Beijing Boyce

I realize the city has several “open mic” nights about town, but for those in the Sanlitun / Workers Stadium area, the one at TUN is worth checking out. It starts at 9:30 PM each Tuesday and features a two-for-one deal on most beers and regular mixed drinks as well as entertainment from regulars like Rob, John, Ian, and Tavey, Bad Apples singer Michael, and occasional performers like – last night – Gordon doing Vanilla Ice and Tracy doing what we’ll call an exotic dance.

A good vibe and a good crowd on the three nights I attended.

And rumor has it manager Chad Lager will soon join the action by doing spoken word hair band songs from the eighties, with Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ and Motley Crue’s “Girls, Girls, Girls” among the likely first picks. I say go for the Crue:

Crazy Horse, Paris, France
Forget the names, remember romance

Without the electric guitars, it is sheer poetry…

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After an excellent wine dinner at Italian restaurant Sadler in the Legation Quarter last night (write-up coming), I scooted next door to French joint Maison Boulod, because I heard it had a new cocktail list. If so, the memo didn’t make it to the bar staff because no one had a clue what I was talking about.

Undeterred, I ordered a Black Salt and Citrus Martini, because I wanted something sweet and saw the ingredients included Grand Marnier along with tequila, lemon juice, and honey. The drink came with a black salt-coated rim and… no Grand Marnier.

Hmmm…

It turns out the bartender replaced it with Cointreau because he considered the drink sweet enough with the honey. I had three thoughts: 1) But I ordered it because of the Grand Marnier, 2) If the drink is too sweet, why list it as such on the menu, and 3) [after a few sips] the Cointreau doesn’t work for me. I didn’t say anything because the employees were nice, it was late, and I was tired.

Three other thoughts:

1. Maison Boulod serves two cocktails I have recommended to many people:

Project 23, which includes – if memory serves – rum, pineapple juice, ginger, cilantro, lime juice, and chili pepper shavings. This is a refreshing drink, with a bit a zing, and is served in a small glass (to save you from yourself).

Kentucky Iced Tea, with properly steeped tea that is chilled so it doesn’t melt the cubes when added to the drink.

These will set you back RMB71.4 each – RMB68 for the drink and RMB3.4 for the (annoying) 5 percent service charge.

2. Although the place is in the former U.S. Embassy, and I assume they get quite a few guests due to that, the Bourbon list is pretty thin – I saw Blanton’s, Four Roses, and Jack Daniels. I understand the focus is on French food and on wine, but would it be that hard to expand the Whiskey list, including the single malts?

3. The place is one in a long line that serve wines from local producer Grace Vineyard, but the first I have seen with both the reserve Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc – my two favorites – by the glass, though they ain’t cheap at RMB78 (plus that service charge).

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German beer pub Drei Kronen 1308 in China View has a buy one, get one free deal on its draft beer, daily from 5 PM to midnight until January 5. Good news given that the regular price  of a pint is RMB58. Brew master Hans Gerner has wheat, dark, and lager beers on tap. And for those seeking the place, just look for the huge suit or armor and Bavarian flags outside.

Note: If you like this blog, please vote for it in the China Blog awards. Just go here and click the “plus” sign. Also much obliged if you vote for sibling site Grape Wall of China here.

Ten thoughts – all I can manage after a heavy weekend of tasting – about last Saturday’s eleventh annual Hilton Food & Wine Experience in Beijing.

1. This remains a “must attend” event for me: A chance to choose among hundreds of wines and meet fellow consumers. Enjoying it is a matter of keeping a steady pace. And being lucky enough to stumble, early on, into a coffee tasting – Guatemalan, Indonesian, and Ethiopian – that provided a day’s supply of caffeine.

2. Compressing the public and trade tastings into one day, instead of two, was a good move. It reduced the stress on distributors and meant the venue had more bustle than last year.

3. Entertaining taster of the year: Yiftach Bar of Crown Wine Cellars, who strongly recommended I try the Louis Latour Ardeche Chardonnay 2006 because it is a “white wine with balls.” Hmmm. That sounds like a reason to not try it.

