Beijing Boyce

When The Rauch Potato and I went on pair of pub crawls / farewell tours a mere six weeks ago, it represented a last few chances for me to drink beer and talk basketball with the author of China Sports Today until, well, May. Yeah, we have a pool, and I picked that as the month she gets bored of New York and moves back here. In the meantime, here are her top five Beijing bar picks. (You can see the full list of “top fives” here.)

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Wain Wain: On its own, the view of the CBD from the 35th floor of Xiandai SOHO would warrant a trip to this Japanese bar. But there is so much more to recommend Wain Wain. The service is attentive without being obtrusive — you can usually dispense with yelling “fuwuyuan,” and simply get the servers’ attention with a nod. The food (I usually opt for udon noodles) and drinks (always sake and Asahi for me) are good enough, and not too expensive. The wifi works and the atmosphere is great. The layout gives every patron a nice view of the floor-to-ceiling windows, and despite the small space it’s easy to have a private conversation. They look after the practical details, too — the bathrooms are impeccable, and they will hang your coat in a bag when you arrive to keep it from picking up any smoke or other bar/restaurant aromas.

Jin Fan (Golden Sail) Water Sports Club: Houhai has so much potential — pretty much all wasted. An urban lake surrounded by willow trees and stone fences, with views of some historic buildings and gardens, should be a pleasant place to have a drink, even if the water looks and smells like a biohazard. Instead, it’s lined with obnoxious, tacky, unimaginative bars with so little to distinguish them from one another that touts have to stand outside and beg you to come in. In more than two years living just north of Houhai, there was only one place I ever went to deliberately— Jin Fan Water Sports Club. It’s the boathouse all the way at the north end of the lake, where Beijing’s dragon boat racers train and where you can rent kayaks by the hour. No neon lights, no touts – just a small selection of beers, and tables close enough to the water you could reach out and touch it (if you’re brave). Sitting on their homely little turf carpet-covered dock, you can barely see the lights of the bars at the south end of the lake, and it’s easy to feel like you are sitting on the dock at a friend’s lake house.

El Nido: Lots of imported beers for cheap, some pretty good homemade infused liquors, and a friendly Chinese proprietor get this place off to a great start. The fact that you can sit outside and watch a Beijing hutong just being a Beijing hutong, as opposed to a tourist attraction (I’m looking at you, Nanluoguxiang), makes it an even more special. That and the fact that you might find a jam session going on at 4 a.m.

Mao Mao Chong: Cocktails have come a long way in Beijing since I moved there long, long ago in early 2008. There are now lots of places to get a good one in the capital city. I like Mao Mao Chong’s creative, China-inspired mixes, the bartenders’ willingness to invent something new that fits your personal taste, and Stephanie’s scary ability to remember what you drank last time you were there. The fact that you can order one of the city’s best pizzas here makes it easy to forget the time and stay longer than you should.

Heaven Supermarket: It’s a liquor store. With seats. And glasses you can pour your drinks into. And a bathroom. Who would have thought that garish fluorescent lighting could be so charming? I’m sure it has a doppelganger somewhere in the world, so I don’t want to say “only in Beijing,” but this joint is refreshingly freewheeling, unpretentious, straightforward, and a great bargain to boot.

What, no sports bar on the list? That’s right. I can’t think of a single Beijing sports bar that deserves a “must try” endorsement. Time zones and satellite TV hijinks mean that you can rarely count on a place to be showing the game you want to see, unless they have aggressively advertised it ahead of time. And when you do get to the right bar to see the game you want, there’s a good chance you will be one of less than a dozen people watching. It doesn’t help that sports bar “culture” has not taken hold in China. All of my most lively game-watching experiences have been soccer games at Paddy O’Sheas, but I can hardly say the place is a must-visit.

The Top Five Watering Holes Series is back and with someone who epitomizes the work hard, play hard ethic. Her 9 to 5 gig — actually, given the profession, I’m sure many days go long past 5 — is at a communications firm that focuses on tech and IT clients. In her spare time, she enjoys dancing, discovering good food and good drinks, and exploring new areas of Beijing. Ladies and gentlemen, the top five Beijing watering holes of Amy Saltzman…

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“I would count myself as a person who is possibly more concerned with the social nature of drinking, rather than the content of the drinks themselves, so I was surprised when asked to do my own “top five” list. I’m not hip on the classy joints (although I do love me a well-made dirty martini). I’m drawn more to the atmosphere and social elements that add a fuller color and context to what I drink and where I drink it. All in all, I’d like to think this list offers a good variety, and, at the very least, it definitely contains some of my favorite places to chill with friends and/or occasionally get sauced enough to write reviews on The Beijinger. Enjoy!

1. Drum and Bell. I have spent a fair amount of time at this bar, and it’s always a pleasure. The vibe inside is cheerful and relaxed, and I especially love the raised seating area that’s set amongst pillows, where you have to take your shoes off to sit. The rooftop deck has a decent amount of space and great views as well, making it perfect for sitting and chatting with friends. Also, if you’re looking to make the most of your Sunday Funday, the 50 kuai all-you-can drink afternoon special is well worth it.

2. The Door. As I’ve warned, classy is not my adjective of choice. However, even The Door marks itself as a guilty pleasure on my list. The squashed, dark dance floor area is pretty sketchy, I won’t argue that. However, beyond it is an array of individual couches and tables, which are great when drinking with a group of friends, or when playing a game of “quarters” with 1元 coins is on the agenda for the night. Really cheap beers and mixed drinks (10 kuai to 20 kuai for most), a convenient location, and a good amount of space to have for yourself and your pals make it hard to say no to. Also, considering the amount of rogue coins I’ve lost under those couches, it is likely there’s a small treasure trove hiding under there for some lucky guy or girl to find.

3. El Nido. This would definitely be the place I would imagine overhearing, “I liked (band / artist / fashion trend) before they went mainstream.” It would also be a strong contender if the website “Stuff White People Like” did a post on Beijing. However, I am caught in the trendy cogs of this small but popular joint, and I don’t so much mind it. El Nido offers a huge variety of unique beers for surprisingly affordable prices, and I love the infused brandy and vodka offerings, if only because they smell fantastic. Plus, it’s appealing to me that I can see all the beers through the glass door fridges before selecting one (or two) for myself. The only downside is the seating, which is almost entirely outside and leaves many to question what will happen when winter rolls around (brrr).

4. Hercules. When I feel like dressing up for the night, doing the transformative glasses-to-contact lenses switch, and walking 25 percent slower to avoid tripping in my heels, Hercules is where I head for first round drinks. The layout is open and relaxed, but with an air of sleek sophistication. The drinks are a bit pricey, but very well-made (especially the dirty martinis and peach Long Island iced teas), and it still sports my favorite happy hour deals for making the most of the weekend: buy one get one free in the early evening and then again from around midnight till the wee early morning hours. I also love the variety in seating options. Couch? Bench? Bed? As you wish.

5. The Stumble Inn. I really enjoy the Stumble Inn and its classic bar vibe. There is ample space to sit inside (as I wait and secretly hope the dart board becomes available), but if my patience gives way, the deck also offers spacious seating with really nice views. There’s also the glorious double threat pairing of both a lengthy beer list and pretty tasty food. I always know I can count on getting my favorite Blue Star nice and cold here, and paired with a juicy cheeseburger it’s hard to leave unsatisfied in both alcoholic and gustatory pleasures. Happy hour deals are good as well, and mixed drinks are effective, to say the least. Very effective.

Honorable mentions:

Woman cannot live by cocktail alone.

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By day a music operations coordinator, by night and weekend a beverage fiend, few people are as keen on exploring Beijing’s scene as Ami Li. I asked her for a top five of her favorite drinking holes. Here it is. (For more top fives, see here.)

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“My list is, in two words, utterly predictable. More than that, it is good insight into where “most people who live in the hutongs” drink. As you know, I’m quite… particular about my alcoholic beverages, so each one of my all-time top five in Beijing are locations that warm my heart, and make my liver weep.

