Weekend warning: Pubs and passports
Question: Do I really need my passport when I go out in Beijing?
Answer: Yes. Most definitely, absolutely, unequivocally yes. Well, unless you like taking unnecessary risks, talking at length with the local authorities, and possibly making a visit to the police station.
Several Sanlitun bar owners told me today that the authorities will be making the rounds and checking patrons’ ID, and that bars are now expected to check patrons’ bags for anything “dangerous.” Add in the general increased security measures in Beijing ahead of The Games and the previous crackdowns in the city, and carrying your passport or a copy of it should be a ‘no brainer.’
2 commentsGrape Wall: Friday food fight, fire and ice wine, the wine word
As many readers know, I launched a blog called Grape Wall of China last year to focus on the local wine scene, and since then a bunch of contributors have pitched in. Here are some recent highlights:
Wine and Chinese food go together like… oil and vinegar? Cats and dogs? Air pollution and Olympic marathon runners? Well, let’s just say they’re tough to pair, so every Friday I’ll post a photo of a Chinese dish and ask readers to suggest wines for it. In the spirit of my recent media monitoring pledge, the first week featured a tourist-friendly treat - scorpions on a stick.
Hell hath no fury like Canucks scorned
“Oh, it’s getting hot in here / Must be something in the atmosphere”
- You Got the Style, Athlete
I have no other reason for citing Athlete than: 1) Jebsen’s Ethan Perk said I should use more quotes, 2) I alluded to heat in the title, 3) that’s the first lyric that came to mind.
The point is that things did heat up a bit between distributors and patrons at a Sequoia Cafe ice wine tasting, though all had a good time in the end.
Since day one, Grape Wall has been picking the brains of people in the wine world, whether its global personalities ranging from writers such as Robert Parker and Jancis Robinson to makers such as Wolf Blass and Peter Gago, local personalities such as Don St. Pierre Jr., John Gai, Wu Kegang and Judy Leissner, or regular blog contributors such as Ma Huiqin and Campbell Thompson. A list of these interviews is now available here. You can also check out the four most recent “wine word” segments:
- Food & Wine magazine editor Arcy Yin
- Red, White, and Drunk All Over author Natalie acLean
- Penfolds chief wine maker Peter Gago
- Louis Latour winery president Louis-Fabrice Latour
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