Beijing Boyce

J-POWW: not to be confused with other noted chef, J-WOWW (starcasm.net)

Jeff Powell of manicure, Manhattan and now barbecued meat joint Frost — and the guy who got menus off the ground at spots such as The Orchard, Element Fresh, Gung Ho, Kro’s Nest and Flamme — is a busy Idahoan these days. Powell is modest about his projects but I have no such qualms. Plus, J-POWW is among my favorite Powells, along with Robert Baden-Powell and Hosken Powell. Here is some stuff on the radar:

• Powell is behind the food menu at the new iF juice venue that will open in Sanlitun. Along with fruit and veggie drinks, expect to find a range of sandwiches, salads and wraps.
• He is working on the menu at Timezone 8 in the 798 art district. While this place won’t see an entire menu overhaul, Powell will be upgrading about half of the dishes.
• He is opening a place called Baden-Powell’s that will focus on foods that Boy Scouts typically cook over an open fire that took them three hours to get started (based on personal experience) and include wieners on a stick, marshmallows with a hint of dirt and the always fashionable baked beans still in the can (tip: open can before cooking. Again, based on personal experience).
• He is manning the BBQ outside at Frost. Both DZ Rider and I had two burgers each last Sunday. They come off the grill with a smoky flavor and juicy enough to be tender inside but to not turn your bun into a wet mess. Powell serves them on an English muffin-style bun, with the condiment options including habernero sauce for those like it spicy. RMB38, which includes a side salad with rocket, frisse and the like.

Look for more changes at Frost soon. And, again, J-POWW (at right in this photo) is not to be confused with J-POWW (eating spaghetti in this photo).

Let’s call it “resume enhancement“: a tendency to exagerate where one worked and / or what qualifications one has in order to impress a potential employer. I mean, how likely is the interviewer to actually check if you spent two weeks — instead of the two years listed on your resume — at Bar X? Or to see if you worked at Restaurant X at all?

Well, people do check. Case in point: A hotel manager in Beijing recently told me he had two candidates for his F&B outlets that looked like excellent hires  – until he did a background check and found some, ahem, resume enhancement.

Few places would look better on such a resume than a stint at famed El Bulli in Spain, considered by many to be the best restaurant of the past decade. El Bulli is also far from Beijing, not to mention now closed, thus if someone were applying for here and claiming experience at this place, it might prove difficult to check.

Here’s one way: Jordi Valles of Spanish restaurant Agua in Nali Patio sent me the staff rosters for El Bulli from 1996 to 2011. Does that mean an absence from these lists means no link to the restaurant? Not necessarily. I’m sure El Bulli had some guest stints or training sessions, but this is certainly a starting point if you are hiring and see El Bulli under “work experience”. And if you did work there, El Bulli would like to hear from you.

Click the thumbnails for much bigger images….

Cocktails in Champagne...

Erik Lorincz from the American Bar in The Savoy in London is coming to Beijing this month to work bar Champagne in the Fairmont Hotel on May 16 and May 17 — from 8 PM on both nights — and hold a “master class” on May 18 from 7 PM to 9 PM. You know, I see those words “master class” a lot, so I asked the Fairmont’s Nick Stipp what it meant. He says attendees will learn how make a handful of cocktails, and drink them, too, for rmb200. That sounds like a good deal to me and I expect bar stools to go fast for this one. Reserve yours via 8507-3617 or thecut.beijing (at) fairmont.com.

By the way, the Fairmont is billing Lorincz as the “world’s best bartender” because he won Diageo’s World Class competition in 2010 and Conde Nast named him best hotel bartender in 2011. Nice credentials, but does that mean he can make a decent Alfonso Special?

The new breakfast of (Olympic) champions?

If faced with the choice of picking a favorite convenience store chain or death, I’d probably opt for the former and pipe up for 7-Eleven. In a pinch, 7-Eleven is a good spot to grab a bottle of wine, an extra roll of toilet paper, some snacks, or even, as demonstrated on Valentine’s Day, enough items to create a five-course meal for two for under rmb75. Since it is now my declared favorite, I’m starting something called “7-Eleven Watch“.

First up: this package of Angry Birds processed meat products. Rather than tease you for a few hundred words before I provide a judgment on the quality of this item, let me give you the conclusion right away: these things are nasty. (In my humble opinion, of course.)

There is a lot going on with this package.

