Beijing Boyce

I met bartenders George Zhou and Echo Sun shortly after arriving in Beijing in 2004 and imbibed more than my fair share of their cocktails at First Cafe and Midnight. Before they opened current venue Q Bar with partner Ralph Ziegenhorn two years ago, they gave me a tour and asked my opinion. My gut instinct: given their strong following among the city’s cocktail crowd and the challenges of dealing with a relatively large-scale bar, they should stick to drinks and forgo the staffing, safety, spoilage and other issues that come with a kitchen.

It seems they had the same idea: Q Bar, save for the nightly peanuts and the food at special events, has remained a liquid zone… until now.

The bar recently introduced a food menu of just over a dozen items and O-Zone and I went into guinea pig mode last Tuesday night to give it a taste test.

Prunes wrapped in bacon (RMB40): a dozen of these “little devils” comes on a tray with - fancy schmancy - a cloth serviette. They are tasty but might be even better with something a bit sharper to offset the prunes’ sweetness and bacon’s greasiness. George had another batch made topped with Parmesan, but I’m thinking blue cheese.

Chicken kebabs with guacamole (RMB50): about a dozen individual nuggets on sticks, with ample guacamole (so much we couldn’t eat it all). Tasty again, and - while guacamole is a personal thing – another option is an extra squeeze of lemon and shake of salt.

Sandwich plate (RMB50): this came with: 1) chicken salad and homemade mayonnaise on rye, which was fresh and had a nice texture, and 2) turkey, Camembert and raspberry jam on what looked like 20-percent whole wheat bread.

For another take on the food, check this post.

By the way, it isn’t on the menu, but last summer – fruit permitting - it was possible to get dragon fruit margaritas at Q Bar. It’s worth a try.

Some notes from recent journeys about town.

1.
Known for tasty tapas and a relaxed atmosphere, Mare on Xindong Lu is expanding.

2.
Just west of Mare, on Xingfucun Zhonglu, lies Sunset. This place is dark, dingy and dirt-cheap (RMB100 for 14 shots of some beverages) and will please those who pine for Beijing dives. I’d suggest this spot forgo table clothes, which look like they just survived a food fight, and stick to linoleum. (Unfortunately, a rumored ‘baijiu quarters’ game didn’t materialize Sunday and thus denied us some unintentional humor.)

3.
At least as of the weekend, Maggies remains closed.

4.
Ritz-Carlton Hotel’s Italian restaurant Cepe gets high marks for décor (cozy, warm, glimpses of the kitchen) and service (from handling reservations to keeping wine glasses full), but lower ones for food (note: the prices are my guess-timates, since I forget to grab the invoice).

The Portobello mushrooms with shrimp and baked eggplant puree consisted of four mushroom caps, two small shrimps, the puree and a tiny salad. While the mushrooms were meaty, I found the dish anemic and - given its size - outrageously priced at RMB140. The caviar with tuna tartar and seaweed (RMB175) came off as too fishy, while the codfish with green lentils (RMB200+) saw the vegetable overwhelming the fish. The gnocchi (RMB175) fared best - a sizable portion, with a nice mushroom sauce and Ricotta, though it could have used a bit more zip.

Cepe offers an extensive wine list that is conveniently segmented by wine style, rather than grape variety or country. We had Dr. L Riesling (RMB450), which went well with the fish. Wine starts at RMB318 a bottle. Our bill totaled RMB1435 - a bit pricey for what we got, to say the least.

5.
Q Bar now offers food, with just over a dozen items on the menu, including chocolate mouse, mini-bagels, and prunes and other items wrapped in bacon.
6.
I have returned to Ciro’s since my first unfortunate visit. This time The Cellar Rat and I parked at the bar, where, to our surprise, there is no service charge. Two sizable pours of Sacred Hill Sauvignon Blanc (RMB45) did us proper and the bartender did a decent job. The only suggestion - the vertical neon tube, in the glass-fronted fridge, gives off far too much glare. That should be easy enough to fix.

7.
I pray for many things - more peace, love and understanding, less pollution, a World Series for the Cubs, a trip to Boracay, and for The Bookworm to put some padding on its wooden door. Listening to that thing slam more than a dozen times an hour interjects a major annoyance into otherwise enjoyable visits. Seriously, I think three or four pads - like those that go beneath chair legs to reduce drag - would do the trick, and for a few kuai at that. I doubt I’m alone in loathing that door, as I noticed several people near me squinting every time that thing slammed shut.

8.
Based on the emails I get and other sources, the number of fights - and particularly foreigner vs. local brawls - has been on the rise in Sanlitun over the past year. Imbibers beware.

9.
If you love neon, then you’ll be in ecstasy once the new club south of Revelations (ex-Browns) and east of The Regal Club (that massive KTV-whatever that my friend says looks something like “The Ministry of Truth from a Shrek movie”) opens. My peak through a crack in the still-unopened doors revealed neon on the ceiling, neon on the walls, neon on the floor, and… neon in the halls. Meanwhile, the club on Gongti North called Success (with dollar signs for letters “s”) when I arrived in Beijing has gone through several reincarnations and is now known as Armaini (no typo).

10.
I’m guessing that of the foreigners I know who smoke in Beijing, over 75 percent puff on Zhongnanhai, with an inclination toward the 0.8 brand. How did this start? Do newcomers choose Zhongnanhai because they see others smoking them? Is it something about the packaging? Couldn’t someone get a Master’s thesis out of this?

