Beijing Boyce

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.

One of the most successful Beijing bars of the past decade, Centro continues to mark its fifth anniversary with parties tonight and tomorrow night. The band Big City Beat and Aussie DJ REELAZ will be on hand for the festivities. According to the Web site, patrons can expect “sheer fun with electro emotion, hypnotic grooves and funky-as-a-monkey party music.” Cover charge is RMB100.

Soup du Jour at 7-Eleven

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Seven reasons why I like 7-ELEVEN in Beijing:

1. Staff: Generally well-trained and polite. I would never expect to witness an employee washing her hair in a plastic basin near the cash register, as I did at another chain’s store earlier this week.

2. Space: The shelves are organized, the floors clean, the stores generally roomy compared to the competition.

3. Food: A nice array of on-the-run items, including California rolls and tuna-rice triangles. I like the soup station with eggs, cabbage rolls, and various items on a stick. And kimchi is 2.5 kuai.

4. Wine: A good place to grab a last-minute bottle of Jacob’s Creek, Frontera, or budget-friendly Changyu sparkling cider. Same goes for beer and spirits.

5. Cheese: I noticed yesterday that the store near the St. Regis Hotel sells several brands of Brie and Camembert from RMB37 per package.

6. Fruit: They have it. Usually oranges, bananas, and pears; sometimes mangoes, plums, cherries, and others.

7. Disposable razors. They have these, too. Gillette. A pair for 9.9 kuai.

By the way, I frequent the 7-ELEVENS near the St. Regis, The Place, Gongti West, and Sanlitun South, and I have NEVER seen more than one copy of China Daily in any of them. Is one issue per outlet the maximum?

(Photo: Xiaming)

These “no camera” signs are posted at the entrance and in the courtyard of new Nali Studio. Given that the vast majority of cell phones possess built-in cameras, I foresee challenges in enforcing this edict.

And what’s the point, anyway? To keep people from photographing the broken pottery shards that decorate the courtyard? (Too late, Solana has them, too.)

If anyone knows the rationale behind these signs, please let me know.

A hat tip to SinoScuba for the photos.

Two tickets to see the “princess of pop” and two bottles of bubbly from her homeland – that’s what’s up for grabs as we resurrect the Celebrity Pub Crawl series.

Simply leave a comment and tell us which Beijing bar or club you would take Kylie Minogue to during her visit to our fair city – and why. Everyone who leaves a reasonable suggestion will have his or her name entered into a winner-take-all draw for:

• Two tickets to Kylie’s December 1 concert at Workers Gymnasium, courtesy of mypiao.com (each ticket is valued at RMB780)
• Two bottles of Yarrabank Crème du Cuvee sparkling rose, courtesy of The Wine Republic, to loosen you up for the show (each bottle is valued at RMB429)

(By the way, mypiao informs that users can choose their seats online for this concert.)

The deadline for entries is Monday, November 17 at 5:30 PM. I’ll announce the winner the next day. (You need to have a daytime address to which i can courier the tickets and wine).

Don’t forget the Name That Beer contest ends tomorrow!

It appears Beijing has lost another A-hole.

The sign that launched a thousand jokes by drunk patrons is all that remained at Kebab Nation when I visited Tongli Studio yesterday. Whether the gutting of this place means the end of late-night wraps or that a redesign is in order, we shall soon see.

Blue Frog now offers a weekday lunch special, with a choice of six mains, soup or salad, and beverage (coffee, tea, or soft drink) for RMB50. Yesterday, I had the Santa Fe chicken sandwich (tasty, but more of a half-sandwich), potato soup (bland), and a coffee (with an excellent chocolate chip cookie). What made the meal especially good value? The free refill! By the way, several readers have praised the two-for-one burger special on Mondays.

Boutique Wine Cellar is borrowing a marketing tactic from Sanlitun North proper. Two touts out front in huge olive-green winter coats use broken English and occasional giggles in an effort to attract wine lovers. I’m not sure this is the way to go, though these guys are preferable to the lady bars touts alongside Swire’s Sanlitun Village. In any case, Boutique is holding regular wine tastings and I will soon have more details on these.

Expect a bounty of Beaujolais Nouveau parties next week as well as the Vinitaly 2008 event (see below to register). On top of that, this Sunday will see a half-off sale by French Wine Paradox (again, see below to register). Here is what’s coming up. (For the long-term look, check this events page.)

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Thursday, November 13, 7-8:30, Amigo, free
Six Burgundy bargains; buy two, get one free offer during tasting; RSVP at marketing@topcellar.com.cn; 13691-079-531, or http://topcellar.com.cn/web/event.php.

