Beijing Boyce

Kai Club: This late-night Sanlitun legend is on its last legs and DJ Blackie and DJ El-Mar Bengel will be on the decks this Saturday for what they call their “last stand.”

Beer Mania: I ran into manager Thierry De Dobbeleer earlier this week and he says the expansion into SPR will be complete in three weeks and include a pool table.

The Irish Volunteer: First, there was the Big Breakfast. Then, there was pizza. Now, there is… Thai food? As of today, IV will offer spring rolls, red beef curry and the like by chef Joy, says Rob Korfage. Most dishes will be RMB40 to RMB50, with rice.

And a heads up to fans of Great Leap Brewery: this place will be close on May 28, from 3 PM to 9 PM, for a private party, says Nathalie Johnston, who handles marketing. You will have to get your home-brew fix later in the evening…

One drop or two?

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I learned many things in my recent quest to make a Buffalo Wing Martini. Here are two of them:

1. Infusing vodka with Buffalo wing meat and then “washing” out the fat in order to create a martini garnished with blue cheese stuffed olives — well, the end product didn’t taste very good. At least not the one we tried yesterday.
2. Infusing vodka with Buffalo wing meat upsets people. Several people that I assume consider themselves to be open-minded seemed genuinely annoyed and/or angry not that I thought a Buffalo Wing Martini would be good, because I figured the odds of success were low, but that I would even attempt to make it. Chill out, little buddies. Methinks such outrage might best be directed at issues such as global poverty, pollution, and people who try to get into the elevator before those inside can get out.

Anyway, Andy Bright at Union kindly provided Buffalo wings that I infused in vodka at home last week. I guess I included too much meat because when I put the concoction in the freezer, to help the fat, it froze solid. I have since added more vodka to hopefully resolves this issue. In the meantime, Paul Mathew at Flamme used more Union wings to do an infusion and, not surprisingly, experienced no such problems. Here is a shot of him straining the ice-cold solids from the infusion:

Out, damn fat!

And a shot of a greasy coffee filter after the fifth strain:

In case you want wing-flavored coffee.

I found the resulting liquid fairly “chicken-y” but lacking the spicy edge of Buffalo wings. The ensuring martini, with blue-cheese stuffed olives, might best be described as “interesting” though one person who tried it – and who is perhaps honest to a fault – called it “horrible”. A splash of Tabasco helped but did not get it to the “I’d like another one of those” zone.

It looks like it is back to the drawing board with the Buffalo wings. Perhaps I can do a Bourbon infusion next time. Or, maybe it is time for a smoothie.

Double hat tips to Paul Mathew and Andy Bright for making the effort, for taking the chance, for trying to help one person’s dream come true.

Well, it *looks* okay...

I went to Contempio last night for the finale of the Spanish Tapas Tour but arrived late, couldn’t get a glass, and felt like the last thing I needed after one of my busiest weeks in memory was to squeeze through crowds all night. This venue – based in a temple complex – is impressive and I will write more about it later. But on this night I needed to chill out. So I headed next door to Zajia.

This place has been open for about a month and feels a bit like a workshop converted to a bar. The décor includes gray and orange brick, sloped ceilings with exposed beams, a loft area, and an eclectic collection of chairs, tables and items that range from flower pots to a mannequin. Images are beamed onto a misshaped white screen that dangles from the ceiling.

Most importantly, it offers a relaxed vibe. I plunked down, popped open my laptop to check some emails, and had a Leffe Blonde (RMB35) and a plate of beef and celery dumplings that Xiao Bo, one of three co-owners, says are made by his aunt. That took the blood pressure down a few notches.

By the way, Zejia also offers cocktails and about a dozen whiskeys, starting at RMB35 for the Talisker ten-year-old and Caol Ila 12-year-old.

Never been a fan of sea cucumbers. Nope. Not one deep down bottom of the murky sea bit. Not as a pet, a food or a topic of conversation. I realize beauty is in the eye of the beholder and taster but these things not only look shiny and slimy, like some organ our ancestors once needed but we no longer do, even like something I would produce after a meal rather than eat during it, but also have a weird texture. But the one I had at Da Dong last night was… good. I didn’t end up taking the usual two nibbles and then hiding the rest under the napkin but ate the entire braised thin.

(Hat tip to Ricardo for the dinner invite)

I recently tried the Australian wine Irvine Albarino and agreed with a fellow taster that it smelled like marijuana. It didn’t only smell like marijuana. The first smell was petrol and made me think of a Riesling. The second smell was a cupboard of herbs and that included a sticky hint of marijuana. (It also led to inevitable remarks like “I don’t know if I should drink it or smoke it” and “This bottle should come with rolling papers”.) The wine eventually mellowed to lighter herb, grass and fruit aromas atop a fairly balanced body that had a slightly sweet initial taste and a lemony finish. I liked it.

Anyway, Irvine Albarino is among the more intriguing wines I have tried this year so I decided to see what other people smelled. I didn’t find anything about it in the guidebooks by Australian wine writers Jeremy Oliver and James Halliday, though they both cite the Merlot from Irvine as good. I found tasting notes on the Internet that didn’t note petrol or marijuana but peaches (huh?), pears (really?) as major smells. It seems that either those tasters were smoking up or, as is more likely, other factors were at play, perhaps the age of the wine (we tried a 2007), the peculiarities of this particular bottle or, according to several people in the wine industry, the impact of the screw top on the initial smell. To be fair, those fruity smells did come through later.

I tried this wine at The Loop, at a tasting organized by manager Weiley Lu with Philip Osenton of Wine Culture. Ostenton says that while the label says this wine is made from Albarino grapes, originally from Spain, testing has shown that it is actually made from Savagnin grapes, originally from France. This will be indicated on later vintages. It retails for RMB218 and is available from philip.osenton (at) wineculture.com.cn. Some other wines from the tasting:

Chateau Mas Neuf Les Conviviales Cabernet Sauvignon (2008: RMB122): Given the price, this is a decently round and deep fruity wine with a mildly spicy finish.

Bogle Petite Syrah (2006: RMB174): If I could pick one bottle to finish on this night, it would be this Bogle. A pleasing aroma, especially of blackberries, and a round body with a pleasant fruity finish.

Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel (2007: RMB191): Ample fruit, though it took a while to reveal, with a hint of cracked black pepper. This one is juicy, and at times borders on jammy, with a dry finish. Osenton said he picked up the smell of cranberry (I didn’t) and strawberry jam (I did).

Casa Gualda Unico Sauvignon Blanc/Muscat (2009: RMB82): If you seek something slightly sweet, floral, easy to drink and inexpensive, this blend might fit your needs.

Altor Las Hormigas Malbec (2008: RMB134): I’m including this partly because of the name, which means “the ants”. It has a lot of dark fruit, one person called it “stalky”, and it seems like a wine that would be best with a nice steak.

Wine Culture also has a sparkling red wine, from Malvasian grapes, at RMB226. You don’t see those every day…

I stopped by The Pavillion tonight upon hearing that the place had changed ownership after some five years in business. It indeed appears so as I met Marlen, who represents the owners and says they are involved in the Sim-Sim group. The Pavillion has one of the best patios in town and Marlen says he plans to improve it, to renovate the interior to make it feel warmer, and to continue to work on the food menu with William Bolton, of Chef Too fame, who came on board as a consultant earlier this year. The Pavillion had a decent crowd on its deck tonight and I plan to return later this week. I’m looking forward to seeing what the new owners do with this place…

* Hat tip to JK and T-Man for the title

Break out the cowboy hats and stirrups: A new gay lounge called Stallion is slated to open a block north of Workers Stadium near April Gourmet. A source says Stallion will feature an all-white décor and focus on cocktails. It will add to the growing number of gay spots in the area, including neighbors The Half and Alfa, with its weekly event, along with Destinations and McQueen’s.

On the same street, Moroccan grill Argana has seen a shakep-up as mercurial head man Youssef has left the restaurant and a team led by Gus Zhang has taken over. Argana might see some tweaking but it looks like much of the staff remains and it should be business as usual.

In other restaurant departures, Paul Mathew has left as manager at Flamme though he will stay involved as a drinks consultant and man the bar on the Wednesday Martini and Manhattan nights, starting from next week. Food consultant Jeff Powell, who has done work with Element Fresh, Gung Ho Pizza and Kro’s Nest, left Flamme several months ago and has been doing a project with the Bellagio group. Current employee Helen Jin is taking over as floor supervisor at Flamme.

Look for the new Kro’s Nest to open kitty corner to Salsa Caribe in Sanlitun South mid-summer. Working is coming along, says Olfa “Kro” Bauer, who adds that Kro’s Nest will add new soups, appetizers, pizzas and desserts to its menu at the end of the month. He also says Robbie Hennebry, who has played at Danger Doyle’s, Stumble Inn, Fubar and Paddy O’Shea’s, will soon be strumming and singing at Kro’s several nights per week.

Finally,  Fatburger has opened its newest outlet, this one at China World Mall 1…

The team behind Home Plate, which built a following with a delivery service focused on brisket, ribs, wings and the like, opened its restaurant today a block behind the new Kro’s Nest on Xiaoyun Road. Home Plate has seating for about forty, a custom-made smoker stoked with apple wood, a cute and cuddly cow logo that might inspire people to order the veggies, and modest prices given the size of several dishes I sampled on Sunday. They included a double burger, with 300 grams of tender meat just a touch pink in the middle, priced at RMB35, and one of the house specialities, cheese fries topped with brisket, priced at RMB45. Expect pulled pork sandwiches at RMB30 and cheese fries at RMB20 along with Texas ranch beans, potato salad and smoked corn on the cob.

Seth Grossman says Home Plate aims to capture the spirit of the southern BBQ belt. “It is all about slow cooking,” he says. “In the Carolinas people usually do pulled pork, in Texas it is brisket and beef, and in Memphis you see more of a rub on the ribs.” Chef Adama Murray, who also manned the kitchen during the delivery service days, had the smoker built to his specs and is doing everything from the cornbread to the barbecue sauce in house.

The beverage list is a still work in progress, with plans to serve a range of Bourbons, drinks such as Alabama Slammers and Mint Juleps, and American craft beers as well as a brew or two on tap. But if what I tasted last night is any indication, we can live without the drinks for the time being.

For those unfamiliar with the area, take the alley beside Kro’s Nest to the end and turn left. In fact, you can make it an all-American meal by hitting both places, getting some pizzas as well as some brisket and pulled pork.

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Some might call them hot dogs, others might call them handheld cardiac arrest units, but I call them delicious. Look for Switch restaurant in the 798 district to formally open its deck this Saturday. It will be known as Billy K’s Lemonade Stand, after co-owner Billy Kawaja, and will obviously have homemade lemonade, and in two versions, standard and spiked, the latter including one shot, two shot or three shot vodka options.

While it is still touch and go whether the lemonade stand will be ready for this weekend, the hot dogs will be on the grill, and I had a chance to try some at a recent wedding reception held at Switch. Each wiener is split in half and cooked well before being slid on a grilled bun with a slice of bacon plus cheddar cheese, smoked ketchup and Dijon mustard. In the interests of research, I ate four hot dogs at the wedding and found each one better than the last. That the normally finicky Cellar Rat ate not one but two hot dogs stands as even more of an endorsement.

Asking for a spot of tea at Fubar on Sunday night meant getting something far more potent as Jamie Terrell, brand head of Hendrick’s Gin for the Asia-Pacific region, led a cocktail tasting. “During Prohibition, teapots helped to disguise the use of alcohol,” he explained, and added that spirits were often mixed with juice to further help hide the evidence. I’m guessing those teapots made it easier for the authorities to sometimes (often?) look the other way.

I tried three Hendrick’s-based cocktails, all from recipes Terrell says were created in the past year or so:

1) Teatime Martini, with gin, fresh lemon juice and rose petal jam. This one seems to be tricky in terms of getting the sour and sweet balanced. The first glass turned out to be mouth-puckering, the second swinging between sweet and sour, and these were my least favorites of the night.

2) Flora Dora, with gin, fresh lime juice and raspberry syrup. This one is sweet, but not cloyingly so, and has nice jammy aromas and flavors. It should be a crowd pleaser.

3) Earl of Negroni, with gin, Campari, Martini Rosso and Ceylon tea with fresh rose buds. The most interesting of the three with a slightly milky and tannic ending.

The night also featured happy hour prices, which meant Fubar’s popular Hendrick’s Gin Tonic at RMB25…

The annual Beijinger Bar and Clubs Awards party is tonight and as usual I am posting my picks a few hours early. Why? Because that is how we roll at Maison BB. Anyway, I don’t have a list of every category and nominee so I will rely on memory. That means I have forgotten some categories, added a few, and will look at this post tomorrow and say, “How the &%#& could I not have mentioned [insert bar name here]!?” Such is the nature of our imperfect world. Anyway, of the bars I visited this past year, these are some I consider the best. And as always, I do not claim to be an expert but a consumer, I take no money from any bar or restaurant, and these are not necessarily the places I think will win.

Best sports bar: Tie between Paddy O’Shea’s, which is perpetually packed, is usually able to dig up whatever sport you wish to watch, pours a good pint and features the antics of proprietor Karl Long, and The Den, which offers sports 24/7, a good happy hour, some of the city’s better pub grub and a staff that is efficient but that might take you out back if you have the gall to request a glass of water. A special mention to The Irish Volunteer for going above and beyond when screening sports and for being among the friendlier spots, and to Union for providing sports viewing in a more refined environment..

Best whiskey bar: Glen gets high marks for choice while Amilal is attractive with its fifty kuai pour policy but I am inclined to pick two other spots: Ichikura, for the sense of seclusion one gets in this hard-to-find spot while sipping from among the wide range of whiskies, and Nashville, which offers plenty of options – about 100 single malts, Bourbons et al – and a daily two-for-one special that covers a handful of thirty-year-olds and allows patrons to mix and match. Props go to The Bookworm for its surprisingly diverse – and reasonably priced – collection.

Best beer bar: The lack of listed prices is dubious but Great Leap Brewery nevertheless feels like a tipping point in the local beer scene. It combines a divey hidden locale that will make the average Hutong Hipster’s extremities tingle and a creative range of tasty beers that in some cases include local ingredients like Sichuan peppercorns. We are already seeing beers from this place featured about town, including at The Orchid Hotel and the upcoming Plastered party, and I am guessing we will see copycats in the coming year. When it comes to bottled and draft beer menus, the better options include El Nido, The Stumble Inn, 1F and, during happy hour, Drei Kronen 1308.

Best hidden gem: I immediately liked this place for its layout and music though the food and beverages left something to be desired. Now the menus are good and the music has gone all Air Supply. Anyway, I hope these guys figure it out because I am a fan of The Loop. Places such as Great Leap, Amilal, El Nido, and Mao Mao Chong are all also good but not so hidden any more so kudos for some lesser knowns, including — off the top of my head — Mokihi, The Box, Bang Bang, Entero, Historia and Unconditional Love Coffee.

Best wine bar: Beijing is not much of a wine bar city but if I had to play tour guide two of my top stops would be Modo, with 16 wines in its enomatic machines, and Palette Vino, which has a good and reasonably priced portfolio paired with selections from other importers. No, I haven’t forgotten Enoterra / Enoteca, but the strength of that place is atmosphere, not wine.

Best décor: The wood trim and high brick arches, the voluptuous bone-white bar, the warmly lit cellar-like space that gives a sense of depth, the eclectic mix of sofas, chairs and lights – these make D Lounge hard to beat for sheer appearance. I also like the tight layouts at The Loop and Fubar, the design and lighting at Maggie’s, and the general look of Migas. I still think Tun is a fun design and that as a local pub The Brick gets the feel right.

Best music: Any place that allows patrons to use their iPhones to play the likes of Snow and Sir Mix-a-Lot gets my vote. The winner: 12SQM.

Best cocktails: Tie between Twilight (for precision, presentation and – ultimately – quality as well as for having arcane ingredients behind the bar) and Mao Mao Chong (for creativity, value and embodying the spirit of exploration). Q Bar gets credit for continued consistency.

Best cocktail: When it includes those marinated olives stuffed with fried Italian sausage, onions and spices, The Smoky Martini at Twilight is the tops. This was a tough one given some of the creations at George’s, Flamme, and Mao Mao Chong. I also have a tender spot for those who do a decent cocktail that includes baijiu, thus kudos to Mao Mao Chong, 12SQM and The Loop.