Cafe Europa marks its second anniversary on March 21 with free food, soft drinks and beer at RMB10 per glass, and still and sparkling wine at RMB25 per glass. While there won’t be a repeat of last year’s pig roast in Jianwai Soho’s courtyard, the BBQ will be fired up for the evening.

Q Bar now sports a shiny aluminum kitchen, so expect some snack options to soon appear on the menu. Don’t be surprised if Q also extends its popular deck. While Q has struggled with service at times - notably because it emphasizes making proper drinks, no matter how busy the place is - it ranks among the the brightest spots in the city’s drinking scene over the past two years.

I’ve only popped into OT Lounge briefly, so no review yet, but give credit to ex-that’s Beijing editor Leon Lee for lining up a slew of acts for the place. April includes performances by Xia Jia Trio (April 4), New Photon Trio (April 5, 19, and 26), New Photon Trio with Diliana Georgieva (April 11 and 12), and the Nathaniel Gao Quintet playing Thelonius Monk (April 18) and John Coltrane (April 25). OT has a happy hour from 5-8 PM daily, with two-for-one beer and cocktails and house wine at RMB25 per glass.

The Cellar Rat and I did a quick walkabout last week. Here’s an equally quick write-up:

Toper: The beers are fresh and only 25 kuai for 300 ML / 35 kuai for 500 ML. This place is small - a few meters wide and a dozen deep – and slightly over the top with the mirrors and gilt picture frames, though it is nice to see the copper tanks. The staff speaks little English. A bottle of Dragon Seal red table wine is 188 kuai - I’d stick to the brew.

Kokomo: The deck is enclosed, which is good for keeping out the cold, but bad for air circulation. I don’t know, but the dim lighting / loud music combination doesn’t work for me, although the place does make a decent Mai Tai.

Golden: It’s in the same space as Taniwha, but with WAY more shiny stuff. We decided to move on…

Q Bar: Is it me or do the owners seem more inclined to play DJ than bartender? Even so, the staff is adept at mixology and this place is hard to beat for a good drink in Beijing.

The Den: According to a sign out front, the cover is RMB 30 and gets you a drink. According to our experience, walking away gets that cover reduced to zero. The Cellar Rat describes the Den as “a poor man’s Suzie Wong’s”, though I find it great for late-night eats. I’ve heard a few people criticize the service there, but I’ve never had a problem. The staff may not always gush with enthusiasm, but it is polite and efficient.

Plan A: Sedate Saturday Night quickly became Plan B: Unscheduled Pub Crawl to Later Regret after I hooked up with Special K, Miss P and The Cellar Rat last weekend. I posted live about our stops to Hooters and The Den. Here’s how the rest of the night played out…

Q Bar: Twas bustling, but not uncomfortably crowded, although the music was too loud. To numb myself to it, I ordered an Alfonso Special. This drink’s advantage is its absence on the menu: this means one of the Q’s two bartenders extraordinaire, George and Echo, will get involved, apply their mixology skills and ensure a quality beverage.

Our crew started on the sofas but the arrival of numerous acquaintances required a move to the coveted “bed” section by the bar. The area is elevated, triangular and populated with a table and a dozen pillows. It also necessitates removing your shoes, something that I’m not keen about doing in public save for a few crucial places (a hot tub, for example).

A man is emasculated when revealing his socks. He faces the olfactory risk of sharing space with “bed sitters” who have less than satisfactory pedary hygiene. And in my case, sitting cross-legged or sidesaddle for an hour is as enjoyable as eyeball acupuncture (note to self: cut down on those carbs).

I sat next to a Shanghai-based photographer and we compared drinking holes in our two cites. The general conclusion: Shanghai wins on service and quality, while Beijing is earthier and, I argue, more fun due to a diverse expatriate population. (Case in point, our group included diplomats, journalists, businesspeople and NGO employees.)

Nanjie: Loud and crowded and hot and sweaty downstairs, so we headed for the balcony, which requires climbing through a second-floor window (there’s that Beijing earthiness). The balcony is relatively quiet, with great views of the street action, though I have a tip for management - the coniferous trees out there with razor-sharp needles don’t a fun bar experience make (except in the case of that very limited S&M niche).

By the time I removed a half-dozen barbs from my hand, Special K was talking to a young hyperactive Australian woman. Having established everyone’s nationalities, the woman became increasingly, uh, explicit with her opinions and questions. She informed us that she would only “defile” her body with alcohol and thought smoking to be utterly vile. She asked us in more graphic terms than I’ll share here if we’d had any gay - and I don’t mean happy - experiences. To be fair, she doubled my knowledge or orifice-related sexual terminology. (Again, can you get this in Shanghai? If so, can you get it for free?)

Having forsaken my mental note to go home after Q Bar, and acquiring a headache from trying to grasp the logistics of the acts this woman described, I decided to make my move (as Miss P had smartly done 20 minutes earlier):

“That’s it for me guys,” I said.
“One more drink,” said Special K.
“No, seriously, that’s it. I want to watch baseball tomorrow morning.”

This caused The Cellar Rat to bring out the secret weapon: “Hey, look at that place across the street, with the skull and crossbones above it. It’s new - you can write about it.”

True, a bar called Heat simmered there, although the “crossbones”, as Special K helpfully noted, looked more like four sets of crude male genitalia.

