Beijing Boyce

Austin “groovy, baby!” Powers featured in Week 6 of the Celebrity Pub Crawl, with contestants recommending Alfa, Treasure Island, Bed, Camp, Swing, Suzie Wong’s, China Doll, Le Freak, Centro and LAN as drinking holes for this psychedelic wonder. As is usual, the names of those making recommendations were put in a draw and I asked Alain Leroux of Taillan to pick the winner. 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.

This week’s winner: Alex.

Congratulations and thanks to everyone who participated.

Those seeking pizza at The Kro’s Nest yesterday went pie-less as this spot, along with Vics, Mix, and The Outback Steakhouse, has been closed ahead of this weekend’s Brazil-Ghana game to decide the final Olympics’ soccer qualifier, states The Beijinger blog. Ghana! It all brings back memories of my difficulties finding Ghanian flags for the 2006 World Cup…

The city’s plan to ban public smoking has seen revisions, according this story:

Restaurants, bars and Internet cafes will be exempt from a recently announced ban on smoking in public places to start May 1, the China Daily reported.

They will now be asked only to have separate smoking and nonsmoking areas, it said.

“Originally, we wanted restaurants to keep 70 percent of the areas smoke-free, but owners of Chinese restaurants – both big and small – worried the plan would hurt their business,” Zhang Peili, an official with Beijing’s municipal government supervising the rule, told the paper.

“It is difficult for us to control smoking in restaurants. It’s just part of the culture,” he said.

Cast-iron cookware fans – Pantry Magic is set to open within the next week in the New Nali Studio. The decor is finished, it’s just a matter of getting in the pots and pans.

The Celebrity Pub Crawl is in the stretch run — this week is the last — with special agent Austin Powers. Make your Beijing bar recommendations here and you’ll be entered into the weekly draw for:

- 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 Tuesday at noon.

I’ll ask an esteemed member of the Beijing community – it was Bjørn Stabell of Exoweb 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.)

Oh behave! ((c) New Line)

Kokomo stripped off its rooftop covering today. Expect an opening party Friday with two DJs and summer drink specials.

The Saddle Cantina will close from11 PM tonight (Sunday) to 6 PM on Tuesday as it refinishes its floor. The Saddle was packed last night with one going-away and three birthday parties.

Construction on the new China Doll, on the top floor of 3.3 Building, is coming along. The lounge will face Sanlitun’s main strip and be accessible by an elevator. The main area has a bar and dance floor, with a VIP room and seven themed private rooms extending off them. Two elevators will provide access from the street behind. Expect plenty of curves, ellipses, and circular platforms in the design. An extension will be built to the north with China Doll taking the 400-square-meter rooftop.

The Cellar Rat says that his “find of the month” is the OT Lounge. Decent cocktails and good jazz in a relaxed and intimate atmosphere impressed him. “It’s not huge, but if you’re out with a few friends, it’s nice place to hang out,” he says.

Phil’s Pub, the friendly neighborhood bar just south of the old Sanlitun South Street, has closed.

Reader EB informed me Friday that she noticed the pub’s sign gone. On closer inspection, she found a message stating that it had closed.

I called owner Phil, who with wife Sally has operated one of the more reasonably priced places in town for more than four years. He said the current landlord is taking over the building for redevelopment, thus denying many a patron from enjoying a GT while mowing down a pile of chuan’r delivered from across the street.

Phil is looking for a new spot. Watch this blog for an update.

Across the way, Black Sun and Dimple remain open.

Kind of…

I added the “babelfish” application. Click one of the flags on the panel and “babelfish” will machine-translate this Web page into that country’s leading language. Whether it ends up making any sense… well, maybe someone out there can tell me.

(Odd, it doesn’t translate into Australian.)

Here’s the panel:

((c) New Line Cinema)

Since we featured Britain’s second-most famous spy – James Bond – in Celebrity Pub Crawl IV, let’s wrap up our final week with that nation’s premier agent of espionage – Austin Powers. Made your Beijing bar recommendations for this free-wheeling and flamboyant playboy, and you’ll be entered into the weekly draw for:

- 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.

