Beijing Boyce

Every night is ladies night – well, almost – for bar explorer Samantha Ma. Here are her five favorite spots to go in Beijing. (See more top fives here.)

Tun (map): The best ladies night in town! Big drinks to lighten things up, and crazy dancing. A great way to release your stress after a hard week’s work – and free to boot.

Red Moon (map) (the one at the Grand Hyatt, not the one in Sanlitun): Great lounge band that performs Western and Chinese classics, making use of traditional instruments like the erhu and guzheng. And great cocktails!

Salud (map) (Sanlitun): I liked their spiced rums. Sitting outside on a weekend night watching Sanlitun go by is fantastic fun.

Danger Doyles (map): A great bar  and the rooftop is perfect on a nice summer night. The pool table is a little beat up, but there is hardly ever a wait, and they have free pizza on Wednesdays.

Xiu (map): Bejing’s new “it” bar really is nice. An elegant atmosphere, good drinks (although pretty expensive), and great live bands when I’ve been.

Part seven in a series on where Beijing residents enjoy a beverage (or two). This round is with Diane Fermin, who is director of communications of China World Hotel and does her fair share of getting out and about in the city’s bar scene.

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Diane Fermin with husband Heiko Roeder at the "other" beach

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Although my favourite watering holes in Beijing vary, all do have one thing in common: some kind of outdoor seating, whether it is a rooftop terrace or a courtyard patio. Of course, it is a given that I only like to hang out in these places during that half of the year when Beijing is not one gigantic ice cube.

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5. The Beach (Block 8)

When The Beach made its debut a couple of years ago, it reminded me of one of my favourite bars in all of Asia: the legendary Ku De Ta in Bali (minus the Indian Ocean’s waves and sunsets, of course). Somehow they were able to get that Southeast Asian beach chic vibe right: the pseudo-Dedon sleek day beds, flowing champagne and sexy cocktails, the music reminiscent of Ibiza, the elusive “beautiful people” nonchalantly lounging around – right down to the dusky-skinned, smiling, oh-so-friendly mostly Filipina waitresses in cute little beach shorts. To dial down the glam a bit, those occasional “shower scenes” by bikini-clad Eastern European girls added just a hint of sleazy fun. When they re-opened in the spring of 2008 with a new Mediterranean look, I missed the Bali vibe but pretty much almost all the elements which hooked a beach bunny like me are still there – which is why The Beach still makes the list.

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4. Yin Bar (Emperor Hotel)

A place to bring out-of-towners so they can gasp at that Forbidden City view over some excellent frozen Mojitos and marvel at how hip and chic Beijing really has become. The “Raise the Red Lantern”-like ritual they do with the lamps at dusk is enough to get the Canons (or iPhones) out and clicking away. It was while sitting here with our drinks once on a lovely late summer afternoon, that my husband and I concluded we were indeed lucky as hell to be living the kind of life that we are living in one of the world’s most fascinating cities (the Yin induces these types of musings.) Also, this is my secret little hideaway on those Sunday afternoons when my husband is at work and I’ve got a great new book or magazine to huddle over.

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3. Q Bar

It reminds me of a pair of Uggs – not the greatest looking, but somehow endearing, because you totally know what to expect: solid nourishing cocktails (especially those Caipirinhas, Caipiroskas, and Mojitos) and a comfortable, reliable, and unpretentious vibe. No-nonsense service and bar food of surprisingly good quality, unlike a lot of Sanlitun bars. Cool music wafting through to the terrace, but not blasting your ears off. Always makes for great hanging out with your best friends.

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2. Domus

How sleek and fashionable is this new little place? We loves it! (As gossip blogger Perez Hilton would say.) Yet unlike most places which come with the requisite designer furniture and place a premium on style, Domus doesn’t feel cold. A charming, cozy bar and lounge upstairs, with an adjoining little courtyard patio. Good service, with smiles. Attracts a good-looking crowd, but not overtly so. This place doesn’t try too hard and doesn’t need to. Yes, you can sit and sip your martini or a glass of your favourite wine and be a relaxed sophisticate for an evening.

