Beijing Boyce

A recent New York Times article provides a 36-hour itinerary for visitors to Beijing that in terms of nightlife selections, well, kind of sucks.* I won’t dissect the entire program - the Panjiayuan market part is headed ‘Capitalism at Work’ (ugh) - but will instead focus on the post-sundown sections. (Note: I’ll refer to the New York Times, or NYT, rather than to the author since it is possible that an editor stateside butchered this piece.)

Kicking things off, the itinerary for Friday night is okay but the one for Saturday night isn’t, so I suggest changing both. (NYT excerpts are in block quotes.)

[Friday] 8 p.m.
3) DUCK FOR DINNER

… The dining room of the Dadong Roast Duck Restaurant (22 Dongsishitiao; 86-10-5169-0328) is rowdy, as Chinese restaurants are supposed to be, and the braised eggplant is sweet and good. The skin of the lean bird is crisp, and its meat — wrapped in a thin pancake with spring onions and a sweet dark sauce — washes down nicely with red wine or beer.

There’s nothing wrong with duck but it works better on Saturday night. Why? Friday’s pre-dinner itinerary takes us to The Forbidden City. I say stay in that area rather than leave it to eat dinner and return again for the NYT bar choice, Bed.

You will find a slew of Chinese restaurants on Houhai’s Lotus Lane. Most menus have pictures of available dishes and make ordering much less intimidating for those unfamiliar with Chinese food. Check the photos at a half-dozen places and then choose a spot - this is a good time to have an adventure and to follow your gut instinct rather than someone else’s itinerary. (Nevertheless, I’ll dig up the names of some of the better places there.) Dining on Lotus Lane makes it easy to grab a coffee at the Starbuck’s (for those who can’t live without it) and take a post-dinner stroll around Houhai and pop into a bar or two on the way to Bed.

Those looking for ‘Western’ eats might check Passby Bar, which has a comfy backpacker feel as well as food with a local twist, such as pizza with roast lamb. Again, this makes it easy to take a tour, this time of Nanluoguxiang, close to Bed.

[Friday] 10 p.m.
4) ANTIQUES AND SANGRIA

Beijing’s best known bar strip, the Sanlitun neighborhood, is a playground for hookers, expatriates and Nigerian drug dealers. Instead, take a cab to the Drum and Bell Towers, and slip into the hutongs, or historic alleys, heading north, toward Bed Bar (17 Zhangwang Hutong; 86-10-8400-1554). Look for a red lantern down a long, quiet lane. A converted machine-parts factory decorated with antique furniture and paintings of the old city, Bed is a pleasant place to drink sangria, talk with friends, and drink more sangria. If you’re with a group, reserve a private room overlooking the courtyard.

Bed is a good choice, though many is the time I have waited at that place for someone who knows his or her way around Beijing fairly well but nevertheless is lost. Suggesting “look for a red lantern down a long, quiet lane” and listing a phone number for the bar might not be enough help for those new to Beijing, though with persistance, and by asking people for directions, they’ll eventually find it.

As for drinks, why would I come to China to drink Sangria? Why not try the local grog (Chinese wine, Beijing beer, and the like) or see if the local bartenders can make a decent drink (at Bed, that means Mojitos)?

Re the Sanlitun** comments, it’s great the New York Times fact-checkers have pinpointed the drug dealers’ nationality: they’re Nigerian! I’d love to see statistics backing this up - if they’re handy (seriously).

By the way, I’m not sure about the past few weeks but during a six-month period that started in May, I wasn’t bothered by any drug dealers in Sanlitun. If they were there, they were less conspicuous and they survived that crackdown a few months back. Re hookers, maybe NYT means the “lady bar” touts - don’t answer them, don’t make eye contact, and just move on. Re expatriates, yes, there are many of them and they tend to be progressively drunker as the night wears on. I repeat - don’t answer them, don’t make eye contact, and just move on. (Even easier, don’t go to Sanlitun in the first place).