• Key Angry Birds characters are associated, like airborne brand ambassadors, with different meats: for example, white bird is linked to what I take are chicken sausages.
• The small portions, which involve far too much packaging, suggest these meats are meant to be eaten unheated — room temperature mini wieners don’t sound so hot to me.
• And the use of the Olympic rings means that… umm… eating Angry Birds sausages will make me a champion?

Ultimately, it comes down to taste and, in my opinion, these are not good. The white sausages are lukewarm and anemic. One of the darker meats is gristly and akin to jerky with only 10 percent of the flavor. And the ham “coin” that had what I thought might be a rim of pineapple? Well, that fruit fringe turned out, as far as I could tell, to be fat.

My suggestion: take the rmb16.5 these critters cost and buy four tuna and rice triangles. Because, if you are like me, these Angry Birds cooked meats will make you furious.

Word is Cafe Flat White, which already has outlets in the Silk Market, 798 Art District and elsewhere, will take over the Sanlitun Soho space that previously housed Alsatian restaurant Tonton & Tata. I sent messages to Flat White via the mobile phone number and email address on its web site but, alack and alas, no answer.

Should this opening happen, I am sure of one thing: the decor will be a step up. The setup at Tonton & Tata reminded me of a trade show booth for a “regions of France” event – one day for setup, two days for the show, then on to the next city.

Anyway, Sanlitun Soho is a bit of a gamble. The foot traffic is still fairly light, the many individual landlords make it tough to get a logical grouping of bars and restaurants, and so on,  but hopefully at least part of that complex can get a solid foothold. That particular alley already has Moment Cafe and Ssam, two places worth visiting, with The Drive-Thru and soon-to-open iF Juice close. Hopefully, a few more places open and draw many more customers.

Everwines in Shanghai: A branch will soon open in Beijing.

Look for plenty of cork popping and screw top twisting in Beijing this summer as at least three wine bars are in the works.

The first full Beijing shop by Everwines, a brand of wine importer and distributor Torres, should be fully open in about six weeks. It will be just up the street from Irish pub The James Joyce and include a retail space, an enomatic machine with eight wines by the glass, and several outdoor areas, including a special patio for those who order pricier bottles. I met Torres’ Alberto Fernandez and Damien Shee at Migas over the weekend and they told me they planned some pre-launch events – bonus Taste of Nations event, please! Everwines also has outlets in Shanghai, Nanjing, Xi’an and Chengdu.

Look also for a wine venue called Veloce to open in 1949: The Hidden City. I stopped by earlier this week to see if Krishna Hathaway, one of the key figures involved, was around to talk but he looked busy training in the former Sugar cafe space. I’ll stop by again soon. Hathaway most recently handled wine at Aman Resort at the Summer Palace. You might want to contact him if you plan to pair cheese and wine.

A third venue, a project by importer and distributor California Grapes International, is planned for Sanlitun Soho. I wrote about this project here and it looks like it will open a bit later than expected. Frank Yglesias says things should be ready by late June and that he will be adding about 200 labels to his already large collection of Californian wines. 

Look for juice makers iF* to open a shop in Sanlitun Soho this summer and expand their vitamin-y empire in Beijing. The iF lineup includes orange, wild berry, watermelon, and mango and passionfruit, among others, is available at retail outlets such as  Jenny Lou’s, Jenny Wang’s, April Gourmet and Wow New, among others, and is also used by a range of the city’s restaurants, including Agua and Union Bar & Grille. The new establishment will have an eye toward delivery — not surprising given the relatively low foot traffic in Sanlitun Soho – and include a food menu. I’ll post again iF I get more details. I’m also aiming to do a “must tries” post with iF’s Flo Eslyer.

(iF stands for ‘identify Fruit’.)

That Shuangjing strip that fronts the Hip Hopson complex has added a few bars in the past few months to provide neighbors for Bang Bang pizza and Iki Korean restaurant.

Loading Lounge Bar & Food looks something like a cross of a furniture shop, a villa living room, and an Ikea-esque ski lodge. And that’s not a bad thing. This airy venue includes a lower level with an oval bar that is just inside the door and flanked by low tiers of seating, and an exposed upper level accessible by a pair of stairways. Expect a light and airy feel, with the color scheme including bone white, cement gray and tan offset by dark seating, including some funky blocky high chairs at the bar.

