Beijing Boyce

The Beijing Beatles, Beijing Foodies and bacheler / bachelorette auction extravaganza goes down tonight at the Beijing Hilton. While the Beijing Foodies dinner at One East is sold out, you can still catch the band and auction in Zeta Bar. Doors open at 8 PM and the rmb50 entry fee gets you a Hoegaarden, with extra beers at rmb30. Given the proximity to Valentine’s Day, I imagine we’re going to hear All You Need Is Love and Can’t Buy Me Love tonight. More details here.

Spanish restaurant and lounge Migas is launching its gin and tonic cart tonight. From 6 PM to 8 PM, get a Gin Mare and 1724 tonic plus a choice of tapas for rmb100. Next door, The Bar at Migas will hold its official launch party tonight.

Xiao Ming at Revolution Bar, across from the west side of Yashow Market, has introduced a drink that I understand is called Revolution in a Jar. The concoction comes in a bowl-shaped glass loaded with grapes, kiwis and limes that are mixed with vodka and crushed ice and garnished with a cucumber slice and celery stalk. This one is RMB50. Revolution is open 5 PM to 1 AM, Sunday to Thursday, 5 PM to 2 AM, Friday and Saturday.

And look for strip outside the Hip Hopson Complex to add two new bars beside Bang Bang pizza and Korean restaurant IKI. “It’s looking good,” said man-about-Shuangjing Mr Hao. He says one of the places has a design is similar to Bang Band and IKI, with a second-floor loft in back, though in this case it has a leg that extends above the bar in front. Word is this will be a Taiwanese joint with modern leather-upholstered furnishings and snacks such as fried chicken. More details to come on this place and its neighbor.

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Restaurant Alameda now has the wines to match its Brazilian theme: a sparkling, a white and three reds from the Miolo operation in South America’s largest nation are now on the menu. The lineup includes:

• Terranova Moscatel Sparkling Wine (rmb295)
• Miolo Reserve Chardonnay 2009 (rmb260)
• Miolo Reserve Tannat 2010 (rmb260)
• Miolo ‘Lote 43′ Cabernet-Merlot 2006 (rmb680)
• Rar Cabernet-Merlot Family Reserve 2006 (rmb775)

Chef Geraldo Thomazini says he might soon have Miolo Chenin Blanc by the glass. And on the theme of unique wines from South America, Alameda stocks Pisano Tannat from Uruguay. Thomazini also told me that Cefiro ‘Casablanca’ Carmeanere Reserve 2010 and Little Yering Pinot Noir 2010 sell well. For more on Alameda, see this “must tries” post.

Miolo wines hail from the Serra Gaucha wine region in the far south. According to the company web site, Miolo started grape cultivation here in 1897. The Rar wine listed above is made in cooperation with businessman Raul Anselmo Randon, hence the name, with Miolo handling the technical side.

Anyway, it’s all part of the ever-increasing wine choice we have in Beijing. And these particular choices might explain why Brazilian wine imports rose by almost 53,000 percent last year. Then again, they were only starting on a base of 78 liters…

As with pretty much every other spirit, we are seeing more gin brands in China. Migas is about to launch a gin and tonic cart that will feature Gin Mare from Spain. According to the company’s site, this is a “super premium” gin, putting it one below “ultra super premium” I guess, and features “sun-drenched citrus fruits, Arbequina olives, thyme, basil and rosemary”.

Also look for Sipsmith to make an appearance this year: this gin is made in London using, says the company’s web site, the first copper still — they call it “Prudence“ — introduced in the city in about 200 years. Daniel O’Connor of the China distributor, Drinks 99, says the brand will officially launch on February 29 in Shenzhen. Don’t expect this stuff to come cheap.

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The playlist on the weekend before Valentine’s Day at an event featuring a singles auction? I have a feeling The Beijing Beatles will don their day-glo outfits this Friday night and launch into Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Beer distributor Vandergeeten and Hilton Beijing are partnering for this “swinging sixties” event in the hotel’s Zeta Bar — which has a decor to make Austin Powers proud — while the Beijing Foodies are holding a dinner down the hall in American restaurant One East. The events will support two charities: Magic Hospital and Morning Tears.