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Friday, November 14, Le Quai, 7 PM, RMB488
Mystery of Kleine Zalze Wine Dinner, Chinese cuisines with Chenin Blanc, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, and more, with Kleine Zalze proprietor Kobus Basson; by Torres China; RSVP with Sophie at 5165-5519, x208 or sophie@torres.com.cn.

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Friday, November 14, 6:30 PM, Sequoia Cafe, RMB100
A Tasty of Tuscany: Chianti; RSVP via E-vite; to get on the list, call Frank Siegel at 13701178073.

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Saturday, November 15, 5-6 PM, Pinotage, RMB60
Weekly tasting; by WineLink; RSVP with Chris at 13611-207-396 / chrisb@winelink.com.cn.

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Sunday, November 16, 5-11:30 PM, Le Petit Gourmand, free
“I am Paradox”, wine tasting with 100+ wines at 50 percent off; first-come, first-served, no delivery; by French Wine Paradox; RSVP essential: Charles Carrard at ccarrard.fwp@gmail.com or at 8407-5067.

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Wednesday, November 19, Ritz Carlton (Chaoyang), RSVP required
Vinitialy China 2008, with wines from six regions of Italy, and seminars on wine evaluation, olive oil, and more; to register, fill out the form here or contact Francesca Xu at francesca.xu@asiabusinessgroup / 5828-7728 by November 14. The Shanghai and Macau legs will be held November 21 and 22 respectively (see here).

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Wednesday, November 19, China Doll Club (Tongli), 12:01 AM, free
George Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau event, by French Wine Paradox; RSVP with Charles Carrard at ccarrard.fwp@gmail.com or at 8407-5067.

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Wednesday, November 19, 7 PM, Opposite Hotel, RMB688
Blind tasting dinner, with Torres sommlier Frank Massard; limited to 12 seats, RSVP with Sophie Sun at 5165-5519, x208 or sophie@torres.com.cn.

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Thursday, November 20, 7 PM, CJW (The Place), RMB88
Beaujolais Nouveau release party, with canapés and live Jazz; RSVP with Sophie at 5165-5519, x208 or sophie@torres.com.cn.

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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.

Vinitaly China 2008 comes to Beijing on November 19 and that means a day of wine tasting and info sessions at the Ritz Carlton Chaoyang.

According to Asia Business Group, organizer of the Beijing leg, this event debuted in China 10 years ago and will include wines from six areas of Italy, including Sicily and Tuscany. It targets those in the wine industry as well as wine lovers, culinary students, and those into wine appreciation or the latest on EU wine standards.

To register, fill out the form here or contact Francesca Xu at francesca.xu@asiabusinessgroup / 5828-7728 by November 14.

Here is the seminar schedule:

10:30 AM: Opening of Vinitaly China by Italian Ambassador Sessa and a press conference on the new EU wine evaluation method / 中意国际葡萄酒展开幕－意大利大使举行开幕仪式

11 AM: Seminar hosted by Unione Italia Vini, with a presentation of data on the Chinese wine market and a press conference on the EU project / 意大利葡萄酒联合会主办的的讲座会（介绍在中国葡萄酒市场的UIV数据，及欧盟项目的新闻发表会）

2 PM: Presentation of Italian olive oils, hosted by UNAPROL – Italian Association of Olive Oil Producers (at Piazza Italia) / 意大利橄榄油生产商协会将举办介绍橄榄油的研讨会。请注意，本次研讨会将在意大利广场举办

4 PM: Presentation of the wines of Sicily, hosted by Istituto Regionale della Vite e del Vino (includes tasting of indigenous grape varieties) / 由Istituto Regionale della Vite e del Vino主办的西西里葡萄酒的介绍会(供选品尝西西里的葡萄酒,其中包括由土著葡萄品种所酿造的葡萄酒)

Again, for the Beijing event, RSVP with francesca.xu@asia-businessgroup.com or call 010-5828 7728 for these seminars.

In part nine of this series, Bjorn Stabell, founder of “agile software development company” Exoweb, shares his top five places to eat and drink in Beijing. Actually, he’s gone that extra mile and given us six, and noted a couple of spots for the laptop crowd to enjoy. (Links are to the City Weekend Web site that Exoweb built.)

A veteran returns to the Sanlitun burger battle: Kiosk is open again in its original location in the original Nali Studio. That means 250-gram “Big Bite” burgers with cheese for RMB33, 160-gram “Kiosk” burgers for RMB26, and fries for RMB12. Good value is to be had.