The hard surfaces amplified the dice game going on in a corner but that could easily be overcome by cranking the music volume. And that suggests the potential of this place, which on this night drew a young Chinese crowd: get a few people at the bar, where the bartender does nifty sleight of hand tricks; let the lounge areas fill to capacity; then gradually shift the music so the place takes on a club vibe.

Anyway, as for drinks, there is a series of cocktails based on the Western zodiac signs. If the Aries — a frutiy tequila-based drink — is any indication, my future holds more beer orders. Erdinger is rmb45, Hoegaarden is rmb35, mixed drinks are rmb40 and a two-liter Mojito is rmb198.

There is a food menu, but I had already filled up on cheese-topped bibimbap at Iki, so that will have to wait for a future visit.

The history of Kai and Butterfly is cemented.

Today I found myself walking down the alley that once housed Kai Club and Butterfly – and is still home to Fish Nation, The Door and Smugglers. While I have friends who pine for Kai and Butterfly — far more often the former bar than the latter one — neither ranked among my regular hangouts. But in case anyone wondered what is there now, the facade is newly cemented, railings are being erected along it and, says an acquaintance, those former drinking dens will soon be meeting rooms for the school just up the alley. Fans of Kai Club are now resigned to its reincarnation in Tongli Studio.

Working at the speed of sound — which, given the place in question, no doubt includes funky beats — Migas has been busy this month doubling the size of its rooftop and outfitting it with three bars. While a few ”unexpected issues” have arisen and some finishing touches remain, the rooftop is nevertheless ready to go for its scheduled opening tonight, says manager Eduardo Gutierrez. Given the state of the space a few weeks ago, that is impressive.

My ex-boss, who is a wine afficiondao, visited Beijing last week and we headed to Nali Patio on Sunday for a few glasses. First stop, the rooftop at Enoterra. Perhaps it’s a building code but that stark stairwell connecting the main floor and the roof is a bit depressing. Anyway, the roof itself is pleasant enough, especially on a cool night. The Viognier by the glass, on the other hand, is pretty average given a price tag of rmb55.

Our second stop, the rooftop next door at Fez, which we found busy even at 11 PM. We tried the Tempranillo by the glass: a good wine but a modest — very modest — pour for rmb65. I didn’t bring my measuring glass but we pegged it at well below 125ml, which is considered the lower end of the pouring range. No complaints about the atmosphere, however, which simply means we’ll switch to cocktails on the next visit.

I don’t make it to Scarlett in Hotel G enough given that most of my experiences — which largely involve parking at the bar with a friend or two and working through some wines — is pretty good. Anyway, this place continues its long-running TGIF deal tonight with rmb30 standard drinks from 6 PM to 10 PM.

Finally, kudos for Blue Frog in Sanlitun. Last week, I found both plugs beneath that comfy cushioned bench just south of the bar to be malfunctioning. I mentioned it to Greg Dover and he said they would be fixed right away. I stopped in today and…. both plugs were replaced and working. A small matter, perhaps, but on such deeds is customer loyalty gained. By the way, Blue Frog is still hoping to open its branch in the Indigo project in Lido on June 1.

Plugged in at Blue Frog

The Steak Factory in Workers Stadium came and went so fast that you probably didn’t get your meal if you ordered well-done instead of rare. In any case, there are now signs up for Master Curry, the note in the window simply saying the new place is “coming soon”.

Speaking of steak, I am long overdue in mentioning the buy one, get one deal on Sunday nights at K’s Kitchen, the restaurant that houses cocktail joint Mokihi on Lucky Street. K’s offers numerous choices of cuts and sizes, with sides of veggies. There is also a draft Asahi deal (I believe it is half-price and thus rmb15 but will have to double-check), pasta deals on Monday and Tuesday, and, of course, tasty cocktails from Mokihi. 

Regular contributor Beijing Elvis reports that construction continues on Little Britain, near the Irish Volunteer in Lido. Will this place screen episodes of the show with the name? Will it be a parody of the typical Beijing bar? Will it serve mashed bangers and kidney pie? These and other questions require answers.

Frost nail salon / coffee shop / cocktail bar / movie-screening venue has added seating and a barbecue outdoors. Owner Jeff Powell is cooking up tasty burgers at rmb38, which includes a side salad. Frost has also added Liefmann’s on tap.

Relatively new bar and restaurant Brussels will christen its even newer setup downstairs on Saturday nigth with a free flow of Tsingtao and mixed drinks from 8 PM to 10 PM for rmb100, says Kenn Bermel. He says Brussels has also introduced rmb48, rmb58 and rmb98 set lunch menus.