Here’s the deal:

1. The Beijing Foodies dinner — reservation required — starts at 7 PM and is rmb130 per person for a seafood platter, salad, blackened snapper or braised chicken, choice of dessert, and a drink. Superb value for a five-star hotel although when I last talked to Cheng only a few of the 70 seats remained. If you want one, best to check availability ASAP by emailing bjfoodies@gmail.com. Donations are gathered by passing an envelope around near the end of dinner. The money is counted on the spot, the total announced, and the donation handed over to the charity. Good system.

2. The doors at Zeta open at 8 PM: entry is RMB50, which includes a Hoegaarden, with additional beers at rmb30. I imagine plenty of Beijing foodies will pour in after dinner to catch the Beijing Beatles (I’ve seen them a half-dozen times and they’re great fun) and the “bachelor and bachelorette” auction (the winning bids include dinner at One East). All revenue from the auction goes to the charities. There will be ~10 people — from the food, wine, diplomatic and other fields — so it is a chance to donate and to have dinner with someone interesting. I’ll update with a full list when I get it.

(Note: You might notice this blog’s license plate thingy on the poster below. I met with Vandergeeten to help with early planning of this event and make some calls. By a stroke of luck, Cheng was in the same restaurant and that led to the Foodies’ involvement. That’s about it. Anyway, I like this event because it offers value in and of itself: rmb130 for a meal in a five-star hotel or rmb50 for a beer, a band and the entertainment of a singles auction? Sounds good to me.)

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Welcome to part thirty-two of the Must Tries Series, which asks people working in the Beijing bar and restaurant business for the top picks from their menus. This time I talked to Geraldo Thomazini of longstanding restaurant Alameda.

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(photo: Hilton Beijing)

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What is the “must try” dish at Alemada?

On Saturdays, we do a traditional Brazilian dish called feijoada. Basically, there is a bowl of beans with sausage, beef and pork stuffed inside. On the side, we have white rice, cassova flour, and collard greens sauteed with garlic. If you go to Brazil, this is what you usually eat on Saturday, and BBQ on Sunday. Sparkling wine goes very well with feijoada.

How about a “must try” appetizer?

Normally, if you go to a hotel for feijoada, you have also a buffet with crispy pork belly, a deep fried dumpling kind of like tortellini, and other foods. Our appetizer is bean soup in a small bowl, one cheese stuffed dumpling, and cachaca foam in a shot glass — it is like a miniature Brazilian buffet.

What is the “must try” drink at Alameda?

Caipirinha. We sell a lot of passionfruit caipirinhas but I like the traditional lime one best. In Brazil, we usually use cheaper cachaca to make this drink — in terms of price it is close to baijiu. At Alameda, we use Chapeu de Palha, which means straw hat, and Velho Barreiro. We also have others like Ypioca Gold, which is aged in old wine barrels for six months, and Moleca.

I like the Finca Perdrid Malbec 2007. For me, the Malbec grape is perfect: not too strong, not too complex, and can be paired with lamb, beef and harder cheeses like Provolone. We sell it for rmb366 per bottle.

What are three “must try” items at other places in Beijing?

Middle 8th: The deep-fried prawns with Yunnan cheese are wonderful. I also like the water infused with orange and herbs.

Mosto: The lamb and the truffle risootto are very nice. My girlfriend loves the chocolate cake.

Pho Pho (on Gulou East). I like the chicken curry and papaya salad.

Amazing how something as simple as a grilled bun can make a burger so much better. They do that at Home Plate BBQ, which made last night’s long walk from The Irish Volunteer, through the cold and exploding fireworks fumes, worth it. The price is good, too, at rmb30. There was also the spectacle of newbies lighting off fireworks: one fellow came away lucky after he went to look into the end of his rocket, to see why it wasn’t firing, and was nearly blasted in the face.

Anyway, a note to beer fans: Seth Grossman said last night that Home Plate would be installing two Slow Boat Brewery taps today and an SMS from him a few minutes ago confirmed the process is under way. Customers can expect to soon find American Pale Ale (rmb45) and Red Ale (rmb40). Home Plate also recently added three California wines–Backstory Merlot 2009, Backstory Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 and White Oak Chardonnay 2007–at rmb30 per glass.

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The Bar at Migas is in an industrial light.

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The Bar at Migas, a self-contained venue adjacent to Migas restaurant and lounge, is slated to officially open Friday and is one of many projects planned this year by a team that kept itself very busy last year — for examples, see here, here and here. As noted here, the bar itself is made from recycled materials, like pallets and sheet metal, and is smack dab in the middle of the room atop a polished concrete floor. The walls will be lined with benches and sofas.

The venue has a stage and co-owner Eduardo Guitierrez plans to have live jazz, bossa nova and swing from Mondays to Wednesdays, with DJs over the weekends, as part of a move beyond food and drink to music and art that will include a “Public Space Art Intervention” in May with outfits such as Equipo Plastico and Montana Sagrada.

In terms of food, The Bar at Migas will have bocatas. Don’t call them sandwiches, the guys say, at least not in the sense of using squishy white sliced bread.  Instead, expect a narrow crispy-crusted loaf that, when squeezed, springs back to form. Chef Aitor Olabegoya says the model is the bread from a small town in Catalonia.

Last Friday night, visiting pastry chef Miquel Pascual from Sweet Reality in Barcelona, was hard at work on this. The challenge: to find a proper balance with the flour, water, oven and humidity, the latter in Beijing fluctuating with the seasons. Pascual was also experimenting with passionfruit and vanilla macaroons. He and Olabegoya seemed dissatisfied with the result; I thought they were pretty good!

Migas also plans to host a team of bartenders from Spain, with a special focus on gin. Guitierrez explained that gin is popular in restaurants in Spain as a digestif and that many bars there have 40 or more kinds in stock.

And he says he hopes to get the glass-encased demonstration kitchen, near the entrance to The Bar at Migas, open next month. Migas is looking for equipment sponsors and he says they get good exposure during events.

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Hallway to The Bar at Migas...

Hard to believe but the sequel to The Sweater Game ranked near the original in terms of excitement. An abbreviated diary of a Super Bowl morning in Beijing:

4:34 <– The last time I remember before falling asleep. This Super Bowl is guaranteed to reset my internal clock.

6:40 <– The first time I see when I wake up. Ugh. How can these guys play football so early?

6:58 M-Dawg reports he is at Grinders and the place is filing up. He also reports that he is expecting a big game from the Grinders’ defensive line a.k.a. the house dogs. Can we call that Tebowwowing?

7:07 R. Robinson is in Beijing airport fresh off a red-eye from Singapore. In response to my query re whether or not he is wearing the lucky New England Patriots sweater, he responds, “Sweater. Check. Bad attitude. Check.” The big question is: Can he deny his urges and keep the sweater on until the game is finished?”

7:13 I make my best decision of the day:  putting on long johns.

7:15 Carl Setzer of Great Leap Brewery is pouring his beers at Black Sun Bar today. Are they as smooth as Tom Brady’s hair? “Nothing is that smooth,” says Setzer by SMS. “Nothing.” He has Oatmeal Stout and Honey Ma, those being “breakfast beers”, and says he will give freebies to anyone in a Gronkowski or Eli Manning jersey.

7:23 Face… is… frozen. But extremities are OK thanks to the long johns.

7:25 I call M-Dawg. As with most of our conversations, ten minutes later I have forgotten what we talked about. Probably about our mutual fascination with shiny objects. Go Team Shiny Things!

7:30 Danger Doyle’s: Modest crowd but good to see this place finally open for a Super Bowl. And it is first in with St. Patrick’s Day info: expect Ireland-England rugby, green beer and maybe a leprechaun or two.