Anyway, the nose smelt a bit like burnt toast, while the body, well, I will hand over to Bar… “You can taste flint,” he says. “It’s like you’re licking granite.” (He later specified “light brownish-yellowish- whitish granite from Ardeche.”)

4. Presence of the year: Aussino. This distributor had two dozen tables, while ASC, H&L, Jebsen, Jointek, Torres, EMW, and Montrose had a dozen each. Others included DTAsia, Pernod Ricard, Wine Bank, Top Cellar, Links, Wei Hai, Dragon Seal, Elder’s, and ABC, with accessory maker WinPact, educator EaseScent, and State of the Art Wine Cellars also listed.

5. Absence of the year: Summergate. The one major distributor missing from this year’s show. I hope the money saved is dedicated to finally creating a functioning Web site so I can order the company’s wine online.

6. Comeback of the year: Montrose. Though “the end is nigh” rumors have swirled about this distributor for years, it seems to be making a big comeback. Montrose had a dozen tables and winery reps on hand (I believe both from Craggy Range and from Mr. Riggs, the latter having a nice Riesling).

7. Local producers: I spotted three.

• Helan Mountain (Ningxia): I tried the Cabernet Sauvignon with Garry Anderson of Gelipu and he found a lot of green pepper on the nose. The body is fairly thin, with a black pepper finish, and seems typical of many Western China wines.
• Dragon Seal (Beijing / Hebei): I tried all six wines: I found the sparkling just drinkable (foamy, with some tangy fruit) and the Merlot so-so, but most of the vintages past their prime (2004 or older).
• Grace (Shanxi): I have covered these wines, distributed by Torres, ad infinitum. Most of the range was available and I especially enjoyed the reserve Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc.

8. Serving staff: A few years ago, many people manning the sample tables would have had trouble opening bottles, pouring without spilling, giving an appropriate amount (it swung from an eyedropper’s worth to half a glass), and so on. Now? Most have it down fairly well (save for the one table where corks were being pulled through foil). It’s one of those things rarely noticed, but nevertheless symbolic of the changing wine scene.

9. Hat tips to: Links for having both spirits and wine, a fun staff; and an intriguing value wine (the Chilean Casa LaJoya Sauvignon Blanc 2005 at RMB100); H&L for showing lots of enthusiasm; Aussino for having plenty of literature, including guides on enjoying wine; ASC for cracking out some good stuff (I tried several different Trimbach wines, including the tasty Riesling Cuvee 2002 – thanks to Helen Lu for recommending it!); and Torres, which brought a nice range of wines even though it recently held a portfolio tasting.

10. The Hilton did a better job of marketing this year, with an online tie-up with City Weekend, but I would love to see an earlier and more comprehensive campaign, not only by the hotel, but also by the participating distributors. To me, this is a premier wine event for consumers and it would be great to see more of them coming out. Overall, though, good times!

Looks like a busy Beijing night as World AIDS Day inspires several fund-raisers and Kylie Minogue rocks Workers Gymnasium.

The Workers Stadium North branch of Kro’s Nest is holding an AIDS awareness event called “Red Party” (7-10 PM) with advocacy group Ai Zhi Xing. Patrons are asked to show their solidarity by wearing red. The night will feature red cocktails and a Kro’s Nest donation to charity. Ai Zhi Xing will also have a donation box on hand.

As mentioned earlier, Beijing Wine Club will hold a tasting at Palette Vino (7 PM; 5 Dongsi Shiyitiao; 13801-295-504) with HIV/AIDS education group PTE. The night will feature tapas and wines for a donation of RMB121 at the door. RSVP via evite* or email club co-founder / PTE director Gabe Suk at gabriel.suk@gmail.com.

Finally, a special thanks to mypiao.com for upgrading the Kylie Minogue tickets donated to my Celebrity Pub Crawl contest.

I popped by the new Pink Loft, which is relocating to the former Browns / Revelations space, in the same building as Hot Loft. This is a huge and airy space, but there are plans to break it up with dividers and curtains to provide more intimacy. So far, that huge island bar has been removed, the Renaissance paintings covered by Thai-style shutters, and the lights switched to pink. Staff on site told me the place would open on December 6. I’ll update later in the week.