Remember Punk: Closing Party Saturday, May 19

Time to say Farewell to Punk

For the past year, Punk Club (located in the underground basement of The Opposite House) has been the club I most often frequent, the home of my favorite dance parties and my favorite resident DJ, dear friend and fellow foodie extraordinaire,  DJ Saul D.

After 4 strong years, Punk is saying farewell in style, throwing a final hurrah this Saturday, May 19 for a delirious dance party by resident DJ Saul D who will no doubt be spinning the dance floor into a zombie disco dance frenzy.

“It’s sad, but true. PUNK is closing. Stop by to say hi and goodbye. I will miss playing for you guys but all good things must come to and end. See you Saturday night.” – DJ Saul D

Let’s dance to all the good times we’ve had at Punk 

A classy, chic club with a whole lot of edge and personality, Punk is known as “a sanctuary of cool” and “where luxury goes underground”. It’s heartbreaking to see such a stand-out bar/club like Punk leave Beijing’s nightlife scene, but word on the street is that the space will be renovated into “something yummy”.

With Sureño and Bei just next door, it will be interesting to see what The Opposite House will decide to bring in as Punk’s replacement.

Punk will be replaced by “something yummy”

Event Details:

• Date: Saturday, May 19, 2012

• Time: 10PM-late

• Location: Punk

• Address: B1 floor of The Opposite House, 11 Sanlitun Road, 三里屯11号

Enoterra Turns 5: Birthday Wine & Tapas Carnival

Need I say more?

Enoterra Wine Bar & Restaurant is one of the best places in Beijing to enjoy quality, affordable wines. That is something worth raising your glass for!

Celebrate the past 5 years of success together with Enoterra Wine Bar & Restaurant with unlimited tapas and wine for only RMB 200 per person, a ridiculously good deal for all-you-can-drink wine and tapas all night.

I have no doubt the place will be a madhouse more than a birthday carnival with a deal like this.

I just hope for Enoterra’s sake that everyone and their mom won’t be taking advantage of this “too good to be true” promise…!

Event Details:

• Date: Friday, May 18, 2012

• Time: 6PM-late

• Location: Enoterra Wine Bar & Restaurant

• Address: D405, Nali Huayuan, 81 Sanlitun Beilu,

  三里屯北路81号那里花园D405

• Tel: 5208-6076

• Contact:  info@enoterra.net

A Dose of Sample Pleasure by Jesse Rose & Oliver $

Presenting “Sample Pleasure” in Beijing for 1 Night Only at Haze

From Miami to LA, Zurich to Burmingham, Moscow to Berlin, Paris to Amsterdam, Lausanne to Tokyo, Jesse Rose & Oliver $ are literally traveling the world for the “Sample Pleasure” tour and stopping through Beijing for one night only at Haze Club on Saturday, May 5 (tomorrow night)!

Brought to you by M Agency and 110%, Jesse Rose, the man who helped spearhead the fidget house movement through his Dubsided and Made to Play labels, weaves a tapestry of eclectic house beats alongside Oliver $, who’s fresh off winning Beatport’s track of 2012 with the potent “Doin’ Ya Thing” which rightfully won the titles of ‘#1 Downloaded Song on Beatport,’ ‘#1 Most Charted Track of All Time’ and ‘Mixmag’s Top 10 Track of 2011′.

“Come watch Jesse Rose viciously throw down some dirty beats to jack a groove to and get ready for Oliver $ to bring his signature dirty groove!” - The M Agency

Here are a few videos to give you a taste of both Jesse Rose & Oliver $ on Youku.com:

Sound Cloud Bites:

Jesse Rose & Oliver $_Walkie Talkie_Dub

Jesse Rose & Oliver $_Park My Car

Two more videos can be seen here:

• Jesse Rose Documentary

• Oliver $ Video 

The party gets started thanks to DJ Saul D, Bitesize Buddha & Liz.

Tickets are RMB 120 (includes a bottle of Vedette Beer until supplies last) and Pre-sale tickets are RMB 80 at sendmetickets.com.

