Beijing Boyce

Enoteca wine bar officially opened in The Place last Wednesday with a free outpouring of vino and appetizers both inside and on the rooftop. A good event overall, save for a temporary glass shortage and some dodgy Merlot.

Restaurant Tribute North opened last Friday, close to Sichuan hot spot Chuan Ban (more on the place here).

Look for TAO restaurant on Lucky Street to unveil a new look October 23 and to hold a free cocktail party October 29 (the place asks attendees to RSVP before October 24 at 5867-0209 or taocuisine@gmail.com).

Word has it that a horde of Maggie’s mourners has been encamping in the Pig and Whistle.

True Run Media, publishers of The Beijinger, held its seventh anniversary party at The Village yesterday, with eats from All Star Sports Bar & Grill, Blue Frog, Cold Stone Creamery, Union Bar & Grille, Peppes Pizza, Panino Teca, and RAS Ethiopian Cuisine, with drinks including Stella Artois, Chill, and Montrose wine. Panino Teca takes top spot for generous portions.

The Pomegranate continues to mark its third year with an extra-special 5-7 PM happy hour on Fridays all month: the first keg of beer is free and then it is two-for-one drinks (save for Beamish, Kilkenny, and premium wine). Other specials include RMB30 Jagermeister, Irish coffee, and Abbot Ale.

Entries are flooding trickling pouring filter-dripping in for The Real Deal Contest, so here are a few more caffeinated items for the winner takes all prize bag of wine, Whiskey, glasses, and, um, an apron. (To enter the contest, just leave a comment here with your pick for the best food and drink bargain in town.) The additional prizes:

- Two more packages of Tim Hortons fine grind coffee

- One package of Beijing Devils coffee, flavor-enhanced with the sweat of actual members of the rugby team

- One XL T-shirt from Blue Frog. The color: blue (what else would it be?). This shirt has been described as “really, really nice.”

To see the entries, get the details, read the entire list of prizes, or join the contest, go here.

No monkey business this year.

Halloween party fanatic Zimbu the Monkey says its time to get into the swing of things with some event listings. First, the bad news: Just like last year, there will be no bash by the gang at The Beijinger, formerly the gang at that’s Beijing, which is a drag because I always liked their parties. Anyway, this is what popped into my email box:

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The Fuwa Chainsaw Massacre

Bar Boo hosts this Olympic-themed Halloween party based on the recent Youtube movie of the same name. In it, the Fuwa, suffering post-Olympic joblessness, lamenting a lack of attention, and possessed by the evil spirit of my extremely loud and uncompromising neighbor, wreak havoc on Beijing. Each mascot utilizes its unique power (and, of course, a chainsaw) to force the city, on the eve of Halloween, to the brink of collapse:

• Beibei, the fish, forces unwilling residents to drink tap water
• Huanhuan, the flame, burns every yangrou chuar to a crisp and thus stokes riots among drunk late-night bar-goers
• Jingjing, the panda, commandeers a taxi, follows the road rules, and causes complete gridlock for 30 miles in every direction
• Yingying, the antelope, barrels out of elevators before people can rush in and turns the social order on its head
• And Nini, the “golden-winged swallow” flies around and craps on everyone.

The horror.

OK, I obviously made this up – none of the Fuwa could even lift a chainsaw. Anyway, here are some real parties slated for October 31 (it is always good to call and double-check details)…

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Spooked, Ku 18, 9 PM, RMB70 advance, RMB100 at door

Acupuncture Records returns to last year’s Halloween venue for a party with techno DJs “pumping your ears with their funky bleeps, addictive loops and dark beats.” Said venue is described as a place “where all the supernatural beings in town can freak, slash and grind to an audio/visual bloodbath until dawn.” (Contact: miao8610@gmail.com)

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The Cellar of the Devil, I-Ultra Lounge (Block8), 9 PM-5 AM, RMB50

Sponsored by Casillero Del Diablo (distributed by Summergate), patrons can sample wines and, states the invite, “watch in awe at the menacing delightful devils dance troop as they perform to some of this years greatest music.” Check the Facebook page for details, because I refuse to quote any sentences that end with more than five exclamation marks. (Contact: 6508-8585 / info@block8.cn)

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Death Prom, 9 PM-5 AM, I-Space (Block8), RMB50

Based on a story about a high school where six students were murdered by a serial killer in 1958, this party requires more than a bit of audience interaction. Let’s go to the invite for this one…

The audience step into the space and are taken back in time to a 1950s high school prom, populated by jocks, geeks, burnouts, cheerleader princesses, and other students of Glendale High’s graduating class of ’58. As a promgoer, the spectators are enlisted into a social clique, and will be expected to do the “right thing” by his/her clique, like picking on the geeks, promoting the prom queen, or spiking the punch.

All seems to be pretty typical high school fare, except these kids are all dead, ghastly pale and pretty clearly (except to them) corpses. The prom continues, with announcements, voting of the Prom Queen, live performances, slow dances, games like the Hokey Pokey, as well as flesh-eating zombies [Are there any other kind? - Ed.] trying to get in and eat all the prom-goers….

Sweet Buddha, we are expected to think on Halloween? More details here. (Contact: 6508-8585 / info@block8.cn)

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A few more parties…

Yen Fetish, this year at Star Live, is usually a massive bash (RMB80 in advance, RMB150 at door).

“Myth of eight immortals crossing the sea” costume contest by China Doll in 3.3, for those with a Ph.D in Chinese studies (RMB100RMB).

Glow in the Dark party, in Club China Doll in Tongli, for DJ Craze and a slew of glow sticks (RMB100 advance, RMB200 at door).

Anti-Halloween Party by La Baie des Anges, for those who hate wearing costumes (do berets count?).

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See also:
Zimbu goes Zim-boo! Halloween 2007 at The Rickshaw, Mingle, Alfa
Tales of the plush monkey: Halloween 2006 at Rui Fu, Browns, Icehouse, and Champagne

Five-kuai beers at Kro's Nest? Count me in!

We haven’t had a really good contest since the Celebrity Pub Crawl series and The Haiku Challenge months and months ago. In the spirit of the times – the increasingly hard times – I’m getting back to it with some free stuff.

The contest: Leave a comment about the best deals in town for those on an increasingly tight budget. It could be a happy hour, a weekly special, or a one-off event.

My pick: The weekly “We Hate Tuesdays” event at Kro’s Nest, where the first keg opened at 6 PM is free and then it’s RMB5 per pint to 10 PM. Plus, the pizza is huge: you can take some slices home for breakfast, thus saving more).

The prizes: Some stuff I get for free at tastings and events as well as a few items from my own personal stash (I’ll be adding to this list during the next few days):

• One bottle of Wolf Blass Gold Label Shiraz 2005
• One Riedel glass (drink that Wolf Blass in style)
• One Yunnan Red Wine corkscrew (from my trip outside Kunming – love these things)
• Two Dewar’s snifter and mini Whisky bottle sets
• One Blu Lobster apron (very nice, very blue, and looks like it can absorb a lot of foam)
• One Frank’s Place mug
• Two Four packages of Tim Hortons coffee (for use in that mug)
• One package of Beijing Devils rugby team coffee
• One XL T-shirt from Blue Frog (described as “very, very nice”)

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The nitty-gritty

Everyone who leaves a reasonable comment gets his or her name entered in the draw. This is all about helping out fellow readers, so please make useful suggestions (“eat chuan’r” doesn’t cut it).

It’s winner take all, i.e. one person gets all of the items listed above.

You need to be in Beijing to win, either able to pick up this stuff from me in Sanlitun-Workers Stadium or have a reliable daytime address to which I can courier it.

The deadline for entries is next Thursday at 5 PM. I’ll find some respected member of the community to pull the winning name and will announce the winner next Friday.

Four neat things Peter Kendall, brand ambassador for mega alcohol firm Diageo*, told a group of budding single malt aficionados at Aria last Saturday:

- Each of us has 2.5 million sensors in our nose.

- To smell single malts without “burning” those sensors, place your nose partly into the glass and inhale through your mouth. (Note: I found this tedious and preferred grand sniffs that I guess figuratively created forest fires in my nostrils. But that’s just me.)

- The age on a bottle refers to the youngest Whiskey inside. Thus, a 12-year-old bottle contains Whiskeys at least a dozen years old. Older Whiskey might be added to adjust the taste and maintain consistency.

- About 90 percent of Whiskey made in Scotland is used for blending in brands such as Johnnie Walker and J&B.

Then we got drunk silly.

Seriously, tasting single malts – made from a single distillery in Scotland and with no grain other than malt – is not that different from tasting wines. You take a look at the color, then smell and taste the booze to find aromas and flavors such as butterscotch, vanilla, dried fruit, chocolate, smoke, honey, grass, nutmeg, iodine, baijiu (blame last night’s binge) and, according to one tippler, “my grandfather” (yikes!).

We tried nine single malts from throughout Scotland, all of which are available at Aria in flights of 30ML pours. Kendall himself will be there every Tuesday and Thursday this month from 8 to 10 PM to talk about single malts and make cocktails. The lineup (numbers denote age in years):

Glenkinchie 12 vs. Royal Lochnagar 12 (RMB150)

Clynelish 14 vs. Glen Elgin 12 (RMB160)

Singleton 12 vs. Singleton 18 (RMB230)

Caol Ila 12 vs. Talisker 10 vs. Talisker 18 (RMB330)

My pick: Clynelish (Coastal East Highlands) vs. Glen Elgin (Speyside) because, well, I liked them. They are on the lower end of the cost spectrum, have plenty of flavors to spot, and Glen Elgin has a nice long finish.

The Caol Ila vs Talisker flight is also intriguing, due to the stark contrast between Talisker 10-year-old (enough iodine to outfit an emergency room) and 18-year-old (much more rounded and honeyed).

And for those who want to try something really special, Aria has pours of Bowmore 1957 for RMB998.

* Kendell works for RESERVE, “the Luxury Collection by Diageo”

Look for dining choices at The Village in Sanlitun to increase as the two newest Alan Wong projects are slated to open there in mid-January. Joining restaurants such as Blue Frog, Union, and Peppes Pizza will be the second Beijing branch of his Japanese restaurant chain Hatsune as well as his new Hunanese restaurant Karaiya Spice House, according to Kristen Lum, who is handling PR for the projects.

Hatsune will top out at more than 400 square meters and 100 seats, while Karaiya will be slightly smaller at 350 square meters and around 85 seats. Lum says the two Hatsune branches will share the same menu, which will be updated for the Sanlitun opening.

In response to this post about Element Fresh on Monday, regular commenter The Village Grouch asked, “How about doing a wrap-up of recent Shanghai entrants to the Beijing market and how they’re faring?”

Done and done: In alphabetical order, here are 3.5 places that hail from our sibling city to the south and opened in Beijing over the past six months. And yes, I realize some might be getting their houses in order*, so consider this post as based on first impressions (or in these cases, second, third, or even tenth impressions).

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Blue Frog (Sanlitun Village)

If they knocked one-third off the prices, I might become a regular. But given RMB75 for not exactly the biggest hamburger, RMB35 for a small Carlsberg draft, and a staff that is a bit too keen, this will be an occasional retreat, especially in the winter when getting to the rooftop at The Village will be no treat. Good for casual business meetings or for watching televised sports in more upscale surroundings.

Why I would go: To watch a special sports event or because I am looking for a kid-friendly spot, I have an expense account, or they knocked one-third off the prices (speaking of which, cocktails are RMB25 on Tuesday nights).

Why I wouldn’t: The Den, The Rickshaw and Paddy O’Shea’s are nearby and offer good screens and, especially in the case of the first two, lower prices.

Grade: B

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Element Fresh (Sanlitun Village)

As noted earlier, I’ve been there five times, been highly annoyed four times, and left without ordering the last time. Nice layout, decent coffee, and friendly staff, but something went awry with the training because the service is poor, while the food is getting mixed reviews.

Why I would go: To chill on the deck, have a coffee, and surf the Internet.

Why I wouldn’t: Given the service, nearby places such as Le Petit Gourmand and Panino Teco offer better value.

Grade: C

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Enoteca (The Place)

I’ve walked by it dozens of times – at lunch, in the afternoon, and at night – and seen it not even half full. The view of the big screen at The Place is excellent. The wine choice is based on what is imported by the owners, which limits consumer choice, though some bottles do go for less than RMB100. Several readers have complained of “attitude” here. Perhaps the “official” opening tonight at 6 PM will mark a new phase.

Why I would go: To drink wine while watching a screen the size of a handful of football fields.

Why I wouldn’t: The nightmare of getting a taxi at The Place at night and the wealth of other wine options in this city.

Grade: C

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Klubb Rouge

While not officially linked to Bar Rouge in Shanghai, a handful of top employees from that hot spot came north to open this pricey China View venue (they have since left). The staff ranks among the friendliest in town, the place is huge, and the rooftop deck offers excellent views. Unfortunately, this place has struggled to establish an identity and draw crowds, though new management is in place so perhaps some changes are on the way.

Why I would go: To hang out on the rooftop deck or to park at the bar and daydream while looking at those weird red glass blobs hanging from the ceiling.

Why I wouldn’t: The place often has a very light crowd, the drinks are expensive, and I always end up at The Den afterward eating my weight in deep-fried goods.

Grade: C

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* Though still charging full prices.

A quick post…

The Village Grouch and I wandered about Sanlitun and Workers Stadium last night lamenting the growing challenge of finding a main (burger, burrito, etc) and a drink for less than ten of his country’s dollars (that would be the greenback and convert to about RMB68) in this area. Then, we popped into The Kro’s Nest.

Few and far between were empty seats and the reason soon became clear: “We Hate Tuesdays” is that night when the first two kegs of beer are free and then it is five-kuai Tsingtao until 10 PM. With our medium PMB (pepperoni, bacon, and mushroom) and a pint apiece, we not only managed to ring in at around RMB100, but also hover on the edge of carb coma. (Similar deals apply at the Beida and Beitai locations.)

Given the size of the crowd, the staff did a decent job, though that enthusiastic efficient edge of the early days has been dulled.

By the way, if you haven’t tried some of the American craft beers popping up around town – Rogue, Dead Guy, Brooklyn – you can get a bucket of five of them here for RMB80 on Thursdays.