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

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.) To get those brains spinning, here’s the scene from the Electric Psychedelic Pussycat Swinger’s Club:

Upcoming Beijing wine-related events

Thursday, April 10, 8 PM, Palette Vino Shunyi
Inaugural live jazz performance, RSVP with Leo at 8046-4461

Thursday, April 10, 7-8:30 PM, Amigo (Central Park), free
Coriole (Australia) wine event, by Top Cellar; RSVP with Cedric at marketing@topcellar.com.cn / 13439-467-514

Thursday, April 10, 6 PM, Carrefour (Shuangjing store), free
2008 Beijing April Wine Fair launch; wine tasting, live music, 20 percent discount on wines; to get an invitation, send your name, address, telephone number and email address to secretary_bjsj@carrefour.com; fair finishes April 27Friday, April 11, 6:30 PM, Sequoia Cafe (Sanlitun), RMB100
Belgian beer and chocolate tasting (five of each) as Sequoia takes one-week break from wine; RSVP with Frank at frank.siegel@gmail.com / 13701-178-073

Saturday, April 12, 9PM, La Baie des Anges
French 80s music night, with RMB20 glasses of wine (Pastis: RMB10; Tsing Tao: RMB15; watching my French friends slaughter pop songs: priceless).

Thursday, April 17, 7PM, Palette Vino at Pekotan (Central Park, Building 12), members free; non-members RMB100
Six aromatic white wines, including Viognier (France, Australia), Torrontes (Argentina), Rulander (Austria), by Palette Wines; RSVP with Nancy Qi at nancy@palettewines.cn / 13811-182-462

Friday, April 18, 7 PM, Palette Vino Shunyi (Pinnacle Plaza), members free; non-members RMB100
Six aromatic white wines, including Viognier (France, Australia), Torrontes (Argentina), Rulander (Austria), by Palette Wines; RSVP with Leo Liu at leo@palettewines.cn / 8046-4461

Saturday, April 12, 19 & 26, venue TBA, 2-6 PM, RMB1900
Wine appreciation course, by Dragon Phoenix; three days includes tasting of 20 wines, ISO glasses, and guides; RSVP with Fongyee Walker at fongyee@longfengwines.com / 13522-147-340.

Thursday, April 24, 7-8:30 PM, Bento & Berries, free
Terramater (Chile) wine tasting, by Top Cellar; RSVP with Cedric at marketing@topcellar.com.cn / 13439-467-514

Thursday, May 8, 7-9 PM, Block 8’s Med, RMB100
Ladies Wine Club, featuring Italian wines and five-course meal; contact Kristen at lum.kristen@gmail.comThursday, May 8, 7-8:30 PM, Amigo (Central Park), free
Raminara (Chile) wine festival, by Top Cellar; RSVP with Cedric at marketing@topcellar.com.cn / 13439-467-514

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

No sooner does the Homer Simpson Celebrity Pub Crawl end than a beer and chocolate tasting appears on the high-cal radar. D’oh!

In any case, Sequoia Cafe will forgo the usual Friday night wine tasting and instead feature samples of five Belgian beers and chocolates (RMB100). RSVP with Frank at frank.siegel@gmail.com / 13701-178-073.

(Note: If you like chocolate and you live in Beijing, then check out Elyse Ribbon‘s group Chocojing, though I’m sure she has enough on her plate this week with Lethal English).

A slew of people have recently asked me why I write this blog, how much money it makes, the “downside”, and so on. Some are thinking of creating their own blogs, some are simply curious. In case other people are interested, here are five common questions and some brief answers.

Why did you start the blog?

I like to write (and have penned many columns, newsletters, and newspaper and magazine articles), I frequent bars for both work and play, and I felt the local scene lacked a consumer’s view. The Beijing scene is ever-changing and I enjoy talking to bar owners and patrons about it. Plus, bars and wine are universal topics: most everyone can opine on which is best (and worst), who makes great drinks, who has the best happy hour, and so on.

How much time do you spend on it?

It’s hard to tell, since it fits seamlessly into my regular life. I go out a few nights a week, usually for non-blog purposes, and then write about these visits. Other time is spent at wine tastings, dealing with email from readers, reporters, bar owners and wine distributors, or responding to people who want to start a bar, distribute wine in China, find event space, and so on. I would guess I spend upward of two hours of computer time per day on the blog.