Event Details:

• Date: Saturday, May 5, 2012

• Time: 10PM to late

• Tickets: RMB 80 (Pre-Sale at sendmetickets.com) or RMB 120 at the door (includes a Vedette Beer)

• Location: Haze Night Club

• Address: 22 Guanghualu SOHO A101

• Website: Click here.

LDS Hook-Up: The Crunk Master Comes to Spark

Fun fact: American rapper and entertainer Lil Jon‘s real name is Jonathan Smith.

Who would guess that this guy pictured above wearing sunglasses with long dreads and a crown on his head while holding a bling’d out goblet in one hand and super thick gold chain reading “cRuNk AiN’t DeAd” has such a proper, run-of-the-mill name?

Fun fact #2: Lil Jon is coming to China for the first time and playing at Spark.

Thanks to the Street Hustle Promotions Team, they are the guys who are making this happen and lucky for you, they love LumDimSum and on behalf of Lil Jon, they are putting out a beacon to get Spark packed out with a ton of girls and they’ve asked me to put the word out.

Here is a short video of Lil Jon saying “你好” to Beijingers with clips of his live performances on Youku.com:

I love how Lil Jon is being promoted here -

“Exuberant, loud-mouthed, and regularly adorned with a bejeweled pimp chalice at hand, Lil Jon was the charismatic figurehead of the Dirty South crunk movement that arose from the Atlanta area around the turn of the century. Now a entrepreneur, actor, and still the greatest entertainer in the world, Lil Jon ends his China tour in Beijing.” - The Street Hustle Promotions Team

There is no doubt this entertainer is ambitious with his career as an disc jockey turned rapper, music producer, entrepreneur and even actor?  I’m not sure how convinced I am of his acting skills, but he’s got the personality that’s won him international fame as an entertainer and he knows it -

“My personality has taken me further then music could have taken me alone.”

- Lil Jon in his interview with theBeijinger’s Jonathan White

A few more great excerpts from theBeijinger.com‘s interview with Lil Jon -

theBeijinger: How Crunk are you on a scale of one to “too crunk”?

Lil Jon: The most crunk! How could you ask me a question like that? Who could be more crunk than the crunk master?

theBeijinger: Who’s the better Lil Jon – is it you or the fellow from Robin Hood? 

Lil Jon: Ha ha ha! The fellow from Robin Hood never made it to Beijing, so based on that I think I am the one and only Lil Jon.

For the full interview, click here.

LDS HOOK-UP

Thanks to Street Hustle Promotions, a lucky LDS reader will get the chance to win a pair of tickets to see Lil Jon live!

For your chance to win 2 FREE TICKETS to the Lil Jon Concert on Sunday, April 22, answer the following question in the comment section:

If you could take a shot with Lil Jon, what liquor would you ask him to pour you?  

To answer, click here and scroll down to comment section.  Be sure to leave your email address so I contact the winner directly!

Deadline is Wednesday, April 18 at 12PM Noon.

Pre-Sale Tickets are RMB 50 for ladies, RMB 200 for gents. At the door, it’s RMB 100 for ladies or RMB 300 for men.

Sorry guys, Lil Jon is clearly sexist and the obvious price difference in gender is blatantly ensuring there will be way more hot chicks than dudes on his dance floor so you’ll have to suck it up and pay more than double to get in, but that also means there will be that many more girls for you to check out.  No pain, no gain?

Official ticket booking websites: Piao.com.cn or sendmetickets.com or damai.cn

Event Details:

• Date: Sunday, April 22, 2012

• Time: 10:00PM

• Location: Spark Nightclub

• Address: B108, The Place, 9 Guanghua Lu, 光华路9号世贸天阶B108

• Tickets: RMB 100 for ladies and RMB 300 for gents; Pre-sale: RMB 50 for ladies & RMB 100 for men

Buy Tickets: Piao.com.cn or sendmetickets.com or damai.cn

Save the Date: 

Grand Master Flash is coming to Beijing the week after Lil Jon on April 28 at Yugongyishan.