7:41 Hooters has an English feed this year but less than 10 patrons. Looks like it might have hooted owl too many times (I’m not even sure what that means). I’d wager this is the only spot in town with anything close to cheerleaders.

7:45 Solid crowd at The Den. Given their ability to recall what customers had on previous visits, and to remember who ordered what drink and who gets what bill, I’d further wager some waitresses here could memorize an NFL playbook in a day.

7:57 Union Bar & Grille is packed. I spot fellow Sweater watcher Steven Schwankert and give him a clothing update. I also see cricket fan Shannon Roy and wonder how he will deal with the disappointment that the Super Bowl doesn’t consist of three weeks of eight-hour-a-day matches. Giants take a 9-0 lead.

8:07 I see people piling up food at the buffet in The Stumble Inn as I head to my Tim Tebow pick… Luga’s Villa. It is open! The place has ~30 patrons and a nice relaxed vibe. The service is good again and, while not exactly hot, the breakfast–with two eggs, sausage, bacon, toast and tomato–is a deal at rmb48 with coffee. Comeback of the year.

8:17 Fun football fact: The New England Patriots are evil.

8:40 I find out Frost is open so I make a beeline for the place and peek into The James Joyce on the way:  the Mashup Asia crowd is holding its party there this year.

8:50 If only I had thought ahead, I would have booked one of Frost’s plush manicure chairs. Lean back and enjoy the game in comfort. Frost has the BTV feed and we watch the half-time show. Fine, but if we’re going old school, Id like to see the reunited Van Halen play next year.

9:35 Paddy O’Shea’s is packed though reduced this year to the first floor thus costing us our only “watch the Super Bowl in an Indian restaurant” experience. The confident gleam in Karl Long’s eyes makes me think he could throw a pint of Guinness across the room and into a patron’s hand without spilling a drop.

9:40 Word is new seafood restaurant Starfish isn’t showing the game. Those all-important NFL-raw oyster fans go empty-handed again.

10:15 At my final stop this year, The Irish Volunteer: Decent crowd, though there are a few satellite feed glitches as the game winds down with the Patriots up 17-15 on the Giants.

I ask Robinson for an update on the sweater situation. “Scoreboard shows the update,” he replies. Confident. But then…

Eli Manning threads the needle to Mario Manningham for 38 yards. Um, that feels a lot like that “helmet catch” in 2008, no? Then a few plays later…

Ahmad Bradshaw looks like he is using the goal line as a squat toilet as he falls back into the end zone for a touchdown. 23-17 Giants. Then a few plays later…

A failed “Hail Mary” pass by the Patriots that might have been caught if Ron Gronkowski was a yard closer — and  it’s all over.

Does that mean The Sweater no longer has an impact? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe what happened in 2008 turned the sweater from lucky to jinxed and the only solution is destruction. Or maybe, given that the team I was cheering for won, the luck now resides in my long johns. I need to consult my feng shui master.

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The Super Bowl a.k.a. The Sweater Game is tomorrow morning and The Beijinger and City Weekend both have lists of where to catch the game. Here is a quick last-minute scouting report for those still in search of seats. (This post is dedicated to the recovery of CC Silverman’s Knee.)

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The Tim Tebow Pick

As with Tebow, it’s hard to know if you will witness heroics or disaster. Two years ago, Luga’s Villa turned out to be a surprise hit when it featured NFL cheerleaders at halftime. Last year, I found the doors locked. Which Tebow/ Luga’s will show up this year? The place will be Lugaming, says manager Stefan Schober, with deals including six Buds for rmb98, breakfast for rmb48 (with coffee, tea, juice or soda) and Bloody Marys for rmb30.

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The (Almost) Party Like It’s 1999 Pick

The Den has generally seemed impervious to inflation when it comes to food and drink prices. This year, entrance to Super Bowl party will double to rmb100 but the staff says patrons can expect more value as the buffet will now include pancakes, omelets, fruit muesli, along with bottomless tea / coffee, rmb15 Bloody Marys and rmb10.

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The Chad Ochocinco Pick

After a decade in the NFL as a wide receiver, Ochocinco finally finds himself–and his new attitude–in a Super Bowl. And after all these years as a sports bar on Workers Stadium East, Danger Doyle’s finally is slated to be open for the game. Operations director Chris Liu plans to have Tsingtao at rmb15 and breakfast with a coffee or tea at rmb58.

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The Eli Manning Pick

It has to suck when you are in your second Super Bowl in five years–and engineered late-game heroics in the first one to deny the opponent the first ever 19-0 NFL season–and are only the second most talked-about quarterback in your family this week. Poor Eli. Older brother Peyton is getting a lot of headlines and he didn’t play a single game this season. This pick goes to The Irish Volunteer, which has provided a good time for sports fans for some three years–and arguably the homiest atmosphere in town–but never seems to be counted with the big boys. If this place is anything like last year, expect yet another good time.

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The Tom Brady Pick

As with the Patriots’ quarterback and the NFL playoffs, no place is a fixture like Frank’s Place. Imagine Frank’s as being like Brady but without the supermodel wife. RMB150 gets you the breakfast buffet and two drinks.

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The Hail Bloody Mary Pick

Union Bar & Grille is advertising both Bloody Marys and Bloody Caesars. If you haven’t already booked a seat, and plan to go to Union, have a Plan B up your sleeve — like nearby venues Stumble Inn, Luga’s Villa or The Den — as the place was almost sold out last week.

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The Giants Defensive Line Pick

That front line is a ferocious bunch only matched in Beijing by perhaps the three house dogs at Grinders. Breakfast plate with French toast is rmb65, with three Bloody Marys or Mimosas for rmb100, says Chad Lager.

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The Double Coverage Pick

Sibling establishments Paddy O’Shea’s and The Black Sun. Paddy’s is only showing the game downstairs this year and has breakfast for rmb100, including three Tsingtaos, while Black Sun will be teaming up with Great Leap Brewery for the game, says Karl Long. (I can’t believe Long didn’t sign his recent newsletter Paddy O’Chocinco’s.) Special mention to Tim’s Texas BBQ which does both a breakfast and lunch buffet.

There are plenty of other places showing the game, including Hooters (the staff says the game will be shown in Mandarin and English this year), The Stumble Inn, Eudora Station, The James Joyce (with Mashup Asia), Green Cap and, if they follow up on last year, Parkside. Check those links above for more details.

Well, actually, no.  Just felt like writing one of those annoying hyperbolic blog post titles.

Although here is some news: a fairly large whiskey and cocktail bar is slated to soon open in Sanlitun. Don’t expect it be quite the scale of recently opened The Malt, and the question of food is yet to be sorted, but the location is good and, if things turns out as planned, it will be an excellent addition to the scene. There, could I be any more vague? More details soon.

And more, in general, soon. A convergence of deadlines has knocked me on my ass blog-wise the past few weeks, but those wrap up this weekend and I will soon be back with plenty of typos, bad puns and once-breaking news.

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Zach Lewison, who local food fans might know from his previous kitchen work at Union Bar & Grille, Parkside and Kro’s Nest–in that order–is now working at Aramark, a company that sets up menus and kitchens for corporations. But he says he also plans to get involved in the bar and restaurant scene with a project called The Roast. “We’ll bring together the idea of a pub and an oven, with a focus on high-end spirits and roast meat,” says Lewison. More on this soon.

Le Petit Gourmand will start Saturday and Sunday brunches from this weekend. The brunch goes from 9 AM to 3 PM and includes five options: Croque Monsieur, yoghurt and cereals, bacon and sausages, sauteed vegetables, and French pastries. Get three for rmb98, all five for rmb128, or all five with smoked salmon and cheese for rmb168, with “hot drinks” and juice for rmb20. Manager Paul Rochon told me to also expect changes on the event front, with wine tastings and live music planned.