Why a blog? Why not write for a newspaper or a magazine?

I enjoy the independence of a blog – tone, content, and posting frequency are up to me.

Actually, the blog evolved from a biweekly e-newsletter I began in October 2005. I started this blog one year later to provide more “real-time information” and launched sibling blog, Grape Wall of China, about six months later to cover the wine scene.

The newsletter is “opt in.” I don’t build my list using email addresses that I find on the Web or business cards. A person needs to request the newsletter, either verbally or by email. In some cases, I send a sample, but require a “sign me up” email before I send a second issue. My list makes up in quality for what it lacks in the quantity possible via spamming.

There are exceptions – I mixed up my Excel file and pasted nonmember addresses into the mailing list several times. It affected less than 1 percent of my list, but taught me an obvious lesson – always backup your files.

(To get the newsletter, email beijingboyce@yahoo.com with “sign me up” in the subject line.)

Do you make money from the blog?

No, the blog is a financial drain. I have no advertisers. I have no sponsors, except those who provide prizes for my irregular contests. I cover the costs, whether these are for domain names, hosting, wine dinners, and so on.

I considered moneymaking programs like Google AdSense and Amazon Associates, but I thought the links would look messy. I considered a PayPal donation button to help defray site costs, but worried a bar owner might give money and put my objectivity into question. I considered banner ads, as companies both in and outside of the bar and wine sectors have asked about this. If there were a way to generate revenue without compromising the site, I would consider it (if anyone has suggestions, please let me know!).

What is the “downside” of the blog?

Personal attacks by people who own or work in bars and wine companies – these tend to arise after I criticize their bar or company, or praise that of their competitors.

Over the years, such people have accused me of being in the pocket of First Café, Browns, ASC Fine Wines, Torres China (specifically the Grace Vineyards brand), The Rickshaw, and others. They have sworn at me, in private and public, sent nasty emails, “trash talked” about me to others, and refused to answer emails or cooperate in any way. The mindset among these people is that if someone has an opinion about a place, he or she must also have some kind of hidden agenda.

To be fair, such people represent a small minority. Overall, I have good relationships with the majority of bar and wine people. They are in a highly competitive business, usually love what they do, and have improved the Beijing scene since I started to write over two years ago.

Nonetheless, if you want to start a blog like mine, you can expect some abuse.

Overall, I have found my blog worth the time, money and occasional attack. I try to stick to my mandate of writing from a consumer’s perspective, though I obviously get some inside information from readers and people in the industry, and I try to be fair to bars and wine distributors no matter how they treat me. Even if the bar and wine scenes are inconsistent, that doesn’t mean that I have to be as a blogger.

Blogging isn’t all fun and games (funnypart.com)

Week 5 of the Celebrity Pub Crawl contest saw readers recommend bars for Jack “I was born ready” Burton. Bus Bar, Sunset, The Den and Alfa all were suggested as drinking holes for the man behind “The Pork Chop Express.”

As is usual, the names of those making recommendations were included in a draw and I asked Bjørn Stabell of Exoweb to pick the winner. 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.

This week’s winner: froog.

Congratulations and thanks to everyone who participated. The last edition of Celebrity Pub Crawl starts tomorrow.

They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch. But you can go hungry even if you have money.

I popped into The Rickshaw yesterday at noon for Taco Tuesdays (three tacos for RMB40 with good portions of sour cream and salsa). I went upstairs and found a construction crew buzzing and pounding near the pool table, so I retreated downstairs, grabbed a chair, and popped open the laptop.

I called the manager to find out what was going on and learned that the place was closed. I missed the sign on the door as did everyone else – more than a dozen people – who showed up during the 20 minutes I sat there. Anyway, The Rickshaw should have its side deck opened and be back to normal hours from 4 PM today

Since tacos were not in my immediate future, I decided to go to nearby Revelations. I phoned ahead to see if the wireless was working – last time, it wasn’t – and was told it “should be.” It wasn’t.