Early bird tickets (first 200) RMB 150, Pre-sale is RMB 200, Door is RMB 300. 

Go to sendmetickets.com to get your early bird tickets!

The Little Easy: A New Orleans Bar on SLT Bar Strip

This Friday, the 13th of April will be the official opening of a new bar in town called The Little Easy, a New Orleans bar with quality cocktails, craft beers, southern comfort food and live music.

This is Chad Lager‘s newest project, who is also known as the man behind Fubar, Grinders, Tun Bar and The Rickshaw (closed in 2010).

Teaming up with the guys from Slow Boat Brewery, he’ll be exclusively serving three of their craft beers (American Pale Ale, Citra Mango IPA & Amber Ale) on tap for RMB 40 for one or RMB 100 for three.

“The Little Easy is your place for Slow Boat craft beers, Hurricane cocktails, Cajun food and po’ boy sandwiches. Live New Orleans Jazz, Zydeco, and Blues. At the Little Easy, although the clock may say 2am, it’s all a matter of mind, body and spirit.” 

A New Orleans bar like the ones on the legendary Bourbon Street in New Orleans seems quite the change from the cozy, hidden speakeasy that is Fubar with its little “Dizzy Buddha” cocktails (click here for my previous “Buddha-licious” article on Fubar).

But the most fascinating part to me is the choice of location. From the secretive, under-cover location of Fubar, a speak-easy behind the front of Stadium Dog in Gongti, The Little Easy will be smack-dab on the cheesy, touristy Sanlitun bar strip right across from Sanlitun South Village.

This is renowned to be one of the worst parts of Sanlitun, with awful pop music blasting out and girls pole dancing in the windows.  This is the area I fear many clueless tourists accidentally end up while trying to find the infamous “Sanlitun Bar Street” of Beijing they read about in their travel books. I intentionally refuse to walk on this side of the street to avoid all the annoying hawkers shamelessly trying to lure people into their bars that are really nothing but over-priced tourist traps.  All that being said, perhaps The Little Easy will be the pivotal point that will change this hopeless strip into a new, better Sanlitun bar street.

“Centrally located on Sanlitun’s premier bar street – just look for the wrought iron railings and brick interior.”

Fingers crossed this marks the beginning of the end of that forsaken strip of tourist trap-bars-from-hell into a strip of quality bars with legit drinks, food and music.

The Little Easy Details:

• Address: 北京市朝阳区三里屯酒吧街54号 Beijing, Chaoyang district, Sanlitun Bar Street #54 

• Opening Hours: 11AM-late

Party for the Awesome Miao: Lantern Fundraiser Party

All the people in the world are believed to be connected by six degrees of separation.  I believe the degree of separation in Beijing is as small as one and 99% of the time, that link is Miao.

Miao Wong is Beijing’s party princess. She is the heart and spirit behind what drives Acupuncture Records, Lantern, and Intro, and the woman who brings non-stop energy to Beijing’s electronic scene.

Without her even knowing it, Beijing’s connectors (have you read Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point“?) have huddled together to rally the broader Beijing community to come out and show their support for Miao by throwing a massive party to help her fundraise both her surgery and speedy recovery.

Thanks to one of Beijing’s biggest connectors, Svante Jerling, co-founder of exclusive social networking site P1.cn, he’s helped to lock-in Beijing’s favorite DJ’s (who have all volunteered both their talent and time) to play together for one night at Lantern. Smashing line-up includes DJ Patrick Yu, Elvis T., DJ Saul D, DJ Chozie, and DJ Weng Weng!

100% of your entrance fee and 10% of the bar tab will be donated to Miao’s surgery fund so she can recover quickly and rejoin the party scene with us.

Let’s get the party started for Miao!

Please do your part by spreading the word and together, we can reach the masses and support not a great cause, but to support a dynamic, fun-loving, kind-hearted and high-spirited woman, to show our love and appreciation for the beloved Miao.