Here is a short review of Heat: We entered, we found a dance floor the size of Nanjie’s and holding a dozen people (most seemingly staggeringly drunk), we found a bar in back with a few patrons and we found a wait staff with an eager “please, just buy ONE drink” glint in their eyes. Before guilt overtook us, Special K and I caught The Cellar Rat mid-order and we hustled out. (Note: this doesn’t mean that Heat will not be popular, it’s just that it wasn’t hot on this night. It wasn’t cooking. It was on the back burner. It was… let’s just go on.)

We headed next door to Caribe, a cavernous club packed with gyrating and mostly fit bodies. We parked on the second floor and watched dancers of all shapes and sizes and nationalities sweat buckets. Occasionally, about two-thirds of them engaged in a kind of mass line dance.

Directly below a 75-year-old man with the foot speed of someone half his age showed his moves and drank Johnnie Walker Red on the rocks.

Ten feet away, a brunette and a blond competed for some guy on the dance floor. The blond grabbed and kissed him so hard I though she might suck out a lung. This caused the brunette to grab his buddy and do the same, in the hope, I guess, of inspiring jealousy. It didn’t happen, so the brunette interrupted the Hoover-like vacuum betwixt the couple under the pretext that they should all dance together.

This scene made me feel dirty all over. Or maybe it was because I hadn’t been home since 10 AM that morning, having gone seamlessly from working to partying.

“That’s it for me, guys,” I said.
“One more drink,” said Special K.

The man is evil, but they say you can do a deal with the devil (or is it vice versa?). So we made a compromise: we would go to Rickshaw, not to drink, but to eat and rehydrate.

With the England-France rugby game on, fans were flank to shank in the place, so we braved the cool and sat outside on the balcony. Special K mocked me for ordering apple juice or at least I think he did: it sounded something like “youse guys arnt reee-yall men. I’m ordrin’ beee-yeer.” A few minutes later came poetic justice - he began tearing up because the wings were “too hot”. And those were the medium ones…

Ah, a Beijing Saturday night…

After a lull in The Land Down Under, wine guru Sir Campbell Thompson is back in Beijing for good. I met him on Saturday night for a lengthy tour of the local sights. Some random observations:

Block 8: The third-floor bar - I-Ultra Lounge - reminds me of a super-sized Centro. We headed to the rooftop bar, The Beach, where lounge areas surrounded by sand sit amid a network of elevated walkways. You’ll fork out 2000 kuai for one such spot and up to 5000 kuai for premium spaces. The only free seating - or free standing, given there were no chairs - was at a large round bar in the far corner. The place seemed somewhat soulless - maybe it was the too-slick design, lack of greenery, the nasty night pollution or the fact we were the only patrons - so to be fair another visit is in order, especially since several readers have praised this place, although usually in relation to the eye candy they say patronizes it.

In any case, given the beach theme, you might expect Margaritas and Pina Coladas on the menu. They aren’t. 42 Below vodka and Tanqueray gin are, but were out of stock, so we settled for Bombay Sapphire GTs at 55 kuai. I suppose the price was worth it given the spectacle of a bartender twisting the base of a tonic can into his hand, thus forming a vacuum and allowing him to pour the mixer without using his fingers (try it at home, it’s surprisingly easy). By the way, best to book a table at The Beach - as we left the staff told us that every spot had been reserved for the night.

Suzie Wong: The third-floor area has been redecorated since my last visit and reaching the deck now requires a trip through the back end of the dance floor, but other than that, it was the same old Suzie. We parked on the deck and enjoyed bottled Stella as the place steadily filled with a most diverse crowd - a woman anxiously sitting alone (let’s hope the guy showed up), several groups of local friends, a man out cold on a bench, the usual gaggle of older expat male-younger Chinese female couples, and so on. I’ve never been a big fan of Suzie Wong in general, but I’ve always liked the deck - earthy, nicely lit and seeming as though it’s cut off from the city.

Q Bar: This night saw a light crowd, and while the music is too loud inside, the place does have its compensations - the Q Bar team is well-trained and the drinks are good. Sir C had a Lychee Margarita and engaged co-owner Echo in a discussion as to whether there should be salt (as he likes) or sugar (as many customers prefer) on the rim. I had a Horse Neck, a pleasant drink with Bourbon, ginger ale, and a long curl of lemon peel. Just before we left, a guy walked up and ordered ten Jagermeister shots. Sir C sternly described this as a blasphemous request in such a cocktail heaven and nearly beat him to death with a mint masher (just kidding). By the way, Q Bar’s collection of single malts continues to grow.

The Rickshaw: A rugby had just ended and the place was packed with Aussies and Kiwis - Sir C, being a member of the former tribe, knew half the people there. It was Stella yet again.

China Doll: The second floor seethed with dancers. We struggled to the bar and decided on hydration - the fruity Ai Wan Jamaica. The patrons to our left were most happy and eclectic - one wore a suit, thick dark-rimmed glasses and a foamy farmer’s hat, another had a sleeveless T-shirt and Scott Baio aura, and so on. Celebration was in the air and we speculated about a newly signed joint venture, hopefully one that will produce some kind of vacuum to suck coal particles from the air in summer andGobi sand in the winter - the latter can be used to replenish The Beach. People-watching at its finest…

Cheers: This place was also hopping, to live music. Even better, Sir C - who used to play in a band - knew one of the musicians, a guy from Madagascar. I’m not sure what they talked about it, but perhaps it concerned their two countries containing at least half of the world’s weirdest creatures.

