Beijing Boyce

Regular contributor 8 Songs recently visited the Nanluoguxiang area and dined at Lugar. Here is his take on this bar and Vietnamese tapas joint. (Note: I will post a review of Lugar tomorrow: It’s been sitting in my “almost done” pile for over a month as I futilely believed I would hunt down the names of the foods I ate there.)

“Sometimes it pays not to have firm dinner plans when you go out for a preliminary drink. The other night while washing away the week’s troubles, a friend of mine suggested we try eating at a place she had heard about via one of the expat rags (CW).

“The place is called Lugar, in Nanluoguxiang. Not to be confused with Luga’s in Sanlitun. This Lugar offers Vietnamese tapas! Intrigued by the idea of Vietnamese tapas, and always in for a new experience, my GF and I decided to tag along.

“At first glance, you could be forgiven for thinking that you were at the wrong place. When you get to the address, you find yourself in a bottle shop. And not a terribly impressive one at that – I checked out the wine selection during the evening and found it to be pretty ordinary.

“But we were quickly escorted to a large room at the back, where we found a well-stocked bar to our left, a table of six or eight people and a pool table. Apart from that, there were one or two tables strewn around with an odd chair here or there. Since we would be a total eight or ten people, we had a choice of strong-arming the other party out of their setting, eating off the pool table, or squeezing tables together and sitting three people to two chairs so we could fit. We chose the last option, and got to know each other much more than we had planned!

“A quick word about the pool table. It looks to be good quality, with a true surface, but it’s way too big for its room. Even without us blocking one end, there were many corners where a player simply couldn’t get a good angle on the ball. (Although at my level of ability it makes no difference.)

“Since we were the first of the group to arrive, we ordered food and drink. The menu consisted of things like vegetable rolls, salads, and typical Vietnamese food, presented on a small plate… eventually. Perhaps because by the time our friends arrived the total number of patrons was double the safe limit, the food simply didn’t arrive for over an hour. Drinks weren’t much better. Although they had a reasonable selection, it still took upwards of 20 minutes to get our first drinks. Subsequent orders took longer.

“To be fair to them, we had not booked, and to rock up with a number of people roughly equal to their seating capacity and expect normal service is not right.

“The good thing was the price. Everything was two-for-one. So a RMB40 cocktail was great value. The only downer there was that the second drink had to be identical. Not equivalent or lower value. So if you wanted a lychee martini, you needed to have a friend who also wanted one, or you needed to be thirsty! The food prices were excellent as well, at RMB10 to RMB40 per plate, before the discount.

“Lugar is well worth another try.

The third Thursday of November is upon us and that means the release of Beaujolais Nouveau. Call it a clever marketing scheme to sell fairly raw wine at fairly high prices, an opportunity for consumers to justify having some good clean tipsy fun, or somewhere in between, but starting Wednesday there will be more than a dozen events about the city to celebrate this beverage made from the Gamay grape. Here are some of the happenings (for more on Beaujolais Nouveau, see this page):

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November 19

China Doll Club (Tongli), 10 PM, RMB100 for men (with glass of wine), free for women
George Duboeuf event, with Beaujolais Nouveau tasting at midnight; by French Wine Paradox; RSVP with Charles at ccarrard.fwp@gmail.com or at 8407-5067.

Carrefour (Shuangjing), 6 PM-1 AM
Wine tasting, 6 PM to midnight, with Beaujolais Nouveau tasting at midnight; for info Secretary_BJSJ@carrefour.com.

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November 20

Maxim’s (Solana), 6:30 PM, RMB110-880
Beaujolais Nouveau specials; four-course dinner for two with bottle of wine (RMB880); in brasserie, glass of wine with French appetizers, pate, bread, and more (RMB110); for more info or to RSVP, contact Nicolas at 13911-559-379.

CJW (The Place), 7 PM, RMB88
Beaujolais Nouveau release party, with canapés and live Jazz; by Torres China; RSVP with Sophie at 5165-5519, x208 or sophie@torres.com.cn.

Cellar Le Pinot (Oriental Plaza, near Grand Hyatt), 7-9 PM, RMB50
Beaujolais Nouveau party; Joseph Drouhin 2008 for RMB188 bottle; 8515-1715, 13426-360-384, or yukilu@lepinot.com for more information.

La Baie des Anges, 7 PM-2 AM, RMB40 glass, RMB200 bottle
Beaujolais Nouveau party; for more info, 6657-1605 or contact@la-baie-des-anges.com.

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November 21

Marriot Beijing City Wall Hotel, 6 PM, RMB480
George Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau tasting, with buffet; by French Wine Paradox; RSVP with Charles at ccarrard.fwp@gmail.com or at 5811-8758.

Les Millesimes, 7 PM, RMB398
Five-course George Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau dinner; by French Wine Paradox; RSVP with Charles at ccarrard.fwp@gmail.com or at 852-9988.

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November 23

Westin Financial Street, 11：30 AM
Bubbly Sunday Brunch with George Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau wine; by French Wine Paradox; RSVP with Charles at ccarrard.fwp@gmail.com or at 6606-8866.6.

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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.

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See also:
Beijing Beaujolais 2007

Jonathan Landreth of the Hollywood Reporter did the honors of overseeing the Name That Beer draw. Raise the Red Lager, Hu Jin Stout, Welcome to the Zhong Guo… we had heaps of creative entries, but only one person gets the 12 pints of home brew and RMB400 of food at The Saddle Cantina. And that winner is…

Richard!

Thanks to everyone who joined. To see all of the entries, check this page. To enter the draw for two tickets to Kylie Minogue, courtesy of mypiao.com, and two bottles of Yarrabank Crème du Cuvee sparkling rose, courtesy of The Wine Republic, click here.