Beijing Boyce

Before I give a wrap-up of Super Bowl viewing venues…

The New England Patriots lost the game - as well as the first 19-0 season - and it is easy to place the blame. Most would cite the Patriots failure to stop the New York Giants from scoring a crucial touchdown in the dying minutes. The truth is more nuanced. It is found in Beijing, in a bar called The Goose and Duck, on the body of one man - R.C. Robinson (hereafter known as He Who Shall Be Blamed / HWSBB).

Let me provide you the play by play. The Giants lead 10-7 in the fourth and final quarter. The Patriots piece together a stirring touchdown drive that gives them a 14-10 lead, a drive that inspired HWSBB to yell I believe a half-dozen times, with 2:42 left to play. The Giants need to do what seems near impossible - march the length of the field against the NFL’s best team to score a touchdown and regain the lead.

HWSBB is ecstatic. He wears an off-white cabled sweater - The Sweater - with a large Patriots sticker on the front. He wore it when he arrived, he wore it during the first three quarters, he wore it when the Patriots scored. Now he does the inexplicable. He takes off The Sweater!

Nearby Patriots fans sense a jinx factor. “The Sweater is lucky!” “Hey, don’t change anything until we win!” “Put The Sweater back on.” “If you don’t wear The Sweater and the Patriots lose, I’ll write a post about how it was entirely your fault.” That last one comes from me.

Not only does he not put The Sweater on, but he drapes it over a chair after he peels off the lucky Patriots sticker!

A few minutes later, the Giants quarterback miraculously evades a handful of groping Patriots and hurls a pass to a heavily covered receiver who catches it against his helmet and maintains his grip while falling to the ground in what is known in wrestling circles as a back-breaker. The Giants score, ruin the Patriots perfect season, and it’s all due to HWSBB and The Sweater.* (I don’t expect this will tarnish his sterling community service record of charity fund-raisers, entertainment events, and entrepreneur programs.)

On to the venues:

The Rickshaw - By game time, the place had not an empty seat and offered all the promise of a raucous morning. I stood on the steps, one eye watching the game and the other watching meal after meal whip by. You simply could not comfortably add more people, unless you put some chairs and a TV set on the roof for the die hards. Hey, not a bad idea.

Hooters - The place had no signal and this translated into a lot of disgruntled fans. About 30 people remained into the second quarter, eating breakfast and hoping the game would come on. I have a hunch that Hooters may be the victims of playing by the rules.

Here’s why. Two years ago, I helped organize a Super Bowl party at a hotel for the Seattle-Pittsburgh game. A venue check the night before found everything ready, NFL China donated footballs, mini-helmets, and silver coins as prizes, an ex-Seattle Seahawks cheerleader agreed to give them out, and the breakfast buffet the next morning looked great. We watched the pre-game show and as it approached kick-off time, the channel switched to… swimming. (Backstroke, I believe.) ESPN Star Sports in Singapore listed the game as available in China. It wasn’t and the hotel had no legal means of getting the signal. I’m not sure if this happened with Hooters - I’ll try to find out.

The Den - Just as I went through the threshold, an employee jutted his hand in front of me and at a sign that read, “RMB 50 - breakfast, including coffee and tea.” The Den, which typically offers good service inside, seems to have lost a few steps at the door of late in Ye Olde Hospitality Department.

The Pavillion - About 20 to 25 people gathered in an area adjacent to the bar to watch the game. I grabbed a coffee and watched the rest of the second quarter.

Then, as I have for the past three Super Bowls, I jumped in a cab and headed for the Goose and Duck / that’s Beijing party. This is the first one to be held in Goose and Duck’s new digs and the place is vast to say the least. I would guess more than 300 people had seats with a decent view of that thrilling finish, after which HWSBB finally put on The Sweater.

* On the other hand, he could make a killing on E-bay by selling The Sweater to giddy Giants fan.