Finally, another place serving up decent value in the area is late-night snacks favorite The Den. The happy hour, from 5-10 PM, includes half-price pizzas and drinks.

Lots of recent posts about the burger battle in the Sanlitun-Workers Stadium zone (see at bottom), so here is something a bit further afield as regular contributor and fellow beverage researcher 8 Songs reviews the patty at CJW in The Place:

“This “roving reporter“ sacrificed his healthy diet for the sake of reporting on burgers at CJW at The Place.

“Mindful of the recent focus on this incredibly important topic, which is clearly at the root of the global financial crisis, your trusty reporter forsook the salad for the burger and fries. The latter was priced in at RMB70, which compared admirably to the quesadilla that my partner took at RMB60. Though not to the heady days of burgers at RMB35.

“I was asked how would I like it cooked, to which I answered medium. (I couldn’t help but recall the evening with my friend from Chicago who ordered a burger at Union Bar & Grill and was told she was not able to get the patty cooked “medium rare.” The lightest they would cook the patty was “70%”, to which my friend replied, “In that case, I want 70% plus nothing minus 20.”)

“We started with pumpkin soup which was delicious, but why should I need to ask the waiter for a simple accessory like a pepper mill? On to the main course, which you North Americans call “entree”, even though it’s not served at the start. My burger came in halves, top and bottom. The patty sat atop a relish with a grilled cheese slice for a topping. The other half had the gerkhin, tomato, lettuce and a fried egg which must have been cooked first. It was cold, cold, cold.

“But the patty was grilled to perfection, and was about half an inch (12 mm) thick.

“I can’t report on the price of beer, since I headed straight for the red wine list. An entry-level Australian Shiraz set me back RMB50 for one glass – it was the cheapest on offer by the glass. Not good value.

“Cheque time brought one moment of slight relief. No sign of a service charge on this bill, despite quite a good job being done by the wait staff.

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See also:
Luga’s Villa: Bumping up burger prices
Sanlitun burger battle: The Rickshaw fights back
Today’s beef: Union Bar & Grill
Let’s Burger: A bit too saucy
Bits and bites: Burger battles et al.

Beijing will see a good crop of wine events over the next few days, with everything from the return of the Friday with Frank gatherings at Sequoia Cafe to a tour of New Zealand wine regions by The Wine Republic to a tasting of over 100 wines for RMB150 by Palette Wines (with 20 percent off on bottle sales). Looking ahead, Carrefour has slated its fall wine festival for late October while the Hilton is gearing up for its eleventh annual Food & Wine Experience in late November (click here for the long-term schedule). Here’s the lineup for the coming week…

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Wednesday, October 15, 7-10:30 PM, Cafe Europe (Jianwai Soho, Building 15), RMB260
New Zealand wine dinner, with four wine-food pairings; by The Wine Republic; RSVP at events@thewinerepublic.com

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Thursday, October 16, 7-8:30 PM, Amigo (Central Park), free
Chilean Wine Tasting, by Top Cellar, RSVP at www.topcellar.com.cn, marketing@topcellar.com.cn, or 13241-220-468.

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Thursday, October 16, 7.30 PM, The Bookworm, RMB150
1000 miles from top to bottom; tasting of four New Zealand wines; by The Wine Republic; RSVP at events@thewinerepublic.com or 5869-7050

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Thursday, October 16, 6:30 PM, Capital Club, RMB1088+15%
Bordeaux Cru Classe Autumn dinner, with 5 wines; by ASC Fine Wines; RSVP with Helen Lu at eventsbj@asc-wines.com / 6587-3803

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Friday, October 17, 6:30 PM, Sequoia Cafe, RMB120
Margaret River tasting, including Cabernet and Chardonnay blends; RSVP via E-vite; to get on the list, call Frank at 13701178073

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Saturday, October 18, 5-6 PM, Pinotage, RMB60
Weekly tasting; by WineLink; RSVP with Chris at 13611-207-396 / chrisb@winelink.com.cn

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Saturday, October 18, 1-6 PM, Palette Vino, RMB150
Mundo Vino; tasting of over 100 wines, 20% discounts of bottle purchases; by Palette Wines; RSVP with Dazz Ma at 8046-4461 / dazzling0828@hotmail.com

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Note: See the long-term schedule. If you intend to attend any of the above events, it is best to confirm the details with the venue ahead of time. To get an event listed, send the details to beijingboyce@yahoo.com.

Two years ago, I lost my mobile phone. Last year, I accidentally broke a bottle of Shiraz on a marble staircase. This year, who knows?

The eleventh annual Beijing Food & Wine Experience is slated for Saturday, November 29 in Beijing. While the 2007 event covered two days, this year the trade tasting, public tasting and other activities will be squeezed into one day and utilize the Hilton’s new nine-floor “executive tower.”

Given that a fee of RMB230 provided patrons access to hundreds of wines (more than a thousand?) and a buffet, I found the turnout at the public tasting disappointing last year. So did several distributors with whom I talked: they not only paid for display space, but also had the costs of providing staff, wine, and literature. (Note: This year’s display packages range from RMB3500 to RMB22000).

If my in-box ahead of last year’s event is an indication, better marketing – by the hotel and distributors – is needed for what, at least for many consumers, should be one of the wine events of the year in Beijing. This seems especially important for the Hilton given that some distributors have been “going it alone” and holding partial portfolio tastings for as low as RMB100, including Torres, Palette, GELIPU-Winelink, and ASC.

Last year saw eight distributors hold the vast majority of the nearly 200 tables – ASC, Aussino, Jointek, Summergate, Jebsen, H&L, Palette and Torres. Other distributors included DT Asia, Metro, Bacchus Pernod Ricard, Ao Hua, Beijing GLP, East Meets West, Longfellows, Moet Hennessey Diageo and TBC (The Beverage Company). Some food, glassware, wine accessory, bottled water and publishing companies also participated.

For more details, see my write-ups about the the 2007 event and the 2006 event. I’ll have more on this year’s event soon.

We cranked up the Beijing time machine yesterday and checked out the city’s former disco scene, courtesy of the China Daily Entertainment Guide from 1992 – the year CDs outsold cassette tapes, Barney debuted on PBS, the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series, and Zhang Yimou took top honors in China’s first film festival.

Today: China Daily’s “club and pub” listings from the same year, including an intriguing entry for “Derby.” (Is it just me or is there one – or maybe two or three or more – conspicuous omission(s)?)

• Aladdin’s Hideaway (Tianlun Dynasty Hotel)
  - “Live Filipino band… Moroccan style cocktail lounge”
• The Brasserie (Beijing Shangri-la)
  - “Seating 25 people with background music and pianist….”
• Brauhaus (China World Trade Centre)
  - “German beerhouse with traditional German snacks”
• The Caravan (Great Wall Sheraton)
  - “Business or social cocktails. Also home to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club”
• Charlie’s (Jianguo Hotel)
  - British style with about 80 seats and a guest room salon”
• The Cosmos (Great Wall Sheraton)
  - “…contemporary live music by an international band…”
• Derby (Swissotel)
  - “Offering Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club telebetting accounts every Wednesday and Saturday during the racing season”
• Gallery (Holiday Inn Lido)
  - “Secluded environment with about 75 seats… resident jazz band”
• Hollywood East (Kunlun Hotel)
  - “Bar decorated in American style of the 30s”
• Intermezzo Lounge (Palace Hotel)
  - “Discrete and relaxing lounge offering cocktails and snacks with live jazz…”
• Lan-ye (Qianmen)
  - “American style with daily live music featuring American folk songs”
• Mexican Wave
  - “Mexican style bar run by chefs of the Mexican Embassy in Beijing”
• Peacock Bar (Beijing Shangri-la)
  - “Seating about 75 people with resident entertainer”
• Piccadilly Nightclub (Palace Hotel)
  - “Sophisticated environment with live band and dance floor. Private rooms….”
• Pig and Whistle (Holiday Inn Lido)
  - “A typical English pub…”
• Rose (Kunlun Hotel)
  - “Offering various drinks and wine”
• Silk (Hotel New Otani)
  - “A typical Japanese bar with about 50 seats”

Charlie’s, Mexican Wave, and (as far as I know) Pig and Whistle are still around. But I’m amazed this list does not include Frank’s Place. Also, was not Poachers open at that time?

- See also:
Disco fever Beijing: Let’s party like its 1992
Flashback: Beijing’s hottest night spots 20 years ago
One of those days: Charlie’s Bar

Providing a stellar example of a Shanghai transplant underwhelming the Beijing food and beverage scene, Element Fresh in Sanlitun Village seems determined to lower the service bar in our fair city. Given the reputation of this place and its fairly high prices, the poor performance of its staff and management is astounding. I base this statement on five visits, four of them disappointing, and emails and comments from readers complaining about the place.

Take today: I arrived with an acquaintance for a late breakfast meeting. We decided to sit outside and checked, in Mandarin, if there were any sockets on the deck so we could plug in a laptop. Yes, said the waitress, and delivered us unto a table.

The issue: My prong didn’t fit the socket, so I asked for an adapter. We don’t have one, said she. Yes, you do, said I, because I used it two days ago. This led to a staff scrum followed by this announcement: we don’t want you to use that socket as it would require turning on the power on the deck, and thus the lights, and cost too much money. What!?

We moved to a second table. It had a socket, but again it didn’t match my prong. This time, the waitress found an adaptor, but because the socket was in a well, the prongs wouldn’t reach. I told the waitress this fact, but I guess she didn’t believe me because she took the adaptor and tried to jam it into the socket to the point of pounding it with her palm.