And Opposite Hotel restaurant Sureno has opened its “sunken garden” area, just outside the restaurant, and the food options include a free flow of tapas on Saturdays, from noon to 3 PM, for rmb182. Check out the wine menu: one of the best / most extensive in Beijing. And the art installation in the lobby, which one person described as video screens set in pools of kitty littler and featuring graphics that evoke 1990s video games. Frankly, my favorite installation there continues to be the permanent one called Elevators With Lights So Dim You Can’t See The Floor Numbers. After all these years, we can safely call it a classic.

The Harlem Globetrotters appear to share my love of the buffalo chicken wings at Union Bar & Grille because last night they made their second visit in less than a year. This time, the players included 7-foot, 8-inch Tiny Sturgess, who is two inches taller than Yao Ming and thus makes China’s best-known player look, well, two inches shorter.

In what might or might not be a coincidence, Andy Bright said that Union will soon introduce a summer menu that includes chicken papaya salad with feta cheese and yogurt dressing, cajun chicken and avocado wraps, seared ahi tuna sandwiches and pumpkin creme brulee. Look for those to be available in the next two weeks. 

For photos of the Globetrotters’ visit last summer, see here.

Legends of the fall: My fave table at the last tasting...

Carrefour in Shuangjing pops the cork on its spring wine fair tonight from 6 PM. The fair last through April 23, though tonight includes a 20 percent discount along with the chance to sample hundreds of wines for free. As usual, I recommend that you bring your own glass (BYOB). See the photo below for the difference between what you will be given and what you might bring.

Also, check out the wines from French Wine Paradox. The table above was among the best at the fall fair, both in terms of wine and service. I know some people turn up their noses at Yellowtail, but given some of the corked and oxidized wines I found at some tables, I’ll take it for the consistency. And Obikwa makes some easy-going good-value wines.

You can see the catalog here. And a few posts about past fairs here:

• ‘Prostitute wine’ and other tales
• Glasses, deals, and labels with animals galore
• Southern exposure
• By / buy the case

My glass versus their glass...

Lots of Napa Valley wine action in Beijing next week, with a slew of tastings and dinners.

There are still seats available at some of the five Chifan for Charity dinners being held on Tuesday, including at Vasco’s, Brasserie Flo and Grange, says organizer Michael Crain. More details in my previous post here or on the Chifan for Charity site here.

For those who can’t make dinner, the after-party at the Fairmont Hotel will see a free tasting of wine from several dozen Napa operations, says Nicolas Stipp. Starts at 9:30 PM, is open to all, will see winery reps on hand to talk about the wines, and will have  chocolate from Vandergeeten. Call 8507-3619 or emailfestive.beijing@fairmont.com for more details.

Finally, ASC Fine Wines has a pair of excellent Napa wine dinners on the slate.

First, and also on Tuesday, the trio of Stag’s Leap, Phelps and Shafer will come together on the 79F of China World’s Summit Wing for a wine dinner. One of the first, and best, dinners I attended in Beijing was a Phelps-Shafer do in 2006 at Aria in China World Hotel, and at virtually the same price, rmb980 — see Clash of the Cabs. (It was also the first time I met — and was subsequently yelled at by — former ASC head Don St. Pierre, Sr, who then spent more than an hour explaining some of the ins and outs of the wine business to me over another bottle — well, maybe two bottles — of wine. Beijing was a much different city then.) Anyway, Doug Shafer, Phelps export director Robert Baxter and Stag’s Leap area director John Kimmey, will attend his one.

Second, there will be an Opus One wine dinner on April 20 at Reignwood City Club. The dinner will include the 2001, 2007 and 2008 vintages, and a Chateau Ste. Michelle Eroica Riesling, and is much pricier at rmb2180. Then again, Opus One doesn’t come cheap and this dinner will feature the wit of Yvonne Chiong-Moungin, the company’s regional rep and a contributor to sibling blog, Grape Wall of China.