In no particular order…

Amilal. The first hutong bar I was introduced to in Beijing, and still my favourite when the weather gets cold. Exquisite selection of single malt and Japanese whiskies, good beer, better music, and the best cats that will never give you the time of day. Aluss is among the friendliest and most artistically talented bar owners in the city. You’ll notice a theme with these recommendations; whether it’s because they love my personality or (more likely) the frequency of my patronage at their establishments, all my “favourites” in Beijing owe a good deal to the friendly, welcoming nature of their proprietors. Drink of choice: either an Islay single malt or Jack, ginger and bitters.

El Nido. For the first six months, whenever I walked into El Nido, Xiao Shuai would ask me, “absinthe?” One of the best hidden gems in the city, and I must say that every award they don’t win gives me hope that the motley crew of regulars there will stay my motley crew of regulars. Every time I’m there, whether it’s two in the morning or two in the afternoon, I could stay until the sun rises or sets and feel like no time has passed at all. The addition of rotating global cuisine there on the weekends is oh so welcome, because honestly, it takes one more step out of the decision-making process. And now, because I feel like giving away an actual (semi-) secret, El Nido also has the cheapest pastis in town. RMB5 has even Cafe de la Poste down the hutong beat. Drink of choice: Harbin (the classic), Erdinger Weiss (the classy), pastis (the Eurotrashy).

Mao Mao Chong. For my cocktail fix when I don’t want to venture down to Flamme (see below), it will always be Mao Mao Chong. I love the creativity and fearlessness that Stephen and Stephanie apply to their cocktails and pizzas. One of the best parts about the place is the fact that they combine all the comforts of home with all the glories of being in China. You get the familiarity of pizza with the innovation of Sichuan peppercorn-infused vodka in your Mala Mule, and it’s absolutely brilliant. Drink of choice: The Bloody Mao. Stepehn, Stephanie, it you’re reading— please please please consider opening for brunch! I know it’s somewhat impossible logistically, but just imagine! Breakfast pizzas and Bloody Mao! I cannot think of a better paradise on a late Sunday morning.

Great Leap Brewery. Beer gets somewhat of a short shrift in my regular imbibing habits, but Great Leap is fast changing those ways. Much like James Fallows, I mourn the dearth of good—nay, acceptable—beer in China. Luckily now, I have El Nido to satisfy my obscure Czech beer cravings and Great Leap to turn to when I want an IPA to grow some hair on my chest. Located deep within the recesses of the hutongs off Di’anmenwai, Great Leap’s a place that somehow epitomizes “destination drinking”. You have to really concentrate to find the place, and I freely admit that I still get lost on the way over every so often. But once you’ve arrived, and open that big metal gate, it’s like you’ve stepped into an industrial Narnia, where empty kegs serve as seating and enormous bags of malt line the walls. Drink of choice: IPA, honey ma blond.

Flamme. Outside of wine spritzers and Cosmopolitans, I will try practically any alcoholic beverage at least once. But cocktails are my first love. And no one knows more or is friendlier than Paul Mathew and the crew he trained over at Flamme. After hearing about the place for a few months after it opened, I finally ventured over there with the promise of Morning Glory Fizzes, an esoteric gin-based restorative Paul had, of all things, tweeted about one afternoon. I’ve not been there recently as much as I’d have liked to, but I know that every time I go, I’ll be able to geek about the latest release of bitters or which vermouth is finally entering the China market, all while sipping a perfectly balanced and absurdly delicious cocktail. Drink of choice: anything brown, bitter, and stirred; a classic Negroni (Gordon’s gin, rocks, orange wedge).

Honorable mentions: George’s, Apothecary, Alba

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You can follow Ami Li on Twitter here.

I’ve asked many Beijing residents about their top five watering holes so for a change of pace I asked Shannon Roy to list the five best whiskeys widely available in our fair city.  (If memory serves, the request came as we sampled some of the more than 100 whiskeys available at one of my favorite Beijing spots, Ichikura.) Like a red deer on a far hillside — hmm, where did I read that? — here they are…

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The Great Wall between whiskey and Sprite.

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Whether you’re getting into spirits because the carbs in beer are expanding your waistline, or you’ve always been curious about whiskey but simply don’t know where to start, or even if you just want to be able to bluff your way through a whiskey conversation, let me see if I can help you with any of those things in our smoky Chivas-quaffing city of Beijing.

To be clear: this is not a “Top 5″ enumerating my personal favourite tipples. Nor is it a list of obscure 100-plus-single-malt bars (although there are more of these in Beijing than ever and most of them are great). Or the obscure name-dropping whiskeys you can find at said bars, or how to pronounce the names of said whiskeys! This is a Top 5 of truly great whiskeys that you can get basically anywhere in Beijing – for reasons as obscure as distributor/barkeep guanxi and as unambiguous as China’s import tax policy.

1. Johnnie Walker Black. Available everywhere. Sometimes things are popular because they are actually great. Forget the Red (which is like being smacked in the mouth with a burning tire) but the Black is all good. I never cease to shake my elitist head in amazement that something so available and so fundamentally 18th Century in outlook is just so reliably good here in 2010. The sweet liquorice or maple syrup is firmly in the velvet-over-iron grip of the Talisker-derived salt. Big rolling-tobacco and vanilla palate (Jackson’s notes: “marijuana”). Sweet fading to mellow in the finish.

2. The Macallan 12. Available at an astonishingly vast number of cafes and eateries in Beijing, which is awesome because it’s a terrific after dinner whiskey. Without ice, of course. Lightly watered, if that’s your thing. Buttery, Christmas pudding beginning. The palate is Mrs Field’s cookies when you’ve left them overnight and heated them up in a microwave — yum! A lovely long wine-like finish with very little “smoke” which, again, suits the after meal theme.

3. Highland Park 21. You may not be able to find the 21 as easily as some of its younger siblings, but anything from the 12 and up is going to be great. Surprisingly available. Although it doesn’t have a cool marketable “Celtic” name like Auchentoshan or Lagavulin, Highland Park 21 took out Whisky Magazine’s “World’s Best” in 2009. It’s just that good. And actually, if you add a (very) little water, “Highland Park” is a great name, redolent as it is with smoke from your campfire, dark chocolate from your hiking rations, heather, venison on the spit, and a glimpse of a red deer on a far hillside to give you that wild unpredictability of nature’s elements.

4. Taketsuru 21. Another blend! And not even a “scotch”! Sacrilege! But this is a great blend that, again, passes the availability test because of Beijing’s huge array of Japanese, Korean, and Japanese-and-Korean themed restaurants. I’ve found this as the only non-sake in even very small places. Stay away from the 12-year-old of the same name (really, it’s utterly unremarkable) but the 21 has lovely coffee-and-expensive-leather notes with a delightfully different finish (like Lao Chen Cu on Bitter Melon).

5. Talisker 10. To return to my theme, I’m always amazed to find this so freely and readily available in Beijing. It is the “Big Skye” I guess, and certainly deserves its place on any list of the truly good and great, but this is about availability in China’s capital, which means the Talisker pips out some of the Islays I could have filled a “Personal Top 5″ with. Jim Murray called this “razor-sharp” and he was right. It’s got a huge build-up, which keeps devolving different complexions as it moves across the palate. A true banked-hearth scotch finish.

Cheers!

Shannon Roy  has lived and worked in Beijing since 2002. Traditionally a “software guy” he now earns his whiskey money as an independent board member on a half-dozen foreign-invested Chinese companies, doing his bit to improve corporate governance, one fired rogue CEO at a time.

I know Kirby “The Commish” Carder first and foremost as a sports fan and fellow basketball league player, second as one who appreciates a decent drink, and third as the guy who made fun of my faux sheepskin jacket at least a half-dozen times during the Torres Taste of Nations wine event last fall. Actually, let’s switch number two and three around. Here are his top five bar picks in Beijing.

