Beijing Boyce

It's dog eat dog, er, cat fight cat...

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There is a brouhaha over at The Beijinger between Legation Quarter landlord HKC and the Aqua Group, which had been running restaurants Agua and Shiro Matsu and bars Hex and Fez at the upscale complex until all four closed about two weeks ago.

The Beijinger earlier posted a press release from Agua Group that stated (my highlights):

Legation Quarter Ltd. has consistently failed to meet its promises and commitments to us and the other tenants to maintain and manage Ch’ien Men 23 as Beijing’s premier fine dining complex resulting in damage to our businesses and day to day operations.

Legation Quarter Ltd’s behavior has reached the point where, among other things, they harass our operations by switching the power on and off at will. We are unable to operate in this hostile environment and as a result we deeply regret that we have no choice but to close our operations at Ch’ien Men 23 with immediate effect.

Today the site posted a press release from HKC that stated (my highlights):

It is regretful that Aqua has not paid its license fees to Legation Quarter Ltd. since late 2008, immediately after they had enjoyed the 16-week license-fee free period….

Aqua has nevertheless used Legation Quarter Ltd.’s premises to conduct business in its restaurants and bars for over a year, continuing to disregard our repeated requests to honor their obligations and pay the long overdue license fees….

In short, the closure of Aqua is due to its inability, or unwillingness, to pay the license fee for ‘Ch’ien Men 23’ and Legation Quarter Ltd. is now seeking legal advice in respect of Aqua’s  irresponsible and untrue press release.”

I spoke to Lidia Sakarapani, sales and marketing director of Aqua Group, last week and she cited issues — ranging from  electricity and infrastructure problems to major events held in the square that affected traffic flow to the the bars and restaurants — that disrupted business. She also said The Beijinger made minimal effort to contact her before running its intial story considering that a member of the magazine’s staff is the former PR person for Agua a former member of the magazine’s staff was a former PR person for Agua [see comments re this correction].

In any case, free rent helps to explain why some places at Legation Quarter have survived this long, not to mention in other spots around town (see Solana). If such places had to pay in full from day one, on top of their heavy staff costs, I think we would see much higher turnover.

Based on my experience and on talking to readers, the only place that seems to be consistently busy at Legation Quarter – aka Chi’enmen 23 – is Maison Boulud. I called GM Ignace LeCleir last week and he told me the restaurant has no plans to move. As for the Aqua Group, Sakarapani says it plans to be back in business in Beijing soon.

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But can it top Alexis versus Krystle...

I haven’t made it to Japanese spot Shiro Matsu in the Legation Quarter yet, but regular contributor 8 Songs had dinner there on Sunday and here is his take:

“This place reeks of opulence. A huge electronic mural dominates the side wall. Tables and chairs were arranged with decent spacing between them and set for parties of various sizes. Swirls of timber and sombre lighting create a semi-romantic mood.

“The service was quietly efficient, thoughtful, and generally impressive.

“The menu is downright scary. The first item on the sushi list is priced at RMB468. Others were priced at RMB200-400. We hunted for something more within budget and found some premium sushi at RMB200, some California rolls for RMB60, and some tempura for RMB160. Two cocktails and a 10-percent service charge took the bill to well over RMB700.

“The sushi was quite OK, with some interesting fillings, such as goose liver, but I for one can’t justify spending so much on it, no matter how well made it is, when I can eat the same or better at places like Haiku or Hatsune.

“One thing that wasn’t quite right was the arrangement of the sushi chefs. As with most sushi restaurants, the chefs were behind a counter where we could watch them preparing our dinner. But the mood lighting must have made it difficult for them to see what they were doing. Their work space was dimly lit – too dark from what I could see.

“At first we were the only two diners there, until a familiar face entered. No doubt there to check out the competition, Alan Wong of Haiku and Hatsune fame seemed to enjoy his dinner. With prices like those at this place, I hope he doesn’t get any ideas.

“My rating – take an important client and a fat expense account, or better yet, be the important client.

This is the first in a series of posts on four places projected to open over the next few months. Tomorrow: the new China Doll.

(Photos: The Legation Quarter)

I had yet to enjoy watching the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, I remained unaware that the Black Eyed Peas provide the ideal beat for apartment cleaning, and I could still fit into my good black jeans – all these things were true when The Legation Quarter, the most anticipated food and beverage project in this city, was first scheduled to open more than a year ago.

How times have changed.

I toured The Legation Quarter last week and ran into the man most associated with the project, Handel Lee (Three on the Bund, The Courtyard, RBL), who outlined several buildings before marketing director Lulu Liu took over. Word is that some venues will open in mid-May (see below).

The Legation Quarter is big and, in many ways, beautiful, so in the words of BEP, “Let’s get it started.”

Like many of Lee’s projects, this venue is laden with history. According to the company brochure, five of the Legation Quarter’s buildings date from 1903 and were built to house the U.S. Embassy during the waning years of the Qing Dynasty. The 170,000-square-foot space later served as the Dalai Lama’s residence, a state guest house, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs offices. Additional buildings and an underground space have been added to house a club, a bar, and other establishments.

Here’s a lineup of some key projects.

Projected opening: mid-May

- Maison Boulud (back center in image above), “a French concept restaurant by award-winning chef Daniel Boulud from New York,” according to the brochure. The ground floor includes a bar, lounge and main dining room; the second floor, accessible by two staircases, holds smaller dining rooms.

- The Legation Center for the Arts (right front), which will host exhibitions, film programs and lectures. The rooftop offers good views of the old post office and train station as well as Tiananmen.

Projected opening: mid-June

- Mission (right top), the 1400-square-meter nightclub portion of Legation Quarter, which will include a lounge, VIP rooms and deck space. Lee says that a New York-London outfit is handling the project. The brochure says Mission “is sure to blaze a trail across the sky of Beijing’s nightlife” (let’s hope they have fire extinguishers).

- Teatro (right middle), an Italian restaurant; this building will include a wine cellar and a shop that sells bread, cheese, olive oil, and other goods.

Projected opening: mid-July

- Shiro Matsu (left top), a Japanese restaurant.

- Tian Di Yi Jian (left bottom, barely in image), a Chinese restaurant “embedded” in a furniture showroom.

The Legation Quarter will also include a 650-square-meter underground theater.

This project is ambitious and, given the delays, obviously not an easy one to complete. I have no idea about the rent, but large expatriate kitchen staffs do not come cheap. Maison Boulud seems especially promising as it could become a must visit for US business and government delegations, among others. The Legation Quarter has potential for event launches, weddings and so on. It’s hard to say how many people will come for, say, Italian or Japanese food, but I guess individual vendors will shoulder at least some of the responsibility of bringing in patrons.

A cutaway of Maison Boulod