Results tagged “bigbamboo”

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ODDS AND ENDS:

HAPPY DRINKING AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!

WINOPETE AT THE RACE TRACK: MELBOURNE CUP DAY PARTIES

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.

We've never been to the knockoff DVD shop called Blockbuster ... and now we'll never get a chance to. The real Blockbuster has seen to it that the place -- which apparently is of the overpriced, 10 kuai per DVD, Kade Club ilk -- lose its name. This is from Access Asia's Weekly View on Asia:

We wish we were outside right now. The weather as changed (although it will likely change back again) and so have the leaves (although only just a few). This has us in the mood ... in the mood for college football. Unfortunately, in China, college football is usually a craving that goes unsatisfied. Last year, when our satellite would work, we were overjoyed to find some games (albeit the Mountain West conference) on Sports Plus ... but then upon further review realized the games were around a month old. This year, with the introduction of prime-time televised games, we thought surely ESPN Asia would show these games on Sunday mornings (instead of the usual snooker or cheerleading), but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Shanghaiist went to Big Bamboo early this morning to watch a ref from Uruguay dominate the World Cup match between the U.S. and Italy. Shortly before the 3 a.m. match time, we plopped ourselves down on stools upstairs with a prime view of the bar's only big screen TV. That's when we were told that they were closing the upstairs part of the bar and asking everyone to watch the match downstairs, because they wanted to create an "atmosphere." Um, OK. Who wants to watch the World Cup on a big screen anyway?

To save the awards going to the usual places (not that they necessarily mean much, with all due respect to That's Shanghai), nominate your own choices. You think the dumpling hole-in-the-wall near your apartment has the best outdoor seating? So say so! Don't let expat housewives and Bar Rouge coolios apportion out all of the votes. We will definitely plump for Big Bamboo as the best sports bar though. Get cracking then.

The Shanghai Film Art Center will be showing some World Cup matches on a 40-square-meter screen, the Shanghai Daily reports. Matches shown will be:

Shanghai's second ever Foosball tournament (the first one was two weeks ago) takes place tomorrow at Big Bamboo. The entry fee is 50 RMB per person, and the top three finishers will split the purse -- 60 percent for first position, 30 percent for second, and 10 percent for third. Players get drink specials all night (each drink needs approximately four minutes arguing time with the waitresses to actually get the drinks specials. "Yes I am with the Foosball crowd. Yes I am. Yes I am ... ").

It's Super Bowl time. We'll be watching at our house, assuming our satellite holds out (a big assumption lately). Oh, and don't bother trying to buy Sam Adams beer at the supermarket in the basement of the Westgate Mall -- we cleaned them out last night. (Beer for breakfast ... mmmmmmmmmm.)

China may have found the oft-discussed "next Yao Ming." Of course he is only 13 years old, so we'll have to wait a while to find out. But according to the Wenhui Daily, Tian Yuchen is already 205 cm tall -- that's almost 6-foot-9. When Yao Ming was 13, he was "only" 197 cm. Tian is from Changchun in Jilin province and he's already a member of the Shanghai Sharks youth team, the same place Yao got his start. The paper said Tian is considered the "secret weapon" for the Sharks' much-needed CBA turnaround (they are currently 3-5 and dead last in the CBA South Division standings). Tian is actually being trained to play as a guard and he's already signed an endorsement deal with athletic apparel brand Li Ning.