Talking Pints: The Beijinger 9th Anniversary Party, Agua, Bang Bang Pizza, The Green Cap, Hercules, Johnny Duck's

If you're reading this before midnight on Thursday, October 21, you've still got time to get down to the Beijinger's 9th Anniversary Party at Migas to take advantage of the RMB 99 all-you-can-drink deal. The deal runs until midnight, so if you're reading this on Friday, the fun is long over.

On to serious business. A few new bars and restaurants have opened up in the past few weeks, and there's some exciting stuff just around the corner. A quick roundup:

Coming Up
Agua
Formerly based in the Legation Quarter, this Mediterranean restaurant is set to open on Friday, October 29, on the fourth floor of Nali Patio (beside Enoterra). I had a peek through the window last week, and while at that time there was still lots of work to be done, the interior looks pretty impressive. One to look out for.

Bang Bang Pizza
This new Shuangjing venture from former Souk boss Robin Howlett celebrates its "very, very soft" opening this Saturday evening (Oct 26). They'll be dishing up free pizza and sangria from around 7.30pm. Bang Bang has been trailed as a pizza delivery service - it was originally intended to be purely a delivery-based business - but deliveries won't actually be available until mid-November or so. Howlett tells us "we're taking things one step at a time. We'll get the pizza right first, then launch deliveries."
While Shuangjing residents will have to wait before they can pick up the phone and order, they'll no doubt be interested to check out this addition to the area's feeble bar scene - only The Brick has really made a name for itself down there so far, so the market is wide open for Bang Bang to find a niche for itself.

Now Open
The Green Cap
Opened just yesterday by Pat Walsh, formerly the manager at Shunyi courtyard bar The Pomegranate, The Green Cap is situated next to the Western Academy of Beijing on Laiguangying Donglu. Look out for the 21st Century Real Estate office - The Green Cap is just upstairs. If you need any more clues. there's a big Irish flag. Says Walsh, "I thought it was due time to introduce another bar for those of us living out in the Shuny/edge of Chaoyang area. There's already a great bar - The Pomegrante - out in Shunyi, and I thought it would be a good idea to bridge the gap between the Shunyi and Lido areas."
As well as the drinks, they'll be serving classic bar food, with burgers, Irish stews and soups for the cold weather. Just in time then. They've got three screens for showing "all sports humanely possible," and Walsh promises that there'll be a quiz night. For families, the bar has access to the kids' area of the neighboring New Veranda restaurant. And there's a terrace overlooking a lake - we'll not expect too much from that until next summer.

Hercules
Each time I've been to Panino Teca in the Village in recent weeks, I've vowed not to return. I go back because I like the sandwiches, and the prices are decent value for money. It's the lack of any management that tells me I shouldn't be spending my money here. The staff are friendly enough, but they need to be kept on their toes. I've only ever seen the person I guessed to be the manager about twice in this place, and that tells me they're making money far too easily to care whether the staff are hitting each other in front of customers. Given the formula they've got, that's a shame, but that's the way it is.
I reckon I'll end up returning to Panino Teca, but not before I've been to newly opened Hercules a few more times. Hercules has similarly priced sandwiches (average RMB 28/32), variety of quality breads, and two-for-one sandwiches on a Tuesday night. They also have good, thick soups, all-day breakfasts, a few entrees, and coffee averaging RMB 20-28. Hercules was originally planned to be a martini bar called "Jaison's," and while it seems the emphasis for now is more on the food, the cocktail concept hasn't been scrapped entirely. The cocktails cover fairly safe, standard territory, cost RMB 35-50 and are buy-one-get-one-free during the daily happy hour, 4-8pm. The place also looks pretty nice - it's like eating a sandwich in a slick London cafe, but at half the price, which is no bad thing.

Johnny Duck's
John Harkness, best-known as the man behind the Goose 'n' Duck, has taken over Frank's Place and rechristened it Johnny Duck's. He'll be implementing various changes, but those who used Frank's for watching sport will still find themselves well-looked after.