Monthly Archives: December 2008

Corks vs. screw tops, Bali wine, and Santa Claus: Just another Friday night with Frank

(If you like this blog, please support it with a vote in the China Blog Awards, by clicking the “+” sign here. Support for sibling blog welcomed here!) By Jim…

Top five all-time Beijing live music venues: Kaiser Kuo

Besides being a writer, single malt aficionado, and bigwig at a PR firm, Kaiser Kuo has been rocking in Beijing for a over a decade, whether with Tang Dynasty starting…

Ladies week: Seven nights of free drinks in Beijing

Question: Is it possible for women to drink free every night this week? Answer: Yes. Though “ladies nights” are typically a mid-week phenomenon in Beijing, the highly competitive post-Olympic bar…

The moose is loose: Jagermeister fem-bots, Monkey Shoulder whisky, and more

- I keep hearing about hard times in the bar scene. I keep seeing plenty of people out and about. What gives? No doubt, the economic crisis is leading some…

Foxy grapey: Chinese wines from Yunnan, Ningxia, Hebei

By Jim Boyce On Monday night, I tried three Chinese wines at Duck de Chine with a group of beverage researchers that included visiting Aussie wine critic Jeremy Oliver and…

Goose & Duck marks 5 million visitors, plus parties at Club China Doll, Paddy O’Shea’s

To mark five million visitors* to its pub and ranch since 1996, veteran Beijing sports spot the Goose & Duck is holding a party on Saturday that features free house…

Pulgasari: Get some iron in your diet at Bar Blu

- To those seeking something that unites monster movies, the world’s most reclusive regime, consumption of mineral resources, and cheap booze: Koryo Tours is screening the 1985 North Korean flick…

Tasting time: Taittinger, Gerard Bertrand, I Am Paradox

The parade of wine events continues in Beijing with the next few days seeing more than a half-dozen tastings and dinners. Tonight sees everything from a free Petit Bordeaux tasting…

Klubb Rouge is closed… kind of

Klubb Rouge, with which I will always associate this unique press conference, is closed for regular business at least until January, says a company source, who cites “decoration” as the…

Tuesday night pub crawl: 1/5, Tun, Maggie’s, Goose n’ Duck, The Den

A Tuesday night pub crawl is usually a bad idea, but sometimes – as with meteor strikes, power outages, and wedgies – it just happens. Such forays are increasingly rare…

Reality check: The Olympics were only four months ago?

- Yesterday marked not only the reopening of the city’s most famous / infamous bar, but also four months since the start of the Olympics. Coincidence? (Kidding.) But seriously, it…

The best little hot dog stand in Beijing…

…is back. And so is the bar beside it, closed since early this year and now sporting a décor that takes this Ritan Park location yet another step away from…