A marathon session with our company’s annual report last week has the ”YES, we’ve seen progress, BUT the following needs to happen” attitude oozing from my pores. In that vein, here’s part one in a three-part “yes, but” series on Beijing (check back here tomorrow for part 2: “Yes, but I don’t feel like corn-fed songbirds today”.)

YES, sports bars such as The Pavillion, Frank’s Place and The Pomegranate have been nice additions to the scene over the past 18 months. They provide even more places in which to view rugby, cricket and that mesmerizing pursuit known as Formula 1 (zoom! zoooooooom! zoom! zoom!). BUT why is there nary a bar for North America league sports? I’m talking National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Baseball (MLB) and National Football League (NFL).

Really, Beijing doesn’t have enough Americans, Canadians or people in general who like these sports to keep a bar, especially one that makes a decent burger, in business? Not enough people to turn the NCAA basketball tournament into a cash cow that brings in three months of revenue in a few weeks? Really, a place couldn’t survive by sponsoring the local ice and grid dogs, and being a hangout for beer, pub grub and replays of classic games?

Take Saturday tonight: I desperately wanted to see the opening game of the Toronto Raptors-New Jersey Nets series, as: 1) it’s Toronto’s first playoff game in years; 2) New Jersey’s star player used to be Toronto’s star player until, many fans believe, he stopped trying and forced a trade, after which he returned to his winning ways (the fiend!); 3) it pits a group of upstarts against a team with three stars; and 4) I generally cheer for any team with a player named Bosh, especially if he looks a bit like the mascot (in this case, a dinosaur). Thus, I loaded my wallet for three hours of massive food and beverage intake, but where to go?

First, I called 5:19. Owner Dave had a group just finishing with a Premier League game and they were interested in more soccer. Fair enough.

Then, I called Goose and Duck. “Are you showing the NBA tonight?” I asked. “We can put it on,” came the answer. I arrived just after midnight and three minutes before tipoff only to discover they couldn’t get the game. The staff was friendly and did their best, but even better had they checked the schedule before I took the 20-minute cab ride there.

With the clock ticking, I went to The Pavillion. Every TV featured cricket: that’s what was advertised, said a guy behind the bar. I noted a TV, next to the door, that NO ONE was watching. “How about basketball on that one?” I asked. Nope, he said, if he switches the channel on that TV it also switches the channel on another one at the bar. NO ONE was watching that other TV either, I further noted. Nope, he said, Pavillion advertised cricket and - I guess - even if NO ONE was watching it, that’s what The Pavillion would play.

So, I gave up. I went to my office and watched the game online. Instead of Beijing’s sports bars, I guess my NBA playoffs budget will be split between re-heated Pizza Buona (the best delivered pizza in town, IMHO) and 7-ELEVEN.

I wonder how many other Toronto Raptors as well as Boston Red Sox, Seattle Seahawks, Edmonton Oilers, LA Lakers, Houston Astros, Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Penguins and myriad other NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB fans have has this experience. Really, with four leagues comprising more 100 total teams with seasons that overlap, thus meaning there is virtually a game every day, a sports bar couldn’t make money out of this? Until then, the number for Pizza Buona, on Gongti West Road, is 6551-3518.

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 men and women, span five decades in age, hail from four continents, and provide some appreciated insights. (Note: This first appeared in last week’s newsletter. To get the newsletter, send an email with “Eat, Drink and Be Merry” in the subject line to beijingboyce@yahoo.com.)

Without further ado…

OLIVER SEDLINGER, Austrian, 6 years

Favorite Beijing Bar(s)
Cafe Pause and Cafe Europa for wine from home (Austria), Q Bar and Bed for drinks and cocktails, Maggie’s for 80s music and eye candy.

All-time Favorite Bar(s)
First Cafe, Neo Lounge

The Beijing scene
Beijing needs a place like YY in Shanghai

BH, American, business manager, 9 years in China

Favorites
As a thirty-something ex-pat, the Pavillion works for me. Nice atmosphere (especially during the warm weather months), few if any twenty-something riff-raff, lots of screens playing sporting events, and a “real” bar with footrests. For similar atmosphere (a la Lost in Translation), Red Moon is also a nice spot. Centro has somehow managed to retain its reasonably hip and comfortable “see-and-be-seen” atmosphere.