Maggies: This place was even more packed than China Doll, with men far outnumbering the women - the horror! My advice to these guys: why not just go to China Doll to meet the opposite sex? We parked outside and watched people pass while Sir C enjoyed one of Maggies most excellent hotdogs. By the way, you know a guy is drunk beyond redemption if he squints at me to see if I might be a potential “short-term” female companion. Realizing that being packed like sardines in a can with hundreds of other guys wasn’t our thing, we decided against going inside and instead bid farewell and called a close to a busy but fun night…

Midnight last Saturday and the inside area and deck at Q Bar are bursting at the seams. The staff crank out drinks to sometimes impatient patrons, people on the deck stand and hope to grab an emptying table, and there’s a non-stop game of musical chairs — “may I borrow this?” edition - as flesh is pressed on a fairly close night.

For bar owners, it’s a better problem to have too many than too few customers. For bar lovers, and especially those who first patronized Q, the overcrowding is understandable, though it’s a bummer, as the place becomes “hipper” and a bit corporate.

I talked to Ralph, one of the co-owners, and he says the Q has secured more roof space, which, with additional staff, should relieve the patron pressure. So should the new point-of-sales system. It would also help to place a basic bar, or even a few coolers of Qingdao, on the deck so that patrons could happily and easily polish off a beer while waiting for their martinis…

And for those looking for some of the old-time atmosphere, you’re best going on a week night for a post-dinner drink.

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. I’m sure we’ll get over it, especially as the new place represents a much-needed redesign, including a central bar area that nicely breaks up the space, a balcony on the far side that provides depth, and plenty of seating options, including stools, sofas, booths and a long bar.

Wonder Bar is dimly lit and decked out in deep red and black with touches of mirror and chrome, hardly surprising since the designer is Roger Houng and he used a similar formula with the former and highly popular cocktail bar, First Cafe. While Wonder Bar doesn’t fully capture the feeling of First Cafe - it is, after all, a squarish one-floor bar in Tongli as opposed to a narrow two-floor stand-alone bar - patrons will find enough similarities, especially if Roger and partner Kang Da fulfill their goal of providing good seating, good jazz and good drinks.

Oddly, this holiday break seems to have a First Cafe theme:
- Roger is back and has former First Cafe bartender Daniel mixing drinks at Wonder Bar;
- I visited Q Bar several times, where ex-First Cafe bartenders George and Echo are co-owners;
- I attended a birthday party at Opener?, which Roger helped design and that ex-First Cafe manager Keiko helped to get going;
- I made several Buffalo wing runs to The Rickshaw, where yet another ex-First Cafe bartender works and which was formerly Midnight Bar, run by George and Echo;
- I visited Cafe Pause, in Dashanzi, co-owned by Stefan Fleischer, yet another person I first met at First Cafe.

For a city of 15 million, sometimes this place feels like a small town…

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, First Cafe began with Roger and Keiko, and the former has a strong bar background in Taipei.

While George and Echo went on to Q Bar and Keiko went on to Opener? (then Japan), I lost contact with Roger - until about 30 minutes ago in The Rickshaw. What a pleasant surprise to learn he’s taking over the so-far underwhelming Taniwha in Tongli Studios, where ex-First Cafe bartender Daniel has been toiling as a bartender.

The new spot will be called Wonder Bar and, says Roger, redesigned to be “a bar”, which means good seating, breaking up that all-too-open space with a circular bar in the middle to match the long bar inside the door, and playing good jazz. If they can cozy the spot up and get the First Cafe-level cocktails going, that’ll be a nice addition to the bar scene.

(Note: Roger expects to open the bar next week. I’ll have more details on the opening and the bar during the next few days.)

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 two in a three-part “yes, but” series on Beijing (check back here tomorrow for part three: “Yes, but I want a fapiao with my fries.”)

Eddie O: First He Brought The Bird, Then He Brought the Bun

YES, I suppose it’s absolutely fabulous that our city’s high-end eateries offer such fare as Roasted Marjoram-scented Medallions of Black Angus Tenderloin or Lightly Seared Foie Gras with Carmelized Apple and Teardrops of Clarified Chodofu Jus Misted with Essence of Maple Syrup and Dijon Mustard (I made up that tofu part, though chefs of Beijing are free to borrow). BUT, there seems to be a major gap between such lofty fare and your average roadside chuan’r stand. In other words, why is it so hard to find a decent burger?

True, you can find a burger at Kiosk, American Cafe or dozens of other places about town, but how about a spot where they’re made with flair, akin to those plump Beijing ducks cooked over red-hot coals? Imagine sliding a grill into that oven, slapping down a few burgers and cooking them medium rare (with a few duck drippings to boot)? Now, that would be something.

The best Beijing burgers I’ve had were those of ex-Mexican Wave guy Trevor Kuchar, who with his colleague Kenn put on some most excellent BBQs, on the Q Bar deck, last summer. Trevor got his meat from “the German butcher”, marinades it overnight, then cooks up burgers to perfection. Unfortunately, those BBQs are rare.

Given this, sometimes customers need to take matters into their own hands. There was a time when a certain Beijing bar figure named Eddie O liked the live music at Cheers, but loathed the bar’s lack of The Bird (Wild Turkey). This was easily solved — he bought the place a bottle and, when that was empty, another.

Eddie O has turned his attention to food. Last Friday, at high-end Italian joint Capone’s, he proclaimed his desire for a burger, an item absent from the menu. All evidence points to an animated discussion in which he promised to provide the bar, this coming Friday, with a bottle of Knob Creek Bourbon in exchange for the chef, Marco, putting aside the squid ink for a few minutes and making a burger. Eddie also offered to bring his own bun.