I packed up my laptop again and went to Sugar, in 1949: The Hidden City. The place had wireless and food, seemingly a rare combination on this day. I had chicken Caesar salad (RMB32) and a coffee (RMB25), both of which were good. The wait staff is a bit over-attentive and unable to recognize English words such as “water” and “toilet”, but is friendly enough. What is annoying is getting the bill and finding a 10 percent service charge… at a cafe.

Today, I planned to go to Café St. Laurent for lunch. Luckily, I called ahead because the place is closed while the kitchen and menu are overhauled. CSL will open this weekend. Fortunately, the eggs Benedict will remain on the menu although there will be a few new twists to the recipe.

I headed for The Saddle Cantina, then remembered it is not open for lunch during weekdays, and redirected myself to Luga’s. This place is also under construction. I saw a patron eating a burrito, but didn’t see any employees. I yelled “hello” and went back to the kitchen, where everyone was crouched over the floor intensely discussing something, so I left.

For the third time in two weeks, I ended up at Sequoia Café (Sanlitun branch). The BLT (RMB30) is delicious and comes with soup, and a large American coffee (RMB22). Fortunately, there is no service charge. The only downside: Sequoia is full of hard surfaces and thus loud at times.

It has been a wild month in ye olde drinking scene in Beijing, what with the investigation of the country’s wine importers, the closing of Maggie’s, a raid in Sanlitun and a police presence in Nanluoguxiang, among other things. Somehow the effort to “clean up” the scene missed the vehicle below, which has sat across from Yashow market since Chinese New Year and had its hood sullied by a profane message, not doubt by some depraved foreigner. (Click photos to enlarge.)

In case you are not skilled at deciphering hood scrawls, it reads, “I wish my wife was this dirty.”

Let’s get all third conditional here – if Jack “Pork Chop Express” Burton were in Beijing, where would you take him drinking?

Post your bar recommendations in the comment sections here and you’ll be entered into the weekly Celebrity Pub Crawl draw. So far, the itinerary for the Jack “It’s all in the reflexes” Burton covers Abella, Kro’s Nest, The Den, Sunset and Alfa.

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 Sequoia Ronald 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.)

Go here for the movie trailer. Here’s another video that strings together clips of Burton.

How did this guy ever get through immigration?

A China Daily article titled “Beijing police nab 8 foreigners suspected of drug trafficking” states that more than 20 people were nabbed in a Sanlitun raid last night:

Police in Beijing apprehended more than 20 people, including eight foreigners, in suspicion of using and trafficking drugs in two downtown bars, said Beijing’s pubic [sic] security authority early on Saturday.

Police in Chaoyang district were tipped off that some drug traffickers and users gathered in pubs in Sanlitun, a bar area popular among both Chinese and foreigners, said the press office of Beijing Public Security Bureau.

I end up in Sanlitun almost every Friday night for the Sequoia Cafe wine tasting, but this is the first time I’ve witnessed such a police presence.

The street facing Tongli Studio was blocked by tape and police, from near Poachers to Aperitivo. I saw several dozen police officers, both uniformed and plain-clothes, and a group of eight to ten people with “SWAT” printed on the back of their uniforms. Hundreds of patrons, employees, and residents watched from the doorways of bars and restaurants, the rooftop of Tongli Studio, and apartments.

Police brought people out of the northernmost Pure Girl establishment and put them into a paddy wagon. At one point, two of these people, handcuffed together, were posed in the middle of the street for what I assume were press and police photographers and videographers.

The police went into A Little High and brought someone out. Patrons outside were told they could go in, which most of them did, at which point the photographers took pictures of them sitting in the bar.

Eight or so photographers then rushed down the alley that intersects the street, followed by two officers with German Shepherds and some plain-clothes police.

I watched the raid for about 30 minutes and, at least while I was there, it seemed fairly orderly and calm.

I then headed to Revelations (a jazz band now plays there on weekends) and The Saddle Cantina (to check the inaugural half-price drinks event “Cinco de Drinko” – one person in our party really liked the Mango Mojito). Afterwards, I walked down the Tongli strip and, beside the four Pure Girl establishments being shut, things seemed no different than usual.

My overall impression is that: 1) this raid was much more coordinated that the one last October; 2) given the numerous photographers, it was meant to send a very public message; 3) now is not the time to be acting recklessly in Beijing; and 4) it’s a good idea to have your identification papers with you.

