Beijing Boyce

Update: Parkside informs that the two screens inside can be split between games as well.

Several people have asked where they can simultaneously watch two World Cup matches in Beijing. For example, both the crucial Slovenia-England and United States-Algeria matches are at 10 PM on Wednesday. One place that will provide dual coverage is Paddy O’Shea’s, which will be able to show the Slovenia-England match, with commentary, on its handful of screens downstairs, with one screen dedicated to the United States-Algeria match, and then do the opposite upstairs. I will provide an update if I learn of other places doing this.

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The China Doll story continues on Wednesday night in Sanlitun’s 3.3 Building as Ai Wan reprises her leading role. The fourth and latest installment comes on the heels of:

• China Doll 1.0 in Tongli Studio, which opened in late December 2006 in the space that is now home to The Apartment, Bananafish, Bambu, and, until it closed on Saturday night, White Rabbit, and which saw Ai Wan leave less than a year later;
• China Doll 2.0, which marked her return when it opened just ahead of the Olympics on the fifth floor of the 3.3 building, only to see her again leave — and the place close, for that matter — less than a year later;
• China Doll 2.1, which then opened in about half that previous 3.3 space, was kind of grungy, and didn’t last long, closing last year.

What makes the fourth installment somewhat a surprise is that relations between Ai Wan and at least some investors have been at times far from cordial (think Megan Fox-Michael Bay). On the other hand, it is hard to see how this brand could rise again without her involvement.

The newest China Doll includes both that fifth floor space and a rooftop deck I would estimate at more than one thousand square meters. Last night, the downstairs looked almost ready to go — expect the slightly risque edge of previous China Dolls — while up top workers were busy nailing floorboards and the beginnings of a four-sided bar could be seen. The latter might not seem to bode well for a mid-week launch, then again, George’s had no flooring, furniture, or booze four days before its recent opening, and somehow the job got done.

There is some kind of VIP thing at 8 PM, with the place open to everyone at 9 PM, which might make this a good stop for those down in Sanlitun for that superb lineup of Wednesday night World Cup matches.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens in coming months. I imagine China Doll will grab some customers from Punk and, if the deck is nice enough, Q Bar, among others, but enough to fill that much space? Tough call in an increasingly crowded Sanlitun field. But one thing I hope is that the crappy drinks, at least post Tongli, at this place are a thing of the past.

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See also: She’s back: China Doll to reopen with rooftop deck