Giving Beijing An Excuse to Party

I’ve heard a lot of people make comments about this summer in Beijing. For the few of us remaining who weren’t lucky enough to get away and travel abroad, we’ve been stuck to deal with an absurd amount of rain (I swear it only rained a total of 2 times my first year in Beijing from 2006-2007) and an overall unusually quiet summer. I guess it’s only natural that the year after the epic 2008 Olympics, Beijing’s summer 2009 is bound to seem quiet in comparison without the additional hordes of tourists, athletes, events, games, hype, and Olympic parties.

While it’s no surprise when it’s empty out during Beijing’s bitter cold winter nights, I’d expect a lot more people to spend their summer evenings out dining, drinking, enjoying the summer heat. But people seem just as content going home early to watch a DVD in the summer as they do in winter.

But is it quiet because people compare this summer to last year’s Olympic madness? Or is it quiet because many people have left Beijing for summer vacation? Or is it quiet because people are just waiting for a reason to come out?

The answer is probably a combination of all three, but from what I’ve seen in the past two weeks, there are plenty of people here in Beijing who are just waiting for something worth their time to bring them out of their monotonous daily routine and give them an excuse to party.

Last week was All-Star & Bling’s 1-Year Anniversary which drew not only big crowds, but one of the best crowds I’ve seen anywhere together in one place in a long time. Of course our flashy Bling invitations helped to build up the hype. With too many VIPs to cram in one night, we split our VIPs between Friday & Saturday to be able to properly thank our loyal guests with their preferred table and drink of choice. And as it turned out, I saw almost all the same faces on Saturday from the previous night.

And now this week I have organized quite a few events. Just this evening, I coordinated and hosted AmCham’s Young Professionals Happy Hour at Lantung Thai Bar + Bistro. In previous experiences with networking events, I go with the intention to meet a lot of potential new clients, business partners, and friends, but instead, I leave with just a handful of name cards after some awkward and forced conversations. But tonight was different.

It was a warm summer night and Lantung’s rooftop terrace, the Moon Deck, was hot. It was so lively. Everyone was mingling and obviously eager to really talk to anyone and everyone and really make the effort to make the most of this event. I was quite thrilled to see such a nice turn-out during a time when other networking groups are canceling their events all around town.

Just down the street at Block 8, Haiku by Hatsune hosted its first Sake Tasting Dinner Party. After sending out a Facebook message to the Official Hatsune FB Group Members two weeks ago, I got such an overwhelming response of confirmations that Alan decided to host the event twice (again on Friday, August 14).

Both Alan & I were sorely mistaken in thinking the event would only interest about 20-30 attendees for a more intimate and personable dining and tasting experience, as I ended up with a list of 45 confirmed attendees for each Sake Tasting Dinner Party.

But then again, who wouldn’t jump at the chance to enjoy a 7-course menu highlighting Haiku’s specialty dishes together with sampling 4 different sake from Alan’s personal collection?  That is a killer deal!

But product aside (since everyone knows how good Hatsune & Haiku food is), I credit the high turn-out to the fact that we are selling more than a great-valued sake dinner, we are selling a fun and unique experience. You will find the event details below, which isn’t your typical event listing.

Details:

Become a Sake Samurai: Exclusively at Haiku by Hatsune 

Hosted by Alan Wong, the master Sushi Sake Samurai himself, Haiku by Hatsune presents its first Sake Tasting Dinner Party. Learn the culture, origins and significance behind sake and the traditional Japanese art of brewing sake from rice and water. Together with a special set menu highlighting Haiku’s signature dishes, Alan will be introducing premium bottles of sake from his own personal collection. Join us as we show you the path to become a Sake Samurai.

RMB 200 per person includes a special 7-course Haiku tasting menu along with four unique types of sake.

And on top of hosting two Sake Tasting Dinner Parties this week, this Saturday, August 15th is Hatsune’s 8 Year Anniversary Party which will include a private sit-down dinner party at the Original Hatsune on Guanghua Lu and after 10pm, Hatsune in the Village will be hosting the official party for everyone to join with all-you-can-drink and sushi appetizers for 100RMB first-come-first-serve till we pack the house.

Believe it or not, within 3 hours of sending out the e-mail for Hatsune’s 8 Year Celebration, the dinner party was booked up with over 100 confirmations and since then, I have had another 100 people asking to get a spot in the off-chance of last-minute cancellations. You snooze, you lose.  For everyone who wasn’t an early bird, the party at Hatsune Sanlitun Village will be epic.  We aim to top the opening party for a night to remember…or can’t remember. 

This goes to show that not only are there still people in Beijing this summer, they can’t seem to get enough of Hatsune.

I guess I gave Beijingers something they wanted.

If you would like to be included in future event notifications, feel free to contact me directly and I’ll hook you up.