I called Eddie to investigate and he said, “I’ll be there with the bun at seven. I don’t care if they take steak tartar and turn into a burger, but I want something on that bread.”

Being the diligent sort, I visited Capone’s tonight (last night) and learned that, indeed, “Wild Turkey Man” had raved about burgers. This inspired the staff members to reflect: one noted the dearth of good burgers in Beijing, another drooled as he created an image for us of a patty topped with cheddar cheese slightly melted by fried mushrooms and onions, and yet another said that he makes the best hand-packed, three-quarter-inch-thick patties you could imagine. Given that Capone’s was fairly empty, I imagined the place full of people enjoying 65-kuai “gourmet” burgers and washing them down with plenty of drink.

In any case, on Friday night, Eddie shall appear there with his Knob Creek and his bun, and we shall see if this man, against all odds, can somehow bridge the gap between high-end eateries and that most basic, but nearly impossible to find in Beijing, of foods — the burger.

Note: The reference in the title to “corn-fed songbirds” comes from the “Today’s Special” chapter of David Sedaris’ book, “Me Talk Pretty One Day”:

[New York’s SoHo] is where the world’s brightest young talents come to braise carmelized racks of corn-fed songbirds or offer up their famous knuckle of flash-seared crappie served with a collar of chided ginger and cornered by a tribe of kiln-roasted Chilean toadstools, teased with a warm spray of clarified musk oil… What I really want is a cigarette, and I’m always searching the menu in the hope that some courageous chef has finally recognized tobacco as a vegetable. Bake it, steam it, grill it, or stuff it into littleneck clams, I just need something familiar that I can hold on to.

The all-male crowd seems to have abandoned Q Bar as its Thursday night watering hole. The place was lightly populated tonight (last night), which meant peace and quiet as I sipped my Horse Neck (Bourbon, ginger ale and lemon) and chatted with bartenders-owners George and Echo. The Q will add frozen dragon fruit margaritas to the menu tomorrow night (tonight), a drink Echo and I first made during my only foray behind the bar in Beijing, at a birthday party last year. They’ll go for 55 kuai.

I walked to Q from The Rickshaw, which opens tomorrow night (tonight). Patrons of the spot’s former bar, Midnight, are in for a surprise - co-owner Kris Ryan has stripped the place down, to the cement floor at some points, and replaced the unbearable heaviness of the sofas with light furniture and open space. With a pool table, several flat-panel TVs and a balcony that offers views up and down Sanlitun South, the place has a new vibe - an unpretentious spot that fits the BJ psyche.

In the pigeonhole game, The Rickshaw hints at The Den, The Goose and Duck, and, of course, COX and Saddle (same owners), with a splash of old Sanlitun South, though it quickly enough it’ll find its own identity. Qingdao draft is 15 kuai a pint (10 kuai during happy hour) and the kitchen will open soon, if not tomorrow night. Patrons now have a new spot to get COX-style wings and Saddle-style burritos, as well as mini pizzas, while avoiding Sanlitun North’s roving gangs of teenagers, beggars and substance sellers. That alone is reason enough for me to go; we’ll see if others feel the same. (For more on The Rickshaw, check out this interview of Kris.)

I dropped into The Rickshaw on my way home from Torres China’s tenth-anniversary celebration at the Ritz Carlton. The party was from 6 to 10 PM, and I managed to squeeze in at 9:52 PM - yep, it’s been one of those work weeks. That left enough time to chat with Torres North China GM Galia Stern (among the first people I met when I arrived in Beijing way back when), have a glass of wine, and meet Miguel Torres, who ranks among the world’s bigwigs of wine. Congratulations to Torres and good luck on the company’s anniversary party in Shanghai this weekend.

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.

Sequoia Cafe in Sanlitun offers the most imaginative, enjoyable and affordable wine tastings in Beijing. Period. Last Friday, I tried seven Austrian and German wines, munched on appetizers and chatted with wine distributors, a winemaker and plenty of friendly folk - all for 50 kuai. The tasting of eight Slovenian wines and the tasting where every attendee brought a bottle of wine and some cheese were also memorable. I can only see things getting better once Sequoia’s two decks open (to get on the event mailing list, email frank.siegel@gmail.com).

With an exhausting week behind me, I was going to call it an early evening after trying those wines. Fortunately, a new friend from Siberia steered me from evil. We ended up checking out:

- Kokomo: This place looks a bit better every time I visit, though the closed kitchen and our grumbling stomachs made this stop a quick one, as we headed to…

- Apertivo: It was packed, but comfortable, with an earthy feel and a calming rumble of conversations as background noise. More than a dozen wines are available by the glass, from 35 kuai, and my Sangiovese was a sizeable pour. The calzone hit the spot.

- Cheers: We popped our heads in to find the usual cast of characters and the band getting ready to unleash some Xinjiang music.

- China Doll: The second floor was getting crowded by 10:30 PM and I always enjoy propping my elbows against that soft, sloped bar edge and sipping a drink. China Doll has some promotion whereby two people who kiss for ten seconds get free drinks. What’s next? Spin the bottle? Truth or dare?

