Beijing Boyce

DJ Chunky, apparently answering to DJ Socceroo during the World Cup, made the rounds last night as four crucial games kicked off. Here is his wrap up…

“Paddy O’Shea’s: Jam packed inside; a lot of England jerseys on display with about 30 people out front.

“Luga’s: Big crowd out front enjoying the England game with the U.S. game on inside with a sizable following. No sign of Luga but with that many people around you’d need a search party to track down the diminutive guv’nor.

“3.3: They have set up back-to-back screens on the sidewalk and had a good number enjoying both matches, probably at the expense of Poachers, which had a handful indoors watching the England game

“Saddle Cantina: Big crowd with the U.S. game projected on the Nali Patio wall. As with the Olympics, this venue offers the best screen in town for watching major events on a deck with a frozen drink in your hand.

“Nali Patio: Yep, they too had the game on a big screen in the central arcade, with a light crowd. If you want to get a table outdoors with a good view of the action during big games, this is your best bet. You also have your pick of a range of decent dining options.

“Union: Packed with a big U.S. crowd. Andy the manager is a happy camper now that England made the cut.

“Tun: Empty with a few people on the patio.

“Nanjie: Also empty and with the game on indoors as well.

“The Den: Packed with the usual suspects.

“Hooters: Busy with a local crowd and the U.S. game on most of the tellys. At least the customers knew where to look for a change.

“Danger Doyles: Empty downstairs. This place has all the right stuff to be a top sports venue but it hasn’t built the necessary following that its neighbor The Den has.

“George’s: Still in soft open mode so it is under the radar for now. U.S. game on a big screen with a light crowd. Definitely a new venue worth checking out, it’s about three doors down from Fubar, with the same emphasis on quality drinks and service.

Venues that have a big US and UK following, like Paddy’s, Union, and Luga’s, will be happy with last night’s results. Sadly for the Beijing Billabong, Australia’s run has ended, so it’s time to throw our lot in with the Old Dart (if the Kiwis don’t prevail tonight that is, of course). And yes, they have the Ashes and yes they populated our country with all its undesirables back in the day, but how nice would it be if they stopped whinging?

After today, I should have a list of some good inexpensive wines available in Beijing. I’m spending most of it at Maison Boulud, helping with the Grape Wall Challenge, an annual wine tasting organized by contributors to sibling blog Grape Wall of China.

The idea is to let Chinese consumers participate as wine judges, both to provide insights into their preferences and to give them confidence in tasting, since many people are intimidated by wine. Like most wine sold in China, all of the bottles in the challenge retail for less than RMB100. They are tasted blind, with the labels only revealed afterwards, and the judges  only have four scoring options: “I love it,” “I like it,” “I don’t like it”, and “I hate it”.

This year, the challenge has 39 wines, including 21 red wines and 18 white wines, and they come from the biggest distributors to smaller operations: ASC, Aussino, CMP (Chateau Medoc Paris), DT Asia, East Meets West, Enoteca, French Wine Paradox, Globus, Links, Sea & Sun, Summergate, Top Cellar, and Torres. The wines are from seven countries, including Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, Italy, South Africa, and Spain, and cover nearly 20 kinds of grapes, from Merlot to Malbec, Chardonnay to Viognier, Chenin Blanc to Tempranillo.

I’ll soon have details on which wines the judges liked and where you can get them.