*To anyone who wants to show their support, but is unable to go to Lantern on Friday night, you can contact me separately (kristen@lumdimsum.com) and I can arrange for your red envelope donation to be added to her total fund.

Event Details:

• Date: Friday, April 6, 2012

• Time: 10PM-onwards

• Entrance: RMB 100 or Red Envelope (it all goes to Miao!)

• Location: Lantern

• Address: 100m north of Workers’ Stadium West Gate, Gongti Xilu, Chaoyang District 朝阳区工体西路工体西门往北走100米

Back in Business: Mao Mao Chong 毛毛虫 Re-Opens

Writing on the Wall of Mao Mao Chong Bar - 

“Once in a while you get

shown the light

in the strangest of places

if you look at it right.”

Recently opened after renovations, Mao Mao Chong 毛毛虫is finally back in business. Aside from the smell of fresh paint and a new bar counter, I’m not sure what the other renovations were that took place.  In any case, it’s nice to spruse up a place every so often and I suppose business in the hutongs may not be as consistent in the cold winter months of Beijing.

LumDimSum Snapshots of the newly re-opened Mao Mao Chong Bar:

I came for the first time since it’s re-opened on Thursday night with a group of visiting out-of-towners and they were so impressed with the quality and ingenuity of Mao Mao Chong’s cocktails.

The display of house-infused spirits and liqueurs makes each glass bottle look more like elixirs the mixologists use to create magical potions.

Being indecisive is a terrible trait to have in a place like Mao Mao Chong where the drink menu makes it impossible to choose just one.

Everything sounds so much more exotic with the added element of house-infused spirits and liqueurs. Take for example - “Birds Eye Chili Infused Vodka”, “Organic Rooibos Infused Vodka” and “Rosemary Infused Shouchu” – how cool does that sound?!?  With each drink you order, you really have no idea what you’re going to get, but you know it’s going to be good and that’s what is so brilliant about it!

Before renovations, I had a go-to drink of choice. I was gutted to hear that they are no longer making my favorite Caterpillar cocktail, but with pretty much every single drink on their menu a winner, it just gave me more reason to try different drinks on their menu and find a new favorite.

Stubborn Mule (RMB 35): A sumptuous spicy blend of muddled ginger and fresh lime,

Birds Eye Chili Infused Vodka, lime juice, ginger ale poured over ice.

Tail of the Dragon (RMB 40): Lemongrass Vodka & Chili Vodka combined with

coconut milk and Lychee Liqueur to tickle your sensuous spots.

Comfortable Kimono (RMB 40): Rosemary Infused Shouchu, Apricot infused vodka, & Cranberry Juice.

Kaffir Cobbler (RMB 40): A unique bitter sweet fusion of Kaffir lime leaf infused vodka,

Vanilla infused vodka, Compari and orange juice.

After sampling these four different concoctions, Stubborn Mule stood out to me as a new favorite.  Since Thursday, I’ve been back to Mao Mao Chong on Friday night and again on Saturday night (3 nights in a row!).

Best cocktails aside, I love the fact that Mao Mao Chong is one of the few bars in Beijing with a no-smoking policy and their pizza here rocks. Super tasty, hot out of the oven and it’s amazing how much better it tastes after a few drinks!

I can’t seem to get enough of this hutong gem and based on how packed it was Saturday night, I think the same goes for the rest of Beijing.

Mao Mao Chong on a Saturday night

Review of Mao Mao Chong毛毛虫: 12 Banchang Hutong (east off Nanluoguxiang, closer to Jiaodaokou), Dongcheng District 东城区板厂胡同12号（南锣鼓巷往东走, Tel: 159 9264 6024. Open daily, 7PM-late

Best Part:

• Genius cocktail creations with house-infused spirits and liqueurs 
• Try the Stubborn Mule cocktail, it’s my new favorite
• With pretty much every drink on the menu incredibly well-made, you should just choose at random and you’ll pretty much be stoked every single time. 
• Delicious pizza that seems to taste even better after a few drinks
• NO SMOKING!!  FINALLY!!  I can go home after a few drinks and not reek of cigarettes
• Owners are friendly and super on top of it. 
• Prices are super reasonable – most cocktails average RMB 35-40. 

