Bar entertainment in China
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Bar 109
Tired of rubbing, er, shoulders with working girls in the Wanch? Well, even if not, the 109 will give you 110 reasons to flock here. It’s a serious chill-out zone cobbled from a 1920s-vintage bakery and divided into three sections, including a bar, a covered ‘outside’ area and a 1st-floor balcony.
reviewed
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B
Sasha’s
Housed in a fine old villa that once belonged to the Soong family, Sasha’s large garden is one of Shànghǎi’s most splendid summer spots. Inside there’s a vague French colonial feel with wicker furniture, wood floors and a cosy bar to perch at. Upstairs there’s an expensive restaurant offering Western food. Given the prices here, it’s worth checking out the happy hour, from 5.30pm to 7pm, when all drinks are half-price.
reviewed
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C
Makye Amye
The past is tastier than the present at this watering hole overlooking the Barkhor. If the stories are to be believed, this was once a drinking haunt of the licentious sixth Dalai Lama, who met the famed Tibetan beauty Makye Amye here and composed a famous poem about her. Tour groups and Chinese tourists are drawn to the views of the Barkhor from the window tables and fine rooftop terrace but the food is just so-so.
reviewed
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D
Club 71
This friendly bar, named after the huge protest march held in 2003, is a haven for artists, activists and bohemians. In an uncanny historical coincidence, the garden in front of the bar is the site where a group of Chinese revolutionaries used to hang out in the early 20th century to plot their campaign to overthrow the Qing dynasty. The socially conscious keep coming back. Find it by taking a sharp right down a narrow alley off Hollywood Rd or via a small footpath running west off Peel St.
reviewed
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E
East End Brewery
This place out in Quarry Bay is a beer lover’s must-visit. You can choose from more than 30 beers and lagers from around the world, including a couple of local microbrews. There’s wi-fi access, too. The branch at Causeway Bay (Ground fl, Sunning Plaza, 10 Hysan Ave) serves up much the same beer and fodder if you can’t make it this far out.
reviewed
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F
Wilber’s
Wilber's is a gem that is hidden down an alley in a historical villa. It has something for everyone: the patio is popular with ladies looking for a quiet natter, indoors is a gay-friendly drinking den, and upstairs is a fine-dining restaurant. It serves the best martinis and margaritas in town.
reviewed
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G
38
The latest incarnation of the famous Crystal Club, this bar sits atop the hotel tower with a terrific outdoor terrace that offers spectacular vistas of the harbour and Macau Peninsula. Combine this with its extensive wines and whisky selection and you get one of the best drinking haunts on Taipa.
reviewed
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H
Whisky Bar
High up in the glitzy new StarWorld hotel and casino, this modern bar offers grand vistas across the peninsula to the Guia Lighthouse, plus a Filipino covers band and a lively atmosphere, but it must be said, not much of a whisky menu. Get a window seat.
reviewed
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I
China Beach Club
This pleasant bar-restaurant has a 185-sq-metre rooftop and an open-air balcony overlooking Silvermine Bay Beach. Staff are friendly and helpful, and the food is good as well. The two-for-one cocktail 'hour' can go on well into the night.
reviewed
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Nanshan Lu
Over the past several years, the bar scene in Hángzhōu has mushroomed. The most popular bar strip is along Nanshan Lu , near the Academy of Art. Head off and see what you can uncover.
reviewed
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Big Bamboo
This is a huge, extroverted sports bar ranging over two floors with a mammoth sports screen backed up by a constellation of TV sets, Guinness, pool and darts.
reviewed
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K
Café Brussels
With more than 40 Belgian brews (Chimay Red Y40), Guinness (Y35) and sports TV, this cavernous bar-restaurant is run by a friendly Belgian bloke who also brews his own (Y20). At the time of writing, the owner was set to move to a new location.
reviewed
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L
Frank’s Place
The oldest bar in Běijīng, Frank’s has shifted locations many times in the course of its life. It’s now firmly ensconced in the Lìdū area in northeast Cháoyáng, a popular place for expats with families and visiting business types staying in the nearby four-star hotels. Frank’s caters to their needs by providing live sport on many TVs, pints of Guinness and Stella (Y50), English-speaking staff and average pub food. The place is chameleon-like; if the NFL is on then it could be an American bar, if the football (soccer) is on you could be in England. There’s a pool and darts, occasional live music and an outside terrace open in summer. It is west of the Rosedale…
reviewed
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M
Eje Bar
The self-styled (and probably accurate) 'hardest-to-find bar in Běijīng' is well worth the effort, but pack a compass. Tucked away behind the rear wall of the Confucius Temple, this cultured courtyard bar is sedately arranged with sofas and set to the chirruping of grasshoppers. Away from even the remotest action, it's well worth a detour.