- Q Bar: Though it was busy, we wrangled two seats at the bar. As for drinks, I had my favorite of the year, an Alfonso Special, and then a Strawberry Margarita, which someone bought for me (I can guarantee you, this is not a cocktail for which ye olde Beijing Boyce parts with cash). I also tried a splash of Caol Ila 18-year-old single malt, which inspired me to rewrite my will and demand that I be embalmed with this liquid… Note 1: I ran into Trevor K, who makes the best burgers in town and will (hopefully) again organize, with Kenn, a few BBQs on Q Bar’s deck.  Note 2: The usual DJ was off, sparing us the dance music. Instead, his replacement had the good sense to play Peter Schilling’s Major Tom, Talk Talk’s It’s My Life and numerous other rarely heard tunes. Q Bar owners, this music is good! I repeat, this music is good!

- Browns: The bar was less crowded than usual, but the vibe more than made up for it, as did the 20-kuai Guinness, Kingfisher and Beamish served from the bathtub out front. It’d take about 10,000 words to describe the weirdness at Browns, so two brief sketches will have to suffice. First, there was a scraggly haired guy on the bar top, with biceps the size of Christmas turkeys, lots of tattoos and a baseball hat, whose dance routine consisted of pointing at his crotch, pointing at the crowd, and pulling his baseball cap over his face as though he were crying. For reasons that will confuse scientists and therapists for centuries, this stimulated numerous female patrons. Second, there was a girl on the bar top, who has obviously done some modeling, and she shook out her hair and jerked her lanky body about like a hyperactive vogue-ing insect-robot - it was better than it sounds and mesmerizing in strobe light. Also, being an empathetic person, I think I pulled a calf muscle just watching that display…

(By the way, what’s with the mini toll booth, they’ve set up on the street that goes past The Bookworm on the way to Browns? See below)

On Saturday, after doing my best to develop my carpal tunnel syndrome by answering about 70 emails in the afternoon, I went to a going away party for one of my favorite bloggers. Weirdly, I found myself sitting around a coffee table not only with him, but also with this blogger, this blogger, this blogger, this blogger and this blogger. Being the junior blogger, I didn’t know what to say, so I got on my Blackberry and left comments on their sites (kidding). Actually, this blogger earned his place in heaven, should I ever be on watch duty the day he approaches the pearly gates, as he showed up not only with a bottle of The Balvenie, but also one of Talisker, and later cracked open yet another The Balvenie before finishing with the equivalent of a dessert wine after a long and hearty “meal” of single malts - a 12-year-old Chivas. A smooth finish to a fun evening…

This is the follow up post to Browns: Love It…

No bar gets more hate than Browns (except Bar Blu, but that place deserves it*, and Maggies). Here’s a self-interview that seeks insights into the animosity**:

Who hates Browns?

Many British people: apparently, Browns reminds them of pubs (including one called Wetherspoon’s) back on the island(s). Fair enough.

Anyone else?

One observer typifies Browns haters as those who “prefer to sit on old stinky beds (known as opium den-style furnishings), smoke hookahs, sip Mojitos and make what they consider devastatingly insightful observations - ‘What’s happening to China ’s youth has parallels in The Outsiders and Trainspotting.’”

Not all Browns haters fit this category. Some find the place disgustingly low-rent and prefer 49-kuai pints of Carlsberg at elite spots such as Face. Others like the predictable corporate nature of hotel bars such as Centro. Still others consider themselves “cutting edge,” aligned to a fringe music, art or cultural scene that, by definition, requires the rejection of Browns. Finally, a number work for the city’s English-language lifestyle magazines and seemingly were required to swear an oath to scorn anything their readers enjoy.

Why do they hate Browns?

You can’t pretend to be an intellectual, kick back and act like a colonial master, or feel cutting-edge - if you hang at Browns. As M-Dawg put it in an instant message, “Browns is real life. It’s the Grand Central Station of bars. No pretensions, utilitarian, everyone uses it from the businessman and the cultural elite to English teachers and the slightly insane.”

I also think some people hate Browns because they are afraid to dance in public.

Dancing?

Yes, people frequently dance on the bar top at Browns. It’s the often vain and cheesy public equivalent of displaying your singing skill at karaoke.

Isn’t Browns a meat market?

If it is, then places such as Bar Blu, Vics and Suzie Wong are full-on abattoirs. Some people do go to Browns to pick up, but most go with friends, employees, co-workers or students, and represent nearly every nationality, age group and profession.

Does Browns have hookahs?

No. If it did, then those who hate the place would give them up and turn to something else - Chivas and yak’s milk, perhaps. Management isn’t that cruel.

So what does it have?

It has good wings, a decent draft beer selection, high ceilings that disperse smoke, bar and lounge seating, a coat check. It’s close to Q Bar, Bookworm and Tongli Studios. At times, it can feel slightly sleazy and/or dismal, but usually it is fun if you are with a group of friends. Regulars who resemble Steven Segal, Scarlett Johannsson and Kim Jong-Il offer tremendous unintentional comedy.

What would be an example of poetic justice?

If Browns closed up shop and its patrons immediately headed to those bars that the haters frequent. Even better if the patrons arrived in tank tops and baseball hats, and upon entering said “yo.”

Yo?

Yo!

Notes:

* Kidding

** I know at least five people who will think this post is about them. It’s not; it’s based on about 20 comments over the past year.

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 number among those poor souls without home Internet access. Getting online thus means packing the laptop, bundling up and heading *out there*. Here are three recent wireless experiences, followed by some favorite spots for surfing the Web. 