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1. PURE VIP Room & The Terrace (both at Suzie Wong’s)

After five years of living in Beijing and seeing so many bars and clubs crash and burn – there is still no place like Suzie Wong’s. Suzie’s has not only endured but has – like our favourite 50-year-old (Madonna) – constantly re-invented itself. Yes, it sometimes reeks of skank but, hey, let’s face it, this only adds colour and edge to Beijing’s multidimensional nightlife. Suzie Wong’s is always guaranteed to serve up an intoxicating mix of extremely watchable people, from Beijing’s regular weekend party set to glam models and visiting celebs, still-superb music from its resident DJs, and Champagne that seems to be on tap – it never seems to run out. I like that in the new PURE VIP Room, you can listen and dance to great live music. Lastly, given the notoriously high turnover in Beijing’s bar and club scene, the people at Suzie Wong’s must be doing something right, with the always-in-demand Anson and Frankie still running operations very well behind those velvet ropes.

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Runners up: Stone Boat (Ritan Park), Aria Bar (China World Hotel) and Red Moon (Grand Hyatt)

Stone Boat

You have to love the Stone Boat for its cuteness factor and the refreshing trees and lake of Ritan Park surrounding it. Along with its no-frills drinks, the serene company of amateur anglers at the lake and the occasional live music night – this is really one of the rare places in Beijing’s CBD where you can just dress down, have a drink, kick off the flip flops, and simply hang out. Translation: bliss.

Aria & Red Moon

I wasn’t going to include any five-star hotel bars, but these two places are like my “neighborhood bars“, if you define that as places clustered around where you work and live. I derive a tremendous degree of comfort at both places. The Aria and Red Moon staff tend to recognise me, so there’s always a bit of nice familliar chit chat and I’m always taken care of very well (at Aria, they know my favourite drink: my Kir Royal). Both serve superb drinks (I love that sparkling shiraz at Red Moon) and excellent bar food (I love eating dinner, while tucked into a corner, at both bars). Both play good, unobtrusive music in the background, provide great vantage points for fascinating people-watching, and I’m always bound to run into friends!

Some like it hot, some like it spicy, and p3wong likes her Bloody Mary to be both, and with a pinch of celery salt to boot. Friday night, we chilled out in the upstairs lounge at Nearby the Tree, tried a Bloody Mary – yes, we’re aware this spot is known for Belgian beer – and discussed how her favorite drink fares in this city.

“They never use celery salt [in Bloody Marys] in Beijing,” she says. “A lot of places are also stingy on Worcestershire sauce.”

So, what spots does she recommend?

“Redmoon Bar (Hyatt). They use enough Worschestire sauce and put in cherry tomatoes.”

“Lan – the Sichuan Mary is spicy.”

“[The former] Icehouse [where she once worked as GM]; I could tell the staff exactly how I wanted it made.”‘

“The Bookworm – it has an interesting one. I think they make their own juice because it comes out pinkish.”

“I haven’t tried The Vineyard Cafe yet, but I heard they have a ‘do it yourself’ Bloody Mary and I like that idea.”

How about Face? “Okay, but it seems a little bitter, so I’m wondering if they use pepper vodka.”

Block 8? “They must have the worst one. They shake it with the ice and it gets too watery.”

Aria? “The first one I had there, I could only taste tomato juice. The second one had a lot of vodka but not much flavor.”

Centro? “They’re bad. I was disappointed because I heard Bruce Li [now at Aria] was the best bartender. I don’t know if he made mine, but they weren’t good.”

As for the Bloody Mary at Nearby the Tree, here’s p3wong’s take: “It could be better with celery salt, Worcestershire sauce and more tomato juice.” At any rate, it’s a cozy place to chat and there’s plenty of beer and wine as an alternative.

