Beijing Boyce

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I had a few free hours in Yantai last Thursday night so I did a walkabout on Chaoyang Street which is a) close to the hotel, b) close to the waterfront, c) in the old part of the city, and d) home to the most bars. Indeed I did find a few decent places to grab a drink.

Druid’s: This is an Irish bar with an Austrian owner named Mike. I liked the long snaking bar (made of three thick pieces of beech, he says), the sloped ceiling that leaves the more than a century old beams exposed, the pool table and dartboard, and the draft Guinness, Kilkenny, and Strongbow. Add a friendly staff, a cubby hole with a selection of books, and decent toilets, and this is a solid spot that rivals the Irish bars in Beijing. I had a pint of Guinness (RMB60).

Captain Musical Bar: This place is across the street and has an elaborate mural on its outside wall (see photo below). It made me think of pirates. Anyway, I found it fairly full but given I was in a contemplative mood I moved on to…

Havana: Apparently Druids owner Mike opened this space in 2001, then sold it and left Yantai, before returning several years ago. Anyway, the place is now owned by Daniel, who said he has been manning the bar for four years. This has a kind of local bar feel and I had a Tiger beer (RMB20) while getting the lowdown on Yantai from Daniel and his trustworthy assistant Rita.

Eleven: Daniel told me this place is considered to have some of the city’s best cocktails and even walked me there since it is hard to find for newcomers. Eleven is run by Kent, named after his girlfriend, and has a half-dozen seats at the bar — slightly bigger than the former Tryst in Beijing. Kent told me he  has worked in several Shanghai bars. He did a decent job on my Alfonso Special, though he had not heard of the drink, and on the Perfect Manhattan he recommended, and I was tempted to order a Dark and Stormy as he had Gosling’s rum. He said the Mojito is among his better drinks but he didn’t have all of the ingredients on this night. He also showed me some of his books and explained he is a fan of Ferran Adria of Spain’s El Bulli restaurant. The two drinks came to RMB60.

I had also hoped to visit a place called Alibaba, based on a recommendation from @riceagain on Twitter, but it turned out to be too far away. In any case, I enjoyed my short visit to Yantai and hope to be back again. I’ll be posting about some of the vineyards I visited on sibling blog Grape Wall of China.

Xiang Xiang (2nd), Mimi (1st), Sigrid (“Miss Pole-pular”), and Goldfish (3rd)

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I woke up with a sore neck the morning after the third annual pole dancing contest last Saturday night at the Hilton Beijing. Not because I strained it while watching the dancers or because I foolishly tried the pole myself but because the careless driver of the taxi I took to the hotel rear-ended another car.  Dude, a  key skill needed for your job is to not hit what is front of you! Better work on that one. The lesson is that whether you are pole-dancing or driving in Beijing, it’s always safest to wear a seatbelt.

Anyway, every six months of so I get asked to participant in some event and this time it was to judge a pole dancing contest. Some might think it nothing but bubbles and giggles to sit near the stage with pen and paper in hand but I found otherwise. First, I guess I would have felt about as comfortable hanging out with the cast of Jersey Shore. (In fact, this event would have been a perfect place for J-WOWW and Snookie to make their Beijing debut.) Second, watching some of those lithe dancers made me first feel like I should get more exercise and then eventually reverse myself and decide it was hopeless. So many dancers; so many conflicting emotions.

But I did learn what it takes to win a pole-dancing contest:

• Being able to climb the pole. A few contestants had trouble with this but I give them credit for at least trying. I’m sure it will go better next time.
• Doing anything that involves hanging upside down and doing the splits, extending off the pole with no hands, or spinning around like a whirlpool of mad sensuality.
• Wearing a sailor or school outfit, or something involving a pair of thigh-high black boots, as these all seemed to generate appreciation from the crowd.
• Having rhythm while making eye contact with the crowd, which I take to be the pole dancing equivalent of patting your head while rubbing your tummy.
• Not falling off the stage. The platform was quite small and one dancer did slip on the edge. Luckily, no serious injury.

The Hilton Beijing did well to put a layer of respectability on the proceedings. The emcee not only gave background on pole dancing and the equipment used but also interviewed each contestant after her performance so we could learn how long she had been dancing, what inspired her to start, the best places to pick up bikini-style stewardess / sailor outfits, and how this sport boosts everything from confidence to immune systems. Unfortunately, those were pretty much the only times that the video-camera wielding guys in the first few rows didn’t have the record button pressed. I guess interviews don’t qualify as quality “time alone” material.

