Beijing Boyce

I’m mining my in-box and found a few events slated for this weekend (I’ll omit the many music festivals as they have been heavily covered by the English-language lifestyle magazines).

To celebrate its third anniversary, The Pomegranate will open a free self-serve keg of beer every Friday at 5 PM this month.

DJ BB and DJ Carlo will be at Obiwan from 10 PM tonight spinning rock tunes. “Anything rock from the last five decades is fair game,” states the invite.

Room 101 bids farewell this Saturday with a closing party that includes 101 free Beijing drafts. The place will reopen in November as… well, we’ll have to wait and see (more details).

The Saddle Cantina will hold its monthly Cinco de Drinko on Sunday, which means half-price beverages all day and evening until midnight, at which point sibling bar The Rickshaw starts its Hair of the Dog event with the same deal.

Tun, in honor of the late Paul Newman, will screen his hockey classic Slapshot at 6 PM on Sunday - look out for those Hanson brothers!

A quick update on activities of weekend last:

Friday night

I went on a pub crawl with some foreign journalists - we started in Nanluoguxiang and hit Suzie Wong (too early to be busy but a décor worth seeing), Q Bar (a light crowd when we arrived around 10 and bustling when we left less than an hour later), The Saddle Cantina (fairly full inside with about 30 people spilling into the courtyard) and China Doll (busy, busy, busy). The night included an impromptu meeting with a Brazilian dance group and Ciro of Ciro’s popping out to say hi in all his blinged-out tattooed glory.

Saturday night

I did a walkabout that included the club strip on Workers’ Stadium West. Lots of people in front of the clubs (Richy, Cutie et al), a solid crowd in Taiwanese restaurant Hsin Yeh (great food), and about 50 patrons  chilling outside Destinations across the street.

All drinks, half price, midnight to midnight - August 5 sees the final Cinco de Drinko at The Saddle Cantina. What better way to warm up for the Olympics than with half-price ice-cold Stella - literally, the upstairs draft pours at -2 Celsius - or a couple of Margaritas?

Meanwhile, Well Bar will open in 1949: The Hidden City on this night, so if you haven’t checked out this laid-back complex yet, this is a good chance to also take a look at 1/5 bar.

I decided to “party hearty” on Saturday night ahead of the supposed “no-fun Olympics.” I went to the max and ate outdoors, hung out on a rooftop, listened to a live band, and drank in a bar with black people. I have to admit, I’m no rebel - I saw hundreds of people doing the same. Here’s a lowdown of things seen, heard, and consumed with fellow beverage researcher The Village Grouch:

Hotel G: We planned to have a drink and a burger at this Workers Stadium West venue, but it turns out none of the food and beverage outlets are open. Gee.

Destinations: No-fun alert - signs in the club proclaim that flip flops are banned as of August 1. How gay is that?*

Sam’s: Just north of Destinations, it has the equivalent of a mini-Jenny Lou’s downstairs and a 20-seat wine bar upstairs. Patrons can choose from more than 100 wines from six distributors. The bottles are displayed in racks and start at less than RMB100. Buy some food downstairs, buy some bottles upstairs, and you have a tasting party - it’s on my list of things to do.

Red Rose: A light crowd for a Saturday night. We work through several plates of lamb and enjoy the live band.

Tongli Studio area: After a post-dinner walk through The Village, we find most places in the Tongli area busy. The street fronting Kai Club and Butterfly is already picking up and even Ciro’s has a good-sized crowd.

The Saddle Cantina: The deck is packed, the interior is moderately populated, and Margaritas are calling. I spot DJ Blackie who tells me something about having to play ABBA records. Frankly, I shut down after he says “Mama Mia.”

Kokomo: Yesterday, I noted my shock at finding The Smugglers full. Today’s surprise (besides Ciro’s): more than two dozen patrons on the normally empty main floor of Kokomo. I soon understand why: the deck is crammed with sticky patrons. TVG and I down two original Maitais apiece, sweat five pounds, and head off.

Sanlitun North strip: As we taxi past the copycat bars on the Sanlitun North strip, we notice most places have outdoor seating, good crowds, and entertainment that ranges from live bands to a dancing woman in a silver bikini and a cowboy hat.

Q Bar: This place is hopping, although unlike Saturday night, I can make my way to the bar. A couple of  Alfonso Specials nicely finishes the night.

* This isn’t meant to be offensive - I know how sensitive flip-flop wearers can be. By the way, where do Crocs rank?

See also: Weekend Wrap 1

Part 4 of a series on where Beijing residents enjoy a beverage (or two). This round is with beverage quality control expert Paul Adkins.

First an honourable mention to Havana Bar. It has the potential to be a great little bar, once people discover it. Nicely decorated, with an excellent selection of drinks, along with some slick music from the house band, The Eleventh Commandment. Management just needs to hang in there and get some marketing happening. But don’t rush - sometimes it’s nice to have the place to myself.

