Beijing Beer Hop

Sanlitun is a clean and crisp place for shopping and restaurants in the day, and well known for its bar streets and alternative entertainment of an evening. If you are looking international cuisine, it’s the place to go, or seeking a few drinks and some go-go dancers, take a left and there you are.

The main quadrangle of Sanlitun presents shiny and new, well kept, with restaurants and shops one level below, and three floors up, mostly open to take advantage of the sunshine (or snow) when each or either appear. The bar street is a bit… ‘bar-ee’ for me, maybe in my early 20’s, and the go-go street… once was enough, but I wont deny it was a very interesting experience and recommend it for one and all.

For this trip though, we went elsewhere and discovered some hidden gems… Starting at the end of South Sanlitun Road and would work our way up to Workers Stadium North Road. First stop… Beer Mania.

Beer Mania

Upon first arrival, having spent an hour walking in 36 degree heat and having no luck hailing a cab, Beer Mania presented a sanctuary. There was an outside bar area, complete with taps ready to pour and what seemed to be a corner for a DJ or band. Entering the premises there was an eclectic wall display of posters and records, the bar displaying multitudes of boozes and liqueurs, a fridge filled with cold beer (unusual… most things are poured luke-warm so Robyn in particular is rather thrilled when there is BING (means cold or ice in Chinese) beer.

The nervous waiter approached us, then stood nervously, awaiting our order. Its common practise for the Chinese wait-staff to, upon handing you a menu, wait while you peruse. As a Westerner I find this rather nerve racking… not wanting them to be waiting, suddenly you are making quick decisions not based at all on your appetites needs!

To alleviate this, I asked for BING SHWAY (cold water) and the waitress patted off quickly. Robyn perused the long and thorough list of beer, while I delighted in the fact there was one white wine on the menu.

Then we ordered and the soon-to-be delightful experience slowly faded away. The stress of someone ordering a white wine resulted in a lot of running around three staff members trying to assist in the situation. Robyn’s beer, in the meantime, had been poured from the tap, and sat lonely on the bar mat… After 15 minutes I was advised that the wine would be warm… at which time I ordered a daiquiri instead… another 10 minutes and the dissolving daiquiri and flat beer finally arrived at our table.

We decided to have this one, and move on to the next spot.

A shame, the place has potential, but given the incoming clientele, appears more of a male post-work beer-hall post than somewhere that you’d want to spend a nice afternoon chatting, blogging and enjoying subtle but suitable service.

Slow Boat Brewery

Not five minutes away we came to another out-door seating space, which… had being outside not made you feel like you were literally sitting in a Swedish sauna we would have made use of. It reminded me of some places at home in Oz… an empty beer barrel, with smaller ones scattered around as seating.

So options are… sit at the welcoming table or seating outside, having a few beers on tap from a very well presented and welcoming staff member, or, head on up to third floor where you suddenly enter a home away from home… a moment (for me) in Melbourne. That industrial vibe, given warmth by wooden tables red panelling and low handing lights. The ambience, compelling your welcome and desire to stay the long haul…

Oh! And for those bloggers out there, or even just internet based workers… most tables have power plugs, not to mentioned excellent wifi.

I felt at home. Robyn, again, perused the menu and gushed and guffawed over the choices or micro-brewery beauties, not to mention some international besties. Me, on the other hand, had options of three different white wines… but we didn’t stop there? No…

Ordering some home-made fries and Thai chicken skewers, a recipe for a good afternoon? Complete. The chicken had been marinated for 24 hours, free range chicken thighs and fresher than fresh herbs alongside a fragrant dipping sauce. The hot fries? According to Robyn (a fries expert) the best home made chips she’s ever tasted! Perfectly cooked, fried, spiced and salt-sprinkled, two dipping sauces ready and waiting – one a mayonnaise, the other a chilli-fantastic that made not on your tongue, but your eyes, POP!

Between the beer, the wine, the DELICIOUS treats, the excellent service and welcoming ambiance, this has to be, within its first visit, one of my favourite spots to hang out in Beijing.

I was disinclined to move on, but a pub crawl is little more than a pub, without the crawling… so we moved on…

A Tap Room

Some confusing lefts, a good amount of rights, and general discussion about my complete lack of direction, we came to the hidden gem that is…  A TAP ROOM located in 1949 Hidden City (not an actual hidden city, just a name of a particular building space).

You enter through two large bronze gates, flanked by red brick, coming upon a garden with strong steel grey statues, the fist appears to be a soldier, one kneed, stretching his arm out, fingers flailed, for help… a little to the right, a long skinny legged horse, emaciated, head lowered in sadness…or searching for food?