In any case, eleven contestants scaled, spun, and slid in an effort to take pole position. And in the end, dancer Mimi emerged as the winner, with Xiang Xiang and Goldfish in second and third, and Sigrid — who informed us she had four poles in her house in Beijing — taking the “Miss Pole-pular” crown decided by votes from the attendees.

(Photos: Hilton Beijing)

Word comes from Joseph and Li at Cafe Europa that this longstanding Jianwai Soho restaurant will close. In an email, they state that the landlord is seeking a 40 percent increase in rent, something not economically feasible in that location. The last day of business will be April 10. Cafe Europa has long held on in a tough spot, serving decent food and offering one of the city’s more interesting wine lists. Let’s hope the situation changes or, even better, than the owners find an even better spot to set up business. I first met my buddy ksquare at Cafe Europa and he says: “that place is too good for its location.” In the meantime, you have a few more weeks to drop in for a drink or meal.

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See also:

• Cafe Europa: Refreshed wine list, Parker points program
• Cafe Europa: Beer and BBQ buffet on Saturdays
• Get your Gruner Veltliner on: Austrian wines at Cafe Europa
• Cafe Europa: Get your fill of grill
• Soho Survivor: Cafe Europa Marks First Year with Party

The Loop (map) is one of those places with the potential to be everything from the hottest hidden spot in town to just another player in the background. I am hoping for the latter and am happy at how the stars are aligning. I like the design: the orange bricks, cement floors and wood trim that to me say Beijing, the tight arrangement of bar, booths, table seating and open space, and the mix of videos beamed on the wall and the music of BB Deng. It has great potential as an event space. But The Loop has thus far faced some issues in terms of food and drink. This is where good things are happening.

The eats: Previously inconsistent and at times poor, the food has seen a major upgrade since Weiley Lu joined the team. Known best for his work at Lugar and e.a.t., Lu has put together a small but good menu he says will gradually expand. I tried the steak yesterday: a perfectly cooked 200-gram cut with vegetables and herb rice for RMB58. That’s hard to beat and Lu says he aims to offer Sanlitun quality at a price that allows people to take a taxi from there to The Loop and back – and still come out ahead. (By the way, you can switch the rice for mashed potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes.) I also tried the tasty fried pork cube with balsamic and fresh mint (RMB36 for six pieces) that Lu says is a riff on Nobu. The rest of the menu includes pastas from RMB28, snacks such as fried potato wedges, fried jalapenos, and chicken wings from RMB24, and mains such as salmon steak at RMB58. It looks like the food issue is solved.

The drinks: Those Lafite- and Latour-looking wines were an issue because at least for me they raised concerns about the legitimacy of the booze. Lu is now putting together a wine list that — given the candidates I have seen — should offer both quality and value. Even better, as he did at Lugar, Lu is getting creative with the drinks.  There are fifteen house cocktails, each named after a movie, including Roman Holiday, Norwegian Wood and Desperado. The intriguing If You Are the One combines Maotai, Triple Sec, and citrus, and rivals The Jing Fling at Mao Mao Chong as the best cocktail made with Chinese spirits. Mixed drinks are RMB30 and include a ~50ml pour while the beer list covers six bottle options, including Tsingtao (RMB15), Hoegaarden (RMB30), and Dead Guy Ale (RMB45). Look for Lu to also put together a strong collection of rums and Bourbons.

The Loop is not the easiest place to find, and it does feel a bit cold and could benefit from an outgoing staff member of two, but the food and drink upgrade, the good service I experienced yesterday, and the relaxed vibe and excellent music bode well, and I could see this spot becoming one of my favorites.

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The Shuangjing Strip that includes Lily’s American Diner, The Brick, and Grinders has a new bar as Zhuang opened today. Run by a trio of women, Zhuang will open from 5 PM to 3 AM daily, says co-owner Annie Ma. The place includes a bar that looks a bit like the one at The Brick, table seating, a loft, and some funny photos and captions on the walls. As for beverages, look for soft drinks and juices from RMB20, bottled Tsingtao at RMB20, Hoegaarden and Beijing draft, and cocktails and shooters, including something called the Zhuang Hammer.