Arriving at night is like reaching the light at the end of a tunnel: from Yonghegong Dajie follow Guanshuyuan Hutong round the corner, take the first right and you will see the Confucius Temple ahead on your left. Follow the road round to your right, take the first left and it's opposite the temple's rear wall (check the bar website…
reviewed
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N
People 7
Getting into this superstylish bar/restaurant is an achievement in itself. That’s not because there’s a door policy, rather it’s because the shiny steel doors will only open if you insert your hand (twice) into one of the nine holes set into the wall (we’re not saying which one). Once inside, there’s a backlit, long steel bar on which to rest the oddly shaped glass your cocktail will arrive in. With white armchairs scattered throughout the darkly lit interior and bathrooms that are even harder to work out than the front door, this place could be oppressively trendy. But it isn’t. They do affordable minimalist fusion food (Y35 to Y60) too.
reviewed
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O
Constellation
The bow-tied staff at the Japanese-run Constellation (or, as the original name translates, ‘Constellations in a pool of liquor’) take their drinks seriously – you’re not going to get any watered-down cocktails here. A choice selection of whiskies (including a samurai-helmeted Nikka), Van Gogh prints on the walls and overhead black lights make this a classy yet appealingly weird place. Its small size necessitated the opening of Constellation 2 (33 Yongjia Rd; 永嘉路 33 号 ).
reviewed
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180° Lounge
Macau Tower, at 338m, is the 10th-tallest freestanding structure in the world; it stands on the narrow isthmus of land southeast of Avenida da República. The squat building at its base is the Macau Convention & Entertainment Centre. The tower houses observation decks (adult/child 3-12 & senior over 85 MOP$90/45) on the 58th and 61st floors, and restaurants and bars such as the revolving 360° Café (11.30am-3pm, 3.30-4.15pm & 6-11pm) on the 60th floor, and the 180° Lounge one floor below it.
reviewed
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Alfa
With an outside terrace, complete with cushion-strewn booths to lounge in and a water feature to fall into, as well as an in-house Asian-French restaurant to satisfy late-night hunger pangs, Alfa has survived longer than most Běijīng bars. It’s not the hotspot it was a couple of years ago, but its monthly theme nights – think ’80s, Goth and funk – are still popular. It’s just down from the Xinjiang Red Rose Restaurant, opposite the north gate of the Workers Stadium.
reviewed
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Q
Casa Habana
Cuban rum and cigars are the draw at this small bar run by a Beijinger who’s spent a lot of time in Havana – check out the photos of him with Fidel Castro that line the walls. The leather armchairs and sofas give the place an exclusive club feel and there’s a huge selection of cigars to choose from, as well as humidifiers and cigar cutters for sale. Apart from the rums, there’s a reasonable choice of whiskies. It’s on the far western corner of the Jinglun Hotel.
reviewed
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R
Obiwan
Perched in splendid isolation by the side of the little-visited Xihai Lake, this three-storey bar is great in summer when its roof terrace comes into its own. But in winter, the 2nd floor is an equally good location for a drink, or to munch on popcorn at Wednesday night screenings of classic ’80s movies. Most weekends it runs some sort of event, whether it’s Saturday’s trance night or the Sunday afternoon reggae jam. It’s down the alley to the left of the PLA Theatre.
reviewed
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Mural
If those crazy Buddhist monks ever had a raging 8th-century party out in Dūnhuáng’s Thousand Buddha Caves, this is probably what it would have looked like, minus the funky beats and DJ of course. Mural’s big claim is not really the Silk Rd decor, but the all-you-can-drink Y100 bar every Friday night (10pm to 2am). There’s a fun reggae night on Thursday. It’s more popular with locals than expats, which is another reason to check it out.
reviewed
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Guangfuguan Greenhouse
This laid-back place on the bar-cluttered Yandai Xijie gets top marks for novelty. Formerly the Guangfuguan Taoist Temple (according to the characters carved on the lintel above the arched doorway), the shrine has been requisitioned for the city's exploding bar scene and simply decked out with art posters. The temple's roof guardians are still intact and the presence of religious statues reminds visitors that they drink on sacred turf.
reviewed
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Enoteca
Wine bars are the latest fad to hit Shànghǎi, but retailers may have been a little too eager to enter the market – most are conspicuously empty throughout the week. Enoteca has proven to be an exception, and while its strategic location across from a gigantic office tower doesn’t hurt, the keyword here is affordability – plenty of bottles fall into the Y100 to 200 range, and glasses of smooth, new-world wines go for as little as Y38.
reviewed
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U
Chocolate
There are a number of Russian-style bars around the Ritan Park area, but with its over-the-top, gold-themed decor and cheesy floor shows, as well as a Mongolian midget doorman, this is the closest you will come to a genuine Moscow nightlife experience in Běijīng. Beers start at Y30. This is a place to drink in a group, though, so do as the Russians do and order a bottle of vodka (from Y238). It gets going after midnight.
reviewed
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V
Blarney Stone
More intimate than O’Malley’s and more authentically Irish, the low ceilings, stone floor and wood panelling give the Blarney Stone a genuine pub feel. It’s a friendly place that attracts a slightly older expat crowd, who enjoy the fish and chips (Y85) and pints of Guinness and Kilkenny. There’s also a small roof terrace, live Irish music every night except Tuesday and lots of sport on the telly.
reviewed