All-time
No Name at Houhai - the low-key atmosphere is the perfect alternative for those who can’t stand Babyface (or similar). Goose and Duck is, IMO, the single best “drinker’s bar” in Beijing. Good cheap draft beer. Genuinely friendly staff. Always a fun crowd (as opposed to Suzie Wong’s, across the street, where it seems everyone is itching to get into a fistfight - over girls, perhaps? Could that be possible in a town that has Maggie’s?). And pretty good snacks to match (best Sloppy Joe in town, IMO).

The scene
There are truly, positively, 100 percent without a doubt, not enough “real” bars in Beijing. And by “bars” I mean places where people go to unwind after a long day, perhaps catch a game on TV, chit chat with the bartender, etc. This must be the case if I find the bar at Friday’s (by St. Regis) to be among the best “bars” in town. At some point, the night scene here became usurped by an obsession with fashion, design (often bad), and bar-owner narcissism. Beyond that, the “pure” dance scene seems to be great. However, it is clear (from comments made to me by both men and women) that there is very little here between the traditional “bar” and “can’t hear you screaming over the music” nightclubs. There is a large group of frustrated singles out there who find it virtually impossible to find a nice little place with good music where nice people can mingle (The Tree comes to mind here, in terms of what Beijing needs more of).

STELLA GUO, Chinese, freelancer, 20 years

Favorites
Q-Bar: The place to end the evening (slumped over the bar ;- ) ). Great mixed drinks and friendly owners / bartenders
All-time
The Tree: Stinky four cheese pizza and Belgian beers
Touch Bar by Houhai: Not for the drinks, but a place to relax and watch the world go by, especially good on a warm spring afternoon
The scene
While there’re lots of bars in Beijing and new ones coming up every day, most kind of run together and good drinking spots are still hard to come by.

CHELSEY “LIVING THE DREAM” MARK, Canadian, performer / host / actor / singer / artist / model / freedom fighter / nightlife writer, 7 years

Favorites
Zeta, mainly because my friend is the manager there and the DJ is also my friend… ha! It’s like my Cheers in Beijing. I’ll always know that Sammy, Norm and Cliff will always be there… :)
I usually follow my party friends, which have finally moved from Suzie Wong to China Doll, which is nice… People at China Doll seem to be more polite and a little less “tipsy.”
Goose and Duck … John is going to rock it with the new space … he also sponsors my ice hockey team here! Go Hot Wings! The Jerseys are the coolest thing on ice…

All-time
Kai, because you can drop in any time, the staff are always calm and will never give you attitude, the drinks are cheap, the music is always an adventure, in a good way! And people are always ready to have fun and meet people. The size is perfect. Summer time … man, look out!

The scene
Beijing’s drinking scene is vast, don’t get sucked into always frequenting the same bars, have some fun and go to random places. Stick the bar list on the wall, and take your pick. Get used to having bad cocktails - there are few places in the city that can actually mix proper drinks, i.e. Centro, Zeta. Also, be aware of the fake alcohol, so if you want play it safe, stick to bottled drinks. When ordering, speak slowly, check it twice, and get used to the slow service in receiving your drink and change.

Phil, of Phil’s Pub fame, has returned to Beijing for good after a long stint at Q Bar in Qingdao . / Sequoia Cafe in Sanlitun is drawing a fun crowd to its frequent Friday wine tastings. Email frank.siegel@gmail.com to get on the invite list. / Trivia addicts in Shunyi can get their fix at the Pomegranate on Wednesday nights. The bar had ten teams at the last quiz. / Months ago, it looked like Serve the People would soon open in the space where once stood Zing by Doodoo. Things have been in limbo so long I’m almost expecting a Serve the Doodoo or Zing the People to open. / Best ice cube in town: that huge Rubik’s cube-sized chunk that Q Bar uses for its Bourbon. / Thanks to H.S. for pointing out that one of the wines reviewed last issue is Church and State, not Church and Stone. / Goose and Duck, soon to relocate, was stuffed, so to speak, as that’s Beijing ’s held its Super Bowl party there Monday.