Also in the area…

The Brick: Has started to hold pool contests every Sunday from 8 PM on its newly re-covered table. The entry fee is RMB15, with the winner getting cash and all participants getting free shots.

Lily’s American Diner: Will expand its menu in the middle of next month with the new items including four kinds of pasta, Sloppy Joe’s, and fish and chips. As usual, food will be available in the restaurant or by delivery.

Grinders: Is expanding its kitchen and should return to serving food sometime next week. This place also now has delivery vehicles.

The Loop: As mentioned, Weiley Lu (formerly of Lugar and e.a.t.) is now on board and the food has already significantly improved. I had a perfectly cooked steak with veggies and rice today for RMB58. Good deal. Expect a major upgrade of the wine list soon. And kudos for the excellent music played during the day, no doubt due to one of the co-owners, BB Deng.

With the oven barely broken in at his new and busy pizza joint on Xiaoyun Road, Olaf Kristoffer “Kro” Bauer says he is already preparing to fire up a second one near his former flipping grounds at Workers Stadium. To bring things up to speed: Bauer and Yuan Jie opened the Workers Stadium branch of Kro’s Nest in 2007 but had a nasty public split last May with Bauer leaving, taking the name, and opening the new spot on Xiaoyun Road last December and Yuan Jie re-branding the old one as Tube Station Pizza.

Now Bauer says he plans a return, specifically to the Sanlitun South area between The Bookworm and Tun Bar. There’s more competition than ever, given that Gung Ho!, Nasca Cafe, and Annie’s have all opened in the area since last May, so it will be interesting to see this new spot. More details soon…

Lovers in a dangerous time.

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Mao Mao Chong will do some early spring cleaning and creating this Thursday, March 24, when it not only auctions off the six pieces of art that adorn its walls and were created by co-owner Stephen Rocard but also have the 16 prospective drinks for its spring menu — 14 alcoholic, 2 nonalcoholic — on special at RMB30 each.

As for the auction, the bidding starts at RMB100 per piece at 10 PM. As for the drinks, I tried a few over the weekend and if you like slightly spicy drinks you might want to try the Scarlett Martini, made with roasted red bell pepper infused gin. I also enjoyed the refreshing Spring Fling.

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Lots of new drinks to try.

Second course of the four-course business lunch.

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Even though newcomer Sanlitun Soho is close to my apartment, I have spent very little time there and instead have been hanging out a lot in Sanlitun North, Shuangjing, and Gulou / Nanluoguxiang these past few months. I am now working on being a better neighbor and will soon have write-ups about Cafe Sydney and Tonton & Tata Alsace French Restaurant and Bar. But first, a short post about Ssam (map), a most excellent Korean restaurant in the complex.

I stopped at Ssam after lunch on Wednesday, and after checking the food and drink lists (the latter includes baekseju, makkoli, and soju, as well as a “kimchi martini” — will give that one a try tonight), looking around the nicely designed venue, and talking to affable chef Andrew Ahn, I had a feeling I was going to like this place. I stopped in yesterday for the four-course business lunch (RMB78) and left happy. I especially liked the second course, the six-item “jeon” set pictured above, and that Ssam was able to include pungent and spicy Korean flavors in a way that did not overpower the subtle ones of the meats, noodles, and vegetables . (By the way, those with a sweet tooth will like the tiramisu with Korean liqueur.) I’ll have more when I go back and try the other lunch options but for now here are two worthy events being held at Ssam this weekend:

1. Tonight: Makkoli is a milky slightly sweet Korean alcoholic beverage. Ssam will have free-flow Makkoli plus Korean side dishes tonight for RMB100 per person, starting at 7:30 PM.
2. Sunday: This month’s Beijing Foodies is at Ssam; the charity is Children of Madaifu. How these these dinners work: everyone pays a set amount of money for the meal and afterward envelopes are passed around and people can donate whatever amount they want. This month’s meal is RMB120 and will be worth it: the dishes include beef carpaccio with truffles, pear, quail egg, and soy sauce as well as skewers, (jeon), Korean pancakes, seared mackerel, and more, plus one drink. To reserve a spot, email bjfoodies (at) gmail.com.

