Beijing Boyce

Last Friday ranks among those days that start with a wine tasting at 11 AM, when our taste buds are supposedly at their best, and end the next morning at 3 AM, when my wallet is definitely at its worst. Thank Buddha the list of such days is short. The itinerary, for no particular reason, in reverse order…

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Q Bar I met my buddy O-Zone four years ago in First Cafe, where two of Q Bar’s three owners - George and Echo - then worked. Thus, it is often the finishing point for our nights out. This time around it meant my first drink there since the price increases just before the Olympics: RMB60 for a martini straddles, if not crosses, the value line. O-Zone ordered a Gin Tonic, I has a Planter’s Punch, and the third co-owner, Ralph, gave us a try of his new dish - sausages and fries. Nice for Oktoberfest… -

Ichikura With the bar about half full - that would be six of the dozen or so seats - we got comfortably numb. I asked the bartender for an Alfonso Special. Never heard of it. I wrote down the recipe. He scrutinized it, then headed to the far end of the bar and alternated between scratching his head in thought and mixing the drink. The result: pretty tasty. As usual, he turned on the “beam to heaven” - the coaster-size light that shines up from beneath the bar’s transparent top and on which he places the cocktail glass for the pour. -

Aperitivo We snagged the last table on the deck and watched the crowd pass - pedestrian traffic continues to be heavy at night since the police started to bar vehicles from this street. By the way, while Aperitivo is known for wine, my buddy The Fish swears by the Margarita. -

Tun O-Zone and I decided to meet here. Free drinks for ladies from 9 PM to midnight - I wonder how other bars feel about that deal!? - brings in a good crowd though the music seemed a bit heavy for this sort of event. Anyway, I’m sticking with Tun as my “sleeper” pick. -

Sequoia Café The return of these Friday night wine tastings drew many regulars and quite a few newcomers. The theme: the Margaret River area in southwestern Australia. I wasn’t too keen on any of the five selections, but perhaps my taste buds were exhausted by two earlier tastings. In any case, it is good to have Fridays with Frank back, since I know of no other wine events that create this sense of community. -

Frantoi Celliti Drei Kronen 1308 I met fellow beverage researchers AU and GA to drink wine at 1949: The Hidden City and we decided to chase it down with food. We walked to Frantoi Celliti, the massive new and sparsely patronized Italian joint near Tun, and found it darkened at 5:15. Someone spotted our faces pressed against the glass, popped the door, and said 5:30 is the official opening, with 6:30 or 7 PM better for dinner. Hmmm…

We decided to eat at Drei Kronen 1308 instead. The deal: AU and GA would go first and I would catch up after heading home to drop off my laptop and pick up three “free beer” coupons I received at a Klubb Rouge event (same owner). Everything went to plan: I arrived, they already had mugs of beer and plates of sausages, and I gave the coupons to the waitress.

The bill seemed a bit heavy when it arrived. We soon discovered why: it was carrying the weight of those three beers. The explanation: we did not present the coupons upon arrival.

Did anyone mention that when I handed over the coupons? No. Does any such rule appear on the coupons? No. Does it make sense to create coupons to encourage people to come and then create a bad impression by not honoring them? No. After our firm suggestion that they reconsider the policy, a scrum of wait staff and management ensued and we found our bill reduced.

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1/5 Taverna About 70 wineries from the Golden State were on hand as the California Wine Institute organized a mid-afternoon tasting at 1949: The Hidden City. This one saw a mixed crowd of distributors, journalists, restaurateurs, and consumers spend two hours trying to visit all of those tables. Talk about California dreaming (the details).

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Green T. House I headed to this arty and austere downtown restaurant around 10 AM for a Wine Australia event. Before we sampled 13 wines from Down Under, including top-end selections from Penfolds and Henschke, we had a lesson about… tea. The reason? To link China and Australia by arguing the much-loved beverages of the two nations share everything from physical properties to traditions for enjoyment. In terms of marketing, call it sophistication meets warmth and fuzziness, and deserving of its own post. Coming Monday…

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!

After checking out the China Open on Thursday, p3wong and I headed to Sanlitun for some post-match libations. A quick summary:

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1/5 bar (1949: The Hidden City)

If spots like 1949 and Union Bar & Grill are determined to provide overly keen and aggressive service, then patrons should receive, free of charge, the same drugs taken by the seemingly hopped-up employees. Seriously, there is a fine line between being helpful and annoying, and a growing number of places in this town are leaping across it and into the latter territory.

Take 1/5: As we looked for a seat, the waitress practically ploughed into us while energetically making hand gestures at this or that spot to indicate the obvious - they were empty.* Several requests for her to relax brought temporary relief - until we sat down, at which point she returned and stood about a foot behind us as we perused the menu. Several additional requests for space and to “please give us a few minutes” finally encouraged her to stand about two meters away.

I don’t doubt the staff friendliness, but who is doing training here: Richard Simmons? Are employees timed on how fast they take orders, with severe penalties for those who can’t secure one in under 10 seconds?

This is not to say 1/5 lacks positives. The design, décor, and “check him/her out” vibe (at least on this night) make it a decent place to entertain business clients and/or for the expense account crowd to relax after eating at the associated Duck de Chine or 1/5 Taverna. Actually, the place reminds me of a smaller classier Browns.

The bar includes a small but sedate patio (though it faces that huge KTV across the street). If you like eighties music - The Bangles, Yes, Human League - this was your night. And we received plenty of free popcorn. p3wong also liked the coasters, which include space for name, phone number, and message, and presumably can be sent between tables.

The downsides include the limited menu. The beer choices are Sol, Chill, Carlsberg, and Guinness, while only five wines are listed (the one I requested was unavailable). I imagine persistence might get access to the superior wine menu at Duck de Chine.

As for the cocktails, they didn’t live up to their prices. My Martini (RMB49) tasted like vodka cut with chilled water, while P3wong said her Bloody Mary (RMB59) lacked celery salt and needed more Worchester sauce, Tabasco, vodka, and… tomato juice. The drink simply had too much ice and, ultimately, water.

* Something similar happened when I recently entered Union and the host, finding himself behind me and unable to point out a hundred places I might sit, nearly tripped me as he pushed by to get in front.

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Mesh (The Opposite House)

We started the night at Mesh, where Thursday features a buy one get one free deal on a limited range of cocktails and beers from 7 to 11 PM. Drinks start from RMB60 plus RMB15 percent service charge, which converts to RMB69 and up. The chic decor continues to impress; the dim lighting continues to mean flashlights are needed to see the menu.

I found the cocktails weaker than on previous visits. p3wong called her Cosmopolitan (RMB69) “average” and said she preferred the Mojito (RMB69). I found the Aperol & Mandarin Sour (RMB80.5) and Passion Fruit & Lychee Martini (RMB80.5) OK, though light.

While some confusion occurred as to whether single malts are covered by the special (they aren’t), the staff was friendly, especially the bartender who explained some of the more unusual cocktails on the menu.

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Tun (Sanlitun South)

We ended the night at Tun, as I wanted to check out the band and to see if the snappy Italian joint next door was ready to open. As mentioned earlier, I love the layout of this place, though the men’s bathroom is a bit dodgy and the food could use work. Anyway, it’s a nice spot to see a band and have a couple of Tiger beers (RMB15), especially when the guitarist’s hands are so quick and deft that they almost look like they are smoking as he plays Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire.