the out runner at first. Ouch! Nice play.

Another emcee-led game: watch the play on the stadium screen and then guess if it is a) ground out, b) double play, or 3) sacrifice fly. Frankly, here are activities I’d rather see:

- The Joe Torres stinky tofu challenge: The Dodgers get a run for every pound of the stuff he can down in five minutes
- The “taser people who drop litter onto the field” contest
- The Fuwa lingerie show
- The Dodgers and Padres mascots in a kungfu match
- Mike Baxter throwing more balls into the stands

Top of the seventh
The Padres, with runners on second and third, force in a run - they’re up 6-3.

By the way, the fence in left is 98 meters, the fence in center is 122 meters, and the distance between me and Wrigley Field in Chicago is about 10,377,000 meters. The Chicago Cubs haven’t won the World Series in - drum roll - a century. Not even once since 1908! If they don’t win this year, I’m giving them a 20-year deadline before I withdraw my support.

Seventh inning stretch
We sing the baseball classic, “Take me out to the ballgame.” The lyrics are in the program, so everyone can sing along, and - even better - they play it twice. Good stuff.

Bottom of the seventh
And we have our first heckler, who decides Baxter is a good target. “Baxxxxxxter”… “Number 63 loves 69″… “I love your butt Baxter.”

Top of the eight
The heckler is neutral. He decides that Kemp is just as good as Baxter. “Keeeee-eeemmppp”, “Hey, Kemp let’s go to KTV after the game.”

Bottom of the eighth
There is something sacrilegious about the Padres’ mascot, a Franciscan monk, doing sexy dances with 15 nubile women in white tank tops and electric orange miniskirts and ankle warmers. It… just… isn’t… right.

Now we are only getting “beware of batted balls” announcement in Chinese. I’m guessing the English-language announcer had discovered the 10-kuai Yanjing.

Top of the eight
Some fans get the wave going, including the guy with the mannequin. Except now the dummy is strapped to his front and he is using its arms to slap Thunderstix together. Now this is a good use of Thunderstix. (By the way, I’m nominating this guy for the Beijing branch of the Sideburns Hall of Fame).

Bottom of the ninth
As the Padres warm up, Baxter has a final chance to redeem himself and throw a ball to the crowd. He doesn’t. Ladies and gentlemen, your player of the game - Matt Kemp.

Final score: Padres 6, Dodgers 3

Good game.

Post-game
R.C. Robinson, the guy who cost the New England Patriots the Super Bowl, is standing outside the stadium dressed as a… leprechaun. He says it’s for St. Patrick’s Day, but I have my doubts. I guess the security isn’t as good as I thought.

Where’s me lucky charms!

Where would you take Homer Simpson drinking in Beijing?

Post your bar recommendations in the comment section here and you’ll be entered into the weekly Celebrity Pub Crawl draw. So far, the itinerary includes Sunset Grill, Phil’s Pub, Goose & Duck, LAN, Beer Mania and Maggies.

The Rickshaw - no doubt inspired by this picture - is throwing in as prizes four pitchers of Stella at spin-off venue, The Saddle Cantina, slated to open on Thursday.

The winner will also receive:

- A bottle of Grace Vineyard Tasya’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Torres

- A package of four books - Insider’s Guide to Beijing 2008, Mandarin Phrasebook, Healthy Chinese Cuisine: A Restaurant Ordering Guide, and Spicy Chinese Cuisine: A Restaurant Ordering Guide - from Immersion Guides.

The deadline for entering is Tuesday at noon. I’ll ask an esteemed member of the Beijing community - it was Neo’s Shan Lee last week - to conduct the draw, with the winner being announced on Wednesday.

The Springfield brew crew ((c) art.com)

Those heading into the weekend and craving all-you-can-eat Sunday brunch now have a Friday night option - Elements restaurant in the Hilton.

Hilton now offers a seafood buffet, Friday from 6 to 10 PM, that includes lobster, crab, prawns, mussels, caviar, oysters, sashimi and sushi, as well as four stations that cover everything from Chinese food to desserts. The buffet is RMB208 per person. For an extra RMB120, diners can add the wine buffet that includes Beringer Classic White 2006, White Zinfandel 2006 (Rose), Classic Red 2006, and Stone Cellars Chardonnay 2005.

With this kind of deal, how I am ever going to fit into my Speedo this summer?

By Jim Boyce

Upcoming Beijing wine events

March 21, 6:30 PM, Sequoia Café (Sanlitun), RMB100
French wine tasting, selections by Taillan winemaker Alain Leroux; RSVP with Frank at frank.siegel@gmail.com

March 21, 7 PM, Il et Elle, RMB400
Wine and Chinese food matching dinner, by Long Feng; RSVP with Fongyee at fongyee@longfengwines.com / 13522-147-340

March 22, 6 PM, La Baie des Anges, RMB150
Cheese, wine, and fruit pairing, includes three glasses of wine (2 red, 1 white); for more info, call 6657-1605

March 23, 9:30 AM-5:30 PM, RMB1900
WSET introductory course, by Long Feng; contact Fongyee at fongyee@longfengwines.com / 13522-147-340

March 26, 6:30 PM, Aria (China World), RMB1200
Riedel wine tasting dinner, with company CEO Maximilian Riedel, by ASC; 4 wines; participants take home 4 Riedel glasses; RSVP with Helen Lu at 6418-1598, x226

March 27, 7 PM, Palette Vino at Pekotan (Central Park, building 12), RMB100
Michel Torino wine tasting, with Palette Wines, RSVP with Nancy Qi at 13811-182-462 / nancy@palettewines.cn

March 29, 4:30-6:30 PM, RMB200
Blind tasting workshop, by Long Feng; RSVP with Fongyee at fongyee@longfengwines.com / 13522-147-340

March 29, 7 PM, Palette Vino (Shunyi), RMB100
Michel Torino wine tasting, with Palette Wines; RSVP with Leo Liu at 8046-4461 / leo@palettewines.cn

April 7, 6-9:30 PM, Mare (E-Tower), RMB150
Spanish wine tasting, by Summergate, 20+ wines with tapas. RSVP with Jessie at Summergate at jessie.xiao@summergate.com / 6562-5800, or with Mare at marebeijing@hotmail.com / marebeijing@sohu.com / 6595-4178

Note: To get a wine event listed, send the event information, preferably in text format, to beijingboyce@yahoo.com.

I ran into Alan Wong the other day and he mentioned that a branch of his popular Japanese restaurant Hatsune will open in Sanlitun as will a new project, Karaiya, focused on Chinese food.
He said some changes are underway at Block 8. Kristen Lum, director of communications there, says a new cocktail menu has been added and that the drinks menu for special events in iSpace includes beer at RMB25 and basic cocktails at RMB35.

Block 8 is also holding a ‘Ladies Wine Club’ event in Med restaurant on the second Thursday of each month. Events include a five-course meal and a wine theme (RMB100). The next one - on April 10 - will feature Australian wines.

Finally, Block 8’s rooftop bar, The Beach, is slated to open on May 9.

An obvious brew lover ((c) poster.net)

We’ve done Crockett and Tubbs, we’ve done The Desperate Wives. Now it’s time for someone more associated with night life, or at least beer - Homer Simpson.

Post a comment about where in Beijing you would take this Duff-loving visitor from Springfield and you’ll be entered in the weekly draw. He seems like a Phil’s Pub type of guy. Or maybe The Rickshaw. After all, he and Marge stopped in over Halloween.

The stars come out at night at The Rickshaw.

The prizes:

- A bottle of Grace Vineyard Tasya’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Torres

- A package of four books - Insider’s Guide to Beijing 2008, Mandarin Phrasebook, Healthy Chinese Cuisine: A Restaurant Ordering Guide, and Spicy Chinese Cuisine: A Restaurant Ordering Guide - from Immersion Guides.

The deadline for entering the draw is Tuesday at noon. The winner will be announced the next day. (Note: I can only ship prizes to addresses in Beijing. One entry per week per person, please.)

For Celebrity Pub Crawl II, readers were asked to recommend their Beijing bar picks for Desperate Housewives. The name of everyone with a legitimate bar pick was written on a card and entered in a draw. Shan Lee, marketing director of Neo Fine Foods, which imports wine and food from Australia, picked the winner (note: Neo will soon launch its new site - www.beijingfanz.com). The winner gets:

- A bottle of Grace Vineyard Tasya’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Torres

- A package of four books - Insider’s Guide to Beijing 2008, Mandarin Phrasebook, Healthy Chinese Cuisine: A Restaurant Ordering Guide, and Spicy Chinese Cuisine: A Restaurant Ordering Guide - from Immersion Guides.

And the winner is: Elisabeth T.

Congratulations to Elisabeth and thanks to everyone who participated. Celebrity Pub Crawl III starts tomorrow.

Ranking among the city’s more famous / infamous establishments, Maggies began renovations and an expansion last last year that left only its back end open. According to several Maggies employees, the bar will fully open by Thursday at the latest. Throughout the changes, Maggie’s has continued to crank out its popular hot dogs near the entrance. (It’s the mustard - fried shallot combination that makes them good.)

Wine importer and distributor The Wine Republic held its soft launch at Café Europa in Beijing last Wednesday. The company is a partnership between Rathbone Wine Group (Australia) and Campbell Thompson, a former marketing director at ASC Fine Wines and a contributor to Grape Wall of China. Its initial goal is to import cool-climate Australian and French wines, with a focus on temperature-controlled shipping and storage.

Guests tried four samples from Mount Langi Ghiran winery in the southern hills of Australia’s Great Dividing Range:
Riesling 2004
Billi Billi Shiraz 2003
Cliff Edge Shiraz 2001
Langi Cabernet-Merlot 2000

If you have trouble picking out varietals, then the Riesling is for you, with its full-on petrol aromas. Drinkers will likely find this to be a love-it-or-hate-it wine. Both the Billi Billi Shiraz and Cliff Edge Shiraz had black plum and a hint of pepper on the nose, the latter having a better mouth feel and more fruit. The Cabernet Merlot offers black cherry on a nose that suggests a heavier body than is found in the glass. The Wine Republic plans to soon officially launch with its full range of wines.

Where would you take the Desperate Housewives drinking in Beijing?

Post your bar recommendations in the comments section here and you’ll be entered into the weekly Celebrity Pub Crawl draw. So far, the possible itinerary includes Aria, Block 8 and my pick Suzie Wong (this assumes my apartment isn’t a valid choice).

The deadline for entering is Tuesday at noon. I’ll ask an esteemed member of the Beijing community - it was CRI’s Mark Rybchuk last week - to conduct the draw, with the winner being announced on Wednesday.

The prizes:

- A bottle of Grace Vineyard Tasya’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Torres- A package of four books - Insider’s Guide to Beijing 2008, Mandarin Phrasebook, Healthy Chinese Cuisine: A Restaurant Ordering Guide, and Spicy Chinese Cuisine: A Restaurant Ordering Guide - from Immersion Guides.

Ready for a hot night on the town? ((c) ABC)

This might be of peripheral interest to wine consumers in Beijing. Last week, I wrote about Chinese Customs investigating wine importers. Today, ASC Fine Wines released a statement about inquiries into the company. The obvious question: what is meant by ASC being with Customs staff “now”. I have talked to numerous wine importers about this investigation and will have details later this afternoon on this blog’s sibling - Grape Wall of China.

To the Valued Customers and Suppliers of ASC Fine Wines:

As our valued business partners, we feel it is important to inform you about industry wide inquiries recently initiated by the Chinese Customs Bureau into the import declarations that has involved ASC Fine Wines. We firmly believe that this situation is either a misunderstanding or merely a routine industry by industry review of import practices.

ASC is cooperating fully and Managing Partner, Don St. Pierre Jr. and VP, Ms. Carrie Xuan are with Customs’’ inquiries personnel now. It is important to note that the value of ASC’s imported wine declarations under review is approximately 1.5 days business for ASC.

We expect a swift and mutually satisfactory resolution to this issue and note that ASC’s country wide business of importing and selling wine continues without interruption now.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,
Don St. Pierre, Sr.
Chairman, ASC Fine Wines