(Follow me on Sina micro-blog here, Twitter here or Facebook here.)

That Shuangjing strip that includes Lily’s American Diner, The Brick, and Grinders is about to get a little more crowded as a new bar called Zhuang is slated to open by the end of the month, says co-owner Annie Ma. Ma, who worked briefly at Grinders, says the concept behind the place  is “we are family”. Several readers who use the always reliable “I looked through the window” technique report that the design has some similar elements as both The Brick and Grinders, and this is causing some consternation at those two places.

Also in Shuangjing, expect a better dining experience next time you visit The Loop. When it comes to design, this is among my favorite additions to the scene in the past year, but the eats have left something to be desired. Weiley Lu, known best from his time at Lugar / e.a.t. is now on board, along with a former chef from W Dine and Wine, and says he is starting with a small but good menu that will grow over time. One reader told me today that he ate there a few days ago and found the food good.

Look for Bar Blu to open its renovated deck as well as also deck above its terrace bar, says manager Tait Dalrymple. The new food menu should also be out soon, if it is not already, and will include starters like onion rings and cheese sticks at RMB20, burgers, pizzas, and sandwiches from RMB50, and chicken wings in four flavors, including Buffalo, at RMB40 for 10. Bar Blu has live music on Sundays from 9 PM. With its design, this new menu, and the pool table, the second floor has captured a bit of that early Rickshaw spirit.

Two-floor Russian club Sim Sim opened atop Elephant restaurant near the north gate of Ritan Park on Friday night. As expected, there was plenty of vodka. And pounding music, And six foot-plus Russian models. And dancers wearing suits of lights. OK, maybe that last one was not expected. Anyway, this place will face stiff competition from nearby Chocolate and Las Vegas.

(photo: cheezburger.com)

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About 3000 votes of the nearly 7000 votes cast for The Beijinger Restaurant Awards this year have been disqualified. So says Mike Wester, the magazine’s co-owner, who I talked to earlier this week. Actually, I have this conversation with Wester every year: I call to ask how things are going, he tells me he has spent countless hours checking votes, and we both wonder about the kind of people who connive to fix the results to the detriment of both consumers and those in the business who do a good job and play fair.

Anyway, I have been hounding him to list who, where, and what received the most bogus votes. I realize some might be advertisers and that this is an industry where relations are so intertwined that today’s cheater might be tomorrow’s business partner, but it would be nice to see who is trying to give themselves a booster chair of votes at the table as well as to see who isn’t. Again, it stinks for the honest people in the business that there is the potential of being defeated by someone not on quality of service and product but on the ability to crank out votes, so kudos to Wester for making the effort.

The restaurant awards winners will be announced on Monday.

Why the Irish have a day of drinking in their honor is beyond me given the amount of carnage they cause when stewed but such is life and after all they did give us Oscar Wilde, Guinness,  stew, and The Lochness Monster (fact-checking that last one). Anyway, today is St. Patrick’s Day and while the average person would be wise to stock up on water and Pocky Sticks, pile furniture in front of the door, and wait – stake and mallet in hand — until dawn, braver souls plan to be out and about tonight. The usual Irish-themed bars such as Paddy O’Shea’s, Durty Nellie’s, Danger Doyle’s, and Molly Malone’s, not to mention plenty of other drinking holes, should have something going on — check here for details. For those seeking something different, a few options…

