Results tagged “alcohol”

Thinking about the Brooklyn Beer we had at Vargas' Bistro Burger last week has got us thinking about the alcohol market in China. With fancy bars and designer restaurants offering all sorts of international beers, it's getting easier and easier to find your favorite in the ever-increasing wine list. But who doesn't remember the days when Budweiser was considered exotic, and the Qingdao Beer Festival a real representation of international beer? So we took a look into the expansion of the alcohol market in china and found some interesting things.

Who knew officials had so much in common with college kids in the West? While China's students may not suffer much from the effects of firewater (mostly because they don't partake in the stuff), Chinese officials are going into comas and dropping dead because of too much boozing. Most recently, a deputy directory of water resources in Hubei died after a banquet dinner. Hospital records indicated that the official's heavy drinking had triggered a heart attack. In the same week, another official - this one a district chief in Guangdong, fell into a coma thanks to excessive amounts of alcohol. But the weirdest little tidbit comes from an over-drinking story from last year, when a family planning official died in Hunan and was later recognized as an "Excellent Party Member" who had died with "honor." Last we checked, puking up a storm and drunkenly stumbling face first onto the floor wasn't all that honorable, but perhaps we're going about alcohol poisoning the wrong way. Source: China Daily

Want to feel better about drinking in Shanghai? Sure, you can keep on insisting that consuming red wine is healthy for you (the magazines say it, so it must be true!), but here's another reason...

Guess where you could be exactly a week from now? Drinking with us at Shanghaiist's first happy hour of the year! Assuming the weather gods decide to bless us with as sunny a Tuesday as today was, we'll all be hanging outdoors, chatting and listening to great (if we may say so ourselves) music at Cotton's Xinhua Lu location.

Everyone in China probably knows about the phenomenon called the "Asian blush" - when a compatriot who's had barely half a beer turns as red as a beet.

                        

The pinnacle of Western Civilization met Shanxi Bei Lu last weekend as Fasia, the first French wine importer and cellar owner in China, threw the very first French wine festival in Shanghai. With on-site wine specialists including a Maitre Sommelier who happens to be one of only 58 recognized in the world, wine enthusiasts enjoyed a well prepared feast of the senses. Fancy!

As credit crunches, and exchange rates plummet, it's time for fancy cocktails to step aside for our old favourite: cheap beer.

You never forget your first, and for many people in Shanghai that first (bar) was probably Face on Ruijin Lu. Sadly though, Face's 10 years on the scene are numbered. You have until December 14th to say goodbye. (Thanks to SmartShanghai for the sad news).

Since we mentioned the area back in September, the alleyway of bars around 528 Kangding Lu have found their feet, and the distinct Belgian / Spanish and Serbian flavour of each place in the neighbourhood is like a Whistle Stop tour of Europe. With booze.

   

The Kee Club (796 HuaiHai Lu) is a beautiful private restaurant, bar and retail complex in a mansion just off the well-worn track of Huai Hai Lu. Now if you haven’t heard of it yet, it’s because you are poor and they don’t want your type in there. Now move along please.

Fans of TV show "Mad Men" might like to picture a scene where the boys (and girl) at Sterling Cooper try and come up with a way of selling Baijiu to non-Chinese drinkers.

Current TV's Zach Mexico is quickly becoming our favourite wino. After his trip to the Tsingtao beer factory in Qingdao, Zach makes his way to a baijiu factory, hung out with the locals and got himself piss drunk again. Don't miss that money shot towards the end!

This Saturday is a big one for bar openings, perhaps it's the changing of the seasons (or the lifting of the Olympics curse).

A couple updates about tomorrow night's gathering at Sasha's. First, we forgot to mention the wines that will be included in the half-price drink special. They are: Santa Rita 120 Sauvignon Blanc and Wolf Blass Eagle Hawk Shiraz/Cab/Merlot. Second, lots of people have asked¹ for more information about the music that will be played at the Happy Hour, so we have included a list of artists featured on the playlist under "Music" below.

You are all invited to join us Thursday night at Sasha's for the first Shanghaiist Happy Hour in a long, long time (nine months, to be exact). We think we have come up with a plan to avoid a similarly long gap between alcohol-related gatherings — the first Thursday of every month, we'll have a Shanghaiist Happy Hour featuring half-price drinks (and perhaps other special and great things) at Sasha's. And, as usual, these "happy hours" will not be limited to one hour (8 pm to midnight is what we're starting with).

Refreshing and boozy- sparkling wine in a can is like a cool wave of refreshment breaking on your sweaty summer brow.

