Beijing Boyce

Westside

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I recently tagged along with Simon Pendergast, the face of beer distributor Dxcel and, along with City Weekend, this month’s Beer Jing festival, to Nola and Westside where some of his products are sold. Before I get to that, the Beer Jing finale will be held tomorrow night, Thursday, at Danger Doyle’s (map) at 9 PM. Attendees can get five VB, five Toohey’s New, or five Lucky beer for RMB100, five Cobra for RMB80, and beers such as Brooklyn Lager and James Boag’s for RMB25 per bottle. Pendergast adds there might be some surprises left over from a tasting of “exotic microbrews” to be held earlier in the night for the first 20 people who completed their Beer Jing passports. On to the visits…

Westside (map) offers an option to those in the Centro area. Nearby, in the Prosper Center, it offers high ceilings, more wood than a lumberyard, and tightly packed formations of photos on the wall – those with a fetish for Big Ben will be happy. As one acquaintance put it, the place feels “colonial.” Then he added: “I wouldn’t be surprised if a messenger enters with a scroll and informs us that the Zulus are amassing.” Anyway, a decent option if you are in the area, though the drinks are not cheap – a craft beer will set you back RMB45. Though the deck season is rapidly ending, this one has an excellent one.

As for Nola (map), bacon lovers rejoice: the green gumbo (RMB25) comes with braised bacon while the New Orleans-inspired menu also includes dates wrapped in bacon (RMB23). The Parmesan fries (RMB23) are tasty and are served in a paper cone.  Appetizers start at RMB27 for white bean and mushroom salad, poboys and sandwiches at RMB40 for a half serving with prime rib and horseradish, and main courses at RMB77 for shrimp and grits.  The beverage list includes a solid lineup of beer and wine. This two-floor restaurant has a light and airy atmosphere, though it could use a few decorations to give it some lift.

Wine lovers have two excellent choices this Friday:

The Shuangjing Carrefour store (map) holds its fall wine fair from 6 PM to midnight with hundreds of bottles to sample. Most of them are entry-level and this offers a chance to find and stock up on “house” wine, especially as most products have a 20 percent discount.

Tip: BYOG. At the spring wine fair, I brought my own wine glasses – 22-ounce Bordeaux beauties – which meant I didn’t have to use the store’s puny goblets or, even worse, plastic cups. See these posts on previous Carrefour wine fairs:

• Spring 2009: Carrefour spring wine fair: Glasses, deals, and labels with animals galore
• Fall 2008: Carrefour wine fair picks: Southern exposure
• Spring 2008: By / buy the case: Carrefour 2008 April Wine Fair

Meanwhile, Sequoia Cafe (map) will hold a tasting of Grace Vineyard and Silver Heights at 6:30 PM. If I had to make a list of my ten favorite Chinese wines, these two producers would take half of the spots. There will be five wines available for tasting for RMB100, good value if you consider it would cost over RMB1000 to buy a bottle of each. For more details on the wines, see this post on sibling blog Grape Wall of China.

Friday will also see a dinner that teams the culinary talents of Albert Adria from Spain’s elBulli, Da Dong from the Beijing duck chain of the same name, and Brian McKenna of Roombmk, the organizer of the event. If you don’t already have a ticket, good luck: Two weeks ago, McKenna told me he already had 9,000 requests.

Finally, Saturday is Halloween – see this list of two dozen parties. You can keep the trick or treat feeling going on Sunday by randomly mystery dim sum at China World Hotel: Summer Palace (map) has an all-you-can-eat buffet from 2 PM to 4 PM for RMB98 plus 15 percent. RSVP at 6505-2266, extension 34 or 6505-5838. (The hotel  press release adds: “In order to avail of this special weekend dim sum offer, the bill needs to be settled and paid in full before 4:00 pm.”).