There are several other good tastings coming up. More on these early next week…

Austrian winemaker Fred Loimer is in town with a busy slate of classes and wine dinners at the newly opened Switch Grill. I had a chance yesterday to try several wines with Loimer and, given all the talk about corks versus screw tops, it was nice to see glass closures on some bottles, including Loimer’s own Pinot Noir. (I then  fueled up on those “dinosaur” mugs of coffee. Frequent coffee drinker card, please, Switch.) Anyway, Loimer says ~10 percent of Austrian wine is topped by glass, with most of the rest under screw top. I also found the Gross Sauvignon Blanc — if you are immature like me, you giggled at the name — to be interesting, especially as a contrast with typical New Zealand offerings, such as the Momo Sauvignon Blanc on the menu, given that it comes with riper fruit aromas and a milder body. Anyway, two other things to note:

One, Switch has four Austrian wines by the glass on the menu this week: Loimer Gruner Veltliner, Loimer Pinot Noir, Wieninger Gruner Veltliner and Heinrich Blaufrankisch (see photo below). Prices start at rmb40. All of the wines come from importer and distributor The Wine Republic.

Two, there is a wine dinner tonight with Loimer. The promotion will see Switch chef Heinz Klenner, who also hails from the land of skiing, symphonies and Schwarzeneggers, prepare five dishes, including potato broth with trout, braised beef cheeks with semolina dumplings, and sour cream strudel with mango salsa. The dinner is rmb750. Book a seat at 6553-5691.

Blau(frankisch) it out your glass.

Moment Cafe gets my vote for best sandwiches, has a polite and friendly staff, brews a decent cup of coffee, offers reasonably comfortable seats, provides good wireless and features a manager with one of the cooler names in the business: Ivan O. Matic.* True, there are times when the place gets quite loud, whether due to people who feel a need to yell even when less than a meter from their friends or to some guy shouting into a laptop as he talks via Skype with a buddy in distant Belgrade. Even so, overall this is a good place and I frequently grab lunch — rmb65 for two courses, rmb75 for three courses, including coffee — and do some work.

Now it’s doing a promotion that comes out of the blue: the deal is 15 percent off on Tuesdays and the vehicle is the freaky poster below. I wonder if this “Scary Moment” campaign is the start of a series. Perhaps we will soon see “Not a Moment to Spare” (a crepe speed-eating contest), “Live in the Moment” (stay overnight in the cafe), “Moment-O” (buy one coffee, get a second free), “Machismoment” (a Mr Moment Cafe contest), “Yo!-ment” (a screening of Rocky paired with a pasta special), “Moment of Truth” (Barbara Walters flown in for an emotional interview with Matic), well, you get the idea. In any case, I’m looking forward to a discount on my next Tuesday night Tradizionale or Indiavolato sandwich. You can see the full menu here.

* I have no idea if Matic’s middle initial is O. I simply thought it looked cooler that way.

Nali Patio cocktail bar Apothecary is seeking a manager, according to this Weekly Shooter listing. Managerial duties include “sales/cost reporting, scheduling, training, and setting and maintaining a standard of excellence in service and product”, while the benefits include a “competitive” salary, help with a work permit and housing, and a one-year contract. Additional benefits not mentioned in the listing: easy access to Mosto’s business lunch, The Saddle Cantina’s rmb10 happy hour tacos, and Spanish food at Agua, Niajo and Migas, all in the same complex. Get more details and contact info here.

Little Easy's neighbors

The Little Easy

New Orleans is all about tequila given the number of shots and lime wedges flying about last Friday at newly opened The Little Easy on the Sanlitun strip proper. Then again, my customer sample size was small, consisting of one gregarious Floridian with a bagful of cash. Other drinks include Harbin beer at rmb25 for a tall boy, Slow Boat beer at rmb40 per glass or three for rmb100, and about a dozen cocktails, including Hurricanes. The Little Easy has already worked out a few pricing issues, says consultant Chad Lager. Case in point: a vodka Red Bull carried a rmb60 price tag last Friday. Unfortunately, it looks like the Little Easy dropped rather than raised the price on this one and thus lost a chance to keep out the riffraff — kidding, always kidding.

The Little Easy has two floors. Downstairs is the bar, some table seating and a stage that would work well for small bands, a comedy night or perhaps one of those poles that are so ubiquitous on this street. (Or perhaps pole-dancing comedians who play guitar?) Upstairs are booths, including a large lounge unit in the center and three tighter ones at the window. As far as I could tell, there is one toilet and it is a squatter.

A word of caution: be careful of that first step drop-off at the inner door. On the other hand, you can always avoid it and sit outside: the free entertainment includes listening to bar touts in action and watching the singers / dancers through the window of the place next door. I haven’t had great experiences on this street over the years, and imagine it won’t be a little easy to change the area’s prevalent attitude that hard-sell tactics work and that most visitors are one-offs, but here’s hoping The Little Easy is one small step in a new direction.

