Boxing Day in Beijing

After a relatively productive day of aimlessly browsing Beijing, our local expat Jimmy, took us to another famous bar in Beijing that serves Belgian. The place we hit was

The Tree
43 Bei Sanlitun Nan, Chanyang District, Beijing
100m West of Sanlitun North Bar Street, Yo Yi Youth Hostel, behind Poachers Inn
TEL: (10) 6415 1954
http://www.treebeijing.com

The Tree is located deep within the newer bar district of the Sanlitun Area. This is a newer area and it's happening. It is surrounded by clubs that have a distinct personality. Locals and expats flood to this area either to dance at night clubs or grab a pint and catch up with friends. The street is also flooded with the usual hawkers that sells cigarettes and skewers.

The Tree is considered another Belgian ambassador of Beijing. This is reflected with its wide selection. We began our night with a Westmalle Dubbel, Gouden Carolus Classic and a Delirium Nocturnum. Unfortunately they ran out of Gueuze. The interior of the Tree is extremely cosy and decorated with art done by local artist. The stone stove pizza there is also famous but unfortunately I was too stuffed to sample some.

The night wasn't crazily packed but lively enough to fill most of the rooms. The music also wasn't overly loud that prevented a casual conversation. The second and final round was a large bottle of Gouden Carolus Carolus D'or and Kwak (they ran out of the Kwak glasses, bummer). The staff were also very friendly and efficient.

I rank highly for the Tree and I think it's an absolute great place for a few friends to catch up over some Belgian brews.

Christmas in Beijing

A short plane ride got me to Beijing on Christmas day. It was already kind of late, so I decided to check out the Belgian beer scene at a place not too far from where I was staying. Almost 11:30PM, I arrived at

Beer Mania
Tayue Hotel, Ground Floor 103,
16 Sanlitun South Road, Chaoyang, Beijing
TEL: (10) 6585 0786
http://www.beermania.todayinchina.com

Looking from the outside, was a drawing of the Manneken Pis holding a beer. I have a good feeling that I have gone to the right place. I got in, it was completely empty, well, except for the one drunken gentleman lying horizontally over the bar stools. That didn't intimidate me as I was already eying the fridge full of goodies.

Started the night out with a Malheur 10 (I haven't had this beer since I was in Brugges a few years back) and my buddy Greg had a Duchesse de Bourgogne. The place is cosy, with the usual dark mahogany furniture and teak colour wood panels. This place is decorated with tons of Belgian beer memorabilia, Kwak, Delirium Posters and a long row of consumed Belgian bottles. The staffs are relaxed and friendly. My second round followed by a Lindeman Gueuze and my buddy had a Pipeline Porter made from 100% Kona Coffee from Kona Brewing Company in Hawaii. These two happened to be the only two bottles that are singles in the fridge and we consumed it.

Later of the night, the owner came back with a bunch of his friends. We got the chance to chat up a bit with him. He asked us what the Duchesses of Bourgogne and the Pipline Porter tasted like. These two beers, I have had before and it was quite tasty. We shared with him our thoughts and he said he was going to stock them.

The Belgian selection at Beer Mania is extensive, from my memory, Westmalle (dubbel, triple), Archel (Blond, Brune), Chimay (Red, White, Blue), Rochefort (6, 8, 10), Maredsous (6, 8, 10) and a ton of others, better check out their website. Since I am used to the insane Shanghai beer prices, I found Beijing beers are relatively reasonable.

My final beer was a Pater Lieven Blonde, 6.5%, it was very tasty, much like the Malheur without the kicks. I rank highly for Beer Mania, it's a quiet little joint where you can down some really special Belgium brews and catch up with friends.

A few photos:

Christmas Eve in Shanghai

After a Christmas feast at a local dumpling joint, was about to pack it in for the night. Gotta work the next day. That's until my housemate Eric, provoked me to go out. It's Christmas Eve in Shanghai, let's go.

We didn't want to go too far so we decided to check out this Izakaya. An Izakaya is a common Japanese bar or restaurant. People will have a few drinks and small snacks at these places.

It was almost midnight, we arrived at:

Yakitori by the Charcoal Fire and Noodles
Dongzhuan Bang Lu
Near Zhenning Lu

It was late, the place was still packed with Japanese expats downing pints of beers and bottles of Sake. It was quite happening for a small place like this at this hour. The interior is nothing impressive, it is what you would expect from a local Japanese restaurant. Light coloured wood panels, wooden doors with white translucent glass panes, and the ever typical clothed door curtains. The drinks and food should be somewhat authentic as the clientele are all Japanese and there seems to be no complaints.

