It has now been one year since I moved to Beijing from Hangzhou. Why did you live in Hangzhou? you might ask. Good question! I spent most of my 10 months there walking in circles around West Lake and wondering the same thing. Beijing is much cooler.
Nevertheless, I went back for a weekend visit over Qingming Festival. My friends there were excited to show me the hot new Japanese restaurant that had just opened up, and it kinda sucked. I was like, fuck this restaurant. And then I drank four bottles of Kirin.
I mean, I still had a great time. (It’s not about where you are, it’s about who you’re with! See also: number of Kirin bottles drunk.) But the place reminded me of why I’m so happy to be in Beijing. I mean, I had just come from That’s Beijing’s VIP party at The Georg, for God’s sake! Other cities don’t have this shit!
Our food-and-drink scene is veritably popping, and case in point: Slow Boat has announced plans for a new taproom on Sanlitun Nanlu. Modernista has a killer new brunch (pictured above), just in time for the summer.
Also, it’s outdoor drinking season (see our roundup of places to drink outside, here). And while Jing-A Taproom won’t have its outdoor picnic tables this year, you can guzzle their brews outside at Xian’s new beer garden, opening this month. And for a place to drink bottles of Kirin in that doesn’t suck, see my review of He Cai.
Til next time, here's one final newsbite:
Shelling Out
The price of Chinese peanuts has “gone up dangerously,” according to the Financial Times. Is ‘dangerous’ an overdramatic word to describe changes in international nut markets? Maybe. But maybe not – peanut prices in China have been rising ever since a sparse 2014-15 harvest. Also they’re our favorite bar snack (not that that’s relevant to global markets).
Yet while China suffers from a shortage, the US has produced so many peanuts in recent years that Americans are running out of warehouses to store them in. (Can you imagine? Send some to us!) Does this mean fewer bowls of peanuts at Beijing bars? Not necessarily. But it does mean that China may have to start importing the snack. Oh, the shame.
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