And that reminds me: a mere 18 months ago, I was writing about the difficulties Eddie O had getting a burger at the now-long gone Capone’s. How this city has changed since then.

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.

Dead Ren Ale?

Ever wanted to create your own beer but were too lazy (or drunk) to do anything more than come up with a name?

Then this contest is for you.

Leave a comment with your name for a Beijing- or China-themed beer and you’ll be entered into a draw for 12 pints of home brew and RMB400 of food at The Saddle Cantina.

Even better, Saddle will name its next batch in honor of you.

• Black Lung Lager, in honor of the city’s air quality?
• Beijing 1.2, a low-alcohol brew that serves as a tribute to the city’s taxis?
• Den Ren Ale, a take off on the Dead Guy Ale seen all over Beijing?

That’s all there is to it. Remember, names should have something to do with Beijing or China, and should be in good, uh, taste. The deadline is Friday, November 14 at 5:30 PM; winner to be announced Monday, November 17.

By the way, look for the guys behind The Saddle Cantina to open a new burrito joint a stone’s throw away in a few weeks. Patrons will be able to choose from a handful of burrito wraps and their own fillings. More details soon.

Journalist Paul Mooney did the honors of overseeing the draw for the Name That TUN contest: He witnessed the recording of participants’ names on paper slips, the scrunching of those papers, and their placement in a bowl. He then closed his eyes and picked two. A lengthy but necessary process to ensure fairness.

First, the winner of the DJ set, who receives a lesson from Acupuncture Records to prep for his 80-minute 80s-music set at TUN. He also gets a private area at TUN, stocked with four bottles of gin and vodka from Strait, for 12 friends.

The winner is: Danger Boy!

Next, the winner of four bottles of  Strait Twenty – two gin blends and two vodka blends.

The winner is: wine_cyclist!

Congratulations to both and thanks to everyone who participated. Danger Boy’s set is on November 22 and Acupuncture will add a funky eighties set while Strait offers deals on gin and vodka. I’ll have more details soon.

I’ll also have another “name that” contest up and running in about an hour.

I earlier wrote about service at Element Fresh, but 1) some readers report good times there, 2) I was in Sanlitun last night with major EF fan The Village Grouch, and 3) we were hungry. So, we decided to grab dinner there.

The staff – still a bit hyper for my taste – quickly seated us. With dim lighting and soft music, Element Fresh had an upscale feel. With half of the tables full, it had that pleasant murmur of diners talking. TVG quickly settled on a Cobb salad, while I picked an Asian set. So far, so good, but then we hit a snag – placing an order.

There were more than enough employees at the door, but pitifully few waiting on tables. TVG tried to flag a waitress a half-dozen times, twice caught her attention, and once got an “I’ll be there in two minutes” wave. Unfortunately, we waited quite a bit longer and, since we were hungry and worried that it might take even longer to get our food than to order it, we left.

I figured an employee might wonder why we were leaving without eating or if we were skipping out on the bill, but as TVG noted: “No one even acknowledged our existence.” Anyway, perhaps I have bad luck with Element Fresh or perhaps service isn’t a priority since the place is drawing big crowds. I don’t know…

On to plan B: we headed up the street to Luga’s Villa. Again, the staff quickly seated us. The yellows, oranges and woods of this place gave it warmth and, with a soccer team just leaving, about a dozen people chilled out. We ordered fajitas and soon had our drinks. So far, so good, but then we hit a snag – placing an order.

After a 15-minute wait, an inquiry by TVG revealed that our waitress forget to give the order to the kitchen. Now what? She headed off. Another waitress approached and said our food would be right down. Five minutes later the chef and two waiters arrived with our sizzling platters. Ten minutes later Luga came over and offered more wraps and dips. Quick recovery – and the fact we had drinks from the start made a difference.

(By the way, the fajitas are tasty.)

TVG summed up the night this way: “This is like a turnover in basketball. It looks like one team is going to score, then the other team grabs the ball and gets the two points instead. In other words, I expected that by now we would be spending money at Element Fresh but instead we are spending it here, and I’ll be back for more.”

Regular contributor The Village Grouch reports from Western Beijing…

“Haidian has one over on us. This morning, ate at The Bridge Cafe in Wudaokou, right near the Line 13 station. First time I’ve been in a cafe / bookstore / hangout in Beijing that made me feel like I was actually in Seattle* and not in a Beijing place that was trying to be somewhere else.

“American breakfast: two scrambled eggs, French toast stuffed with bananas, sausage, hash browns and tea, 40 RMB. Fantastic. Can be 35 RMB if you don’t get the French toast** stuffed with anything, although you can also have it with apples or another fruit that I forget.*** Eggs can be any style, sausage can be subbed with bacon or ham, and it’s tea, coffee, orange juice or grapefruit juice. Place is open 24 hours and has Wi-Fi.

