Mao's favorite watering hole is now a boutique hotel, restaurant, and bar called the Red Capital Club. It's hard to find down a little hutong, but if you're persistent, as we were, you'll find a cab to take you there.
Inside the bar has a comfortable feel as it's full of Mao era kitsch: worker figurines, guns, old leather chairs, posters, Mao pins. The drink menu features signature cocktails inspired by Mao and his cronies. I tried the White Cat Black Cat based on Deng Xiaoping's famous quotation: No matter if it is a white cat or a black cat; as long as it can catch mice. (Actually, that may be a Sichuan proverb that he just used.)
I liked my White Cat Black Cat drink, though it was pricey at 800 rmb. Sometimes I'll break down and splurge.
Showing posts with label Beijing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beijing. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Hotel Review : Golden Palace Silver Street
Beijing - Golden Palace Silver Street
With modern, chic rooms and a good location near Wangfangjing shopping street and near a metro station, you’d think this would be an easy recommendation. Yet the “24 hour restaurant” is only open in the morning for what my friends described as a dreadful, disgusting breakfast and few on the staff speak English. So picking up one’s baggage saying, “Mine’s the big, green bag in the corner” can only be deciphered by one of the six people working the desk, make me urge people to go elsewhere.
What cinches it is that the bellboys are in cahoots with the cab drivers who loiter out front and refuse to use their meters. So they’re charging three times the rate to go to nearby stops and an extra 50 rmb to go to the airport. I told one guy that he was disgraceful as I helped a friend out to the main street with her luggage so she could get a fair price.
With modern, chic rooms and a good location near Wangfangjing shopping street and near a metro station, you’d think this would be an easy recommendation. Yet the “24 hour restaurant” is only open in the morning for what my friends described as a dreadful, disgusting breakfast and few on the staff speak English. So picking up one’s baggage saying, “Mine’s the big, green bag in the corner” can only be deciphered by one of the six people working the desk, make me urge people to go elsewhere.
What cinches it is that the bellboys are in cahoots with the cab drivers who loiter out front and refuse to use their meters. So they’re charging three times the rate to go to nearby stops and an extra 50 rmb to go to the airport. I told one guy that he was disgraceful as I helped a friend out to the main street with her luggage so she could get a fair price.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Beijing's Hutongs #1
Southeast of Qianmen Square is one of my favorite places to wander in Beijing. I usually stay at a small hostel there. It's far from plush, but has a decent restaurant and a lovely neighborhood to wander around. In China a lot of the hostels have hotel room options, so you can share the loo down the hall or you can share a dorm room.
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