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“1. Twilight: This is without a doubt my favorite bar in Beijing. It’s extremely convenient for anyone who works in Guomao, but somewhat hard to find if you don’t know where to look. It has a drink menu that is a good size but not overwhelming. There are standard drinks that are always available and also a selection of 10 or so cocktails that the owners work hard to make sure reflects the tastes of the season.

“I am drinking a Putong Manhattan. It’s off the menu, but they know I like it and they don’t seem to mind making it for me. If you want something on the main menu try the Moscow Mule, and if you want to try something seasonal, the Fall in Love (a pumpkin banana smoothie drink) is a crowd pleaser right now.

“2. Nashville: Underrated place with a great happy hour. Every drink is two for one during happy hour. It has a great whisky selection that is reasonably priced. I am a big fan of country music, and though the CDs that tend to be played there are not what I would necessarily prefer, beggars can’t be choosers. There is ample seating that never seems to be in short supply, and an outdoor patio for drinking during nice weather.

“I am drinking a beer (probably Carlsberg draught) and a whiskey (probably Glenfiddich 12 year). You got to double fist when the deal is this good.

“3. Fubar: Chad runs a great show. Good drinks at reasonable prices, and the staff is well trained… that is the trifecta for Beijing bars. Only real complaint is that on popular drinking nights it can be impossible to get a seat, but is the fact that the bar is popular really that much of a problem?

“I am drinking a Long Island: pound for pound the most bang for your buck on the menu.

“4. Kura Kura: I actually like some of the other Japanese whiskey bars better, but Kura Kura wins the overall contest because of the convenient location. When it’s cold outside who really wants to walk to Sanlitun North Street to go to the Glen or try to get a cab to go to Ichikura?

“I am drinking one of the harder to find bourbons they have….Elijah Craig anyone? Or one of the Japanese whiskeys: most likely Suntory or Yamasaki.

“5. Formerly at Souk, soon to be at Kro’s Nest: I make this call because of the atmosphere that is created during the pub quiz night run by Jim and Tao. I always have a good time at trivia night, and after my team wins another bottle of vodka (the top prize for winning that night) things usually devolve into a dance party.

“I am drinking whatever is on special, and any booze my team wins while playing the game. The winner of each round gets some kind of drink and any ties are broken through a beer chug: these guys know how to run a trivia contest.”

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In this edition of “top five watering holes“, self-described “serial wanderer, computer geek, yoga nerd, and language nut” Marc Wandschneider lists his favorite places to have a drink in Beijing. Wandschneider, in the “53rd month of his ‘about 6 months’ stay in Beijing”, says he has developed an appreciation for well-made drinks. His top five….

“Q Bar

“This bar remains my favorite place for mixed drinks in Beijing. The quality of the cocktails served is consistently the highest, and I have yet to find a better Caipirinha anywhere else I have been (I even unsuccessfully spent an evening jumping around Brazilian bars in New York looking for one as good). The outdoor patio area opened in 2009 is a wonderful place to hang out with friends and while away an evening; the interior decoration is modern and tasteful. Two-for-one martini Wednesday nights (now actually “roughly half-price martini” night) remain a favorite event on my schedule.

“My one complaint with Q Bar is that in colder seasons when the outdoor patio is closed, the music inside the bar is unbearably loud making it impossible to chat with friends. While this is good business –can’t talk? drink more–it’s annoying.

“Fubar

“Chad Lager’s new establishment in the Worker’s Stadium is just a fun bar to hang out in with friends. While the quality of drinks maybe isn’t as high as the level set by Q Bar, they are definitely solid, and this place might very well have Beijing’s most relaxed atmosphere. There are always plenty of fun events (such as 1 RMB vodka mojitos on the first of the month), and there is always somebody you know there. Consider it Beijing’s upscale “Cheers”.

“Having the bar hidden behind a hot dog stand window front makes it extremely convenient to get a snack if you suddenly develop a case of the munchies after a few drinks. Just be sure to check before visiting Fubar if there’s an event at Workers Stadium. Getting to the bar will suddenly get difficult.

“Reef

“In the olden days (2007), Nanluoguxiang was a small hutong with a few cafés and bars and preciously few tourists. Sometime in 2008, some friends made me aware of Reef bar on the north end of the strip, and we would blow entire evenings there drinking 10 RMB beers and playing that dice-counting game. The owners will make other drinks (I had a sip of a mojito once and it was nice), but it’s easy to spend an evening downing Qingdao’s finest “bing huang cha“.

“The owners are always there, and happy to down a few drinks with you. Throw in the fact that you can order chuan’r from a few doors down, and you have the recipe for a perfect local evening. The expansion in 2009 that effectively doubled the space made for a welcome respite from the previously ridiculous overcrowding. Fortunately the hordes of tourists seem to stick to the venues further down the alley, leaving this place alone with that old Nanluoguxiang feel to it.

“12SQM

“Run by an Aussie, I only started frequenting this place because of a Kiwi friend of mine who visits the bar regularly. Actually starting out with a space of twelve square metres, I never went because it was too small. Now that it has nearly tripled in size, I find myself liking the place much more, and the interior decoration is warm. Throw in a friendly owner and his firecracker of a wife who both mix good drinks, a good beer selection, and great location, and you can’t go wrong with this place.

“Bridge

“While not quite a bar, the always-open Bridge Café up in Wudaokou (literally 250 meters away from the subway station) is one of my favorite places in Beijing to pass any amount of time. The cocktails and beers here are reasonably priced and of decent quality, but the real reason to come is for the (post-drinking?) coffee.

“With plenty of space and tables spread over three floors (one of which is nonsmoking), good Internet connectivity, and tons of options for snacking or even full-on dining, you it’s a good place for either business or pleasure. A people-watching paradise.

“Honourable mentions

“Salud in Nanluoguxiang has brilliant spiced rums for 20 RMB that are both tasty and a good deal. The environment is pleasant and the atmosphere is vibrant.

“Le Petit Gourmand in Tongli Studios again doesn’t quite qualify as a bar, but has great wine, coffees, and food, and is just a nice place to relax and chat while sipping a drink.

Dishonourable mention

“I can’t finish this off without a big “bite me” to D-Lounge, which started out with so much potential, but has since brought all the worst aspects of New York- or LA-style “Sorry, private party tonight” queuing to Beijing. This city doesn’t need that kind of crap.

In this edition of the Top Five Watering Holes Series, gal-about-town Jennifer Ying Lan not only lists her favorite spots to get a drink, but also writes her own introduction. Here it is…

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“Jennifer Ying Lan, a native Texan, just can’t get enough of Beijing in the summertime. After graduating from Harrrrvard, she followed the flock and found herself on Wall Street at an illustrious 100+ year old investment bank that couldn’t stop buying sub-prime mortgages.

“After a couple years of 80+ hour work weeks, she landed in Beijing, where she blogged for the Beijinger, wrote for Agenda magazine, and sent out the notorious ‘7 Days in Beijing‘ newsletter before returning to graduate school (like a good little Chinese-American girl). Currently completing a dual-degree JD/MBA student at Duke University, she is a summer associate at a swanky international law firm in Beijing and is back for the nineteenth time. Find her at these places.

“5. Aperitivo: Open-air wine bar located right behind the Sanlitun strip. With plenty of outdoor seating and a great location, never sit inside or you’ll miss all the action. Watch the line of people at the crazy-busy jianbing cart and the idiotic drivers in way-too-nice cars as they try to make their way down a jam-packed street filled with people, kids selling roses, and knick-knacks of every kind. By far one of the best people-watching places in town…

“4. Fubar: If you’re one of the very few expats in town who hasn’t been yet, all I’m going to say is: secret door, hot dogs, and 1 RMB mojito nights. (Plus, one of the co-owners is the leading international construction lawyer in the world and as a future lawyer who wants to/will own a restaurant/bar in the future… that’s awesome).