Migas

When does a venue become too good at impressing the scene? Perhaps right now in the case of Migas, given that doubling the size of its rooftop – which a) would be a daunting undertaking for most places and b) is in a space that already ranks among the city’s best – seems like simply another task on the to-do list for this team. After all, it was only a few months ago that this establishment successfully opened a very cool bar on the sixth floor.

The new space is north of those giant eggs — if you’ve been up top, you know what I mean. When finished, it will mean three bars on the rooftop, including one for tapas. The opening is set for April 27, with a Strawberry Festival after-party scheduled on April 29, says Eduardo Gutierrez. After that, these guys will need a new challenge. Maybe turning the Bird’s Nest into the world’s biggest open demonstration kitchen?

Mosto

After a few delays, Mosto has opened its new extension, and celebrated the occasion with a party last weekend. The new semi-private area can hold about a dozen people, comes with its own door and has close proximity to the bathrooms, which have been moved from that dogleg out back to close to the front of the restaurant.

By the way, sibling restaurant Modo is continuing with its happy hours on wine: get pours from that enomatic machine for half-price, from 6 PM to 8 PM, Monday to Thursday, which translates into excellent value. And look for Mosto to soon start a happy hour of its own, says Alex Molina.

More Mosto...

The Titanic set sail from England 100 years ago today. The ship made two stops, first in France and then in Ireland, before a fateful collision with an iceberg four days later led to its sinking and the death of more than 1,500 passengers. That sinking ranks among the greatest tragedies of its era and has remained a source of fascination for many people and of many books, films and songs.

For those interested in the details, Steven Schwankert of Beijing-based SinoSchuba will host Titanic Trivia: A Night to Remember on Sunday, April 15, at 12SQM. The quiz starts at 7 PM and the prizes include a dive at the Blue Zoo and cocktails.

For those interested in wine and cocktail history, Wine Enthusiast reports that the ship’s manifest listed “1,000 bottles of wine, 850 spirits bottles and 191 liquor cases”. It further states (my highlights):

…a 1911 menu from the Olympic (Titanic’s sister ship) lists the Manhattan, Tom Collins and John Collins. “Those were the cosmos and appletinis of the time,” says Toby Maloney of Alchemy Consulting.

Other drinks can be tied to a Titanic passenger who perished, John Jacob Astor IV. Around the time Astor merged his Astoria Hotel with his cousin’s Waldorf Hotel in New York City, the Bronx was invented. Other cocktails crafted there include the Rob Roy and the Robert Burns.

There is no shortage of cocktail bars in our fair city in which to order one of those drinks and raise a glass in memoriam.

Also of note, Hullett House in Hong Kong will hold a Titanic-themed dinner on April 14 that includes 1907 Heidsieck Monopole Gout Americain, bubbly popular with the well-to-do at the time and bottles of which were sourced at ~rmb70,000 per pop:

….Hullett House is recreating the lavish ten-course dinner menu served in the ship’s First Class Dining saloon on April 14th 1912, the last dinner to be ever served there…. The Dinner on RMS Titanic is served in the opulent surroundings of the JP Hennessy room in the St George restaurant in Hullett House, one of Hong Kong’s magnificent colonial buildings originally built in 1881. The opulence of this lavish dinner will be authentically recreated down to the waiters’ uniforms and table setting. Guests will eat from fine bone china plates originally designed by William Brownfield & Sons and used on board the Titanic.

The cost of the dinner: HKD15,000. And, it is invite-only. Hullett House will have other Titanic-themed meals, however, and you can get more details here.

Finally, for those who prefer not to be reminded of the harsh realities nature tends to shove in the face of humanity in its most immodest moments, there is always the Titanic II, available at Flamme tonight. This drink wasn’t made in honor of the original ship or even the James Cameron-directed movie, but for a sequel that is so bad it is (kind of) good. A few of these and you’ll feel like you’re the king or queen of the world.

I have not been to Haze but I thought the delivery menu photos this place posted on Facebook looked pretty good. The prices look good, too, starting at rmb22 for stewed sausage and rice and rmb24 for Taiwan braised pork and rice or stewed chicken leg. Use the coupon below and get a free soup or soda. You can order from 5900-6128, from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM, Monday to Friday. The prices last until June 8.