Talking Pints: Two Temples, Grinders, Maison Boulud and Nightlife Roundup
New live music venue Temple opened last Friday at 206 Gulou Dongdajie. I didn’t make it along to the opening party, but heard the place was packed out with a strong, French-heavy crowd (one of the owners is former Salud man Clement Berger). Unfortunately, the live music only lasted about 30 minutes, as the police showed up to shunt the band off the stage, but the party continued anyway. We’ll have a proper writeup on Temple for you soon, but this Friday, look out for the latest Whale! party going down at the venue. Whale! now has its own signature, drink, the “Blowfish” – try it on Friday.
To another Temple, not to be confused with the Gulou live music venue mentioned above. This Temple is the project headed up by former Maison Boulud GM Ignace Lecleir. The project, featuring a restaurant, bar, gallery and a boutique hotel, is already hosting private events, but won’t be open to the public until later this year. However, cocktail educationalist Bob Louison has just opened his Spirit It! operation’s first bartending training school inside Temple. Whether you’re a bar owner looking to pack off your entire staff to learn essential bartending skills, or an amateur cocktail enthusiast who just wants to make a mojito in the comfort of your own home, Bob is your man, albeit not quite your uncle. Drop him a line at bob@spirit-it.net to find out what program best suits your needs.
The “Seasonal Infusions” series at Maison Boulud’s Fresco Bar continues with the introduction of this season’s signature cocktail. The “Quebra Todu” combines plum-infused tequila, Graham’s 6-grapes port, Cointreau and lime juice, and I want to try it.
Grinders is bringing in a new “Tiger Tuesdays” promotion, with pints of Tiger RMB 15 all day. Say “poutine” and some Canadians will go weak at the knees, so look out for wobbly lower limbs aplenty at Grinders in the coming weeks. They’ve added the coronary-baiting delicacy of fries, cheese curds and gravy to their menu. The poutine costs RMB 45, but there are also a few other new menu items to try, including RMB 30 yam fries and four different wraps: Thai Peanut Chicken, Spicy Steak and Cheese, Cajun Chicken Caesar, and Mexican Chicken. The wraps cost RMB 40 and are served with tortilla chips, salsa and sour cream.
This Friday’s (Jul 29) nightlife highlights include the Tiger Translate Battle of the Bands, which continues at Tango with a headline appearance by Pet Conspiracy; the post-House return of the Acupuncture crew, who bring a dose of hot summer techno to Yugong Yishan; The Syndicate smashing 2 Kolegas to pieces; and the aforementioned Whale! party at Temple.
On to Saturday (Jul 30), and the Jing Pride closing party takes place on the rooftop at Danger Doyle’s at 5pm, with DJs Juliana Lima, Mo Li and Kefra. Entry costs RMB 50 and proceeds from the event go to Ping An Children’s Charity. Up at Mo Lounge, Eddie Lv and other Tianjin-born DJs take over the decks. At 2 Kolegas, Acid Live and Wasabi Sound play the tunes from 3pm into the evening.
Oh, and tonight The Cranberries play the MasterCard Center. If you’re not going, console yourself with this very likeable appropriation of the melody from “Dreams” by the very likeable Faye Wong.
Like that? Well, for more of Faye, get a bottle of wine or a few Yanjings in, and load up the DVD player with the masterpiece that is Chungking Express. Or maybe that’s just my idea of a good night. I should learn to keep my mouth shut.