“3. The Saddle Cantina: Come here for the ‘Mexican’ food, a rainbow of margaritas, and rooftop seating. If you’re lucky, some poor soul will sit in the saddle and be force-fed tequila like a foie-gras duck. PS: I adore Luga (the little man) so his place and this one are a bit interchangeable for me.

“2. No Name Bar: The first bar back then at Houhai and it’s still holding strong. Sit by the window at night, light a candle, look out over the lake, feel the breeze, and watch the people stroll by. Unless your fellow patrons are from Jersey, you should be able to have a pretty peaceful and perhaps romantic evening.

“1. Maison Boulud: Hands down, the classiest place in town. Located inside the former American embassy at the Legation Quarter, you feel the history as soon as you walk in the door. Rumor has it, this is where Henry Kissinger met with Zhou Enlai on his secret trip to the Middle Kingdom before Richard Nixon came and the West saw China. Ask to see the “Red Room” where the meeting took place. The decor is old school European meets a modern interior designer. Have the gorgeous and ultra-sophisticated Ignace [Lecleir] make you a cocktail before he leaves, sit back and enjoy the live jazz or house music, and just feel good. (Although to be honest, I don’t see myself ever going again after Ignace leaves.)

Paul Mathew at work

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One of my favorite things to discuss is which Beijing bars are best in terms of staff or service or atmosphere or cocktails or whatever. Which is why one of my favorite features on this blog is top five lists by other people. It has been a while since the last top one, but fortunately Paul Matthew–who not only enjoys a cocktail or two, but also is skilled at making them–agreed to share his picks. Mathew is a bar consultant, author of the Blood and Sand site, and co-owner of The Hide Bar in London. His top five…

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“As a new father I’m getting out to bars far less than I used to. When I do, I’m more and more particular about where I go. I’ve always been of the opinion that you should drink better things, not necessarily more of them, it’s just now been focused. In the time available, I want to drink something made with care and attention where there are interesting people to watch and the service is good. Plenty of places have two out of three, but the full Monty can be hard to come by in Beijing. Hotel bars, for example, often have the well-made drinks and great service, but the clientele can be a little on the dull/professional side. Other venues offer a fantastic environment in which to observe the Beijinger in his or her natural environment, but getting a (dodgy) drink is like getting blood from a stone.

“My favourites loosely fall into three categories. First, the ‘academic’ bars. These are places that take their drinks seriously and follow proper protocol. No one does that better than the Japanese, so my first two would be Twilight and Glen. The former for cocktails and the latter for whisky. Twilight manages to be particular about its recipes and ingredients, hand ‘sourcing’ some of the world’s best spirits, and making things they can’t get hold of. As well as being particular, the drinks list is accessible, with a selection that non-cocktail-drinking friends have applauded. Glen, on the other hand, feels like a professional’s drinking den. Sitting at the bar appeals to my inner spirit geek, and the space is so small that you feel like you’re part of everyone’s conversation, even if it is in Japanese. Falling into this category but just not making the cut would be Apothecary and Ichikura. It does make me wonder why all the best cocktail bars are Japanese though, given Europe and North America’s history and current fascination with the cocktail (and manufacture of most of the ingredients). Maybe that’s to come in Beijing Version 2010.2.

“My second category would be the more laid-back venues that I would consider letting my hair down in (if I had enough with which to do so that is). Fubar and Mao Mao Chong both get this spot on but in different ways I think. I don’t often head to Fubar until later in the evening (and compared to Mr Boyce, I could hardly be described as a regular), but whenever I’ve been there, the service has been great, the drinks good and, most of all, the atmosphere welcoming. This is helped in no small way by the staff apparently enjoying their jobs – a seemingly difficult thing to achieve in most of Beijing’s service industry. Mao Mao Chong on the other hand, I would consider going to at any point of the evening, or day if it were open. OK, the cocktails aren’t the carefully recreated classics, but they’re accessible, interesting, and served alongside great beers and pizza. The space is just great, too, and feels as friendly as anywhere I’ve been, with the added bonus of an artistic edge.

“Finally, I’ve gone work-related at the Bookworm. For that deadline that just has to be hit, even if it’s eating into drinking time, the Bookworm offers a great atmosphere that’s conducive to thinking. Service is great, beer good and patrons interesting enough to distract you from time to time. When the deadline’s hit, there’s a good and reasonably priced selection of wine available with which to celebrate.”

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.

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In the latest installment of the top five watering holes series, local know-it-all Charlie Flint of the Chinese version of How Stuff Works tells us where he grabs a drink after a long day of telling residents how to use an elevator (let the people inside get out first), how to refurbish a sidecar motorcycle so it looks wicked cool, and how to survive a baijiu dinner by surreptitiously slipping your shots into the soup. (Actually, I made those examples up. Just a few free ideas for How Stuff Works.)

Here are his picks…

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Fubar (map): Currently my default watering-hole, Fubar is an excellent combination of quality, value, service, and vibe. There aren’t many places in this town where you can score mixed drinks made with top-shelf liquor for 30 kuai. Add in a great atmosphere – this place feels like home with its gregarious management and staff and a crew of steady regulars – and you have the perfect place to unwind after a long day of work.

Chocolate (map): The most ridiculously sublime bar I’ve been to in ages. From the pole-dancers to the 300-pound burlesque queens to the uber-cheesy band playing eighties-era Russian dance music, it has to be seen to be believed. Sure, its a LAN knockoff, but LAN (mistakenly) takes itself seriously, whereas Chocolate feels like it is in on the joke. I mean, come on – gold-plated urinals. Anyhow, I may have a soft spot for the place because of a wild night there that saw a certain Beijing bar-scene blogger drinking from ladies’ shoes and starting fights with Russian mob-types (and saw me waking up on my bathroom floor the next day), but it is one of Beijing’s must-visit bars.

Q Bar (map): I’ll have to agree with the others who’ve pegged this as a Top 5′er. Q Bar’s bartenders know how to mix a solid cocktail, and the rooftop deck is a fantastic place to hang out with friends, business associates, or out-of-town guests. And I love to take first-timers through the decidedly bland Chinese hotel below it. There’s such a weird transition that takes place en route to t he terrace as you pass the pensioners from Wuhan on holiday .

G-Zou (map): Discretely tucked away on the bottom floor of one of the towers of Sunshine 100, this Japanese shoju bar has an impressive selection of this distinctive (and amazingly diverse) drink. With a clientele that’s 95 percent Japanese and staff that only speak Japanese and some broken Chinese, it can be a little difficult to communicate… but that becomes part of the fun. The bartenders are great sports, know their spirits, and seem all too happy to drink along with you. Added bonus: It’s directly across the street from Oriental Taipan, making for the perfect 1-2 punch when combining a shoju bender and a foot massage.

Scarlett (map): I’m cheating a little bit here, as I’ve admittedly never gone drinking at Scarlett without eating, but I can safely state I’ve never eaten there without drinking, too. A great place to start the night with a bottle of wine and some charcuterie, Scarlett’s got a relaxed feel that keeps me coming back. Plus it sports one of Beijing’s better pool tables (where I usually get hustled by French pool sharks), and a Long Island Iced Tea that leaves me seeing spots.

I asked music man about town Pete Demola a few months ago if we would do a “top five” Beijing bands list. Award me a  ”duh“, because when I followed up this week, I discovered he had sent me two top fives… more than a month ago. Below are his picks for Beijing’s five most promising young bands. Tomorrow, I’ll post his list of the city’s five best live bands.

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Pete's number one pick (photo courtesy of Ray Deng)

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“Bands appear and vanish each month, most of them leading a nasty, brutish and short life. Although the five young bands below are still rough around the edges, they’ve got the potential to make it to the big leagues.