We looked at one another, smiling. Time to see the inside.

We were greeted with red brick walls around, Chinese characters above a 12 tap beer pouring apparatus, and behind, a wine pouring, champagne cooling, bar space. Men sat around thick slat tops, partaking in different beers, open glassed globes thrummed their yellow / orange light over the customers.

The service… it was impeccable… as soon as we thought about thinking about wanting something, there was a server ready to assist us. Recommendation and general assistance, a desire to make sure you had the best night possible was their purpose.

While we were there we got to witness a group function, and between the food that was served, the service itself and general ambience of the experience, if a company I worked for wanted to give me a ‘thank-you’ this is where I’d hope they’d arrange it!

Later in the evening, Robyn and I returned. Even outside, on stools or standing, patrons still received the same level of service as those inside. Whats MORE… one of the staff went from table to table, from customer to customer, with an environmentally friendly bug repellent – now… that’s service.

Pop Up

Many drinks had been had, the time for food had come… however while walking toward an eatery we came across a strangely unique spot called “Pop Up”. It seemed filled with unique and interesting antiques, an eclectic mix of must-haves… I suggested we pop in for a gander.

We were met by a forthcoming and welcoming owner, originally from New Zealand. This seeming antique store was also a pseudo bar and on Tuesdays, held classic movie shows… the black and whites, the Audreys’.

Personally I loved having a nice Malborough White Wine, Robyn enjoyed a beer, together we wandered around, however felt as much as the place had some unique pieces, it lacked the welcoming ambience to make it a go-to… there were so many people and I KNEW people who would love this kind of thing, but one needs to be careful not to come across as ‘superior’ to the audience, to not assume one is better than ones customers… the need to feel wanted and equal…

So, after trying to engage the staff in a conversation which was nothing less then ineffectual, we moved on…

Book Worm

I’d picked up a magazine while back at the Slow Boat, and read an article about some incredible Mexican food over near the Forbidden City… It mentioned its sister restaurant close to Sanlitun… and low and behold… we were in walking distance!

Apparently, every other human out on a Friday in Beijing had read the same story and we were advised it would be a 40 minute wait… no qualms… The Book Worm was around the corner!

Ah the Book Worm… I love living in China. I love the Chinese. I love my kids… but sometimes, I miss home. I miss sitting in a coffee house, or on the river with a glass of wine… The Book Worm is my mental health check, my place of cultural respite… I’m sure some of my previous students have found somewhere similar for them, Little China where they can enjoy Chinese service and food, and just be quietly themselves, away from the exotic culture in which they’ve chosen to live.

There is nothing wrong in missing things that feel familiar to you.

I had… one of the BEST lasagnes in my life (sorry sister!) at the Book Worm… However, it is the fact you can sit for a day with wine, excellent cheese boards, a bowl of garlic prawns and warm buttered bread… to not be disturbed, to have wifi and electricity, good food, good wine and be SURROUNDED by books… English books and Chinese books, used and new, all of the books.

The staff are nothing but delightful, the food, always on-par… and then… and then…

There is a roof top bar. Take your wine and food up, or order when you get there. Comfortable couches and music (from jazz to funk to classic to current)… sitting atop of Beijing, doing your thing.

Oh… and they do an EXCELLENT breakfast as well!

Q-Mex Mexican Bar & Food

So well known, so well loved, even at 6pm you might be turned away for 30 minutes to an hour – a sign of a good fast-food place! The great thing is they take your number and give you a call when your table is ready, fortunately its in a pumping district with some great pre-drink place options.

We got our call, and in our desperation for good food, put our roof top drinks aside and made our way back to Q-Mex.

Showing our ticket we were immediately seated in the thrum-de-thrum comfort of the busy and bouncing restaurant.

Sitting on high chairs at a high table, we looked over the place, mixed friends and families, Western and Eastern patriots, enjoying every option from spicy to silly, the music pumped and the people gasped when their meals were set before them.

The plating might have something to be desired, with unintentional chips on this corner or that, but the taste… between expletives, Jesus Christ and Jimminy Crickets… I didn’t know what do say. The fresh ingredients and made-to-order integrity makes this a place you want to come back to til you've experienced every item on the menu.

I par-took in three soft shell tortillas, Robyn had a burrito with all the additions… we looked at each other, we looked at the other patrons… pretty spectacular food for all…

Oh and you mustn't leave before you enjoy a margareta!

The End

We spent the rest of the evening enjoying Q-Mex delights and then headed back to A-Tap-Room now one of my favourite places to be!

Not a bad beer hop if you are in need of one, everything is walking distance and you’ll not be disappointed by the results!

Have Fun!