Beijing Boyce

Earlier today I explained why Nanluoguxiang is earning a bigger chunk of my nightlife budget. That spend trend continued yesterday as BeijingDaze and I headed there for a few drinks.

12SQM: We started at the self-proclaimed smallest bar in the city and found it - with eight people inside - fairly busy. I ordered a Black Russian while BD went for a White Russian (RMB30 each). He prefers to have the Kahlua poured in first so it can settle at the bottom, while bartender Joseph says his regulars like to have it mixed. (Frankly, I prefer Coopers Pale Ale to both.) By the way, for a bar of its size, 12SQM offers a big selection of single malts.

Passby Bar: We passed by this landmark but it deserves a shout for its house pies, especially the Hutong pizza, which comes with roast lamb on top.

Utopia: Another pass by, but its worth mentioning that though one of the decor highlights is ballpoint pen graffiti on white brick walls, this place often draws a crowd and offers an excellent beer selection.

Sandglass: Yet another pass by, though I stopped here last week with fellow bloggers and ended up drinking German Lowenbrau and Spanish Mahou, both at RMB35 per bottle. We managed to amass a bill of over RMB1000 - its always those flaming shooters for the birthday boy or girl that do it. This is a place to drink and chat, so much so said one in our group that bringing a laptop and surfing the Web is Verboten.

Fish Nation: “They have the cheapest cider in Beijing,” said BD, but then we had to shift to past tense as we found the place sold out of Woodpecker (RMB20), though it had Strongbow (RMB35). Our White Russians were tiny, about one-third normal size, and around RMB30 at that. We would have been better off ordering the Brooklyn, Rogue, Kona, or other craft beers for the same price. The fish and chips (RMB49) were fine, coming with a lone piece of battered fish, while BD found the onion “marmalade” pizza (RMB38), topped with caramelized onions, OK (I thought it too sweet). He reminisced about watching the Olympics opening ceremony fireworks from Fish Nation’s rooftop while I marveled that not even two months have passed since that day - it seems so much longer.

Treehouse: We found this bar down an alley from July’s (keep going past Super Box). Many NLGX places are hard to distinguish from each other on initial glance, since they tend to have similar facades, the wooden furniture, the shelf of entry-level brand-name booze behind the bar, and so on, but for those looking to get away from the bar street proper, this place at least offers isolation.

Reef Bar: Ever since The Rickshaw Rally last October, I have liked this place. It has a decent number of Whiskies, starting with Grant’s (RMB15 per shot) and Jameson (RMB25 per shot), and beers that range from Tsingtao (RMB10) to more than a dozen Belgian and German selections (RMB30 and up). There is also an extensive cocktail and shooter menu.

The bar proper takes up about a quarter of the place, with the remaining space dedicated to five bar stools and five pairs of facing sofas. The crowd is local, and seems like a regular one at that, and the bar staff is attentive. BD stuck to his White Russion regimen and found this one pretty good.

Guitar Bar: A good crowd on hand to watch a pair of guitarists play. With few seats available and a bit too much noise to make conversation possible, we continued on.

“Ten kuai” bar: This long, narrow, and grungy place felt somewhat like an abandoned house converted into a bar and evoked the spirit of the original Nanjie and Kai Club. The main feature is a long bar faced by about 20 stools and, behind these, small high tables and chairs. People played dice games in a room in the back. The white walls are dotted with enlarged photos, music and movie posters, and the graffiti of a thousand patrons. The bar had a fair-sized crowd and kudos to the lone bartender who zipped about and made sure everyone had drinks.

Speaking of drinks, the menu lists about 20 cocktails, 15 shooters, and Tsingtao at 10 kuai, with another 15 choices at 20 kuai. I had a Black Dog (tequila, Coke, and lemon) while Badr stuck with the White Russians, finding this one a bit too milky.

