Beijing Boyce

Readers regularly ask: Why don’t you make it easier to find the bars you write about?

Thanks to Mobile Native, I am about to do that. With future postings, you  will be able to click the name of a bar and get an embedded pop-up map of its location. Even better, using the buttons on the map, you can can:

- Click to get the bar’s address sent in English or Chinese to your mobile phone – for free.

- Click to see nearby venues.

- Click to get a satellite map.

On top of this, you can click the map and use your mouse pad to “move” north, south, east, and west to see what is in the surrounding area. The map also has a zoom function.

The first post to use this function will feature the top five watering holes of Mobile Native’s  Ellis Rahhal and Andrew Schorr.

The mid-week hump means another hospitality night at Loong Bar and this one brings a few changes. First, there will be Australian and American beers provided by Dxcelpartners, with the choices including Crown and Redback. Second, there will be Graham ports from Torres, paired with cheeses from JW Marriott’s Pinot restaurant. The event is aimed at people in the bar, restaurant, wine, hotel and related business, with the RMB100 entrance fee translating into two drinks. Things get started at 9 PM.

Judges check out the whites after the tasting.

On March 13, a dozen expert and consumer judges met in Beijing for the Grape Wall Challenge and tasted 23 red wines that retail for less than RMB100 in China (see gallery). Here are the first-place wines of the consumer, expert, and overall panels (click the links at the bottom for lists of the “top ten” whites and reds).

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Red: Overall

Cedar Creek (Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon) 2008, Australia / Top Cellar, RMB92

Red: Experts

Cedar Creek (Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon) 2008, Australia / Top Cellar, RMB92

Red: Consumers (tie)

Foot of Africa (Pinotage) 2006, South Africa / Torres, RMB99

Paso del Sol (Merlot) 2007, Chile / DT Asia, RMB95

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White: overall

Zonin Terre Palladiane Soave DOC (Garganega, Trebbiano) 2007, Italy / Torres, RMB96

White: Experts (tie)

Concha y Toro Frontera (Sauvignon Blanc) 2007, Chile / Summergate, RMB79
Bushman’s Gully (Semillon, Chardonnay) 2008, Australia / Links, RMB92

White: consumers

Zonin Terre Palladiane Soave DOC (Garganega, Trebbiano) 2007, Italy / Torres, RMB96

The wines hailed from Chile (8), France (4), Italy (4), Australia (3), Argentina (1) and Spain (1), as submitted by 14 China-based importers.

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See also:

• Grape Wall Challenge: Top white wines in China under RMB100
• Grape Wall Challenge: Top red wines in China under RMB100
• Grape Wall Challenge: Expert panel
• Grape Wall Challenge: Consumer panel – white wine
• Grape Wall Challenge: Consumer panel – red wine
• Grape Wall Challenge: Photo gallery
• Grape Wall Challenge: List of posts

Chad Lager, formerly of The Rickshaw and The Saddle Cantina, has left as manager of TUN. Lager introduced the insanely popular Friday ladies nights, the open mic night, and the 40-kuai mega drinks, thus helping to transform TUN into one of the city’s most popular bars. He is planning to soon open his own place.

Tsingtao Beer Palace is closed in Solana. The place charged RMB68 kuai for a mug of freshly made lager, and while it often had two-for-one specials, my visits found only only a handful of patrons, hardly enough for a place that has the size (and appearance) of a large three-star hotel lobby.

Almost equally expensive beer spot Drei Kronen 1308 still has a two-for-one happy hour, which means a pair of pints for RMB58. It also has started a RMB45 lunch special that features eight choices of mains (schnitzel, chicken leg, and some less German offerings),  including salad bar and soup (said Mr. Brau: “It is the best potato soup I have ever had, except for my grandma’s”). Patrons may add a small homebrew  (RMB25) or soft drink (RMB10) to their lunch.