Needless to say, that didn’t work. The normally overly keen staff hovered in the distance and seemed unsure what to do, and it appeared we would have to shift to a third table, EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO ME TWO DAYS AGO IN THIS PLACE.

On that occasion, I talked to one of the managers, as I had about a month earlier, and offered to BUY some smaller adaptors if Element Fresh would reimburse me. They did not take up the offer and it seems did not bother to buy and test some themselves, which I find strange given that times are tough, this is a new place, and you would think the laptop crowd would be one of their niche markets.

Rather than move again, I relayed my disgruntlement to what I assume to be two owners or at least managers (sitting there the entire time), apologized to my friend, and took her and my money elsewhere. We ate sandwiches at Panino Teca and drank coffee at Le Petit Gourmand, two places that are just as good, if not better, and offer lower prices and more efficient service.

Frankly, Element Fresh came to Beijing with a solid reputation. It offers a nice layout, big food portions, and potential as an office away from the office. The staff is friendly enough, but the training focus seems to have been on annoying keenness and glaring ineffectiveness. My experiences, and those of numerous readers and acquaintances, suggest this place is blowing its chance.

I just came across the first edition of the China Daily Entertainment Guide (1992). Here is the intro to the “Nightlife and Recreation” section. Hey, is it just me or did the authors sense a culture gap?

To most Chinese, nightlife probably means watching TV or playing mahjong--for fun or small stakes, just to make it more interesting. There are dance and karaoke halls but they are too expensive for ordinary wage-earners, so TV becomes extremely important.

Many foreigners, however, especially those staying in Beijing, insist that there is simply no nightlife in Beijing. Nightlife in China could never be the same as that in Japan, or the United States, or Europe. The social system, culture and way of life are so different. There are some entertainment outlets specially for overseas visitors and we list most of them here for those who want to look for action in the evening…

And for those seeking “action,” this was China Daily’s list of discos:

• Amigo (Beijing Yanshan Hotel) – “Imported sound and light system”
• Dance Hall (Capital Hotel) – “American facilities”
• Glasshouse (Kunlun Hotel) – “Modern structure, lighting and music”
• House (Peace Hotel) – “Imported equipment with foreign disc-jockey”
• Juliana’s (Holiday Inn Lido) – “the latest American and British hits, oldies, jazz, and rock symphony… It has a large screen and video camera to add to the fun…”
• Jungle (Tianlun Dynasty Hotel) – “African Safari format and decoration”
• The Moonlight (Tayuancun)
• Rumours (Palace Hotel) – “Latest imported sounds”
• Saxophone (Ramada Asia Hotel) – “A combination of disco and karaoke…”
• Talk of the Town (China World Hotel) – “Sophisticated environment, professional disc-jockeys, and latest hits”
• Xiyuan Hotel Ballroom – “Apart from dancing, one can enjoy Beijing’s night scene while sipping a drink”

I’ll post the China Daily’s list of “clubs and pubs” tomorrow – a few of the places are still open!

File this under “twas too good to be true”: In the midst of the rampant burger inflation in Sanlitun, with prices hitting RMB68, RMB75, RMB86, and more, Luga’s Villa slapped down a value patty with fries and salad for RMB35. Even better, beer started at RMB10.

No longer. The new menu now lists a Mexican Burger at RMB45. (I tried one tonight: I found the patty slightly too dry and topped with Swiss cheese and guacamole – I guess that’s the “Mexican” part. I also guess Sunday isn’t the best night to be testing the kitchen.) While this burger is still worth the cash, I think the value prize in the neighborhood goes to The Den, since its version rings in at RMB35 and comes with some of the city’s tastiest fries.

Luga’s Villa also jacked up the drink prices, with a Beijing draft, bottle of Tsingtao, or can of Coca-Cola now RMB20, while Sol and Corona runs RMB30.

Finally, I tried the fajitas here last week. Expect a huge portion with a mound of meat, grilled bell peppers and onions, three dipping bowls (sour cream, salsa, and guacamole), and at least a half-dozen fresh flour tortillas. It’s not cheap at RMB60, but this is a tasty dish worth splitting with a friend.

By the way, given it was 11 PM on a Sunday night, Sanlitun saw quite a good crowd tonight. Apertivo and Luga’s both saw plenty of patio action and I spotted dozens of people outside Kai. This area has become much more tolerable since they have barred vehicles at night from that street in front of Tongli.

My weekly listing of wine events poses a couple of problems. First, it gets buried beneath a bunch of new posts within a few days. Second, I get event invites almost daily and want to pass the info along right away rather than wait for the next listing.

To deal with this, I’ve added a wine event listings page on sibling blog Grape Wall of China. You can find it in the right column, under “pages”, and it means I can update the listings as soon as I get the invites. (Case in point: I just added three free events that Top Cellar will hold in late October and November.)

As usual, if you intend to attend any listed events, it is best to confirm the details with the venue ahead of time. Also, if you want your wine event listed, send the details to beijingboyce@yahoo.com.

Finally, two quick plugs:

1. I have restarted the Friday Food Fight feature on Grape Wall of China. The deal: I suggest a food and readers suggest a wine to match it. This week’s candidate: hairy crabs!

2. I have a bunch of “Wine Word” interviews coming up, but for those interested in past posts, which include talks with local and global wine figures like Robert Joseph, Jeremy Oliver, Tyler Colman, Jancis Robinson, Wu Kegang, Don St. Pierre Jr., Frankie Zhao, and Ch’ng Poh Tiong, a partial list is here.

Drei Kronen 1308, which had its “soft” opening in August in China View, finally had its hard launch. I’ve written about the impressive design of this four-floor German brew pub, so a few impressions of the free-for-all at lunch today:

- Four beers on tap: wheat, lager, dark, and a special for Oktoberfest. They are tasty, indeed, but at RMB48 for a small mug (300 ML) and RMB58 for a large (500 ML), they’ll hit your bank balance. Best bet: the two-for-one happy hour, daily from 5 to 7 PM.

- Mountains of food: The fourth floor houses a massive kitchen that was put to good use. Sausages, sauerkraut, roast chicken, salads, tarts, breads, and on and on. Overall, the food is reliable and hearty, perfect fare to soak up beer, though again it is pricey.

- Oom-pah-pah music: The German band had plenty of pep though its attempts to get people to cheer, raise glasses, and sing along were largely futile given the general focus on packing away sausage and beer and chatting with neighbors. But the crowd and music did provide a good Oktoberfest vibe, one I hope is sustained over the next few weeks.

- Logistics: Usually halfway through these events, the place runs out of plates or cutlery, the buffet trays are reduced to a scrap or two of food, and the staff is stressed. Not today. The beer flowed, the kitchen staff regularly restocked the buffet, the staff remained friendly, and the management circulated to ensure all was OK. I’m guessing the lynch-pin is the three or four dumb waiters that send food hurtling down from the kitchen and dirty glasses, dishes, and cutlery hurtling up. A good system is worth its weight in beer.

All in all, the opening showed Drei Kronen can offer good beer, food, and service, and handle a big crowd. The big question: Are enough people in Beijing willing to pay these prices for it and thus fill this cavernous place? Oktoberfest will be the best chance for DK 1308 to prove itself and convince people to return as regular customers.

Yugong Yishan is holding a “mini Oktoberfest” tonight as it hosts the German band Route 66. According to the invite, the combination of 1960s / 1970s folk rock and draft beer “will magically change the entire atmosphere of Yugong Yishan into a ‘gemuetlich’ beer garden.”

I guess that really depends on how much of that beer you drink. In any case, things get under way at 8:30 PM.

Hat tip to p3wong for the heads up.

After a light summer of wine events, Beijing’s distributors are back in force with a slew of them. Palette Wines will get out a good part of its portfolio for Mundo Vino, a tasting of over 100 wines at the Palette Vino shop in Shunyi on August 18 (RMB150), while the Hilton’s eleventh annual wine show is slated for November 29. The weekly “Friday with Frank” tastings at Sequoia Cafe will re-start next week. And a special shout to Winelink, which holds a weekly South African wine tasting at Pinotage. I recently tried a bottle of the company’s Deetlefs Estate Weisser Riesling – great value at RMB80 (thanks to Frankie Zhao for bringing it along). I’ll have more next week, including on upcoming Beaujolais Nouveau events.

Now, the tastings…

Friday, October 10, 7:30 PM, One East On Third (Hilton), RMB600+15%
St. Supery wine dinner, with winery CEO Michaela Rodeno; by ASC Fine Wines; RSVP with Helen Lu at eventsbj@asc-wines.com / 6587-3803

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Saturday, October 11, 5-6 PM, Pinotage, RMB60
Weekly tasting; 6 South African Cabernet, with cheese; by WineLink; RSVP with Chris at 13611-207-396 / chrisb@winelink.com.cn

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Sunday, October 12, 11:30 AM-3 PM, Westin Financial Street, free
Wine bazaar, with 10 wines and discounts on 80 more; by ASC Fine Wines; RSVP with Helen Lu at eventsbj@asc-wines.com / 6587-3803

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Wednesday, October 15, 7-10:30 PM, Cafe Europe (Jianwai Soho, Building 15), RMB260
New Zealand wine dinner, with four wine-food pairings; by The Wine Republic; RSVP at events@thewinerepublic.com

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Thursday, October 16, 7-8:30 PM, Amigo (Central Park), free
Chilean Wine Tasting, by Top Cellar, RSVP at www.topcellar.com.cn, marketing@topcellar.com.cn, or 13241-220-468.

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Thursday, October 16, 7.30 PM, The Bookworm, RMB150
1000 miles from top to bottom; tasting of four New Zealand wines; by The Wine Republic; RSVP at events@thewinerepublic.com or 5869-7050

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Thursday, October 16, 6:30 PM, Capital Club, RMB1088+15%
Bordeaux Cru Classe Autumn dinner, with 5 wines; by ASC Fine Wines; RSVP with Helen Lu at eventsbj@asc-wines.com / 6587-3803

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Friday, October 17, 6:30 PM, Sequoia Cafe
The return of the Friday with Frank tastings at Sequoia Cafe, details TBA

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Saturday, October 18, 1-6 PM, Palette Vino, RMB150
Mundo Vino; tasting of over 100 wines, 20% discounts of bottle purchases; by Palette Wines; RSVP with Dazz Ma at 8046-4461 / dazzling0828@hotmail.com

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Wednesday, October 22, 7:30 PM, La Baie des Anges, RMB100
“Butterfly effect”, with 5 wines (Pinot Noir, Cotes du Rhone, Bordeaux, Jurancon, and Cabernet Sauvignon);  By French Wine Paradox; RSVP at ccarrard.fwp@gmail.com / 13439-441-103.

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Thursday, October 30, 6:30 PM, Legendale, RMB688+15%
Trimbach wine dinner, wine winery owner Hubert Trimbach; by ASC Fine Wines; RSVP with Helen Lu at eventsbj@asc-wines.com / 6587-3803

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Looking even further ahead…

October, 7 PM, Aria (China World Hotel), RMB1788
World Series of Wine: The Tour of Italy, with Summergate; RSVP with Danny Kane at danny.kane@shangri-la.com / 6505-2266, x36.

Saturday, November 29, Hilton, price TBA
Food & Wine Experience XI, by Beijing Hilton; details TBA

November, 7 PM, Aria (China World Hotel), RMB1588
World Series of Wine: The Grange Challenge, with Summergate; RSVP with Danny Kane at danny.kane@shangri-la.com / 6505-2266, x36.

December, 7 PM, Aria (China World Hotel), RMB1388
World Series of Wine: Hidden Gems, with Summergate; RSVP with Danny Kane at danny.kane@shangri-la.com / 6505-2266, x36.

January, 7 PM, Aria (China World Hotel), RMB4888
World Series of Wine: The Ultimate Dinner – The Judgement of Aria, with Summergate; RSVP with Danny Kane at danny.kane@shangri-la.com / 6505-2266, x36.

Note: If you intend to attend any of the above events, it is best to confirm the details with the venue ahead of time. To get a wine event listed, send event info to beijingboyce@yahoo.com.

Nothing says Oktoberfest like spending six hours in a steamy jam-packed arena while teetering on a flimsy chair and screaming ” Zicke, zacke, zicke, zacke, hoi, hoi, hoi!” until it collapses and sends your body, weighted by a gut full of sausage, sauerkraut, and beer, spilling to the ground as you accidentally slosh a full pint of Red Baron on the Liebling you chatted up all night. But let me put the sweet memories of college youth aside for a moment and talk about the spirit of Oktoberfest here in our fair city.

That massive German beer pub Drei Kronen 1308, just up the street from Hooters, will finally hold its official opening, this Friday from 6 PM. I realize I have already plugged this place and its four floors, its rooftop garden, and its 100,000+ liters of monthly beer-making capacity, but I happen to pass it every day and am awed both by its scale and design and by the task management has of regularly filling it with paying customers. One good move: introducing a two-for-one happy hour, from 5 to 7 PM, thus providing relief on those RMB58 pints.

In any case, given the massive burnished metal sign being erected at DK 1308 today, the planned suit of armor, and the handful of Bavarian flags, you can’t miss the place.

Meanwhile, all three branches of Kro’s Nest are celebrating “Krotoberfest” (I guess the other two choices were OktoberNest and KrotoberNest). The place does have beer, apparently is getting some sausage, and will hopefully have a Oktoberfest-inspired pie: bratwurst, sauerkraut, the German versions of Munster and Emmentaler… it could work. Or maybe some Bierkase, a cheese that includes the word beer.

Finally, according to City Weekend, the granddaddy of Beijing’s German brew pub scene, Paulaner in the Kempinski Hotel, will make Oktoberest daily, October 10 to 26, from 6-11 PM. Expect music to fit the mood, the “Munich Showgirls, Das Kleeblatt“, and – one hopes – an appearance by David Hasselhoff. Call  6465-3388, x5732 to reserve a table.

If anyone knows of other Oktoberfest events, please provide me the details at beijingboyce@yahoo.com or leave them in the comments section, and I’ll write an update post.