Boheme: Save for the wood floor, this place looks like a big garage or storage room converted to a bar, with sofas covered with red drop cloths and walls bare save for a few decorations - sketches, a Dogs Playing Poker poster, and a Chinese flag with dozens of Mao pins. The most spacious place of the night, I nevertheless found it a bit grungy. The White Russian research continued, with BD finding this one (RMB25) better than Ten’s but worse than Reef’s. (We are going to need a scorecard here.)

Salud: We immediately indulged in the homemade rums - mango and anise, banana and honey, ginger, and (a freebie!) the special spicy blend (which includes Tabasco). This place consistently offers good times with its generally laid-back patrons, friendly staff, rums, and ample seating options (bar, table, and loft). I’ll write a more detailed post about Salud soon, but on this night, it took top spot as our favorite stop, with the runners up being Reef Bar and the “Ten Kuai” bar.

I’m mining my in-box and found a few events slated for this weekend (I’ll omit the many music festivals as they have been heavily covered by the English-language lifestyle magazines).

To celebrate its third anniversary, The Pomegranate will open a free self-serve keg of beer every Friday at 5 PM this month.

DJ BB and DJ Carlo will be at Obiwan from 10 PM tonight spinning rock tunes. “Anything rock from the last five decades is fair game,” states the invite.

Room 101 bids farewell this Saturday with a closing party that includes 101 free Beijing drafts. The place will reopen in November as… well, we’ll have to wait and see (more details).

The Saddle Cantina will hold its monthly Cinco de Drinko on Sunday, which means half-price beverages all day and evening until midnight, at which point sibling bar The Rickshaw starts its Hair of the Dog event with the same deal.

Tun, in honor of the late Paul Newman, will screen his hockey classic Slapshot at 6 PM on Sunday - look out for those Hanson brothers!

Heat, the multi-floor Sanlitun South bar with a logo that aspired to be a sort of Jolly Roger but came across more as a shocked eye-sockets-wide-open skull being penetrated by four phalli, has closed. Across from Nanjie and beside Salsa Caribe, Heat opened about a year ago and offered cheap drinks (RMB10 and up) and a somewhat down and dirty atmosphere. The gutted site is being renovated - I’ll have details on the venue to open there.

My haunts tend to be around Sanlitun, Workers Stadium, and Chaoyang Park, but I have found myself drawn more and more to Nanluoguxiang during the past year. Here’s why:

• The “hutong” vibe of many of the bars and cafes, not to mention the buildings.
• These spot tend to be small and cozy, with friendly owners and staffs.
• They also tend to keep the music turned low enough for people to easily chat.
• The patrons tend to be an unpretentious and fun mix of locals, expatriate residents, and tourists (with the occasional loud raging drunk thrown in).
• Prices are reasonable, starting with budget-friendly beers and drinks at RMB10 and working up to pricier cocktails and single malts, with a growing number of spots offering nice beer and spirit menus.
• The absence of those annoying “lady bar” touts found in Houhai (Lotus Lane) and Sanlitun (north strip) as well as CD sellers, beggars, and bar touts (so far).
• Three different homemade rum shots at Salud versus one cocktail at Mesh, The Saddle, or Q Bar in Sanlitun. Hmmm…

Four years ago, I hunted for an apartment in NLGX and don’t remember seeing any bar other than Passby. Now, the area bustles and I would guess the number of bars, cafes, and restaurants has doubled in the past 18 months alone. Let’s hope it doesn’t become Houhai-ized.

NLGX already has the issue of cars bullying down the narrow street and many of the bars and cafes feel as though they came from the same factory if not the same mold (as opposed to Sanlitun North where places such as Mesh, China Doll, The Saddle Cantina, The Tree, Cheers, Shooters, Kokomo, Swing, Luga’s, Bar Blu, and so on all offer something different). Nevertheless, for a no hassles night of fun that stays within budget, this is a superb place and I headed there last night with Beijingdaze. I’ll have more soon on our little tour.