Note: I’ll start sending out the newsletter at lunch and after work today, and tomorrow.

“I will be having my birthday soon and want to find a bar with a darts board that we can use. Where are the best ones now? All I know have gone mainly SLT South Street, Minders and the rest. I know the Goose and Duck but I would rather perish on a frozen mountainside than drink there. Any other recommendations? An otherwise quiet bar that I can bring about 20 people to? Your advice, oh great sage, is much appreciated. - Rob”

Sage? Wow! That makes me wonder two things: 1) how much did you have to drink before writing this email, and 2) what would a sage martini taste like?

In any case, I’m going to give a shout out to The 5:19 Bar & Grill, which hosts the Beijing International Darts League. This place can comfortably fit 20 people and the owner, Dave, has a good selection of drinks. The 5:19 is on “Super Bar Street”: 28 Xingba Lu, Nuren Jie, Chaoyang District; 8448-0896.

Cheers and happy birthday, BB

City Weekend has published a Restaurant & Bar Guide that not only is good, but also is free! I have long griped about City Weekend, including to the managing editor, who is no doubt tired of my free “cnstructive” criticism whenever I run into him in the local bars. Happily, the guide and the magazine’s recent design upgrade deserve praise as a major step in the right direction, though the content still needs a boost, something I am told is forthcoming. The guide itself includes useful lists such as “Where you drink if you are a sport fanatic” (Goose and Duck, Pavillion, Bar Blu) and “Over 30… but not over the hill” (Browns, Q Bar, Suzie Wong, East Shore Live Jazz), as well as nightlife itineraries for couples and singles. / I am again delaying my review of the Wine and Spirits Education Trust class I attended late last month, mainly because I’m too swamped to transcribe my notes, but I do hope to have it and the long overdue review of Bed next issue. / Last year, that’s Beijing organized a Christmas funk party to raise money for a heart operation for an orphan named Tian Yue. Unfortunately, the Scrooge-like venue undermined the magazine’s Santa-like intentions, and the call went out for donations. Several newsletter readers helped out, including Agent Hidden Dragon and K-Ro, and will be happy to know that I attended Tian Yue’s birthday party last week and found her healthy, happy and, since was recently adopted  about to move to the U.S. and start a new life. / Whether you are hanging out in Beijing or heading out of the city, have a safe and happy holiday. Eat, Drink and Be Merry. Cheers, BB.

(From Beijing Boyce XXIV, first emailed on September 21, 2006)

Bar and club owners and employees were out in force at the Kunlun Hotel two weeks ago for the annual that’s Beijing awards. More than 30 establishments took home prizes in 20 categories that each included a winner and two or three honorable mentions (HMs). Centro (4 wins, 2 HMs), Suzie Wong (3 wins, 2 HMs) and Browns (2 wins, 4 HMs) led the way, followed by Bed (2 wins, 1 HM), Pavillion (three HMs) and Aria (3 HMs). Bar Blu and The Tree each won two categories. None of the winners seemed unduly unjustified, although I was surprised that Bar Blu won for best outdoor space, given that its deck has been halved since last year and there has been a recent (perhaps too recent) proliferation of excellent patios and rooftops. The place obviously has a loyal clientele, so good on them. The winners, with honorable mentions in parentheses:

Bar/Club of the Year: Browns (Centro, Suzie Wong’s) 

After-Hours Club: Suzie Wong’s (Bed, Maggie’s) 

Bar Snacks: The Tree (Souk, The Den) 

Beer Selection: The Tree (Beer Mania, Browns) 

Cocktails: Centro (Alfa, Q Bar) 