On to night number two:

7:30 p.m.
9) KARMA SERVED MEATLESS

Pure Lotus (China Wenlian Courtyard, Changhong Bridge; 86-10-6592-3627) is a vegetarian restaurant whose décor — a lotus motif stenciled from Silk Road grottoes, an altar of fresh flowers, candles in bamboo holders — seems destined for Manhattan…. The dishes have ridiculous karmic names (“Destiny Comes Together as a Cold Plate,” “Yoga Apple Salad”) and some are served amid floral bouquets and dried ice mists, so cynical thoughts should be channeled. Reserve a table in the beautiful main dining room, where the servers sing folk songs.

Pure Lotus is great… if you’re a vegetarian. I can’t imagine being a meateater, having 36 hours in town, and spending one of my two dinners at that place. This is what to have: 1) Beijing duck, 2) Xinjiang food, or 3) Sichuan food. These options feature food that is acceptable to most visitors and fun to share. They are also good alternatives for Saturday lunch (in lieu of Kong Yiji).

Since it’s Saturday, traffic is lighter and there is more flexiblity to pick a spot. Possibilities include Red Rose for Xinjiang food, Dadong (as noted by NYT) for Beijing duck, or Chuan Ban for Sichuan (this is the provincial office’s restaurant and slightly hard to find). I’m a fan of the Dongbei-style restaurant Manchurian Special Flavor Jianzi Restaurant, too.

11 p.m.

10) A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC

Centro (1 Guanghua Lu; 86-10-6561-8833 extension 42; www.shangri-la.com) is a lounge in the Kerry Centre Hotel in the desolate central business district where Western men in pinstriped suits and Chinese women with pearls drink, flirt and listen to jazz standards. The younger, and more adventurous, will head to faraway D-22, a rock club in the city’s university district (242 Chengfu Road; 86-10-6265-3177; www.d22beijing.com). In a country where the radio waves are controlled by the party and love songs by pretty girls are ubiquitous, rock ‘n’ roll is still considered esoteric. The house bands at D-22 — Carsick Cars, Hedgehog and others — are trying to change that.

NYT describes Centro as in “the desolate central business district” and as “where Western men in pinstriped suits and Chinese women with pearls drink, flirt and listen to jazz standards.” This is supposed to appeal to us? Hmm. Centro is okay if you live in Beijing, but if you’re visiting, go to The World of Suzie Wong. It’s a Beijing institution with something for those who like to boogie (a dance floor), relax with a drink (opium bed-style seating) or sit out on nice nights (a spacious deck). If it doesn’t end up being your style, other venues - Pepper, Souk, Block 8 (including the somewhat Centro-like I-Ultra Lounge) - are within walking distance and allow you to hit a few bars in one night. Or you can cab it to Workers’ Stadium, Sanlitun, Lucky Street, or elsewhere.

As for D-22, it’s a hike from downtown, but if you’re in Beijing and local live music scenes are your gig, then why not?

* As much for the choices as for the way in which they are described.

** By Sanlitun, I take it the NYT means the Sanlitun North strip with the long row of copy-cat bars (where the “lady bar” touts hang out) and the Tongli Studio area nearby (which is associated with drug dealers), not Sanlitun South, the home of The Bookworm, The Rickshaw, Q Bar and other spots).

Note: For another take on the NYT itinerary, see A Modern Lei Fong.

When I dropped into The Rickshaw last Friday morning to watch the Chicago Cubs - Arizona Diamondbacks game, I didn’t imagine that 24 hours later I would be blogging live about nearly 20 foreigner-driven three-wheeled “rickshaws” racing around the Houhai area on a pub crawl. (Then again, I didn’t imagine the Cubs would get swept and extend their failure to win the World Series to 99 years, but I digress.)

I blogged six times about the event on Saturday (see all of the posts here). Now that the event is a few days behind, my overwhelming memory is of the many locals, from bar owners and employees to bystanders, who seemed to have had nearly as much fun as the participants. From taking photos of and with the rickshaw racers, to watching a few of them go for a dip in Houhai, to sharing dance moves at the post-race bash, it was good times all-around.

In any case, I spent half of the day at Houhai Zoo and the other half touring the course with race marshal Alistair:

The racers took 90 minutes to three hours to finish, with only a few major incidents - one tipped over rickshaw at the beginning and three rickshaw-car scrapes (the owners of the autos were fully compensated).

Some of the more memorable moments:

- Befuddled racers trying to find The Reef or Drum & Bell or any other number of bars, but refusing - out of pride - to pay the one-drink penalty to the race marshal in exchange for directions.

- Racers busting moves on the deck of Houhai Zoo to the amusement of locals.

- What must have been a seventy-year-old man stopping his bike, parking it and showing some moves of his own.

- The further spread of pajama culture in Beijing.

- And couples taking wedding photos: what a contrast to see Chinese in Western wedding wear beside Westerners about to race Chinese rickshaws. Perhaps not globalization at its finest, but certainly in its explicitness.

As for the serious business, according to Mike Iannini for whom the race was his going away party, the winners seem to have been the team of Gary, Grace and Max, though  he adds that they may have played a trick or two on the other teams along the way.The following establishments participated and, noted the race marshal, did a superb job: No Name Bar, Hai Bar, Huxley’s (Shut Up Just Drink), Shui Gui Qi, Drum and Bell, Cafe Sambal, Ball House, Paper, Reef, Fish Nation, Pass By Bar, Houhai Zoo and, last but not least, the Xiao Mai Bu across from 20.

Props go to Mike Ianinni, Alistair, Chad Lager of The Rickshaw and Huxley of Houhai Zoo, where the race began and ended. Sadly, it coincided with the final weekend for the Zoo as Huxley will put more focus on the new Nanjie, which has done a rocking business since opening about a month ago. Good luck to Huxley and the Zoo staff, pictured here:

Hopefully, East meets West again…

… next year.

Browns offers two-for-one drinks tonight (February 10). This is a chance to check out (cheaply) what may well become one of Beijing’s best bars. I’ll be there around 8:30 and would love to meet people who get this newsletter (look for me in the gold jacket). Browns’ Glenn Phelan writes, “It’s all night long. It only excludes full bottles of spirits, wines and Champagne,” and adds, “I have got a funky DJ so it should be a good gig.” Two Guinness for 35 kuai: that’s the “good gig”! (Note: Browns, which is pretty much a knock-off of the very popular Carnegie’s in Taipei, is on Sanlitun South, 50 meters from The Bookworm and above The Loft). / After a nearly two-month hiatus, icehouse will reopen on February 13, with Melvin Taylor and the Slack Band providing the blues. A recent ad described RBL, of which icehouse is a part, as “a distinctive modern life-style concept with a unique combination of a Restaurant, Bar and Lounge under one roof.” Yes, yes, but can they make a martini? Another ad, in Beijing Talk, shows pictures of superstars with whom band member Felton Crews has played: Buddy Guy, Bruce Springsteen, Miles Davis and (bizarrely) “Fresh Whole Tuna” (yes, it’s a picture of sushi). / CD Jazz Club will be without live music for a month or so, apparently due to nearby subway construction, and that means Ah-Q fans must get their fix elsewhere. You can reach the club at 6506-8288. (Thanks to Matt R for the tip.) By the way, I hear CD’s pasta is excellent. / I’ve written numerous times that Midnight has excellent drinks, but that the owner’s omnipresent cronies can be off-putting. An inside source tells me the bar is going through what might be called “human resource adjustments” and will soon be “crony-free.” (A shakeup was inevitable between the quality-loving bartenders and the owner and the former seem to have won out.) Expect some changes to the bar’s layout as well. / According to that’s Beijing, Pass By Bar will soon open Pass By Restaurant and serve tapas. / Richard Xavia, former manager of RBL (which includes Icehouse), is consulting for The Pavillion, while the aforementioned Glenn Phelan, brought in from Ireland a few months ago to manage Pavillion, has jumped to Browns. / Last issue, I wrote that the land on which Midnight, Browns, Bookworm, First Cafe, Pink Loft and others sit was apparently sold. Update: it was apparently the nearby plot behind Pacific Century, with bidding starting at 250 million and ending at 500 million (thanks to Eric H for the info). / Valentine’s Day is a marketer’s wet dream and a cynic’s dry heave. Instead of blowing your cash on some over-priced lovers’ package at a hotel, restaurant or bar, why not but some candles and wine (a nice Fleischer from Palette Vino would be nice) and do it yourself at home? As for food, nothing says love like a few slices of Buona pepperoni pizza.

(From Beijing Boyce X, first emailed on February 10, 2006)
### Pizza Buona The Pavillion Midnight Browns Icehouse Pass By Bar CD Jazz Club