“5. The Reason
“Although they’ve only made a few select appearances in 2009, this devastating post-hardcore sextet’s anger-infused cocktail of clean melodic guitars, gut-wrenching vocals and devastating breakdowns is stunning, and makes for an utterly-consuming and cathartic live experience. Not for the faint-hearted, but they wear tight pants, which may be a plus for the ladies.

“4. Flyx
“Classic street punk with abrasive vocals and gritty riffs. One of Beijing’s most prolific, dedicated and hardest-working bands—lead guitarist Cao Shuai plays double duty with fellow punks Cold Case, while singer Luo Pan held his wedding party at D-22 this past April—the quartet is known to incorporate the occasional Anti Flag cover, as well as the crowd, into their jet-propelled sets.

“3. Birdstriking
“With a sound characterized by reverb-soaked interludes and abrupt tempo changes that quickly lock into muscular hook-filled grooves, these 19-year-olds have already been pegged as one of Beijing’s most exciting new bands by scene guru Mike Pettis, who said that the trio gives him the same gut instinct as Carsick Cars did when they shifted into first gear in early-2005.

“2. Nan Wu
“This young sextet not only possesses impeccable mastery over their instruments, but flawlessly bridges the space between ultra-traditional Chinese folk and mainstream rock and blues via their emotionally rattling, powerful live performances. (Think Jethro Tull jamming with a local crosstalk troupe.) Although they continually draw loyal crowds from within the local student community to their shows, they are, without a doubt, Beijing’s most underrated live act and deserve your attention.

“1. 24 Hours
“This Xi’an trio have moved from highly polished post-punk a la Gang of Four to a full-fledged rock and roll machine within a few short months. Channeling the glory days of a Joyside show in 2005, they’ve stunned scene watchers and newcomers alike with their bold, adrenaline-fueled performances, which often include smoldering renditions of Nancy Sinatra and Dead Kennedys songs. Their highly anticipated debut record, produced by famed knob-twirler Martin Atkins (Pigface, Nine Inch Nails), is scheduled for a fall release on Maybe Mars Records.

Pete DeMola is the editorial director for weliveinbeijing.com. He says he doesn’t take anything too seriously in this city, and neither should you.

See also: Pete DeMola’s top five watering holes

In the latest installment of the watering holes series, Alex Lopez gives his top five places to grab a drink in Beijing. Lopez is a self-described local music lover, hutong runner, and dive bar connoisseur. He works in brand licensing, is a student of Chinese, and moonlights as “religious adviser” to the infamous Beijing Full Moon Hash. Here, in no particular order, are his top five bars…

Lydia’s Manor Café (map): My favorite hole-in-the-wall. Lydia, the very friendly (and funny) manager, runs a nice little Italian joint south of Lama Temple. The pizza isn’t the most authentic in Beijing, but it’s flavorful and goes well with the… here it comes… micro-brewed light and dark beers. The micro brews are tasty (I like the dark) and go for 10 kuai per pint. You really can’t beat that.

Kokomo (map): Best open air dancing in Beijing, period. No cover, unpretentious, and casual enough to really let it all out and have fun. I especially recommend Friday nights with DJ Andrés. These can go quite late.

Reef Bar (map): Best beer bar on Nanluoguxiang. There’s a big fridge full of imported brews, and the Tsingtao is still only 10 kuai for after your taste buds are too drunk to know the difference. Very popular with young locals, and a great place to meet non-expat friends.

The Smugglers (map): I maintain that Yanjing in stubby bottles is the best tasting domestic beer. Smugglers sells these for 15 kuai per pair. Not only the best value in Sanlitun, but also the only dive with the balls to break the Tsingtao stranglehold on the Beijing bar scene. Usually my first or last bar of the night.

Jiangjinjiu Live (map): Beijing lacks a truly stellar live music venue, but Jiangjinjiu is just about as good as it gets. Live folk acts Thursday through Sunday, usually without a cover. If it gets too hot inside, you can relax outside in the shadow of the Drum Tower and Bell Tower.

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Top fives:

• Elyse Ribbons
• Cam Macmurchy
• Brandon Chemers
• Jon, Jackson, Richard, Adam & Andy of RandomK(e)
• Andrew Schorr & Ellis Rahhal
• Pete Demola
• Shane Crombie
• Ben Shaw
• Kaiser Kuo
• Bjorn Stabell
• Phoebe Wong
• Diane Fermin
• Badr Benjelloun
• Elisabeth Tchoudjinoff & Katrina Arndt
• Paul Adkins
• Chandler Jurinka
• Kevin Shen
• Steven Schwankert

If you spot The Village Grouch about town on any given afternoon, there is a good chance he will be enjoying an iced tea (or three). I asked this connoisseur to list his top five spots for what he calls the “house wine of the South.”

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“Last summer, quaffers of the liquid respite known as iced tea would have found themselves in Beijing’s Iced Tea Triangle–namely, the Jianguomenwai area with TGI Friday’s, Peter’s Tex-Mex, and Tim’s Texas BBQ. However, in the post-Olympic period, worthy venues offering the House Wine of the South mean we know have more of a Beijing Ice Tea Constellation rather than a simple geometric shape. Here are my picks for Beijing’s best.

“1. Union Bar & Grill (map): The winner, far and away. Great tea, brewed especially to be served cold. Comes with lemon and sugar water, and is bottomless, for 20 kuai. For a chilled afternoon with the laptop, it’s unbeatable. It was Union’s parent company, the Windy City Group, that taught me to love iced tea via their Dan Ryan’s restaurant in Hong Kong, and it’s just as good here.

“2. Peter’s Tex-Mex (map): I abandoned this place quite sometime ago for their inconsistent wireless, but their bottomless iced tea is still superb. It also comes with sugar water and lemon, and is filled consistently by Peter’s friendly staff. Was once my favorite iced tea in Beijing, but in this case, it’s the venue that serves it, not the product itself, that has dragged it down in the rankings.

“3. Tim’s Texas BBQ (map): Tim’s is down to one venue for the moment, but as a true Southerner, he understands the meaning of true iced tea. It makes a nice accompaniment for the barbecue dishes, although actually beer is the best choice for those.

“4. TGI Friday’s (map): There was a time when the bottomless buckets of tea that Friday’s dispensed were unbeatable. Now, they charge 9 kaui per glass, although the staff can often be convinced to refill once for free. It comes with lemon, but Friday’s serves this strange-tasting sugar water, which isn’t really great. They also offer honey, which is good, if you like that taste.

“5. 7-Eleven: The convenience store chain doesn’t make iced tea, but they do sell it in bottles. As such, it is the venue for Suntory’s iced oolong tea with no sugar. You have to really like tea to enjoy this, as the taste is quite strong, but for RMB3.20 per 500 ml bottle, the price is tough to beat and it’s easily accessible.

“P.S. Starbucks’s iced tea is generally crap, although when they do the iced Earl Grey, it’s nice though there’s always too much ice and not enough tea.

In the latest round of the top five watering holes series, Elyse Ribbons – best known as the woman behind Cheeky Monkey Theater – gives her picks for best spots to grab a drink in Beijing. Her newest production, Kung Pao Shakespeare, a comedy about a Beijing theater company putting on Taming of the Shrew, will be performed this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (there are details on her site about the play and tickets. See also her post on Facebook).

I’M THE KIND OF GIRL that prefers a bar where the barkeep knows my name (and exactly how to mix my drink), so my top five faves in Beijing should come as no surprise:

1) Stone Boat (map): Whether for a coffee in the afternoon or a beer late at night, Stone Boat is my Zen place.

2) Sandglass (map): They make a killer long island iced teas, and they have fabulous ginger beer.

3) Q Bar (map): For obvious reasons – the best mixed drinks in town.

4) Yugong Yishan (map): Cheap beer + good music = good.

5) Salud (map): Flavored rums can’t be beat.