Coming in at number 5, Cheers in Tongli. Cheap beer, great Xinjiang music. But the feature that most attracts me (not the art) is the world’s worst pool table. It’s the pool equivalent to crazy golf, but it evens up the scoring, so that’s OK by me.

Aria takes spot number 4. Maybe because I am Australian, and my usual Aria outing is Friday nights. It’s always great to get back to the tribal roots, say “g’day” to mates, and talk about the important things in life - cricket, footy and sheilas. Aria would have got a higher rating, but the AustCham Kooka Pub organisers have been kicked out for the Olympics.

Sequoia Café is in many ways the inverse of Aria. Where Aria offers the tribal roots, Sequoia gives me a chance to meet friends from all over the world. Any time I go there, I am likely to meet acquaintances from Slovenia, France, USA, Ireland, Germany - Frank even lets Canadians in. Frank’s Friday night wine tastings are usually a magical mystery tour - wines from parts of the world that I have never tried before. Frank and Jennifer are always friendly and take the time to say hello, which is nice.

Second prize goes to Saddle Cantina. I love the music, the burritos, the drinks list and the deck. Their pool table is too new yet, with a true surface - so I tend to lose more often.

Top place however goes to a private little place. It’s well-stocked with everything I like to drink, and music that I can choose according to how I feel. It’s a spot where I can sit quietly and veg out or enjoy the company of friends. It’s an oasis - but it’s my bar at home, and it’s where I go when I am not out on the town. Not only that, but the bartender there makes the best margaritas in town.

Finally, I want to put down a ghost vote for Maggie’s. Why this dead den of iniquity? Because my girlfriend and I used to love going along and bopping to the music. A couple of hours on the dance floor there was a night well-spent. Sure it got a bit sleazy when the “ladies of the night” arrived, but they never went anywhere near the dancers.

We are looking forward to seeing it re-open after the Olympics.

Previously:
Chandler Jurinka, Local Noodles
Kevin Shen, T3 Terminal
Steven Schwankert, SinoScuba

With his “I’m Beyonce” episode a distant memory, I hit the town with Special K on Sunday. Here’s a roundup of spots we visited that, on second reading, kind of comes off as a rant. I blame the pollution.

Café St. Laurent
CSL draws a strong Sunday brunch crowd, but would do well to reduce the clash between the quality of the food and drink and the décor - savory eggs Benedict versus sitting on emaciated cushions stippled with cigarette holes; tasty Cappuccino versus gazing at a dirty plastic roof; etc. It’s time to upgrade those seats (try Carrefour, it shouldn’t be too busy these days) and unravel the garden hose. Then again, maybe I’m grouchy because a waiter passed a full glass of water over my laptop and spilled some on it.

The Saddle Cantina
Given the squalls of tree fluff in the New Nali Studio courtyard, we grabbed a table inside the bar. Unfortunately, the staff defeated our efforts by inexplicably opening and closing the retractable rooftop several times thus letting in more of the stuff. Were they bored? Is the roof fun to open? Is tree fluff - which tends to have a magnetic attraction to cocktails - considered festive in Beijing and/or Mexico?

The staff is likable at The Saddle Cantina and sibling establishment The Rickshaw but service, while usually OK, can be sketchy. Too often orders get mixed up or misunderstood, no one is able to work the satellite dish, employees compare cell phone rings instead of paying attention to customers, and so on.

This raises the great mystery of service in Beijing: how can it be good at a relative newcomer like Kro’s Nest and such a struggle at The Rickshaw, Saddle, Revelations, and others? For example, I had lunch at Revelations on Monday- there were about ten tables of people, which only represented about a third of capacity. Even so, the staff needed to reconfirm our order several times, forgot the bread, brought my dish 15 minutes before those of my companions, responded to the confusion over my coffee request by repeating themselves at increasing volume. That said, this spot offers arguably the best-value lunch deal in town, so you take the good with the bad.

OK, rant over.

To return to The Saddle Cantina: Special K found his Mango Mojito weak, while I was impressed with /recommend the Pina Colada Margarita. RMB40 is a pricey for a bottle of Corona, though OK for a literally ice-cold pint of Stella. I can hardly wait to see how this place’s home brew turns out.

Luga’s
With not a seat to be had outside, we sat in the new section of the bar, which formerly housed a Xinjiang restaurant that reader ET says had good dapanji and the best noodles in town (by the way, don’t be surprised if there is further expansion of Luga’s). We shared an order of beef nachos and chicken quesadilla, both tasty, and enjoyed a few Coronas. Always one to experiment, Special K stuck his finger in the bottle - I take it that he was fishing for the lime slice - and couldn’t get it out. Luckily, the miracle of mechanics (translation: a lot of pulling) allowed him to eventually free it.