• Great Leap Brewery is about as easy to find as a gold-plated four-leaf clover stuck up a leprechaun’s arse at the end of a rainbow, but if you do come across it, you shall find three stouts made specially for tonight: Fundamental Stout, Hophead Stout, and Liu the Brave Spiced Stout. Rumor has it that if you pull the beard of beer maker Carl Setzer thrice and say “Where’s me Lucky Charms?” he’ll grant you three wishes. (Still to be confirmed. I am not responsible for injuries sustained by those who attempt this feat.)
• Beijing’s only Irish music band, Blackwater, will be playing from 9:30 PM in that most Irish of places – French-owned rum-crazy odor-of-baguette-wafting bar Salud in Nanluguoxiang. Rumor has it that if you pull the beard of pixie-voiced lead singer Desmond MacGarry thrice and say “Where’s me Lucky Charms?” he’ll sue the living daylights out of you because he’s a lawyer. (Still to be confirmed. I am not responsible for any monetary losses sustained or jail time served by those who attempt this feat.)
• And the DJ / iTunes crowd gets bigger tonight with the inaugural “Time for Heroes” indie music night at Bang! Bang! Pizza. Owners Robin and Steve will provide some St. Patrick’s Day flair with free “fairy green” absinthe shooters. The rumor is that if you pull their beards and say “Where’s me Lucky Charms” you are drunk out of your skull because… – let me channel the spirit of a typical email from everyone’s favorite Irish bartender of the year, Karl Long of Paddy O’Shea’s, for a minute – NEITHER OF THOSE LADDDIES HAS BEARDS AND NO BEARDS MEANS NO PULLING SO IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE PULLING SOMETHING THEN YOU MISSED THEIR CHINS AND LANDED SOMEWHERE ELSE (AHEM). SO GET DOWN TO PADDY’S FOR A PINT OF YOUR FAVORITE BLACK GOLD THAT’S RIGHT GUINNESS. NOW WHERE’S ME SHIFT LOCK KEY!? (Just kidding, Karl.) By the way, in addition to a party tonight, tomorrow Paddy’s will feature Ruffus, the band flown in for the Irish Ball.

See you out and about…

Sanlitun restaurants Mosto and Modo are teaming up with seven wine distributors — China Wine & Spirits (CWS), East Meets West (EMW), Moet Hennessy, Montrose, Summergate, Torres, and The Wine Republic — next Wednesday to raise funds for survivors of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Mosto will have a five-course dinner paired with wine at RMB490 per person. Modo will serve seven small plates for sharing with free-flow wine, both red and white, at RMB390 per person.

One hundred percent of the revenue will go to WFP (United Nations World Food Program) and CFPA (China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation), says PR director Christina Riglet.

There are a lot of charity events in Beijing and posting about all of them is beyond the scope of this blog, but if these two dinners next Wednesday are anything like this one at Mosto last year that raised nearly RMB36,000 for Haiti relief, they will be among the best.

You can reserve a space by calling Modo (6415-7207) or Mosto at (5208-6030). The meals are available from 6 PM to 10:30 PM.

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About 15 months ago, I posted that Japanese celebrity chef Masaharu Morimoto a.k.a. The Iron Chef would open two restaurants in Parkview Green, that angular glass-covered structure near The Place (see here). The Parkview team told me today that Morimoto is indeed still confirmed and will be handling the “sky lounge” space on the top floor — the area is huge, offers good views of the city, and has the potential to be spectacular. Other tenants Parkview says are confirmed include Din Tai Fung and Element Fresh.

Parkview Green is now targeting its “soft” opening for September.

Here are a few photos I took today of some art outside and near the lobby…

"I never wanted to be your weekend lover"

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I attended the relaunch party of R Lounge in the Renaissance Shuangjing last Saturday night: free drinks, lots of people, The Jackson Twinz, the last stand of Bertie Higgins, why not? Ten notes from the night…

1. Musical high points: Bertie Higgins, on his last night of a two-month gig, doing his hits “Key Largo” and “Casablanca” (twice), Jackson Twinz doing a funky take on Prince’s “Purple Rain”, the DJ playing a mix that included C+C Music Factory. Not sure if Higgins singing “Chinese Girl” in place of the lyrics of “Brown-Eyed Girl” worked so well.
2. The Jackson Twinz were highly entertaining and the band as a whole good.  The Twinz are also persuasive: they got most of the women near the stage to sing along to “No Woman, No Cry“.
3. The range of ages within which you could cite any year for the Jackson Twinz and I would buy it: 25 to 48.
4. Rating of males doing the white man’s overbite dance / pretending to dance like gangsta rappers, with 1 being hardly anyone and 10 being all da boyz in da house: 9.
5. R Lounge provided wine, bottled beer, and mixed drinks from 8 PM to 11 PM and that meant lots of drunk people dancing (see previous point) and lots of last-minute positioning at the bar at 10:59 PM.
6. Later on, I tried two different martinis (RMB60 each): one arrived far too fast to have been made with care and neither was as good as the one on my previous visit. The waiter forgot to bring my change the first time. Oops.
7. Eric Smith of R Lounge says there will be some deals coming up. This place already has a good wine deal on Friday and Saturday nights: buy two glasses on a select range of wines, get the rest of the bottle free. Rohan Castelino, who is managing the place, says that deal will to Tuesdays in April and there will also soon be a RMB40 cocktail night on Thursdays. On top of this, happy hour is 6 PM to PM, with half-price standard drinks, beer, wine, and cocktails, and there are free cocktails for women on Wednesday nights.
8. After the show, I saw Bertie Higgins’ keyboardist Mark Halisky puffing on a Zhongnanhai .8 — is this the official cigarette expatriates or what? — and asked if he planned to take a carton back to the U.S.? Yep.
9. Nationality of the group of five guys who giggled as they went through the revolving door out front and said I looked like Nicolas Sarkozy: German.
10. Overall, a pretty fun night at R Lounge. It reminds me of the kind of place that people who used to hang out at the former China Doll 3.3 might like — a focus on popular music, pricey but not too pricey drinks, a space where a more corporate crowd could cut loose and get a little crazy.