Alcohol companies (especially in Shanghai) are known for their lemming like approach to parties (maybe it is the incestuous nature of their cliques). The latest trend is in throwing expensive "invite only" parties like the Hennessy Artistry series and this weekend’s upcoming Smirnoff party featuring Hard-Fi and DJ Sasha (gag). Just like at the Hennessey party, we loser expats aren't overly welcome (at more than one of these parties we have been told that our extra invite shouldn't be given to a laowai). About the only way in is to be Chinese and register or be part of that trendster socialite clique who relies on being invited to these things to help keep their massive egos inflated. Don't think too much about it though, because this weekend there are plenty of other great shows where everyone is welcome ... and not a bottle of Smirnoff or Hennessy in sight.

Most of the time when we need liquor we head to Carrefour, City Supermarket, or any of those types of places; but we are now happy to report that we found one more option: 9519, a Chinese somewhat upscale liquor store that's stocked with baijiu, huangjiu, vodka, gin, vermouth, red and white wines, beers, and even some fancy old-fashioned wine sets (ceramic, similar to a sake/wine set). The name is meant to sound like 酒,我要酒...

We know we've been posting a lot of videos lately, but this one was too engrossing not to pass along. It's Christopher St. Cavish, former motorcycling philanthropist and current food writer at SH magazine, eating a live baby octopus at a Korean restaurant in Shanghai. According to the YouTube page: It was for a magazine article, stupid, tasted terrible, and fueled by alcohol. We saw Chris on the street recently, so we can confirm that...

CARMEN RESTAURANT: Carmen Restaurant recently materialised on Xikang Lu, near the even newer Steak and Eggs. Passing by, what caught our eye was their blackboard promotion for all you can drink: 50RMB for chicks and 80RMB for blokes. Went inside and discovered the deal was just for draught beer (Carlsberg) and cocktails. OK, could be acceptable, but decided we'd better try their cocktails first before committing to an all-out drink fest. Winopete chose a G&T that was actually quite decent. A friend opted for vodka and tonic which was also quite satisfactory. What was not so good was being hurried into deciding did we want the all-u-can-drink deal or single drinks, and also being asked to pay before a sip of alcohol had passed our lips. Furthermore, this night a bunch of rowdy German card players to descended around us which led to the staff cranking up the music to a very conversation-unfriendly level. The timing of both these events led to us upping and leaving. The mouldy-looking furniture for a brand new venue is never going to earn brownie points with me, but a decent all-you-can-drink deal grabs our attention, especially given the dwindling reputation of Bon Bon. The bottom line is we'll try Carmen again.

If you are familiar with drinking heavily or going to Chinese banquets (basically the same thing), you've probably been forced to chug try some Maotai. Deemed "China's national liquor" by Reuters, Maotai or máotáijiǔ (茅台酒) is one of the most famous brands of Chinese rice wine (or báijiǔ). Although dignitaries like Margaret Thatcher and Richard Nixon have put this put-hair-on-your-chest drink to their conservative lips, the popular liquor is now threatened. You see, Maotai is...

While April is Alcohol Awareness Month in the States (some of you might be in the dark). If you are living in China, it might as well be Promoting the Gay Agenda Month Online Gay TV Awareness Month with news of the arrival of three online gay TV shows. Earlier this month, we reported about China's first online TV show about issues relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities within China. Aired...

We don't want to say we're starved for good live rock music in Shanghai ... but we are starved for good live rock music in Shanghai. Live here long enough and you gradually forget exactly how good it feels to stand up near the stage and get lost in a rock band that knows exactly what they are doing, a band you would pay to see even if you weren't living in China, a band that has actually released original and relevant material this millennium. Well, last night at Shanghai Concert Hall, for two feedback infused hours, Sonic Youth reminded us how sublime an experience that can be. And now we want more. We need more.

We are sitting in City Diner, aka the office, making our usual rounds on Chinese blogs and news sites. On our table are two cards advertising a startling development in the diner's drinks list: Brooklyn East India Pale and Rogue Dead Guy Ale are now available for consumption at Rmb40 a bottle.

Gay in the city and want to meet new people without A. Consuming unseemly amounts of alcohol, B. Making a Gaydar or Fridae account, C. Begging friends for introductions, D. Gyrating on the dance floor?

Wild scenes of celebration, drunken tomfoolery, and a stampede of autograph hunters scrambling over tables and chairs were highlights of the evening as major stars from the world of Chinese football attended a fans event in the city on Saturday night.

Editor's note: Sorry for getting this up so late in the day. But if you still happen to be stuck behind a computer, there is plenty of time left to show your love for Australia!

From the Associated Press:

Photo by jules_shangahai taken from the Shanghaiist Contribute page. To see your photos on our Contribute page, use Flickr and tag your photos “shanghaiist”. Or you can email your photos to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically appear on our site.

An organization called the International Wine Culture Promotion Association -- which apparently has had 578 visits to its website -- really wants China to take up wine drinking, so much so that they are "donating" 100,000 wine cellars to middle class China. In alcoholism parlance, they would be known as an enabler. From Xinhua: