Beijing Boyce

TRIO has taken The Park Grill and The Cellar down a few notches and now offers a more affordable wine list (see Hanky Panky at Frankie’s below). / An investor in The Pavillion, which marks its one-year anniversary on November 16, says the group will open another venue in the Workers’ Stadium area in March. / Tim’s Texas BBQ (formerly John Bull Pub) will open in mid-November, says Frank Siegel, who is eager for the public to try his smoked meat. Frank says Tim’s will retain the popular trivia nights and look at incorporating the Friday and Saturday Mexican food cart. / Q Bar plans a December debut for its website, which will include a game where patrons drink cocktails made by George and Echo at faster-than-life speeds. Back in reality, a special East meets West drink - namely, a dragon fruit margarita - should soon roar into life at the Q (more on this next issue). / As part of the shift from blues spot to gallery and events venue, Icehouse has walled off its bar to create a narrow and intimate zone that could become a nice after-work getaway. The event experimentation continues as the venue hosts the high-energy Central Asian music of Panjir on Saturday night (50-kuai entry fee includes one Tsingdao). / Eddie O reports that Blue Fox, unable to replicate the success of its neighbor Centro, has howled its last. / Cafe Europa, a comfortable place to enjoy wine by the glass or bottle in the Soho district, will hold a tasting of four Cabernet Sauvignons (with tapas) next Thursday (150 kuai, email josefkiang@yahoo.com to RSVP). / Here’s a bar you don’t hear much about - Marine House. It’s on U.S. Embassy grounds, serves up the coldest beer in Beijing and is one place where you don’t want to anger the bouncers. / Tongli Studio’s Top Club is changing into Kokomo Bar and Restaurant. Yay! I mean, boo! I mean, hmmm… Meanwhile, Kebab Nation is now open on the studio’s ground floor. / The City Weekend website has an upgraded bars section that includes editors’ picks and a better directory (with handy phone numbers). As always, the forums on thatsbj.com are a good source of information on Beijing’s nightlife scene, including the recent Halloween bashes. / Add this to the list of drinkable Chinese wines: Grace Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2005.
(From Beijing Boyce XXIV, first emailed on September 21, 2006)

Razed. Chai’d. Bye bye’d. Beijing’s three-meter salute to drinking – the Sanlitun beer mug — was not only a dispenser of cigarettes, gum and beer, but also a reference point for locating dozens of bars. Now it’s gone, tossed on the dust heap of history in what is already a very dusty city. Not even a cement coaster remains. As always, change is in the air and Opening Shots covers eight bar scene developments.

ONE

Crisis at First Cafe: it was long my favorite bar but cocktail quality has slid quite a bit during the past year, though the ambience remains good. With the nearby beer mug gone, what does fate hold for this cozy watering hole, especially given that its sign has been turned off for nearly two weeks?

TWO

Meanwhile, ex-First Cafe, ex-Midnight bartenders George Zhou and Echo Sun nearly have Q Bar ready atop the Eastern Inn on Sanlitun South. The place will have dim lighting, cozy couches, and jazz and blues music, with the interior and deck much more spacious than what George and Echo have before handled. The wildcard is the cocktails — their claim to fame — and whether the (quality) martinis will smoothly flow should the place hit its peak capacity of over one hundred people.

(By the way, some wonder why I so regularly write about George and Echo. In short, they epitomize everything about opportunity in China. A couple of years ago, they were out-of-town novice bartenders, learning their craft and making little money. They worked hard, built up their mixing skills, bar knowledge and a loyal following, and now have their own place. To me, that is a compelling story.)

Q Bar will fully open in early June…

THREE

… as will TRIO, with a soft opening on Friday (May 12). Near the Rosedale Park, Japanese School and Si-de Park, TRIO has a piano bar and a New York-style grill on the top floor, the new Frank’s Place at ground level, and The Cellar in the, uh, cellar. This is a major project and the big question is whether it can stick in an area that is not exactly known for nightlife. The Cellar itself is unique in Beijing with its wrought iron doors, stucco walls, arch ceiling, earthy feel and focus on wine. There will be a Club 88, with an 8888 kuai initial investment and 3888 kuai annual fee, where members receive free wine dinners and cooking classes, discounts on wine, and a 32-bottle onsite storage space (lock and key included). The top floor grill, complete with baby grand piano, seats 50, while Frank’s Place holds 110 and has a pool table, a bar, eight TVs and outdoor seating in front and back. (Thanks to investor Roger Dutton for the tour.)