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* Have lost all desire to be Seattle since the city lost the Sonics (the tragedy!). – Ed.

** Officially no longer known as “freedom toast” now that Obama has been elected. – Ed.

*** Hawthorn? – Ed.

The guys behind Brooklyn Lager are busy as bees these days.

First, fresh from the in-box: “Can I go to Kro’s tonight for cheap Dead Guy Ale?” – CS

Kro’s is holding a “beer blowout” all weekend, with buy-one, get-one-free on Brooklyn Lager and Brooklyn IPA and deals on other craft beers (hopefully that includes Dead Guy Ale). Seeking something even cheaper? Tsingtao draft is RMB5 from 4-6 PM on Friday and Saturday. (It does an admirable job of soaking up the pizza).

Second, by express e-mail from Paddy O’Shea’s.

Every Monday and Tuesday, the pub will show recorded coverage of NBA and NFL games, including Monday Night Football. Sports fans can expect to find a few deals as well: buy two, get one free Brooklyn Lager, two-for-one Tsingtao, and two-for-one burgers.

UPDATE: No sooner do I put this up, but I see Crobar has a new Facebook page. On top of the confusion over whether Gingko is open – one owner says yes, another says no – and it’s been quite a week. (By the way, as reported, the first floor of Gingko is open.

Just thinking…

Remember those heady days of confident “I heard Maggie’s will open this [insert day of week]” statements? Wait, that was only a few weeks ago! The question now seems to be if, not when the former worst-kept secret in Beijing will be back in business. It is hard to envision a return to the former location, but who knows.

Speaking of openings, isn’t one overdue for Crobar in that huge Solana shopping center? Things seem fairly inactive on the site. Then again, given 1) the surplus of drinking and dancing joints in Beijing, 2) the light crowds at Solana even when the weather is good, and 3) the onset of winter, this might not be the best time to pry – Crobar, crowbar, pry, get it? – into the market.

And speaking of Solana, nightlife spots like Bling must be thinking special events, special events, and special events these next few months to draw customers and cash. Will people be willing to go when it is midnight, -2 and windy? Perhaps that journey around Solana could be made easier with a… Bling Bus! Imagine – and forgive the powers that be for typing this – a “Pimp My Bus” party to launch it.

The Acupuncture DJs are willing, The Strait gin and vodka is chilling, and Chad Lager at Tun is taking penicillin drinking Inniskillin humming Run DMC’s You be Illin’.

So join the Name That TUN contest: list your three favorite eighties songs here, and why, and you’ll be in the running for these prizes.

The DJ set
The winner of this draw gets a DJ lesson from Acupuncture Records to prep for his or her 80-minute 80s-music set at TUN on November 22. The winner also gets a private area at TUN, stocked with four bottles of gin and vodka from Strait, for 12 friends.

The bottle set
The winner of this draw gets four bottles of Strait Twenty – two gin blends and two vodka blends. If you are only interested in this second prize, mention something like “bottles only” when you leave a comment.

The deadline is tomorrow, Friday, at 5:30 PM. In the words of Steve Perry, “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Wait, that reference makes no sense. In the words of Europe, “it’s the final countdown.”

Election bashes tonight…

Bling is holding an election party tonight and offering free drinks [and beer] all night to people who dress in red, white, and blue.

UPDATE: For those not clad in red, white, and blue, it’s half-price drinks until midnight.

The Saddle Cantina looks to be a party place, election or not, given the half-price Cinco de Drinko drinks deal that goes all day until midnight.

UPDATE: TUN is holding a victory party tonight, with two-for-one craft beers, live music, and prizes.

UPDATE: Obiwan is screening of Napoleon Dynamite tonight (I’m counting it because of the plot line where Pedro runs for class president). If you can’t make it tonight, the movie will be shown again Friday at 8 PM.

I’ll update this page if I hear of any more parties.

Fredrik Janson, brand manager for Vandergeeten Beijing – OK, here’s a better way to put it: the guy who brings us Stella Artois – informs that a local bartender not only took top honors in the Shanghai preliminaries of the “Stella Artois World Draught Master“, but also went to the main competition in Belgium and brought home second prize.

Forget the Olympics, this is a real sport!

Congratulations to Claire Dong, who works at Pyro, for showing them Belgians a pour or two.

Claire Dong in action.

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See also:
Belgian brew: Fredrik Janson on Stella, Chimay, and more