Vineyard Cafe
Given the coverage the free English-language magazines have heaped on this place, particularly for its “full English breakfast,” I recently popped in. The breakfast is indeed hearty, with egg, sausages, bacon (soft, not crispy), beans, mushrooms, tomato, two slices of toast, and choice of coffee or juice, though with a price tag of 65 kuai, another egg and bottomless java would be nice.

Vineyard Cafe is unpretentious and cozy, keeps the music at a reasonable volume, offers a good selection of cocktails, beer and wine, and had a strong wireless signal during my three-hour visit. The wildcard is the location. Some might get annoyed searching for a spot hidden in a hutong on a side street near Lama Temple. Others might see it as nicely secluded and rustic.

In any case, I experienced two cafes. The first was at brunch: crowded, comfortably noisy and saturated with a good vibe. The second was in late afternoon, when the human warmth (literally) was gone: the few customers shivered as the front door continually swung open and faced headaches as the back door slammed every 30 seconds or so. Management seems receptive, so odds are it will get a handle on this. A map to the cafe is available at www.vineyardcafe.cn, one of the town’s better bar blogs.

The Stone Boat
After a quick cocktail at The Press Club a few weeks back, I headed down the street, into Ritan Park and to The Stone Boat, where many a winter eve I spent two years ago as a newcomer to Beijing. I wanted to check it out after seeing an ad in that’s Beijing titled “Stone Boat Winter Myths.”

“Myth: Too cold. Reality: New heaters.” The Stone Boat was, indeed, much warmer than in previous winters, and a small foyer at the front provides two sets of sliding doors to keep in the heat, although a slight draft persists.

“Myth: No food. Reality: Homemade dumplings, soup, gluwein, etc.” True again. The vegetarian dumplings were maeyo, so I tried the beef ones (25 kuai per plate) and Boat Beef Noodles (25 kuai), both of which were fine.

“Myth: Dead. Reality: Parties. Stay tuned.” I was the only patron, but it was a Tuesday night and I was grateful this myth had yet to become reality.

Here are two more realities. Reality: I couldn’t get online. There was a signal, my computer apparently connected to it, and for an hour, I futilely tried to access Web sites while the staff smacked the wireless box, but no luck. Reality: entertainment is free. One employee repeatedly held a deck of cards above her head and let it drop onto a table, with a resounding crack, in attempts to get it to stand upright. Unfortunately, it got tiresome after the twentieth drop. In any case, I’m chalking up these last two realities to a bad night, as I’ve often found tranquility (and wireless) at Stone Boat.

Le Petit Gourmand
Longtime readers might remember my last story about this Sanlitun North spot included a bug falling out of a Parmesan shaker and onto my (up to then vegetarian) pizza. I’ve returned sporadically for coffee, but decided to give the food another shot after hearing the place has a new chef.

In my mind, any place positioned along the lines of The Bookworm, as is Le Petit Gourmand (LPG), should have wireless. Unfortunately, the only access I could get was via a weak intermittent signal from Bar Blu, one floor up. As I waited for my food, I mentioned this to Waitress One (W1), who motioned to an empty table 10 feet away. Hmmm. Perhaps she hadn’t understood, so I pointed to my computer screen and warped my face into a look of frustration. She nodded and zipped off, only to pass my table five or six times during the next 10 minutes, obviously having forgotten our conversation. No worries, I thought, I’ll go to the counter and ask Waitress Two (W2). I did, explaining verbally and in sign language, while she stared blankly at me. Perhaps she was considering my quandary, thought I. I thought wrong. W1 approached and asked W2 for two coffees, ending my brief relationship with W2 as she turned her attention elsewhere. I returned to my table and, seeing that W3 and W4 appeared as helpful as W1 or W2, decided to take action. As W1 passed, I caught her attention:

“Excuse me. I want to cancel my order.”
She looked confused.
“My order.”
“Water?”
“No, I want to cancel my order.”
“No water?”

She left and a few seconds later brought my club sandwich and soup (both passable). I made a few more attempts at getting a wireless signal, but it simply was not to be, which was too bad, because LPG has an okay drink, food and book selection and I would have stuck around all afternoon.

Here are some good spots for wireless, all of them in the Gongti area (I’m a homer when it comes to surfing the Web).

The Bookworm: The signal is generally good, but finding a seat can be tough, the music is sometimes too loud, and weird foreigners are attracted to the place like drunken moths to a Flaming Lamborghini. I tend to head there when I want to run into someone I know, crave potato gnocchi, feel like browsing books, or need to be near people who make me feel normal (“Did that guy just *snort* his sugar!?”).

Browns: While known for late-night shenanigans, this place is good for Web surfing. A strong signal, high ceilings, comfortable seats, and decent food and beer choices make it my default choice when The Bookworm is crowded. (Except tonight, as I write this newsletter, when the wireless is “broken” and a medical company is holding its year-end party - the emcee just yelled “wei” 20 times into the microphone as a test.)

Beer Mania: Wireless plus Belgian beer on draft at happy hour prices equals online fun.

Q Bar: I often meet acquaintances for an after-work drink at the Q and can check my email and sip a Horse Neck while I wait for them.

Sequoia Cafe: This place serves good coffee and sandwiches, even if the chairs are hard on the behind.

(From Beijing Boyce XXVIII, first emailed on December 23, 2006.)

