Beijing Boyce

The World Cup started last night so I checked out a few spots screening the matches. Here is a wrap up, from the final stop to the first one.

Uama Teppanyaki: A beer garden in a box, with plastic tables and chairs, two big screens, and reasonably large crowd. There is a 158-kuai all-you-can-eat-and-drink deal and 20-kuai Budweiser draft. Wondering if you just spotted ex-Souk headman Robin Howlett working the garden? Yep, you did.

Danger Doyle’s / Drei Kronen 1308: Sibling establishments, one is a two-floor sports bar, the other a three-floor German brew house, and both have superb decks. Most first-floor seats were full at both, with 1308 having the busier second tier, no doubt due in part to that large projection. Big mugs of beer, big plates loaded with more sausage than a weekend at Destinations. Worth a stop especially if you are cheering for Germany… or like sausage.

Workers Stadium East Gate: A massive screen along with seats for more than a thousand people, most of them full on this first night. Enjoy Yanjing beer in a parking lot beside the home of the Beijing Guoan? If you are going to be out every night watching matches, I’d recommend a stop here.

Latte: Walked past the modest beer garden at the base of my favorite Gongti club. Good crowd. And you can later head upstairs for some Chivas and green tea.

Pavillion: Looked full but I decided not to patronize a place with a one-hundred kuai cover charge, even if it includes a drink. Yes, the patio is nice but not nice enough to inspire me to visit even a handful of times over the past year, so better to spend it at a place that has offered some fun. Like…

Paddy O’Shea’s: This place had the best vibet, though getting everyone in required a tight fit. No More Bunz grilled hot dogs, “Major” Tom sold Sol and Tsingtao was RMB20 from a makeshift stand, and a bagpiper played “The Cup of Life“. Best stop on the night.

Capital Club: Went for a wine tasting, stayed to watch part of the first half and enjoy that spectacular view from the fiftieth floor. A comfy if pricey place to watch matches if you are a member or can get one to sign you in.

For info on other spots screening games, or comments from readers on their experiences, see here.

Don't try this at home. Actually, do. (Photo: Ai Wan)

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The inspiration of everything from best club nods to partner bickering, from celebrity sightings during the Olympics to rumors of lawsuits, from fun and sloppy late nights to an early and unexpected decline on the scene, China Doll in the 3.3 building in Sanlitun has long been a subject of speculation.

Now, in what will be seen as a shocker at a spot that has seemed abandoned — I talked to three investors during the past month, including one last night, who had pretty much given up hope of the place reopening  — it looks like the intriguing and controversial Ai Wan is set to return and relaunch it with the usual sexual flair if the photo above is any indication.

Ai Wan says a “soft opening” will be held with Piper Champagne on June 23, with an official launch in mid-July to include a rooftop she describes as “the biggest and highest in Sanlitun”. While she says she had concerns about resurrecting the brand, she says, “[China Doll] has a life and spirit of its own“.

For those who were fans of China Doll, or interested in how the scene works — and I am both — this is an interesting story and I will  have more posts on it soon.

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See also:

• Back in the game: China Doll 3.3 to reopen on Frida
• China Doll 3.3: Hibernating for the winter
• Goodbye Olympics, goodbye Paralympics, hello Hangover
• Beijing’s nightlife scene: The medalists
• Saturday night snapshots: Klubb Rouge, China Doll, and more
• ‘The New Sanlitun’: Openings, closings, confrontations
• Somebody give me a smoke: The pre-openings of Klubb Rouge, China Doll
• The new China Doll: No sex please, I’m thirsty
• Sanlitun walkabout: China Doll vs. Kokomo, and more
• Coming soon – China Doll gets a bigger house
• Trouble in Tongli
• Trouble in the Doll-house