Here are a few my current and past favorite places for a Bloody Mary:

Café St. Laurent: Its ‘Asian Mary’ includes wasabi and soya, a rim salted with nori, and pickled asparagus, a cherry tomato and a prawn as garnish. It comes in a 12-ounce glass, without ice, so it doesn’t get watery. CSL will soon have Bloody Caesars, made with Clamato rather than tomato juice.

Press Club Bar: The menu includes a half-dozen Bloody Mary variations, including one with Qingdao beer; tasty but pricey. (Note: I hear the St. Regis Hotel, which houses The Press Club Bar, is undergoing some renovations, so I’ll visit soon and check this out.)

Before closing, The Big Easy made a nice Bloody Mary.

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.

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)

that’s Beijing announces its annual bars and clubs awards tonight. Below, in capital letters, are the places I think deserve to win (all in my extremely humble opinion, of course).

Hotel Bar

I usually frequent hotel bars for work-related reasons and have to give Centro credit: there is always a decent number of people, usually decent martinis and sometimes decent live jazz. In terms of slickness, it’s about as dependable as Beijing bars get. Expect this category to be much more crowded next year with new bars in the Crowne Plaza, Hilton and other hotels competing against older ones such as Centro, Hyatt’s Redmoon and Shangri La’s Cloud Nine.

Bar Snacks

Saddle (burritos) and Fish Nation (our fine-finned friend with chips) both offer good filler in Sanlitun north, Bellagio has the Taiwanese angle covered, Cafe Pause, while technically not a bar, has tasty snacks up in the 798 Art District, and there are innumerable kebab stands where night owls may bulk up on meat and fat, not to mention a week’s worth of salt. Decent eats these are all, but I’m giving a slight edge to two places: Mojito, which despite it’s somewhat car-park like feel offers up the super tasty Mexican hamburger, and The Den, which pumps out the pizza and deep-fried goodies 24/7.

Place to Dance

A few years ago I did the White Man Shuffle as well as any endomorph. Alack and alas, I have now regressed to a mere wiggle, usually in the shadows, and what could be more ideal than a place where everyone else’s eyes are glued to the writhers busting moves on the bar top. The award thus goes to Browns, with honorable mentions to Suzie Wong’s and Maggie’s.

Cheap drinks

Phil’s Pub: A standout among the plethora of 10-kuai drink joints, with friendly owners, a decent layout and better-than-average drinks, not to mention a convenient location just 200 yards from my apartment (how selfish). Plus, the place lets patrons order in kebabs.

People Watching

Apertivo, No-name Bar, Centro, Maggie’s and numerous other places all merit mention in this tough category, but if a winner must be named, and if it counts as a bar, this award goes to The Bookworm, where you can not only scope out the patrons, but also overhear phone calls and conversations, discover a potential mate’s reading preferences (“Dan Brown? Next!“), and see if their caffeine fix comes from lattes, Diet Cokes or Irish coffees. (Yes, yes, The Bookworm is not exactly a bar or club, but they do sell ample quantities of beer, wine and cocktails, and besides, that’s Beijing has the place listed on its ballot, so blame them!)

Happy Hour

Centro offers great high-end value with their two-for-one cocktails, Beer Mania has 500 ML of Belgian draft for 40 kuai and discounted bottled Belgian Beer until 8 PM, The Den offers two-for-one pizza and beer, and Cheers pours two Wild Turkey shots for 30 RMB until 10 PM. What makes a happy hour superior depends on where you feel comfortable and what you like to drink, and the places all above excel in their own ways, so this is a four-way tie.

Best Outdoor

Another tough category, with contenders such as Bar Blu and Top Club (nice rooftops, same building), Q Bar (an even bigger rooftop, though the chairs are a bit hard), Hai Bar (a dark horse that offers cheap beers and views of Houhai on one side and the drum and bell towers on the other), Nuage (the same views, but fancier decor and higher prices), Suzie Wong’s (a nice getaway from the crowds inside, plus some of the best plastic plants in town), and The Pomegranate (for those in Shunyi). But the best of the bunch are Stone Boat, a small Qing-dynasty era spot set on a pond surrounded by trees and rocks in central Beijing‘s Ritan Park, and The Pavillion, with a lovely backyard made extremely cozy with comfortable wicker seating, elegant trees, and mellow lighting.

