Category Archives: First Cafe

Open: Wonder Bar

Wonder Bar has opened in the Tongli Studio space formerly occupied by Taniwha, thus reducing by one the number of Beijing nightspots decorated with a slab of polished corrugated metal….

Scoop: Wonder Bar – First Cafe, Part II?

Ya heard it here first… Roger’s back. Most cocktail lovers associate First Cafe, the former and my all-time favorite Beijing bar, with the popular bartenders, George and Echo. In fact,…

Readers’ Writes II: Oliver, BH, Stella and Chelsey

Welcome to Readers’ Writes week, starring the collective wisdom of 17 fellow bar-goers who answered my survey about their favorite Beijing drinking holes and the city’s nightlife scene. They include…

Readers’ Writes I: Don, Olli, Eddie and Jason

Welcome to Readers’ Writes week, starring the collective wisdom of 17 fellow bar-goers who answered my survey about their favorite Beijing drinking holes and the city’s general nightlife scene. They…

From Petrus to Pink Panties, Bordeaux to Budweiser

My spirits were high when Agent Red Wolf, O-Zone, Flash and I attended the November 24 Summergate wine tasting at China Lounge (150 kuai). Not only would we sample seven…

It’s Alive! First Cafe Flashback

Most readers are probably sick of me writing about First Cafe, but that place, when I arrived in Beijing in 2004, reminded me of all that was good in a…

Beijing Boyce XXV: Opening Shots

John Bull Pub has officially closed and will reopen as Tim’s Texas BBQ in late October. Sequoia Cafe next door remains open. / The show is over for Icehouse‘s live…

Beijing Boyce XXIII: Opening Shots

The lady bar touts and substance pushers seemed sparser on Sanlitun North the past few weeks. A recent stroll down the main drag attracted only six “sexy girl” solicitations, in…

Beijing Boyce XXII: Opening Shots

China Daily reports that Louisiana-themed The Big Easy will be chai’d on Sunday. Chaoyang Park authorities voided the bar’s 13-year lease, signed in 1998, in order to make space for…

The last of the first

A beautiful sunny and breezy Sunday, the rooftop garden at The Bookworm, a coffee on the way, my fingers tapping out this newsletter — it sounds as though all is…

Q Bar: Echo and George III

Jointly owned by popular bartenders George Zhou and Echo Sun and an investor, Q BAR had its soft opening on May 13 and will officially launch in June. With a…

Beijing Boyce XVI: Opening Shots

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…