Beijing Boyce

Four signs that All Star, which spent thousands of dollars marketing itself as a sports bar, feels nothing of the sort:

1. The place has dozens of flat screens, but the décor holds virtually no link to sports - the white counters, ash trim, and black and aqua touches make it look like a neo-modernistic diner / lounge. Or maybe this is a minimalist approach to sports bars - you know, avoid any literal references, such as equipment, posters, or framed rugby shirts. By the way, from my vantage point, EVERY screen played the SAME channel last night. They might want to mix things up a bit, or take the “s” off “sports.”

2. A male patron wearing a backpack in the shape of a panda, a foursome that looked like the leadership of the Morrissey fan club, a half dozen women decked out in cocktail dresses - these don’t seem like sports bar people (or return customers). More proof: None of them gave more than a glance at the TVs.

3. REM followed by the B-52s followed by U2 (”One”) - not exactly ideal music for watching two volleyball teams drive spikes at each other. Why not put on a greatest hits Bee Gees CD and save on the DJs? (To All Star’s credit, they did play a cool version of the Batman theme song.)

4. I asked a member of management when the China-U.S. basketball game would air today. Given this is one of the biggest match-ups of The Games, such a person should 1) know that the game will be on, 2) know the time or, 3) be able to find out quickly so those asking will come back and spend more money. This guy didn’t, didn’t, and didn’t. The place had only a few dozen customers, so I don’t think being too busy was a factor.

Given the heavy sports focus in the ads, All Star might have done better spending some cash on creating such an atmosphere. Instead, this feels like a “hype over substance” place - that might work for the next month or so, but I doubt it is sustainable post-Games. My guess is All Star will soon be - if it is not already in essence - a glorified lounge in which patrons from the club Bling upstairs can eat and chill out. The design even evokes Bling, especially the stainless steel and white. Call it the Solana version of The Den, but with newer furniture and much higher prices.

Now, for the food and drinks: Weeks before the place opened, City Weekend claimed it to have the juiciest burger in town. The verdict: the cheeseburger (RMB65) was moist, not juicy, but tasty nonetheless; the fries were adequate; the coleslaw was limp.

There is a decent choice of international beers, including Kingfisher, Amstel Light, and Newcastle (all RMB40), while a small Budweiser draft runs RMB30. High rollers will find Johnnie Walker King George V (RMB9500 / bottle), Cristal (RMB4500 for 1999), and the like, as well as the common pours, such as Chivas (RMB60) and Crown Royal (RMB50). There are eight single malts, starting at RMB65 for Glenmorangie.

Finally, the staff is generally friendly - they even took my burger away and kept it warm when I ended up on the phone outside - though payment took ages.

From Monday, All Star will operate 24 hours a day.