The Drive-Thru in Sanlitun Soho has started weekly beer specials. This week’s deal is on North Coast beer. Get one each of Blue Star Wheat, Scrimshaw Pilsener, Acme Pale Ale, Red Seal Ale and Old No. 38 Stout, and get an extra bottle of stout for free. A superb diverse lineup. This week’s price: rmb130. Regular price: rmb156.

Finally, the online ordering system is now up and running at Gung Ho pizza. Get the details here. By the way, I ordered from Gung Ho the other day and even though there was a problem with the computer system my call still only clocked in at about 100 seconds. These guys are the Usain Bolt of delivery.

Update: Here’s more via a second email from Peter Sul: “My friend Wesley will operate the bar, the fusion lunch-restaurant will be operated by my manager Ren. What I am trying to achieve with the sports bar is that people feel at home whilst watching their favorite sports programs…. In Beijing, you can watch the big games and of course we transmit them, too, but I feel that people want to watch their local sports programs, which they cannot watch anywhere else in Beijing. If people let us know beforehand, we can arrange [to show] these [local] programs… And of course there is a time difference between Europe and China, so we will be open 24 hours on request for groups over 10 people. We are not a bar with big pretensions, we just want to be a cozy place where people feel at home and have some proper food, quality entertainment, both passive (TV) and active (Xbox kinetics), and go home in a happy mood! And of course we are proud to present real Bitterballen and Kroketten and Dutch potato fries, homemade by Wesley, who is a qualified Dutch chef.”

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Just about to turn off the computer for the night when an email popped in about a new place called “NL Food and Sports Bar“. Given it says the place serves such as “Dutch speciality snacks like homemade bitterballen and kroketten“, I’m assuming that NL stands for Netherlands. The opening date is listed on February 11th, with a two-for-one drinks special planned, on East Third Ring Road. Get more details, including the food menu, here.

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I stopped going to Luga’s Villa some time ago because I found it increasingly grungy and full of the “hey man, want some stuff?” crowd. Anyway, I made a long overdue visit last night and found:

- The bar has been reorganized. It is shorter, flush against the back wall, and word is Paul Mathew, known to many for his work at Flamme, consulted on the redesign.

- There are apparently plans to introduce a German menu downstairs. Coming up with names and events for such a place would be a delicious exercise. How about Das Luga’s or Lu-ja‘s, for a name, a weekly sausage night called Wurst.Luga’s.Ever., and a fusion dish, taking advantage of the Italian restaurant above, called PanzerOtti? I”m sure you can come up with much better suggestions.

- There is a Monday half-price pizza deal from 5 PM to close.  Yes, the photo above is not very good, and the pizza might not win any “best” awards, but that is a good-sized slab (30 cm by 20 cm) for rmb27. There are 21 pizza options, with regular prices ranging from rmb45 for a Margherita to rmb78 for a meat-laden pie. There are also deals on Tuesdays for steak and on Wednesdays for nachos — or is it the other way around? I’ll double-check.

Beers on tap include Paulaner (rmb55 for 500ml, rmb100 for 1000ml), with other options including soft drinks at rmb20, mixed drinks at rmb30 (rmb18 with an extra shot), and margaritas at rmb50 (rmb35 during happy hour). Happy hour is from 11 AM to 9 PM.

And for lunch, there are two rmb55 deals. The Mexican special is chicken tortilla or garden salad, plus a small burrito (bean, chicken or beef) or chicken breast with cilantro sauce, fries and vegetables, plus soft drink, juice, draft beer or medium Grand Marnier margarita. The Italian special is cream of mushroom soup or vegetable salad, plus a pizza (three options) or a small pasta (Bolognese or Carbonara sauce), plus the same drink options.

Overall, a good experience at Luga’s Villa, which retains its familiarity but has benefited from a good scrub and some reorganization. Last, but not least, I found the staff friendly and efficient. This held true when I visited the other Luga’s, across from Aperitivo, which also went through a makeover a month ago. A glass facade now encompasses the entrance to both the first floor and Pho Pho on the second floor, though the menu remains the same.