Business Networking

For drawing a diverse crowd that includes business executives, English teachers, homemakers, writers, MBA students and most everyone else, the award should go The Bookworm. There is no place, except perhaps for First Cafe last year, where I have made more connections.

Best Place for a Date

Le Cafe Igosso: Above-average food and a good wine list in a low-pressure atmosphere. If you’re looking at a Sunday afternoon, rather than a weekday dinner, then it’s No Name Bar. And if it’s an evening drink, rather than a meal, try the Q Bar, although going through that somewhat seedy hotel in which it is located might send some messages (possibly wanted, possibly not) to your significant other.

Student Hangout

The Loo: A bar that is long-closed and from another lifetime (not to mention another country). For this category, I’ll make like a soccer player and pass.

Best Beer

Browns, for its draft selection (including recent additions Stella Artois and Beck’s), and Beer Mania for its wide range of bottled Belgian beers and its Belgian draft.

Best Cocktails

This depends more on the bartenders than the establishments. I’ve had solid drinks at Centro, great mint-based cocktails at Garden of Delights, and some good but cheap beverages, courtesy of Sally and Alex at Phil’s Pub. I also remember tasty cocktails at Alfa, Jazz Ya, Browns (hit and miss), 5:19, The Big Easy, and places too numerous to mention. But in the end, only one place consistently pumps out a wide range of high-quality drinks, and thus the award goes to George Zhou and Echo Sun at Q Bar.

Bar of the Year

This bar has raised its beer prices, lost key staff, struggled with its interior decorating, dealt with DJ turmoil, faced numerous other challenges and, despite it all, had a greater impact on Beijing’s drinking scene than any other establishment in the past year. This bar has exerted influence because it consistently provides good clean fun, because it scores well in terms of design, atmosphere, food and beer selection, and because it is frequented by a sizeable number of the city’s bar owners, managers and employees. Love it or hate it, this bar has firmly planted itself in the party landscape, providing not only great value for patrons, but also food for thought for those in the industry, and this combination should earn it the bar of the year award. This bar is Browns.

(From Beijing Boyce XX, first emailed on July 13, 2006)

Whether in a five-star hotel lounge or a dingy bar on Sanlitun South, few people are as objective when evaluating a cocktail as is Agent Red Wolf (RW). She can block out any surrounding chaos and focus solely on the quality of a given beverage. Simply put, when lip meets glass, not even the shiniest object can distract her. Here are her top five Mojitos, with the establishment’s name (in alphabetical order), followed by the drink price (as closely as can be remembered), number of visits, and comments (if any).

Beer Mania: ~35 kuai; 2 visits; “This is closer to a tailor-made drink; you should only have the Mojito at Beer Mania if Marc [the manager] is making them.”

Centro: ~70 kuai+15%; 10+ visits; “Centro and Redmoon consistently make a high-quality Mojito.”

Garden of Delights: ~70 kuai; 1 visit; “The mint was fresh and the rum was good, though I asked for more soda water, as their Mojito was too sweet for me.”

Redmoon: ~70 kuai+15%; 6-7 visits.

Suzy Wong: ~40 kuai; dozens of visits; “A lot of guys here are poseurs [yes, she picked up this word from me], but this place has good drinks.”

RW also recalled some Mojito memories from Beijing past.

First Cafe: 50 kuai; last year during the “GE [George and Echo] era;” (now, says RW, the Mojito at First Cafe “is not even in the top 20″).

Havana : 40 kuai; more than two years ago.

Latinos: 40 kuai; until recently.

For more details on RW’s rankings, email agent_redwolf@yahoo.com (“No poseurs,” she says).

(From Beijing Boyce XIV, first emailed on April 6, 2006)