DaliDali: Andingmen's Cocktail Newbie With Crucial Dianping Hacks
Dianping is king in our fair capital, as any foodie or barfly worth their salt will tell you. Better make that starmaker, seeing as the F&B directory and reviewing platform is ubiquitous enough to draw hordes anywhere with high star ratings. So when Lao “Lincoln” Hu saw that his DaliDali cocktail bar had cracked the coveted Dianping top ten for Beijing's Dongcheng District (through a system that awards points based on positive comments and users' rankings), he was pleased, to say the least. After all, he only opened the bar a month ago, after cutting his teeth at the hugely popular neighboring Mai Bar.
Even cynics that scoff about such rankings being rigged won’t be able to deny how popular the Andingmen bar is upon stepping inside. The softly lit venue was bustling on what we assumed would be a sleepy midweek evening.
Most of those patrons were chic young Chinese women ordering cocktails like the Chinese Date Old Fashioned. A title that refers to jujube dried dates, not the night-on-the-town variety, though DaliDali's rustic decor and romantic lanterns do place it a prime date spot. The jujubes set what should be a standard old fashioned apart with their savory and fruity flavor, meanwhile, the Fitzgerald 1843 bourbon that Lincoln uses to infuse the jujubes with is potent enough to make your vision as woozy as the surreal artworks of Salvador Dali, from whom the bar takes its name.
Aside from jujubes, other common Chinese ingredients are creatively incorporated throughout the menu. The jasmine-infused negroni (also RMB 65), with the lip-smacking sourness of its vermouth, is balanced by a gentle and earthy tea aftertaste that puts a new spin on the increasingly omnipresent negroni.
Other menu highlights include the Smoked Manhattan (made with rye, rose vermouth, Laphroaig ten year old scotch whiskey, and Angostura bitters), the Gin Pesto cocktail (featuring fresh basil, lemon juice, and syrup with its gin base), a White Russian with coffee bean-infused vodka, a Lavender Moscow Mule (its vodka is infused with those dried fragrant flowers), and a cherry daiquiri. Additionally, prices for all of the above range from RMB 65-75, making DaliDali a standout in Beijing's increasingly costly cocktail scene.
Some of the Chinese patrons seated at the bar echoed that sentiment, adding that they also enjoyed the fun usage of mainland ingredients, which they would dutifully report back to fellow users on Dianping.
In that regard, DaliDali is a compelling example of how Chinese consumers are shaping the F&B industry in this age of apps. Judging by the dozens of creative Chinese-inclined drinks, charmingly low-key atmosphere, and Lincoln’s attentive and hospitable bartending, we're expecting to see a lot more rave reviews of DaliDali to come, online and off.
DaliDali
Daily, 6pm-1.30am. 15 Huayuan East Hutong (off Andingmen West Street), Dongcheng District (187 1506 9770)
东城区安定门西大街15号
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Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
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Photos: Uni You