Someone asked me today to name my favorite post of the past year. I dunno. I average a post a day, and don’t plan to reread them all, so I went with what popped into my head: Fish Taco. Yes, a diary of an event at Nobu I didn’t attend takes top spot for the Year of the Rabbit.

Others I liked: this tour of Beijing during the Super Bowl, “13 bars, 2 teams, 1 power outage“; for Canadian content, my first and only fake quiz; this piece on how to make taxi drivers happy, though it could use a good edit; and for something more relevant to this blog’s focus and my desire to try new drinks, “Cocktails that mattered (to me)“.

What will be my fave post of the Year of the Dragon? Probably Fish Taco II: Double the Fin, Double the Fun.

Catching up on a lot of work, news, email, sleep over the next few days. Some stuff going on…

Attention Bloody Mao fans: Stephanie Rocard says Mao Mao Chong, closed for the Chinese New Year, will remain so as it now goes under renovations. Look for it to reopen on March 2.

Gung Ho Gourmet Pizza Factory, with branches near Workers Stadium and in Lido, is experimenting with an online order system. If all goes to plan, it should be fully activated on the Gung Ho site within a week. Unfortunately, Chateau BB lacks Internet so the phone it shall remain. Speaking of which, Gung Ho remains among the most efficient in taking calls: my average order is processed in 60 seconds.

The signs for a new branch of Bellagio are up on the third floor of Swire Sanlitun Village South. Given mall hours, don’t expect it to mimic the nearby branch on Workers Stadium, known for late-night / early-morning dining and attracting a “see and be seen” crowd. Quite a bit of work remains before this place opens.

Finally, The Drive-Thru in Sanlitun Soho continues to roll out products. Ryan Johnston says recent additions include chipotle pepper powder and Guinness beer powder – with the latter, word is it takes a full bottle to get one gram. He also recently said the number of beers options available was at at 111 — and counting.

For those who can’t wait a few more days, here are two flashbacks to full-on Chinese New Year fireworks in Beijing.

Click the image below for a post with six photos near Workers Stadium.

And for those with access to Youtube, check here — given entry is free, it is hard to beat a show that features dozens of fireworks displays going off at once.

It’s one of the things I like about Beijing.

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Migas chef Aitor Olebagoya once invited me into the kitchen, pointed to a shelf above a cooking station, and pulled down more than a dozen brands of gin to sample. Given this, it is no shocker to hear that Migas plans to introduce a ‘gin and tonic cart’ as of February 10. The cart sponsors are Spanish brands Mare gin and 1724 tonic water. Migas raised the bar last year with its mix of packed parties, creative cuisine and visiting chefs, and its new bar and this GT cart suggest there is lots more to come in 2012.

The Spanish wine promotion at Modo finishes at the end of January. The next nation to be featured in the wine preservation machines’ 16 slots: France. Just before New Year, I organized a get-together for acquaintances on Twitter (my account is here) and Weibo (here) at Modo to try these wines. We paid rmb100 for a rmb150 wine card and snacks. Alex Molina of Modo was in a generous mood and opened several bottles for us to try — much appreciated! They included Viñedos Alión Ribera del Duero, Muga Rioja Blanco and Matarromera Crianza Ribera del Duero.

I had lunch today at newcomer Da Giuseppe Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant, in the former Budapest space in the China View complex, the same one with Hooters, Danger Doyle’s and ReFresh, on Workers Stadium East (see initial post here). Chef Giuseppe De Stefano worked at La Pizza and it shows in the excellent crust. While the pizza was a bit sloppy, the presentation and taste were above average, and the pasta was also good. I’ll back soon to try more items.

Following up on this post, on my way home last night, I stopped at Terra to check on the soon-to-open rum bar and the menu. The infusions include elderflower, cinnamon and tea and the menu lists the following brands: Ypioca, Sagatiba Velha, Captain Morgan, Zacapa, Mount Gay, Tonga Island, Bundaberg, Gosling, Havana and Troise Rivieres. Prices range from rmb28 for Myer’s to rmb180 for Zacapa XO. I didn’t have time to grab a drink or check if every bottle is already on the shelf but that is the lineup to expect when the bar officially launches after the holidays.