Dance Club: Vics (Babyface, Coco Banana, Destination) 

Decor: Bed (Redmoon, Suzie Wong’s) 

Cheap Drinks: Nanjie (Black Sun Bar, Kai) 

People Watching: Suzie Wong’s (Browns, Maggie’s) 

Happy Hour: Bar Blu (Browns, Centro) 

Hotel Bar: Centro (Aria, Redmoon) 

Live Music: Yugong Yishan (D-22, Icehouse) 

New Bar: Browns (D-22, Frank’s Place) 

Outdoor Terrace: Bar Blu (Pavillion, Stone Boat) 

Business Networking: Centro (Aria, Pavillion, The Bookworm) 

Place to Bring a Date: Bed (No Name Bar, Souk) 

Place to Find a Date: Suzie Wong’s (Browns, Destination) 

Sports Bar: Goose & Duck Pub (ClubFootball, Pavillion) 

Student Hangout: Lush (Kai, Propaganda)

Wine Selection: Centro (Aria, CourtYard, The Cellar)

Afterwards, I ended up at Indian Kitchen for dinner (this place should get an HM for Best Dance Club given the number of people bopping about) and then popped into Q Bar to congratulate bartenders-owners George Zhou and Echo Sun, who were prominently displaying their HM for best cocktails (not bad for a month-old bar), and to meet Roger Dutton and Kevin McCartan of Frank’s Place, which received its own HM in the best new bar category. Congratulations to all of the winners and the honorable mentions.

(From Beijing Boyce XXI, first emailed on July 27, 2006)

Looking for your World Cup fix? The Pavillion and Frank’s Place promise large outdoor screens, while Club Football, Red Ball, John Bull Pub, The Den, Goose and Duck (see below), W Sports Bar, Mojito, and everyone else and their goalkeeper will also be showing games. Is anyone out there (besides me) looking for a place to instead watch the NBA finals? / Beer Mania has added Russian brews to its mostly Belgian menu. Canadian beers will soon be stocked, says management, meaning it’s time to brush up on Canuck-isms, such as “two-four,” “toque,” “take off” and “LCBO.” / Meanwhile, Browns has added Beck’s (Germany) and Stella Artois (Belgium) to its draft beer selection. / A friendly place with good live Xinjiang music, Cheers has a spiffy new look, though management has maintained the happy hour: two-for-one until 10 PM, which translates into 10-kuai Qingdao drafts. (A tip of the shot glass to BB reader Eddie O, for buying the place a bottle of Wild Turkey: “If you’re a Christian, you spread the Gospel. If you’re a bourbon lover, you spread the Bird,” he writes.) / Speaking of which, after visiting Cheers, I had the munchies and headed for nearby Saddle. Given my previous experiences with poor service and fapiao troubles there, it was no surprise that I could not procure a quick burrito as the staff closed up. I took my money instead to Fish Nation, where I soon had some tasty eats. / Dave McCullough, the Grand Poohba of 5:19, noted on that’s Beijing’s forums that, “PiliPili quietly reopened… It looks absolutely gorgeous inside.” / Finally, this issue was pieced together fairly quickly, since I’ve been extra busy at work, have guests in town, and did not have my notes while putting together the final draft. My apologies if it goes down a bit rougher than usual.

(From Beijing Boyce XVII, first emailed on May 27, 2006)

I went to Goose and Duck to watch the NBA playoffs last weekend. “Watch” is the key word, as the employees were extremely noisy, with waiters screaming breakfast orders across the restaurant or hanging around and yelling, banging plates and cutlery, playing loud music, and on and on. Three requests for quiet brought respites of five minutes and about as many employees approached to see if I wanted more coffee as did touts to sell me fake DVDs. The golden rule, which so many Beijing establishments ignore at their own peril, is that the enjoyment of the customers comes before that of the staff. The breakfast was okay. Unfortunately, both the Cavaliers and Mavericks lost, and I guess I can blame it all on The Goose and Duck. Nice going, guys!

(From Beijing Boyce XVII, first emailed on May 27, 2006)

I skipped going to the Goose and Duck for game one of the World Series and instead headed to John Bull Pub. As one friend said, “Let’s give the place a chance.” First, let me praise the breakfast: three savory mini beef patties, three slices of crisp bacon, a mound of fried mushrooms, two eggs, two slabs of toast and hash browns. Price: RMB50. Someone came over from John Bull’s sister establishment, Sequoia Cafe, with samples of their warm, moist, freshly baked muffins. Except for Clemens being out of the game too early, things were going well.

Then, during the seventh-inning stretch, there was an appearance by what I call the jackhammer ren. These are the guys with the 7-ELEVEN construction mentality – hammer, saw, drill, fill, bolt, wrench, destroy, create, and do it around the clock. That’s what they did — renovate directly below us. The whine of power tools was especially unfortunate as it made the TV reception squiggly.

Now, I’m not writing the following to single out John Bull Pub, but to describe a typical service problem in Beijing. Discarding my normal shyness, I asked the staff (the manager was away on business) to quell the racket and quiet soon reigned. Anyone who has lived in Beijing for over a month knows what happened 15 minutes later. The jackhammer ren were rak! rak! rakking! again. This time my complaint got a slightly desperate “What can I do about it?” look from the staff, which got an “I don’t know, but Goose and Duck isn’t that far away” in return, which bought 20 more minutes of peace. (I don’t know; maybe if Yao Ming played for the Houston Astros instead of the Houston Rockets, things would have been different.) What can I say except that this kind of thing happens all the time in Beijing. Unfortunately, this incident jinxed the Astros and was wholly responsible for them losing not just game one, but the entire World Series. Nice going, John Bull Pub!

(From Beijing Boyce III, first emailed on November 3, 2005)

Time is running out for spending fantastic fall nights on a rooftop or deck. Options include The Big Easy (relaxing), Suzie Wong (people watching), Nuage (views of Hou Hai and the drum and bell towers) and Hai Bar (the same, but more rustic and cheaper). / Want to see the Astros win the World Series? Be a benchwarmer at the Goose and Duck or John Bull Pub. / Wine industry bigwigs constantly come to town since everyone wants a drop of China. I’m working on putting together wine tasting listings. / If you haven’t seen Ah-Q bring down the house at CD Jazz Club, catch their show on Thursday nights. Trombonist Matt Roberts says the house has been packed of late and he’s trying to figure out an encore. Ah-Q was playing at icehouse but the club, being a blues bar, wanted an, um, blues band, which makes you wonder why they hired a jazz one to begin with. / Steak and Eggs vegetarian omelet with hash browns and toast: RMB19. Get this and three other breakfast specials before 11 AM, or four RMB25 lunch specials, all October, as the place celebrates its anniversary. / Would Summergate wine please get a web page? You guys have some nice Antinori products, but make it too hard to find out about them. / The Starving Artists Party on September 15 at Yan Club was another finely run event by that’s Beijing, which includes the restaurant awards at Bar Blu and bar awards at Zing by Doodoo’s. It helps to partner with ASC Fine Wines, who poured Chilean Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sculpting in Time, which provided the eats. Funnily enough, I ran into a pair of Italian journalists were had just arrived in Beijing that day. And where did they hear about the party? From another journalist in North Korea. / The next issue includes Marketing Beverages on the Great Wall, Beer Mania, Books: Those Things Made Out of Paper, $10,000 wine glasses, A Bar with an Identity Crisis, and more. / Build the community: If you know people who would like this newsletter, pass it on. They just need to send a message to me to get on the mailing list. / Again, your comments and questions are welcome. I do realize that this issue is nearly 3,000 words long. Believe me: my fingers barely have the strength to pick up the single shot of 10-year-old Balvenie Single Malt I allow myself each month. Cheers, BB.

(From Beijing Boyce II, first emailed on October 20, 2005)