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Give the Hilton Beijing credit for providing something for everyone with its annual events. Vino fans have more than a thousand bottles to sample at the Wine Experience, with the fourteenth edition slated for November 12. Families have the Christmas tree lighting ceremony, which included a Christmas train and a bazaar this year. And on March 26, the cultured can enjoy a mix of modern dance, cutting-edge music, and costume design at the third annual pole dancing contest (entry is RMB99 and includes a drink).

The Beijing Hilton also held is second annual pancake race last week. About a dozen contestants took on a pretty tough course. From what I remember, each contestant had to cook a pancake and then flip it while:

• Hopping on one foot through eight hoops,
• Climbing through a luggage trolley,
• Completing a four-stage ring toss,
• Running 100 meters through the revolving door, around the side of the building, into the new wing and back through the lobby;
• Doing ten rotations with a hula hoop atop the concierge desk;
• Riding a stationary bike,
• Crawling through a hoop,
• Weaving a ball through a series of pylons.

The goal is to complete the course in under four minutes while doing as many pancake flips as possible. The winner was Keith Frymark with 213 tosses, followed by Philipp Schleiffe with 178 tosses and Anny An with 131 tosses.

Good times, especially with RMB10 soft drinks, beer, wine, and pancakes. By the way, to the people who told me they thought the 6 PM start too early given traffic, it sounds like the race will be held a bit later next year….

(Note: All photos courtesy of Hilton Beijing)

Some news about brews…

Sanyuanqiao has a new drinking hole as Beervaria opened last Friday in the basement mall of the Tian Yuan Gang (TVG) Center near the Beijing Hilton. Beervaria seats about 200 people and is designed to be a Chinese restaurant during the day — in terms of feel, think Yoshinoya — and convert into a bar from 5 PM, Monday through Saturday. The menu includes Hoegaarden and Stella on tap and a decent selection of bottled Belgian brews, with a bar snacks menu in the works, says the owner.

Starting next week, Great Leap Brewery will be open from Tuesday through Saturday, adding two days to its weekly slate. (Hat tip to Maggie Rauch.) Brew maker Carl Setzer says visitors on St. Patrick’s Day next Thursday will find three new stouts — Fundamental Stout, Hophead Stout, and Liu the Brave Spiced Stout. I’ll soon have a writeup about my recent visits to Great Leap and Drei Kronen as well as what’s happening during St. Patrick’s Day in Beijing.

During March, you can get six bottles of Leffe Blond for a mere RMB150 at The Stumble Inn. That translates to RMB25 per bottle and makes it a tasty alternative to Tsingtao, Carlsberg, and the like, one with quite a kick given the 6.6 percent alcohol. Meanwhile, Beer Mania has Leffe at RMB35 per bottle, RMB10 off the normal price.

Tim Hilbert at Tim’s Texas BBQ has parked a massive beer-filled cooler near the door to make it easy for customer to pick and choose ice-cold brews. If the weather keeps improving, I see myself soon grabbing a few brews and relaxing outside.

Finally, Simon Pendergast of Dxcel, which distributes bottled beer from more than a half-dozen countries, says that Bang Bang Pizza sells more Saranac Pale Ale than any other spot in North Asia. Apparently, this is due in good part to a single customer — who says one person can’t make a difference?