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Top fives:

• Cam Macmurchy
• Brandon Chemers
• Jon, Jackson, Richard, Adam, Andy of RandomK(e)
• Andrew Schorr & Ellis Rahhal
• Pete Demola
• Shane Crombie
• Ben Shaw
• Kaiser Kuo
• Bjorn Stabell
• Phoebe Wong
• Diane Fermin
• Badr Benjelloun
• Elisabeth Tchoudjinoff & Katrina Arndt
• Paul Adkins
• Chandler Jurinka
• Kevin Shen
• Steven Schwankert

Cam MacMurchy, author of Zhongnanhai blog and formerly with CCTV, CRI, and Tianjin TV, was a regular on the Beijing bar scene until he moved to Hong Kong last year. In the latest post in the top five watering holes series, he lists his all-time favorite places to grab a drink in Beijing.

I have been sampling the drinking delights in hot and humid Lan Kwai Fong these days, but look back fondly on the Beijing bar scene of old. These might not be the “top five” bars in Beijing, per se, but certainly five of the most memorable and unique.

Happy House

One of the first bars I ever went to in Beijing, this place was famous for having the most foul-smelling toilets in a city famous for foul-smelling toilets (this was 2004, remember). Literally, one could sit on their expansive second-floor patio and tell other bar-goers to follow their nose when they asked where the xishoujian was. Still, the patio was great, the bottled Tsingtaos were cheap, and looking down over the decrepit bars of South Sanlitun below served as great people watching. It had an old slanted pool table, hip hop and R&B music, and some dancing when things really got going. Those were the days. Happy House and Sanlitun South, R.I.P.

The Rat Café

Don’t bother using Google or leafing through the Beijinger to find this place. Situated outside under an overpass near Gongzhufen Station, The Rat Café (as we’ve aptly named it) has been serving up mystery meat-filled dumplings and cheap draft beer for as long as I can remember. Although only guessing at the substance inside the dumplings based on frequent glimpses of the apparently healthy nearby rodent population, the main reason to stop here is the beer and being far away from any other typical laowai hangout. This was a frequent stop for a post-work pijiu and gossip session with colleagues when I worked in the area. If you can get past the traffic noise and car exhaust, the rest of the ambiance is quite good. You might want to give the food a pass, though.

The Friendship Hotel Beer Garden

I think I missed much of the joy of this place, but still like to trek back at least once a year to try and summon the spirits of the good ol’ days. At one time foreign employees of Xinhua, CRI, and CCTV had to live at the Friendship Hotel, which resulted in a thriving drinking culture at the summertime beer garden. I arrived about six months after staff were allowed to find their own apartments, so much of the fun had already died out – but not all of it. The Friendship Hotel serves some of the biggest and best chuanr west of Chaoyang and sitting outside under the stars is a great way to spend an evening. There are some long-time laowai residents of Beijing who continue to live at the Youyi Binguan apartments and are filled with great stories (many unfit to publish on this family-friendly blog) of life in the capital before it was infested with foreigners. And if you find yourself there after the beer garden has closed, just use a hotel phone and dial 8888.

Poacher’s

I’ve always had a soft spot for Poacher’s, located behind 3.3 in Sanlitun. A friend and I found it by accident on our first Friday night in Beijing after arriving in September 2004. We had a great night then, and returned many, many times thereafter. Poacher’s is different from typical clubs because it’s well lit and appears to have no dress code, reducing the pretension quotient to near zero. Plus, draft pints of beer can be had for only 15 kuai at the little stand near the entrance to the washroom, so it’s easy on the wallet. Poacher’s was actually the first club in Beijing in its old location above the Friendship Store in North Sanlitun many moons ago, and it still carries on with people dancing on tables to pop, rock, and R&B tunes. I’ve seen some rough stuff there from time to time, and it’s a bit of a meat market. That being said, sometimes a meat market isn’t so bad: my friend met a girl there, and they are now happily married. Not sure how the place is doing these days, but I imagine some of the magic is gone with so many new bars and clubs targeting similar clientele.

Sammy’s (The Sunset Grill)

I’m not sure where Sammy is these days. He’s either in jail, has been sent for re-education in the countryside, or perhaps his family has received a bill for 2 jiao. Whatever the case, his bar was a den of sin before the police moved in and busted it in a string of closures before the Olympics, which also included the Pure Girl franchise. That was a sad day.

The Sunset Grill (odd name, considering there was no grill – he didn’t even serve food) was located on Xingfu Zhong Lu, about one block east of April’s Gourmet north of Worker’s Stadium. I spent a lot of time here, though not totally on my own volition: friends would often drink beer on makeshift, foldable chairs along the street and I’d be lured in as I was passing by on my bike. Sunset Grill was the dive of all dive bars: the only windows were boarded up, it reeked like stale booze, there was writing all over the walls, the wooden signs behind the bar were falling down, some less-than-upstanding citizens frequented the place, and I’m sure the bar tables in post-insurgency Fallujah were in better shape. Cockroaches seemed drawn to that particular area, and Sammy once brought out a dead rat by its tail and dropped it in a garbage bin while we were sitting outside.

Yet Sammy’s place endured, thanks to 5-kuai pints of beer and his famous yard of shots – 16 to be exact – for 100 RMB (which was a quick way to end the night). Sammy was also a great character in his own right, loudly greeting us if we were in the area and always serving up a beer “on the house” just as we were ready to go, which inevitably made us stay much longer and spend much more than planned. I’m pretty sure, based on my health the following day, that whatever beer-like substance Sammy was pouring wasn’t 100 percent beer, and likewise for the rest of his booze. But the steady stream of oddball regulars and the chance to play your own mp3s on the sound system made his place unique in Beijing and worth visiting, and another one of the character places that has since disappeared.

Honourable mentions: The Den (great happy hour, decent pub grub), Cheers, Luga’s. And yeah, I do like some classier joints, believe it or not, such as Face, which is where I take people for a nice night out. Cloud 9 was a great bar, winning That’s Beijing‘s Best Bar award in 2004, but was demolished only a few weeks later.

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Top fives:

• Brandon Chemers
• Jon, Jackson, Richard, Adam, Andy of RandomK(e)
• Andrew Schorr & Ellis Rahhal
• Pete Demola
• Shane Crombie
• Ben Shaw
• Kaiser Kuo
• Bjorn Stabell
• Phoebe Wong
• Diane Fermin
• Badr Benjelloun
• Elisabeth Tchoudjinoff & Katrina Arndt
• Paul Adkins
• Chandler Jurinka
• Kevin Shen
• Steven Schwankert

In the latest installment of the “top five watering holes” series, Brandon Chemers, avid sports fan, man about town, and author of brand spanking new Beijing soccer blog “Gongti Legends“, provides his picks for the best places to grab a drink in town.

The Den (map)
Frequented by everyone from hipsters to hookers, The Den is an excellent spot for people watching. They totally miss the definition of “happy HOUR” by holding it daily from 5 PM to 10 PM (including weekends) – and I thank them for that. Their food isn’t the greatest, but it isn’t bad, especially considering the price. It is also sort of a security blanket: despite all the changes over the years to our fair city, The Den continues going strong, and sometimes even improving (the newer, bigger windows), while retaining what we’ve all come to expect. I have lots of great memories tied to the place and it is a great meet-up spot before an event (like a Guoan soccer match) at Workers Stadium. They have quirky policies and mediocre (at best) service, but when you can get a beer and a pizza for under RMB50, it’s hard to complain.

Enoteca (map)
I can understand all those who complain about The Place. It’s hellish getting cabs there a lot of the time, but Enoteca is close to my office and an honest to goodness wine bar, something Beijing doesn’t have a lot of (there are other options, but few stay open as late). The lounge has a cool feel to it, like it wouldn’t be out of place in any other major city, and the music is very chill. They sometimes even have live acts that are usually pretty good. There are plenty of bottles below RMB200 and they have a really excellent rose that is great on a hot summer day.