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Terra is reporting that it now has its barrels and booze through Customs and will open its rum bar downstairs after Chinese New Year holidays. Among the labels to be stocked are Zacapa, Mount Gay, Gosling, Trois Rivieres and Tonga Island, says Jennifer Eden, who adds that bartender Amanda Richter is working on some infusions.

The Loop in Shuangjing also has a modest but adequate rum list (see photo above) though I gravitate toward the wines, including a few options from Pikes. I remain a fan of the design of this place and of the menus created by manager Weiley Lu, formerly of Lugar (now Alba). Burger fans might want to give the one topped with foie gras, truffle, bell pepper and rocket a try (rmb78).

Pudao Wines in The Office Park will have free pizza on Thursday night for those sampling from the enomatic machines. Current themes include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Australian Shiraz and sweet wines, with  an ice wine from Canada. The prices range from rmb7 to rmb43 for a 25ml sample.

Hidden Lounge – not so hidden given two bright signs – recently held a soft opening. In the CBD apartment complex in Shuangjing, the place is accessible down a staircase and via a sliding door, has plenty of nooks, crannies and seating areas, and featured an all-you-can-drink theme – rmb100 for men, free for women. It feels a bit like LAN on an extreme budget meets Kai Club but it is hard to tell based on an opening night visit. To be honest, the highlight was talking to the artist who has a studio at the far end.

A management rift at Fubar has reached the point where the police showed up tonight to deal with a dispute over one of the partners comping drinks. The incident extends to a bigger dispute late last week between original partners Chad Lager and Kevin Zhang — some say Lager was kicked out, Zhang says he quit. In either case, the situation is a mess, and a sad one given this place ranks among the city’s success stories of the past three years.

I have been to Fubar a half-dozen times in the past week, have heard both sides, and hoped they would work it out, even last night when Lager showed up for work and, despite the somewhat ominous presence of several security guards with his partners, left without incident. After all, the reason Zhang and Lager got together in the first place was because each provided something the other didn’t — Zhang brought financing and an ability to deal with property management while Lager oversaw design of everything from bar to menu, sourcing staff and alcohol, and daily management.

They survived some early struggles, when times were lean and a third partner, Ashley Howlett, came in with the financial support to put them — far — over the top. Fubar is now an established part of the city’s drinking scene.

Things don’t look good at the moment but here is hoping the sides can come to an agreement with which everyone is happy. If I ranked the Beijing bars that have meant the most to me, Fubar would be in the top ten, and it is among those places I have been able to document going from rubble to success. On that note, here are some photos of Lager and Zhang from happier times. May they return.

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Grace Vineyard has a new wine and it features the rare use, at least in China, of screw caps — see here for another example in Treaty Port.

First, the wine: it is called Tao Fu and, says CEO Judy Leissner, “refers to the peach wood charms hung on doors during the New Year” and that are thought to repel evil spirits. It is also a family affair: the script on the bottle’s side was written by Leissner’s daughter.

Made solely from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, Tao Fu is light and fruity, with the spirit of a Beaujolais Nouveau to it. I found aromas of candy apple and sponge toffee; other comments ranged from cherry to banana. It is a bit of an experiment, with only 2,000 bottles, and may ultimately join the portfolio. I was lucky enough to be a dinner where a bottle was opened.

As for the screw cap, I have talked to Leissner several times over the past few years about this closure and she says it is much harder to use than people might imagine. As examples, she cites the difficulty of proper calibration, that most screw cap knowledge in China relates to beverages other than wine and might not fully apply, and the sourcing of material – in this case, the bottles are from China and the screw caps are imported. And that doesn’t even include cost.

Anyway, it was fun to not only try a new label but also to see some scrap caps on a wine made in China. What I’m really looking forward is to being able to pick up such wines in a shop or supermarket. Hopefully, that day isn’t too far off…

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