Capone’s Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar held its soft opening last Friday. According to the invite, the place is “inspired by the Chicago lifestyle in the 1920s,” suggesting we might see unruly customers gunned down in plain sight while bobbed-haired flappers shimmy and tweed-jacketed gents get inebriated on bathtub gin (mixed with green tea for that Beijing touch). In addition to offering “signature dishes,” “a comfortable collection of wines” and “dreamy jazz,” Capone’s “aim’s [sic] to serve the customers with all the hearts.” I’m not sure if the place needs a coroner or a copywriter. Capone’s is in The Place, that fancy new shopping area just east of Ritan Park. / 5:19 Bar and Grill, which ranks among the brighter spots on the bleak “Super Bar Street,” marked its first anniversary. Owner Dave says he plans to air classic holiday movies starting at midnight on Christmas Eve. / Paul P informs that Mojito has re-opened. It looked like a goner when that “closed for renovations” sign lasted more than a month. / Q Bar is featuring “Santa’s Little Helper” during December. This hot drink (30 kuai) includes melted dark chocolate, a sprig of mint, and a choice of Kahlua, Amaretto or Grand Marnier (see Timeout for recipe). Don’t expect to sleep within three hours of drinking one. / Good reviews are flooding in for the food at Tim’s Texan BBQ (formerly John Bull Pub), which still features Mexican fare on Fridays, though during the winter the chefs will whip up those Taco El Pastors in the kitchen rather than out front.

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)

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 bar - excellent cocktails, a fun clientele and great ambience. First Cafe has been chai’d, but its memory lives on in its former bartenders, George and Echo, who now run the very successful Q Bar, in its owner, Keiko, who is running the recently opened Opener? [no typo], and in this video I stumbled across when cleaning up files on my computer. It doesn’t really capture the mood of First Cafe, given that it was the one time I was in the bar during an afternoon, but that’s life. Click the pic below for the video or go here.
 

These are the nights to enjoy a drink on a rooftop, deck or patio, and my favorite spots remain Pavillion and Stone Boat Cafe, with other good options being Drum and Bell, Frank’s Place and Q Bar. Remember, our lungs filter pollution from this city’s air and a strong collective outside drinking effort might allow us to spot a star or two some evening. (Note: Pavillion offers the added flashback value of hearing Wham!, Huey Lewis, The Vapors and Jackson Browne within an hour.) / John Bull Pub, run by legendary bar proprietor Frank Siegel, is saying toodleloo London and hello Houston as it transforms into a Texas BBQ joint (see “We Got Email” / Zing by Doodoo, an esteemed member of the Bad Bar Name Hall of Fame, is also changing identities and will reemerge as Thai restaurant Serve the People, which is hardly a better name given that it evokes cannibalism. / 49 kuai for a pint of Carlsberg at Face. Ouch! / The Bookworm celebrated its one-year anniversary yesterday. With tasty food, interesting lectures, live music, plenty of books for sale or loan, and an extensive beverage menu, this place has been a runaway success. Not surprisingly, its incredible popularity can make it tough for wireless seekers to get a seat, and that can mean occasional forays to Le Petit Gourmand or SPR Coffee. / Browns now serves “jungle juice” during Wednesday ladies’ nights, which means people may soon be swinging from the rafters as well as dancing on the bar. Speaking of Browns, the foam party two weekends ago saw bubbles upon bubbles for most of the night, but they had burst by Sunday brunch. The place was virtually empty, yet it took over 20 minutes to get a simple breakfast and the COFFEE MACHINE WAS BROKEN! “If this had been my first visit to Browns, I would never go back,” said a downright bitter and caffeine-withdrawn M-Dawg. / Nearby, The Loft has renamed itself Hot Loft. I have no punch line to do justice to this marketing brilliance. / Reader K.S. aka Killer Schoolmarm has spoken to the owner of recently chai’d The Big Easy and says the Louisiana-style hotspot will again grace our city, retaining the spirit of its original interior, but with a new outside look (more to come on this). / M-Dawg and I visited Q Bar two Saturdays ago and waited not only 15 minutes to order, but also 30 minutes in vain for our drinks. With parched throats, we went to Phil’s Pub and soon had Gin Tonics at one-third the cost. It seems to me that Q Bar is best when providing quality cocktails in a tranquil environment, which suggests a need to focus on speeding up drink delivery rather than on, say, hiring a DJ to play house music. Translation: I want my dry martini and John Lee Hooker! Fortunately, the drinks were coming fast and slightly furious during a visit earlier this week. / Speaking of which, Trevor and Kenn from Alternate Paradigm will slip into aprons and host an end-of-summer BBQ on Q Bar’s rooftop (September 23, 2 PM-late). Twenty-five kuai gets you a cheeseburger, two hot dogs, grilled veggies or six wings, all of which come with a baked potato. / Skipping back to Phil’s, I visited several times recently and rediscovered the joys of cheap but decent cocktails, 30-kuai Erdinger, and a friendly neighborhood pub atmosphere. Moreover, after a long stint in Qingdao , owner Phil is back and teamed up with Sally. My only recommendation for this place: vaporize the PlayStation console, or at least anyone using it. / The new branch of Raj held a party last Saturday night with the expected buffet of Indian food and traditional dancing. The rooftop is ideal for enjoying a few brew (from 15 kuai for Qingdao to 25 kuai for Kingfisher) or some wine (though those puny glasses have to go), before heading to nearby Bed or Drum and Bell. / The Stone Boat has upgraded its wine and cocktail menu over the past year and credit goes to Amy and Jonathan. The Martini and Mojito are better, though the latter is still light on alcohol, and it is nice to enjoy wine in a proper glass in such a relaxing spot.

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