Vandergeeten, which distributes Stella, Hoegaarden, and a wide range of Belgian bottled beers, is teaming up with Fubar in the base of Workers Stadium for an F&B industry night next Monday, March 14, from 8 PM. The event targets people in the food and beverage business, including hotels, restaurants, and bars, and the first keg of Stella is free with happy hour prices on this Belgian draft beer after that.

Fredrik Esbensen of Vandergeeten says that if interest is high enough more events will be held.

This isn’t the first effort to get an industry night going in Beijing. If the experience some 18 months ago of Loong Bar in the JW Marriot is any indication, the best bets — especially as many people in the industry don’t get much time off — are to do these things monthly rather than weekly and to rotate them to different venues so people can combine meeting each other with trying new spots.

See also: Hospitality Night 2.0: Changes at JW Marriott’s Wednesday event

Five upcoming events in Beijing with some kind of food and/or drink link…

• Tonight the Beijing Hilton holds its second annual pancake race from 6 PM to 8 PM. Pancake-tossing contestants will negotiate an obstacle course in the lobby. Observers can enjoy discount pancakes. And the after-party at Zeta bar features half-price drinks.
• Today is also International Women’s Day. There will be an International Women’s Day event Friday from 7:30 PM to 10 PM at Yishu 8 (Cable 8), with a silent auction, draws, and speaker. The RMB200 entry fee includes snacks from A Food Affaire, wine from The Wine Republic, Stella draft beer from Vandergeeten, and Jim Beam cocktails by none other than former Tuesday nights at Tryst bartender “Pat“.
• CAI is holding a charity dinner at Mughal’s restaurant on Thursday. Each of the two sittings — one from 6 PM to 8 PM and the other from 8 PM on — includes appetizer, main, dessert, and drink. The cost is RMB200, with RMB110 going to CAI. RSVP by emailing Janel at Janel (at) cai-china.org.
• Finally, Mao Mao Chong is doing early spring cleaning and auctioning the art off its walls, all creations of co-owner Stephen Rocard. The bidding starts at RMB100 per piece, at 10 PM on March 24, and there will be drink discounts all night.

Update II: And the winner of the random draw is Euchid. Congrats!

Update: The prizes will include a bottle of Martin Miller’s Gin from Liquid Luxury China. More stuff to come…

"Do I want 'some stuff'? Are you kidding?" (accesshollywood.com)

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Two years ago yesterday, I started a series of contests called Celebrity Pub Crawl. The idea: Pick a celebrity like Kylie Minogue or a character like Homer Simpson and ask people what bars he or she should visit. (I ran seven contests: Crockett and Tubbs, The Desperate Housewives, Homer Simpson, James Bond, Jack Burton, Austin Powers, and Kylie Minogue.)

Seems like we’re due for another one, so why not Charlie Sheen?

Simply leave a comment and tell us which bar(s) you would take this fist fire-breathing, tiger fang-adorned quotation machine for a winning! night in Beijing.

All I know is the evening would start with him cleaning out every dealer in Sanlitun north a.k.a. the  Charlie Sheen amuse bouche. Then onward…

Deadline: Friday at 5 PM. I’ll then do a random draw and announce the winner next Monday.

Prizes: I’ll dig up some good stuff and list it tomorrow. Wild Turkey and other assorted bottles? Don’t worry, it’ll be F-18, bro.

This is part twenty-two in the Must Tries Series that asks people in the Beijing bar, restaurant, and wine business to give us their recommendations. Last week, manager Alex Molina and chef Daniel Urdaneta talked about Modo and this time they talk about their first place — Mosto.

Urdaneta and Molina

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What is the “must try” appetizer and main at Mosto?

Urdaneta: Our starter Blue Crab & Avocado Causa (rmb95) brings your palette right into the heart of traditional Peruvian cuisine: it’s definitely a must try! As for the mains, a must order dish for our regulars is the Argentinean Matambre (rmb185).

What is the “must try” drink at Mosto?

Molina: The Mojito Martini (rmb60) that I created as a classy and feminine alternative to the original one… and it will not leave you with mint leaves between your teeth!

What are three “must try” items at other venues in Beijing?

Urdaneta: Jordi’s Bogavante Rice is irresistable at Agua! I also love the Terrines of Maison Boulud. And for my sweet teeth, Capital M’s Pavlova is the best.