Mix (map)
While technically not a “bar”, it is a place where massive quantities of alcohol are consumed on a nightly basis. This is another place that has been going strong for a number of years. Sure, they play the same music over and over again (often during the same night), security can get a little over the top, and the interior probably hasn’t been cleaned since opening night, but it’s a fun place to go, dance, and drink. The drink of choice is typically bottled beer or the popular whiskey and green (or red) tea cocktails, and the music is decent (if too commercial) hip hop and R&B. Somehow it is packed almost every night with a largely Chinese crowd. Over the years I’ve spent a few too many nights there but it has always been fun.

Er Jie (across from Hotel Kapok, Dong Hua Men Jie)
Okay, so it is even less of a bar than Mix, but again it is a place where massive amounts of alcohol are consumed. This neighborhood hole in the wall offers decent food and you see a lot of the same people if you go there often. It also serves as a spot for the neighborhood guys to stop in and get away from their wives for a few hours or for people who have just finished a late shift and want to relax. They offer Qingdao and Yanjing, both at RMB4 for a large bottle, and offer baijiu by the liang. There’s a great chuanr and chicken wing guy close by who will deliver and the food the restaurant serves is great drinking food. It’s the place I go to when I want to eat, drink, and chat with a friend or four for a couple of hours.

Centro (map)
I had a hell of a time thinking of a fifth bar because the first four truly stand out and because there are so many places that are just okay or that I haven’t visited to really claim love for (like Chocolate). I’m going with an easy choice: Centro is really close to my office and so it’s a nice place to pop in for a drink after work and still get home in time for dinner. During happy hour, their drinks are reasonably priced and are done very well. Plus, it is one of the few places that offers snacks with the beverages, a nice touch. (If Saddle still offered popcorn, maybe I’d have gone with that place.) It is also interesting to look around and seeing people who are important or simply think they are important in the Beijing expat scene.

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Top fives:

• Jon, Jackson, Richard, Adam, Andy of RandomK(e)
• Andrew Schorr & Ellis Rahhal
• Pete Demola
• Shane Crombie
• Ben Shaw
• Kaiser Kuo
• Bjorn Stabell
• Phoebe Wong
• Diane Fermin
• Badr Benjelloun
• Elisabeth Tchoudjinoff & Katrina Arndt
• Paul Adkins
• Chandler Jurinka
• Kevin Shen
• Steven Schwankert

RandomK(e)’s “Waiting” cover

Locally based band RandomK(e) recently released its first CD “Waiting” with a launch party at Mao Livehouse. According to the band’s MySpage page, “RandomK(e) was formed in 2004 and has been bringing its unlikely combination of spacey soundscapes, noise-funk-pop experimentalism and pummeling force that’s spelled R.O.C.K. to Beijing’s masses for over four years.” Couldn’t have said it better myself. Actually, I couldn’t have come up with that description if I tried. Anyway, I asked each member of the band to list his favorite drinking hole in Beijing. Here they are…

Jon Campbell (drums)

While it’s obvious because we had our CD release and fourth anniversary extravaganza there on March 21, we feel more than a lot of love for Mao Livehouse (map). Nobody will mistake it for a good place to get a drink (many tell me it is difficult, though I personally can’t complain because the bartender knows me well enough that I don’t have to even order, and sometimes, instead of giving me whiskey, he might pour a complimentary paper cup of Chinese apple cider-ish stuff masquerading as Champagne – OK, only once). So… forget your rules. I’m choosing two, one for the rock and one for the drink.

First, the rock: 2 Kolegas (map). The guys are so committed to music that how can you not revel in the love and the general vibe, despite the grime of the joint. For playing or watching music, this place rocks harder than anywhere other than Mao, even though this is rarely recognized. For almost four years they have managed to walk the fine line between eliciting the nostalgia of the so-called ‘good old days’ (when there was a small rock scene that wasn’t tainted by international media attention, where the music and venues sucked, but because it was small, everyone was happier), and bringing up the standards enough to make you believe that we’re in the good-now-days. And I haven’t even mentioned the grass area or the kebabs or the stiff drinks they pour.

Second, the drink: Jazz Ya (map). Every time I go back I catch myself not believing that they’ve been doing what they do for all these years – and are still doing it better than so many others. Sure, the Long Island is rave-worthy, but to delve into their cocktail menu is to be rewarded with well-crafted and well-presented treats. They could use a third CD for their stereo, but then again, it’s nice knowing exactly what you’re going to get, even after, what is it, 15 years?

Jackson Garland (upright bass, laptop, samples,
sounds, knobs, buttons, vox)

For music and drinks: 2 Kolegas. I second everything said earlier by Jon about the place. Yeah, it’s grimy, but so is Beijing and everything I love about it. We’ve played some great gigs there, and I’ve seen and heard some great music there, occasional sound issues not withstanding. Dos Kolegas can’t be beat for both a late-night, borderline-sloppy drunken hangout and a music venue that could be called “daring” in its embrace of live music sporting all shapes, colors, and odors. Throw in a totally surreal location and regular evenings of cerebral joy and sonic assault in the form of Yan Jun’s Waterland Kwanyin series (hosted there on most Tuesday evenings), and you’ve got a winner in my book. I dig most of the live venues in town, but I always find myself coming back to the lawn.

Richard Todd (guitar/vox)

Cafe Zarah (map). Because it has a drink called The Swimming Pool in which it is possible to become lost for days on end. And a toilet into which several peering cats watch you pee.

Adam Pillsbury (bass)

Salud (map): Friendly, festive and effortlessly cool, this is a neighborhood joint worth traveling across town to frequent. As is the case at sibling establishments Ginkgo (map) and Cafe de la Poste (map), the good vibes here originate with French manager Nico, whose smile is unperturbed by thirsty crowds or, during a RandomK(e) set, visits from the local constabulary. He and his staff have good reason to grin, for they offer arguably the best pours in Beijing – wine glasses are filled to the rim – at prices more than fair. In the afternoon and early evening, Salud’s vaguely Mediterranean design – warm woods and terracotta paint – and the semi-privacy of its second story tables make it a fine spot in which to catch up with friends or recharge after a hutong adventure. But once the sangria and house spiced rum start to flow, or when a band takes the stage, things get raucous and the party goes late, often spilling into Nanluoguxiang. Yes, Salud has become enormously popular in the past year, but the crowd it draws is invariably amicable, and it has hosted some of the most memorable gatherings this bassist has attended in Beijing.

Andy Birch aka Rh1n0t10n (video)

Underground pool halls: In the concrete rabbit warrens that exist under most of the new Beijing high risers, department stores and restaurants, can be found a thriving pool and snooker community. If you’re willing to stick with one place, eventually the staff will come to realise that beer should be served cold and they might even turn the fridge on for you. Often a quick phone call 10 minutes before arrival ensures the beer is put into the freezer and the nine ball table is dusted off.

It’ll even remind you of your favourite rock club as the hall fills up with smoke and your clothes smell like a packet of Zhongnanhai, although the TV in the corner blasting out canto pop takes a little getting used to.

If you are lucky some of these halls will serve stronger stuff – a bottle of vodka will usually be found hidden behind those red boxes of Baijou if you dig around enough. There are no queues for the pool table, the beer is cheap, and after three hours of playing pool it’s rare if you spend more than 100 kuai.

And best of all, they are open 24 hours.

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Top fives:

• Andrew Schorr & Ellis Rahhal
• Pete Demola
• Shane Crombie
• Ben Shaw
• Kaiser Kuo
• Bjorn Stabell
• Phoebe Wong
• Diane Fermin
• Badr Benjelloun
• Elisabeth Tchoudjinoff & Katrina Arndt
• Paul Adkins
• Chandler Jurinka
• Kevin Shen
• Steven Schwankert

Note: This is the first post on this blog to include pop-up maps (click the word “map” listed beside each place) and the ability to forward bar addresses to your mobile phone (see here for details).