The Smugglers
Special K liked the series of small narrow rooms, the sturdy beer house-style tables and benches, and the posters, finding the place simple but pleasant, though a bit quiet (we were the only patrons). The drinks are cheap (RMB25 for a Margarita, RMB10 for a juice) and the portions are small, while the beer specials are good value.

Kokomo
With the winter roof removed just that afternoon, we enjoyed a stiff breeze beneath the stars. Sam Adams at 35 kuai a pop is nice, though the experimental Champagne Mojito needs more time in the lab. The Christmas-type lights above the bar clash with the candlelight at the table - am I supposed to come here to part-tay or chill out? Expect some summer drink specials from this place.

The Boat
People must have been on shore leave, because only a handful of patrons were on board. Then again, it was late Sunday night. The Boat includes upper and lower decks, ample seating and a dance floor. It’s a cool idea, and I’ll return on a busier night to check it out. By the way, it was nice to see generous space devoted to toilets - this saves guys peeing over the side against a headwind.

Kokomo stripped off its rooftop covering today. Expect an opening party Friday with two DJs and summer drink specials.

The Saddle Cantina will close from11 PM tonight (Sunday) to 6 PM on Tuesday as it refinishes its floor. The Saddle was packed last night with one going-away and three birthday parties.

Construction on the new China Doll, on the top floor of 3.3 Building, is coming along. The lounge will face Sanlitun’s main strip and be accessible by an elevator. The main area has a bar and dance floor, with a VIP room and seven themed private rooms extending off them. Two elevators will provide access from the street behind. Expect plenty of curves, ellipses, and circular platforms in the design. An extension will be built to the north with China Doll taking the 400-square-meter rooftop.

The Cellar Rat says that his “find of the month” is the OT Lounge. Decent cocktails and good jazz in a relaxed and intimate atmosphere impressed him. “It’s not huge, but if you’re out with a few friends, it’s nice place to hang out,” he says.

Some bits and bites, sips and slurps from the local scene…

Expat Show Beijing continues tomorrow (10 AM-6 PM) and Sunday (10 AM-5 PM) at China World Trade Center. Its Web site states that 150 exhibitors will attend, though only a half-dozen from the food and beverage sector, including Jebsen Fine Wines, Ganges Indian Restaurant, Exquisite Bakery, Haosome organic produce, Green Yard organic milk and Wonder Milk. Entry is free.

The Saddle Cantina kicks off its monthly “Cinco De Drinko” event at midnight. The idea: the fifth day of each month will see all drinks at half-price (you need to enter off the Sanlitun main strip, between 3.3 and Nali Studio).

Tonight should also see the opening of the expanded Lugas (ex-Saddle).

Tomorrow, Die Kochmützen celebrates its third anniversary with free HB Beer from 5 to 7 PM. The place will also have a special anniversary dinner for RMB103.

Finally, The Boat, floating on the Liangma River, officially opens next Friday, with reggae, rock, and more on the “upper deck”, and eight DJs below.

It sounds like the Kokomo / China Doll standoff is over for now. Two co-owners of Kokomo told me last Thursday that Tongli Studio management fixed the damaged lighting console at the core of the dispute. I spotted no ominous guards as I headed upstairs to Kokomo last night, though I found the place closed (to be fair, it was around 2 AM).

Across the street, Lugas (ex-Saddle) is expanding. The place is more than doubling in size as it takes over a venue just around the corner, with the two spots being connected by a door. Expect a similar layout and decor, and a side room that fits about a dozen people. Luga says he expects to open the place on Friday.

Meanwhile, The Saddle Cantina opened Thursday with a party by Local Noodles. The spot was packed, the beer and Margaritas flowed. I popped in Saturday afternoon to try the food, as I’d received an email listing the opening hours from “afternoon” to 4 AM on weekends. I found it closed and since discovered the opening time is 6 PM. I returned last night for a few Stella at RMB40 per pop. The beer is literally ice cold, with co-owner Nick Ma explaining that it pours at -1 or -2 degrees Celsius. Ma provided a sample of the guacamole, which was tasty. The Saddle Cantina is much bigger and stylized than The Rickshaw, and the prices are higher. I’ll have more about this place soon.

On Sanlitun North, 1949: The Hidden City will start opening venues tomorrow. The first: Sugar (11 AM-7 PM; no wireless at the moment), a coffee bar that offers salads and other fare. The Noodle Bar (11 AM-7 PM) opens Wednesdays, while Duck de Chine is slated to take flight on the weekend. I sampled Duck de Chine’s menu last Thursday and, as one might expect, we had plenty of duck. Webs, livers, tongues, eggs, breasts - pretty much everything but lips, feathers, and bellybuttons. I also discovered from the chef that they can fit cook turkey’s into those wood-fired ovens - come Christmas, I’m going to be calling these guys.

Finally, I dropped into Nanjie in the wee hours last night and, as usual, it was bustling upstairs with the usual mix of locals and expatriates. With ten-kuai beer and a deck that is perfect for people watching - this place is hard to beat.