I had a couple of rounds of Sake and got the usual Japanese snacks, like endomame and a few charcoal roasted skewers (yakitori). The unique drink I had there was this Umeshu (plum wine). I never had it from scratch before. Basically, they poured some hot water into a glass with one or two shots of Shochu (25% alcohol rice wine). The waitress let me try the Ume (plum) first, it's got this salty flavour. After that you dump this ume into the Shochu mix then the Ume starts to break down. The drink was slightly salty, the 25% shochu mix warms you up quickly. I think it's the perfect first drink in an Izakaya for these Shanghai winters.

Overall, this place is a decent place to grab some late night Japanese snacks and a few Sake if you are already in the area.

A few photos:

Pub Crawling on a cold night in Shanghai

So i was back on the weekend in Shanghai. I haven't seen my buddy Greg for a while and decided to meet up for a small pub crawl last night. The first pub we hit was called

Joy Bar and Cafe
345 Wuning Nan Lu, JingAn
near Yuyao Lu and Kanding Lu
TEL: 6230 2015

Basically was looking for some pub grub and a nice beer. We were in the neighborhood and decided to drop by. I had been there once before on a Friday night many weeks ago. Joy Bar's location is a little out there and a little hard to find. Once you made the hike to find this place, it's actually quite a little gem in the area. I got a bacon cheese burger while my buddy got fish and chips. It was decently priced and quite good and I have to say one of best I've had in Shanghai. Beer selection wise is the usual bottled Erdinger and I think they have Carlsberg on draft.

The atmosphere is relaxed and inviting. There are no beer girls pushing you to buy a dozen of beers in which you know you can't finish. Last time I was there, I played several rounds of darts. The interior decoration is a bit mixed. You have the Scottish flag at one corner and a poster of a windmill from the Netherlands on the other. There is also a TV there, so might be handy to watch some games. On both occasions, the bar was rather empty. I think it's because not a lot of people have discovered this place yet. I hope this place will last and I think it's a great place to grab some pub grub and a pint.

A few photos:


The second place we hit that night was:

Kaiba
528 Kangding Lu, JingAn
near Xikang Lu

I read a bunch of reviews of this place since its grand opening several months ago. I am a big Belgian beer fan and I figured it's a must-visit. Finally after several weeks, I have the occasion to visit this joint. It's located at the end of an alleyway on 528 Kangding Lu. When you go to a place with absolutely no offering of food, you know you have entered a serious drinking place. This place is serious about Belgium beers; three fridges in total, two filled with Belgians and one with assorted American, Czech and German beers.

From my memory, they have Achel, Orval, Westmalle (Dubbel/Triple), Rochefort (6, 8, 10), Chimay (Red, White, Blue), Delirium (Tremens/Nocturnum), Duvel, Leffe (Blond, Bruin), Kwak, Waterloo, Gouden Carolus (Amber, Classic, Carolus D'or), Mort Subite (Gueuze, Kriek), Kastell, Maredsous (6, 8, 10) and a bunch of lambics. The other fridge contained, Brooklyn Lager, Erdinger (Weisse, Dark), Budvar, Crown Lager, Gordon Biersch and Rogue. On tap, I think they only have Stella. I probably missed a bunch more they offered thanks to the Delirium Tremens that I had.

The interior is simple, warm and inviting. The bar is comfortable and sits about 8 people or so. Consider it was a Tuesday night, the place is full but not packed. The clientele are mainly expats, tourist and beer advocates. The prices of the beers are typical Shanghai prices, nothing crazy (which can be the case for a lot of the specialty Belgian brews). They were doing a buy two get one free promotion the night we were there.

I rank highly for Kaiba, it's a great place to enjoy some true Belgian brews in Shanghai. I can't believe that I can actually have a Gueuze beer right here in Shanghai.

Some Photos:

Introduction

Barcoholics.com was a website that started a while back in Toronto. A bunch of pub crawlers got together and started to review bars and pubs on their weekly get together.

Recently several of the core members left to other side of the globe in search of better opportunities and better brews.

I, myself, moved to Asia. Traveling between Hong Kong and Shanghai frequently.

Pub crawling remained a passion, but there were no way to share my findings with anyone. That's the main reason why I am starting this blog.

I have written down my pub crawling bar list in the past month and it's a long list. I will catch up on that first and then give random reviews on random bars on random days.

Cheers,
Barcoholic