Best bartender: A few years ago, The Beijinger would omit this category because so few candidates were nominated. Now there are so many worthy mixologists — the team at Twilight, George Zhou, freelancing Pat D, and many more — that some did not make it on the ballot. One who did is proficient at deciphering what a given patron will enjoy and expertly making classic cocktails as well as creating his own concoctions, including a crowd-pleaser called The Passionate Englishmen. True, it doesn’t hurt that the venue is backed by a massive company that can afford to offer ridiculously cheap cocktails (example: RMB25 Ketel One martinis) but those cocktails are nevertheless good: Paul Mathew of Flamme. A tough category: I am planning a separate post on this one.

Best happy hour: Every place and its siblings have happy hour(s) so what is best often depends on where in town you live and work. I enjoy post-work beverages at the comfy three-sided bar in Union or next door at Flamme, in the grittier confines of Nearby the Tree or 1F, or – when I find myself in the area – at Twilight. And the half-price drinks and pizza at The Den still make it a favorite. This one is too close to call…

Overall Bar/Club of The Year: A quick rundown of the nominees…

Paddy O’Shea’s: Best sports bar? Yes. Best overall bar? A tougher go given the options out there when it comes to cocktails, atmosphere, and so on.

Punk: Fun for weekends and events, as well as for decent mixed drinks, but too generic to rule the scene IMHO.

Apothecary: Serves typically good and frequently superb cocktails but numerous complaints regarding service and management attitude are worrisome.

First Floor: Several notches above the dodgier places near Tongli, it has been busy since day one and counts numerous bar managers among its clientele.

Mao Mao Chong: It offers a nice mix of creative cocktails, tasty pizzas and art as well as – for better or worse – a secluded location.

D Lounge: A gorgeous space that is even better when the drinks are on and the pretentious vibe is off.

Mesh: Sibling to Punk, it is a reliable stop for quality cocktails and has a chic vibe, but bar of the year?

Yugong Yishan: Bands play there. But have you tried the drinks? Not sure why this would be best when competitors such as D-22 or 2 Kolegas are not even nominated.

El Nido: Rough and tumble hutong option with a beer and spirits – specifically absinthe – selection that rivals much larger spots.

Since this category doesn’t use “best”, as do many others, I am going to define it in two ways: which bar / club made the most impact this year and which bar / club I feel is best.

In terms of impact, my choice is not even nominated but continued over the past twelve months to influence at least three nightlife icons that until fairly recently were considered pretty much untouchable. The ultimate love it or hate it bar, Xiu has had an impact on Suzie Wong’s (the two crowds overlap and Xiu has effectively staked out Thursdays with its ladies night), Maggie’s (is it a coincidence this place added a Xiu feature, live music, given that its competitor is attracting a good number of men and women seeking “short-term joint ventures”?) and Centro (the opening of Atmosphere is siphoning clients from here and some of these ultimately go to Xiu and, I guess, sometimes now even start at Xiu). Given its size (it includes a lounge, bar and club, plus an ample outdoor area), clientele (everyone from one-drink gawkers to high-spending nouveau riche), popularity (long lineups), and ability to make most of my acquaintances seeth with rage whenever it is mentioned (perhaps we will simply call this place The Bar That Shall Not Be Named), Xiu has had the most impact.

In terms of best bar, my vote this year goes to Mao Mao Chong. I can’t say this place is best for drinks or for décor or for pub grub but that it ranks high in all these respects and the cumulative effect is good. Add in the creativity behind the drinks, the attention to detail in everything from the infused spirits to the décor, the personalities behind the bar, the Beijing feel of its location, and that the owners have struggled to make everything work, and this is a deserving venue. Special mention goes to 1F, which has provided an earthy and reliable drinking den in the heart of Sanlitun.

I know I am missing some categories, but the awards start in 30 minutes, so I will have more later…

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• Hidden gems and happy hours, service and sports: My picks as Beijing’s best bars (2010)
• Beijinger bar awards: Mixed emotions, deja vu, and body Czechs (2010)
• Blogging live: The Beijinger Bars and Clubs awards (2009)
• My two kuai: Favorites for tonight’s The Beijinger Bars and Clubs Awards (2009)
• Pub picks: The Beijinger bars and clubs awards (2008)
• TBJ Awards: D-22, pole dancers, reality TV, and more (2007)
• It’s a bar, it’s a club, it’s a blub, part 1 (2007)
• It’s a bar, it’s a club, it’s a blub, part 2 (2007)
• My two kuai: Pre-TBJ awards bar picks (2006)

The iPad launch is a hit.