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In the latest installment of the Top Five Watering Holes series, Andrew Schorr and Ellis Rahhal of Mobile Native give their top picks for drinks in the city, including a convenience store, a pizza joint, and a Bar That Shall Not Be Named.

The Wudaokou 7-ELEVEN (map)

Ellis: Amazing people-watching. There’s always dozens of people hovering inside and outside regardless of season because of the proximity to the dance club Propaganda. Students from every corner of the world, lurkers, beggars, can collectors, chuanr stand workers, police, and locals from all over the city stand out front either taking a breather from mad hip hop exercise or spending most of the evening drinking relatively cheap foreign beers purchased in the store. There’s always a story developing here. Best hours: Wednesday to Saturday, 11 PM to 4 AM.

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Lugar (map)

Andrew: The cocktail menu is an interesting read – he’s really doing some creative things with his alcohol. Look behind the bar and you’ll catch various herbs steeping in alcohol bottles like a project for the adult science fair. The place is rarely busy which means the nice pool table and big screen TV are usually up for the taking. The complimentary bar snacks and the Vietnamese / Taiwanese menu are also unique. I miss the original entrance,: an unmarked steel door down the alley on the side of the building. It had much more character than walking through the store in front of the bar.

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B _ _ _ _ _ s
Ellis: I won’t reveal the name of this place because it’s small and no one knows about it, and I don’t want to ruin it. Anyway it’s a Japanese-run bar on the 12th floor of an office building, and the front door has no obvious signage. It’s black and loungey with a great view and consistently made designer cocktails.

Andrew: Ellis told me, but I swore I would keep it a secret. But I’ll give you a hint: the office building is in Haidian and the name of the bar rhymes with klarphlips.

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Kro’s Nest (map)

Andrew: Something magical happens when pizza and beer get together.  Kro’s has always had some of the best deals in town on great imported beers, including Thirsty Thursday buckets of five beers for 80 RMB. While this deal has not been offered lately, it will hopefully return once a new batch of beer arrives.  This place is also getting some great Australian beers: Crown, Redback, VB, and Boags.  Those and the Brooklyn beers are all 30RMB normally, and I was told recently they have a new joint China-Oz beer called Lucky coming in soon for 20RMB/bottle.

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Salud (map)

Ellis: I seem to come to this place with a different group of people every time. The warm reddish and brown tones and intimate seating along with good music at a reasonable volume always lead to interesting conversations. The wooden loft gives the setting a more immediate feel, and people are often dancing downstairs in front of the bar.

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Top fives:

• Andrew Schorr & Ellis Rahhal
• Pete Demola
• Shane Crombie
• Ben Shaw
• Kaiser Kuo
• Bjorn Stabell
• Phoebe Wong
• Diane Fermin
• Badr Benjelloun
• Elisabeth Tchoudjinoff & Katrina Arndt
• Paul Adkins
• Chandler Jurinka
• Kevin Shen
• Steven Schwankert

I asked Pete Demola, best known as a weliveinbeijing.com dude and a dedicated follower of the live music scene, for his top five watering holes in our fair city. Says Pete: “For the most part, I’m a minimalist when it comes to drinking—usually only whiskey or beer—so I tend to drink in locales based on the venue’s cost, character, and crowd.” Here is his top five.

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D-22: I like my whiskey with heaping sides of The Stooges and 1970s-era punk. This Wudaokou venue is the epicenter of the city’s independent music scene, so it’s the premier spot for me to drop in to glean info about what’s going on in the community. The crowd ranges from local musicians tossing back drinks from the no-frills menu on weekdays, to larger, mixed groups when bigger acts pack the house on the weekends.

Er: A relaxing and womb-like Japanese whiskey bar with tasty eats (recommendation: 8-inch sausage and herb pizza), a laid-back feel, detail-oriented mixologists (they’ll whip up a tailored concoction based on what flavors you’re in the mood for) and a pleasant crowd (primarily beaming groups of Japanese white-collar workers). I’m sold on their cucumber gin and tonics and ginger-infused vodka—and hot grog in the wintertime.

Red House: My office is located in Wudaokou, so this relatively new pub offers a welcome alternative to the more established smarmy student locales. A carbon copy of The Tree with its brick walls, wood-fired pizza oven and Belgian brews (thank God for the first Wudaokou venue where one can enjoy a Duvel or Chimay), it’s a comfortable place to have a quick drink before I catch the subway home. Beyond that, it’s hard to ignore the 5 RMB Tsingdao drafts and soundtrack, which ranges from 1980s thrash metal to downtempo. And the douchebag factor is surprisingly-low for the area, with a nice blend of cheerful Korean students and the occasional well-mannered older gent coexisting amicably.

Stone Age: Unassuming Shuangjing restaurant with a prehistoric motif, replete with tacky murals of cavemen, swinging wicker chairs and a menu selection with a heavy emphasis on eating meat from sticks. I go for the 10 RMB homebrew drafts (both black and yellow), fried jiaozi with tangy hot sauce, and impressive selection of skewered snacks, which range from hot wax peppers to silkworms. Crowd consists of a blend of native hipsters and working-class folks.

Tun: There’s not much to say much about Tun that hasn’t already been said. You can’t beat the fantastic value, and I always run into a friendly face—or a dozen—whenever I drop by for one of their massive 40 RMB cocktails. Forget about finding your pals on a Friday night—you’ll have better odds finding Chinese Waldo on Tiananmen Square during Golden Week.

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Top fives:

• Andrew Schorr & Ellis Rahhal
• Pete Demola
• Shane Crombie
• Ben Shaw
• Kaiser Kuo
• Bjorn Stabell
• Phoebe Wong
• Diane Fermin
• Badr Benjelloun
• Elisabeth Tchoudjinoff & Katrina Arndt
• Paul Adkins
• Chandler Jurinka
• Kevin Shen
• Steven Schwankert

Shane Crombie is a digital brand strategist, organizer of the ‘First Thursday‘ monthly ad industry event, and regular contributor to localnoodles.com. Here are his top five watering holes and his five suggestions for restaurant and bar owners on how to improve their offerings in a weakened economy. First, his five suggestions.

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1) Distill down and define in one short sentence what your brand stands for and then ask , ‘So, what makes us so special?” If you draw a blank, ask your customers.

2) Price promotions are popular right now. Create an offer that sounds almost too good to be true for maximum impact. Remember the formula: Quality ~ Price = Value

3) Invest in proper staff training and management and treat them like family. Bad service always ruins a good meal and good staff are made not born

4) Pay attention to what your patrons say about you online. Look for trends and gaps and act on them.

5) Those small magazine ads are not cost effective. Connect with your audience online when they’re really paying attention.

The bottom line is get online, keep it simple, and execute flawlessly, and you will prosper.

My top five places:

Ichikura: You cant just go to Ichikura the first time, a friend must take you there. Why? Because watching a master craftsman at work is a sight to behold in good company. Learn about the copper cup, ponder how they make those perfectly formed ice balls, and enjoy the best Moscow Mule in Beijing.

Tun & Nanjie: An oft-asked question around town is, ‘Why is Tun so popular’? Its simple. They give the people what they want: fun music, a very well-run bar and low prices. Its where east meets west in the city. And when I’m about done with the hot hits of the eighties, I head across the car park to Nanjie and some groovin house tunes.

Face: For important occasions, Face is bulletproof. It’s a magnificently designed environment with multiple Asian menus and a generous lounge area to while away the after hours. You’ll never get fired for making a reservation here.

Bed: After a dimly lit dinner at Sambal, Bed is the perfect place to enjoy the city’s best caprioska. It’s an ambient, subtly restored space hidden down an alleyway offering an original interpretation of a classic theme. That’s Beijing.

Element Fresh: They play the best down-tempo music in town, the brewed coffee is rocket fuel, the fruit plate tastes like real fruit, and the pancakes are done just right. What am I getting at? Beijings best weekend recovery session. Just be sure to get there early when its peaceful.