Ichikura: The best five-year-old whiskey (bar) in Beijing
Japanese bar Ichikura marked its fifth anniversary on Sunday with an RMB150 all-you-can-drink event that featured a menu of 30 cocktails and a half-dozen spirits. Patrons also drew for gift certificates worth RMB100 or more – nearly everyone in my group picked one for RMB400 or RMB500 – for use during a future visit. Good times. Especially after a handful of drinks – for some reason, despite my associating this place with single malts, I got stuck on Cointreau Tonic all night.
See also:
Ichikura: The best little warehouse in China
- The Great Wall of spirits
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Treasure Island: Where vodka meets fire breathers and pole dancers
Which of the following would you have seen if you caught the floor show at Treasure Island at 2 AM on a recent Saturday night?
a) A fire eater sticking a flaming baton in his mouth for three full seconds before putting it out and then doing unicycle tricks.
b) A woman sit on a man one-third her size while mouthing show tunes.
c) A bikini-clad pole dancer spinning around so fast that it seemed like her organs would rearrange.
d) A table of four Chinese businessmen revealing their pecking order by seating arrangements, manner of “ganbei” etiquette, and numbers of key hanging from their belt loops.
e) Two dancers dressed as sexy traffic police “arrest” an audience member and give him a pat down on stage.
f) A belly dancer.
g) A group of Americans drinking RMB20 beers, while a group of Russians worked on a bottle of vodka.
h) A Russian band belt out pop, rock, and rap songs from its native land.
h) All of the above.
I don’t know why I don’t go to this place more often, because treasure Island – a Russian joint in the Yabao Lu area near the west gate of Ritan park – is good fun. The service is efficient. The vodka is cheap and the Corona is RMB30. The food is decent and reasonably priced. The crowd is eccentric. And the Russian manager, well, she keeps everything running smoothly.
But a few tips:
- If you sit up front, you will likely be dragged into the show at some point. That is preferable if you are part of the traffic cop act than if you are pinned beneath the rather hefty diva.
- It is perfectly acceptable to tip the performers when they dance through the crowd after the act. The standard tip seems to be a folded RMB100 note slid into the waistband. A RMB1 note will not go over well.
- Despite how it sounds, this is not a “men only” place. Go with a group, enjoy the show, have some drinks, and dance to Russian music.
- Saying “Arr, matey” at Treasure Island? It’s been done – a thousand times. Avoid at all costs…
This weekend in wine: Two tasty events to test your palate
The best way to learn about wine is to taste, taste, and taste some more. Here are two events this weekend that will let you do that with minimal cost:
1. Palette Wines will hold a tasting of 50 different wines on Saturday, January 17, from 2-9 PM, at its new shop near Dongsi Shitao. This is good value given that Palette has a consistently good portfolio. Bottles are available for takeaway at 15 percent off. The entry fee is RMB80. Register with Diego at diego@palettewines.cn / 13801-295-504.
Note: Again, the tasting is at the Dongsi Shitao shop, not at the originally planned venue in Central Plan
2. French Wine Paradox will hold the third edition of its “I am a Paradox” series, with 50 percent off all wines at the event, on Sunday, January 18, at Ginkgo from 6 PM. I enjoyed the first event because of the “try before you buy” angle and because I met some fun fellow wine fans. It is first come, first served, and there is no entry fee, though registration is necessary (see here). For more information, contact Charles Carrard at 13439-44 1-103 or Eric Wang at 138 11-92 1-840.
See also:
French Wine Paradox: What to buy with 500 kuai
Palette II: 100 wines for 100 kuai in Beijing
Holiday Cheers: Palette offers 100 wines for 100 kuai
