Category Archives: Cafe St Laurent

Brunch buddy: Goodbye Cafe St. Laurent, hello Boheme

One of the more interesting bar scene transformations last year saw sweaty eighties night headquarters Alfa change its covered patio into a sedate weekend brunch spot called Cafe St. Laurent…

Grab a java II: Pacific Coffee

Hot on the heels of an executive decision to expand my “hood” – hey, if Champagne producers can do it, why can’t I? – I’m revising my recent list of…

Grab a java: Coffee in my hood

As I shuffled the street pre-coffee one recent morning, my synapses fired briefly and inspired this thought – if someone asked me to suggest places in my Sanlitun-Workers Stadium hood…

Sunday with Special K: CSL, Saddle, Smugglers, and more

With his “I’m Beyonce” episode a distant memory, I hit the town with Special K on Sunday. Here’s a roundup of spots we visited that, on second reading, kind of…

Forget a free lunch, I have money

They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch. But you can go hungry even if you have money. I popped into The Rickshaw yesterday at noon for Taco…

Spring cleaning: Changes at Alfa

The Cellar Rat and I dropped into Cafe St. Laurent / Alfa a few days ago to find the latter undergoing renovations, with work being done on the floor and…

Hoop, hockey dreams: NBA All-Star game Monday morning; HNIC update

At The Rickshaw and just caught the NBA three-point shooting and slam dunk contests – the “birthday cake” dunk, with Gerald Green putting a cupcake with lit candle on the…

The World of p3wong: Beijing and the Bloody Mary

Some like it hot, some like it spicy, and p3wong likes her Bloody Mary to be both, and with a pinch of celery salt to boot. Friday night, we chilled out in…

HR at Project H

Joop Shen, who’s worked at China Doll, The Bank* and (most recently) Mingle over the past year, is moving to Project H, a large restaurant, lounge and deck development in Sanlitun’s…

Ice time: Hockey Morning in Beijing

Ladies and gentlemen, start your zambonis. As noted over a month ago, our fair city will soon feature a weekly Hockey Morning in Beijing (see Hockey Night in Canada for the inspiration behind the…

Interview: Blane Kieng of Alfa, CSL, Project H, and more

Spencer Grey Group, which runs Alfa, Muse, Café St. Laurent and Le Hugo, among other Beijing establishments, will soon open Project H, a one-thousand-square-meter bar, restaurant, lounge, and patio complex on Sanlitun…

Threesome: Alfa, Cafe St. Laurent & Project H

That’s the way, uh huh uh huh, I like it… I checked out the third anniversary of Alfa’s eighties parties, held the Friday heading into vacation and it was… gnarly….