FOUR

Speaking of outdoors, The Pavillion now has a most pleasant patio. Comfy wicker chairs, lush grass, serene trees — a nice spot for a few pints or bottle of wine. (The cocktails are okay, though one Mojito came with uncrushed mint and the Long Island had too much Coke. Word has it that the food has greatly improved with ex-Aria chef Richard Millar now on hand.) This seems to be the Year of Outdoor Seating. There are newcomers, such as Frank’s Place, Le Petit Gourmand, 5:19, Cafe Pause, The Pomegranate and The Bookworm (though the nearby construction is annoying); old-timers, ranging from Bar Blu, Stone Boat and Le Quai to numerous Houhai spots; and more decks, patios and rooftops coming, such as at Blue Fox.

FIVE

Glenn, we hardly knew you! My suspicions about tensions between the owners and staff at Browns turned into reality as Glenn Phelan, who joined Browns when he left Pavillion after a three-month stint, resigned as floor manager (the DJ soon followed and there may be more fallout). Look for Glenn to have his own spot in a few months. Meanwhile, investor Philip Cheung says that Browns’ Russian sidebar will open next month and that ladies’ night, on Wednesdays, will be extended from 2 AM to 3 AM (the free drinks have been cut back to a select list of cocktails). As expected, Guinness and Kilkenny prices have risen to 40 kuai, from 35 kuai, which begs the question: when will they go up again?

SIX

Efforts to duplicate the Centro phenomenon continue with one high-end hotel recently launching Champagne and another expected to open a bar this summer. Palms threw its hat into the ring about six months ago, though it was quickly tossed back. Champagne might want to resist describing itself, in its adverts, as “fast becoming the hottest place in the city for Beijing’s social elite,” because if one of my visits was any indication, those elites number less than a dozen. It would be much more useful to study Centro‘s excellence in effectively welding great location with calculated and sustained marketing.

SEVEN

I recently wrote that Beijing’s cocktail scene was stumbling down the proverbial stairs. In hindsight, it might have been a case of “one step backward, two steps forward.” Q Bar is about to open, Garden of Delights serves up excellent Mojitos, Centro has upgraded its cocktail list, master mixer Marc van Bever has returned to Beer Mania (luckily that cast is on his ankle, not on his wrist), Jackie at Browns is sharpening his skills (Agent Red Wolf gave the Mojito a thumb up), Modern Nomads has those Chinggis vodka Martinis, and so on. Things do seem to be looking brighter.

(From Beijing Boyce XVI, first emailed on May 11, 2006)

Beijing’s Filipino community - and it really does define “community” - was out in full force last Sunday for the annual Christmas party in the Philippines Embassy. The only people that are more fun than Filipinos are… are… are… wait, I can’t think of anyone else. Filipino bands from five-star hotels, the Hard Rock Cafe and Blue Fox had the place hopping, and with plenty of tasty food, raffles prizes and games, it was an enjoyable afternoon. There was one game, based on musical chairs, where a group of eight women danced around a group of seven men and, when the music stopped, each tried to grab a man’s belt, with the one left beltless being eliminated from the game. Then it went down to seven women and six men, and so on. Highly entertaining. This is my second time to the party - all thanks to my Filipina pal Cherry - and I highly recommend finding someone to tag along with next year.

(Philippines footnote: My last trip to the islands was in 1999. I landed with an American friend in Manila at midnight and within minutes a Filipina-American we just met invited us to her house in Roxas, Panay Island, to visit with her family. We accepted the offer and spent two days hanging out with about 70 of her nieces and nephews - eating, drinking, eating, visiting markets, eating and, of course, singing. That’s hospitality.)

(From Beijing Boyce VI, first emailed on December 14, 2005)