A beautiful day for an iPunch.

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They say timing is everything so here are some photos from the iPad launch at the Apple store in Sanlitun Village… eleven days ago. Actually, the focus of this blog is bars so, some might ask, why am I posting about this? Because in three years of going to bars and restaurants in Sanlitun Village, I haven’t seen one punch thrown, yet an employee at Apple managed to get into a scuffle with at least one person outside the store. Piece of evidence #11,568 why Apple — and its fanatical followers — scare me…

(Ganbei to The Stig for the photos.)

Also known as Japanese-American fusion cuisine.

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Among my favorite bar and restaurant stories is one where a family goes to Maison Boulud to celebrate a birthday, the child requests a particular cake, and the staff says they do not have it on the menu then secretly makes it in the kitchen and presents it twenty minutes later to the delight of everyone. That is not only a nice thing to do but also a good way to ensure customer loyalty.

Andy Bright of Union told me about teaming up with Alan Wong of Hatsune recently to do something similar. (Bright told me about the incident because he found it funny, not because he wanted any credit.) As the story goes, a customer was in Union, Wong was nearby, and the former suggested to the latter than he add “hot dog sushi” to the menu. Wong said he didn’t have hot dogs at the restaurant but if the customer brought some in he would try. A week later, the customer was again at Union, on his birthday, and Bright grabbed two hot dogs, went to Hatsune, and asked if Wong if he could indeed make that sushi. He did, brought it over to Union, and made a birthday even better. This is the kind of above and beyond action that keeps people coming back….

City Weekend just posted its take on the city’s Buffalo wings, with Hooters, Union Bar & Grille and Luga’s ranking at the top. (My favorite: Union.) See the comments here and ten more wings spots visited here. Some places not listed: Bar Blu, where I’ve twice had the wings and found them the biggest in these parts; The Box, which also has a tasty Buffalo burger; and The Saddle Cantina, which announced it is serving Rickshaw-style wings on Mondays — to be fair, the author, Sienna Parulis-Cook, told me she stopped by Saddle on a recent Monday but the wings were not available. By the way, anyone else miss the wings from former bar Cox?

I am also in the process of making Buffalo Wing Martinis. Last week I infused vodka with wings donated by Andy Bright at Union and, after some challenges removing the fat, the process is almost complete. The plan is to garnish the martini with those large blue cheese-stuffed olives that Paul Mathew makes at Flamme. Before the drinks purists / snobs get their feathers in a ruffle, let me preemptively tell them to lighten up, that the mixology sky is not falling: this is just an idea that came up on the fly. More on this soon…

I spent a night with catering company Culinary Capers last month at its restaurant — Switch in the 798 art district — as the team put together 6500 box lunches for a conference at Wukesong Stadium the next day. This not only required a mountain of food but also days of kitchen preparation, two refrigerated trucks out front to store the meals, and an assembly line involving dozens of people that put together six options — Chinese, Indian, Southeast Asian, Korean, Japanese and Western. That’s a lot of Tupperware. Some photos from the night…

Food and art at Switch

Culinary Capers' Billy Kawaja explains the assembly line.

Culinary Capers' Debra Lykkemark (bottom left) leads the team.

The Caesar salad assembly line in action.

Two trucks were needed to handle all of the meals.

The kitchen survives to prepare another meal... or 6500.

Sanlitun thieves are a touch subtler than this guy (chinasmack.com).

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Sanlitun has long been a spot where the unwary are easily relieved of their phones and wallets, purses and laptops. But a handful of bar and restaurant managers, including at some of the pricier places in the area, tell me the rate of theft is increasing. It’s not that the methods are novel — one routine sees a team of two check a bar and then either grab unattended items or have one partner act as a diversion while another steals — it is that more people are engaged in them. To help deal with the problem, several bar managers told me they are not only warning customers to be careful but also cooperating with each other. For example, when one manager spotted two people casing his joint, he approached and asked them to leave, then contacted other managers to be on the lookout.

Such measures can reduce theft but the surest solution is to protect your belongings and save yourself much bigger hassles. As too many people know, it is bad enough to wake up with a hangover after a big night out. It is far worse to also be short of cash, in need of getting credit cards reissued, or faced with not only having to replace a phone but also all the contact info in it.

To see how stealing is not done, check this video.

On my way home early this evening, and on the advice of Andy B, I walked west past Nearby the Tree to a new liquor store just up the street. This place is stocked: there must be more than 50 beers (from Boddington’s to Kwok to Bud to a good selection of Belgian brews) along with more than 100 spirits and liqueurs (I spotted Evan Williams Single Barrel Bourbon among the more than two dozen whiskeys) not to mention a good range of cigars. I only spent five minutes there tonight but will return in the next few days for a closer look.

Paella is a Spanish dish that includes meat and/or vegetables on top of rice. That sounds simple but the cooking method means paella often has complex smells and tastes. Even better, it is a fun food to share.

If you are a paella fan, or want to try it, check out Niajo — on the third floor of Nali Patio — as it has received thumb ups from several of my Spanish acquaintances.

And if you want enjoy it in the comfort of home, as mentioned last week Ole is now doing delivery in the Sanlitun area. Mention this blog and the guys at Ole say they will include a bottle of wine with your paella for free. See menu and details here.

Meanwhile, Bar Code / MpC Wines is holding a weekly paella night, with a special deal next Wednesday (7 PM to 9 PM): the paella plus four Spanish wines plus Manchego cheese for RMB98. (There are 50 seats; contact Vincent at v.muedra@mpc2008.com to book).

Finally, Valencia is considered by many to be the birth place of paella. Not surprisingly, this dish — along with traditional tapas and desserts — will play a big part in the Valencia Night being held at Migas next Thursday. The event runs from 6 PM to 8 PM, costs RMB200 per person and will include Vegalfaro wines. (There are also 50 seats for this one: again, contact Vincent at v.muedra@mpc2008.com to book).

Looks of disapproval are free.

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People like to snicker at Chinese who mix wine and Coke even though: 1) such mixology can make some of the crappier vino more palatable and 2) such a combo is imbibed about the world. If you haven’t tried it, and would like to, Flamme in Sanlitun Village, has a superb deal on tonight, with 2010 Joseph Drouhin Beaujolais Nouveau on at RMB25 per glass, and only RMB13 during happy hour (until 7:30 PM), with Coke at no extra charge. If it doesn’t end up being your thing, you can always wash the taste away with a Vesper Martini or Smoky Martini (RMB50 / RMB25 happy hour) or some Ketel One vodka shots (RMB20 / RMB10 during happy hour).

East Gate Story

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Story Ship, the three-level floating restaurant and bar opposite Fubar and George’s at Workers Stadium, has its deck furniture out and offers yet another spot to enjoy an outdoor beverage. And a sedate one at that if my experience earlier this week is any indication. Story Ship is also offering a 20 percent discount on food.

The Loop upgraded its food and drink menus six weeks ago, introducing a handful each of appetizers, pastas, and mains, including steak with two sides for RMB58 and herb chicken with two sides for RMB48. (I ate the latter last night and the chicken is tasty, with the veggies lightly cooked and crispy, and a choice of sweet potato mash or regular mash.) Now the place is ready for stage two, says Weiley Lu, with items such as burgers, including one with foie gras and truffle, and homemade mozzarella sticks joining the menu sometime next week. The Loop is also on the verge of introducing an upgraded wine list. Finally, word is that The Loop is likely to operate as usual on weekends but to start opening later, from 5 PM, on weekdays. I’ll have more on this soon.

The crew at Bar Blu is awfully busy these days. Along with the re-launch of the main floor late last year, there is the revamp of the terrace bar, the addition of a second rooftop, above that bar, and the installation of a covered stage. That stage will get good use now that New Zealand band Solidaz has severed ties with The Pavillion — no shocker there — and shifted to Bar Blu. With Jun Trinh putting together a new menu and an increase in drink options, including Belgian beers, there is plenty going on. The place even organized a Philippines-style breakfast buffet for a screening of the Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosely fight last weekend.

And Hendrick’s fans might have trouble finding this gin for a while as it looks the distributor is at least temporarily out of stock. Those who get their Hendrick’s Tonic fix at Fubar can relax  as Chad Lager says the place has plenty of bottles in stock.