I’ve always had mixed feelings about Sanlitun North. On one hand, I have described it numerous times as a “cesspool”, given the dealers, lady bar touts, and fights. On the other hand, I like numerous establishments there – The Tree, Petit Gourmand, Le Bistrot Parisienne, among others. Hopefully, the end result for this area is not one of “throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”

Some bits and bites, sips and slurps from the local scene…

Expat Show Beijing continues tomorrow (10 AM-6 PM) and Sunday (10 AM-5 PM) at China World Trade Center. Its Web site states that 150 exhibitors will attend, though only a half-dozen from the food and beverage sector, including Jebsen Fine Wines, Ganges Indian Restaurant, Exquisite Bakery, Haosome organic produce, Green Yard organic milk and Wonder Milk. Entry is free.

The Saddle Cantina kicks off its monthly “Cinco De Drinko” event at midnight. The idea: the fifth day of each month will see all drinks at half-price (you need to enter off the Sanlitun main strip, between 3.3 and Nali Studio).

Tonight should also see the opening of the expanded Lugas (ex-Saddle).

Tomorrow, Die Kochmützen celebrates its third anniversary with free HB Beer from 5 to 7 PM. The place will also have a special anniversary dinner for RMB103.

Finally, The Boat, floating on the Liangma River, officially opens next Friday, with reggae, rock, and more on the “upper deck”, and eight DJs below.

Upscale Spanish restaurant Mare Nostrum will close as early as tonight. I talked to someone at the restaurant, which opened only last year, who cited problems with the landlord. It is unclear if the place will re-open elsewhere in Beijing.

(A hat tip to The Cellar Rat for the heads up.)

I obviously didn’t learn my lesson from Celebrity Pub Crawl I, which featured Miami Vice’s Crockett and Tubbs, because I’m going “old school” again – this time with Jack “It’s all in the reflexes” Burton from 1980s cult movie Big Trouble in Little China.

Before you close the window, give me a chance. This movie has it all. It’s funny and so are all of you. It includes “China” in the name and that’s where we live. Burton, played by Kurt Russell, is a durable, weathered vet who could handle a heavy night out in Beijing. And his love interest is a very young Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City). Here’s the trailer: the last bit, with the beer bottle, gives an idea of the kind of places Burton would patronize (and here’s the link in case the video doesn’t appear below):

As always, post a comment about where in Beijing you would take Jack “Pork Chop Express” Burton, 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.)

Here’s another video that strings together clips of Burton.

Too bad the old Goose n’ Duck isn’t still open…

James Bond was out guest imbiber for Celebrity Pub Crawl IV. Readers were asked to recommend where in our fair city they would take 007 for a drink or two. The name of everyone with a legitimate bar pick was entered in a draw. Ronald of Sequoia Cafe picked the winner, who will get:

- 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: Kat.

Congratulations and thanks to everyone who participated. Celebrity Pub Crawl V - the second last in the series – starts tomorrow.

Upcoming Beijing wine events

April 3, 7:30-9:30 PM, Ganglamedo, RMB88
Wine / networking party for charity, by Local Noodles / Torres; with wine from five countries; RSVP at 6416-7036.

April 4, 6:30 PM, Sequoia Café (Sanlitun), RMB100
Port tasting, including a ruby, tawny, reserve and white; RSVP with Frank at frank.siegel@gmail.com / 13701-178-073.
April 7, 6-9:30 PM, Mare, 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.

April 8, 7-8:30 PM, Mare Nostrum, RMB210
Bodegas Chivite tasting, by ASC; RSVP with Helen Lu at 6418-1598, x226.
April 10, 6 PM, Carrefour (Shuangjing store), free
2008 Beijing April Wine Fair, by Carrefour; wine tasting, live music, 20 percent discount on wines; to get an invitation, send your name, address, telephone number and email address to secretary_bjsj@carrefour.com.

April 12, 19 & 26, venue TBA, 2-6 PM, RMB1900
Wine appreciation course, by Dragon Phoenix; three days includes tasting of 20 wines, set of ISO glasses, and guides; RSVP with Fongyee Walker at fongyee@longfengwines.com / 13522-147-340.

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