Comments:

• If you plan to stumble in on a Friday or Saturday night, expect to wiggle and worm your way through the crowd and wait a while for a drink. At least you know it will be worth the wait! 
• Space is small so seats fill up quickly. 
• Even if you go on a night when you’re the only ones in the bar, it never feels too empty because the space is cozy and it’s almost better to have the place to yourself. When I went on Thursday night, there were probably about 6-8 people total, Friday had about 15 and Saturday night was packed out at 50+. 
• If you’re a first time visitor, be sure you know which alley to go down as it’s quite a way east down from NanLuoGuXiang. 

Rating: (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best)

• Drinks: 9
• Atmosphere: 8
• Service: 7
• Overall Experience: 8

Party at Punk: Zombie Disco Squad with DJ Saul D

Another great event worth noting for Saturday night (tomorrow), March 24, 2012 – Punk’s Zombie Disco Squad is always a blast with Resident DJ Saul Diaz getting the dance floor jam-packed with disco maniacs.

If you’re made it over to V+ Lounge for the ExecutiV+ event first and loaded up on champagne, hop on over to Punk afterwards to let loose and dance the zombies out of you.

Event Details:

• Date: Saturday, March 24, 2012

• Time: 10PM-late

• Location: Punk in the Opposite House

• Address: B1 floor of The Opposite House, 11 Sanlitun Road, 三里屯11号

Drink Success at ExecutiV+ Event at V Plus Lounge

Generally this sort of event would not be publicized out to the masses, but the Street Hustle Promotions Team has granted me permission to share this semi-private event with my LDS readers.

It will be hosted at the new, swanky V Plus Lounge in Gongti so expect plenty of free flowing champagne, as they call it - “the drink of success” and feel the “power” of being…in power?  If you’re not in power yet, you can at least mingle with those who are and hope that some of that “power” will latch itself onto you by mere proximity.

You gotta love the tag line to promote this event -

“Executive is a ”Power” that few hold, but many seek Come see where Executives come to party and Feel that ”Power”.  A night for the decision makers in or visiting our fair city.”

It’s not exactly clear what’s going down at V+ Lounge for this event, but expect to see plenty of name-card swamping and both social and professional networking.  Should be a great event to meet people and who knows? Opportunity could be knocking on your door sooner than you’d expect!

Event Details: 

• Date: Saturday, March 24, 2012

• Time: Begins at 9:30PM

• Location: V Plus Lounge

• Address: Party Floor, Bldg 3, China View, Gongti East Road, 工体东路，中国红街3座

• Request for Invitation: Email info@streethustlepromotions.com or call 8587 1233

  

St. Paddy’s Day Parties: Go Get ‘Em Lucky Charms!

One of the most spontaneous, sloppy holidays of the year, St. Paddy’s Day will no doubt have the majority of all party-goers stumbling over themselves for another pint of Guinness and crawling to the next Irish pub.

The top spot to be this year would hands-down be the Irish Ball at the Renaissance Beijing Capital as Beijing’s Irish community will guarantee you a night that’s so good, you most definitely won’t remember it.  But if you didn’t get a ticket already, you’re out of luck as this event’s totally sold out.

Fear not, if you aren’t making your way to the Irish Ball, you can always hit up the usual list of suspects – Paddy O’Shea’s and are most likely going to be the most packed out as these two pubs are instinctively what first comes to mind when considering Beijing’s top Irish Pubs, but there will be a parade of parties across town with a range of drink deals from Danger Doyle’s RMB 30 for a Guinness beer deal (only on the condition that you’re wearing green), Bar Blu’s buy-one-get-one-free Guinness deals and Q Bar’s Green Cocktails.

Here are a few great sources to track down the perfect St. Paddy’s Day Party for you:

• theBeijinger’s Breakdown of St. Paddy’s Day Parties – Luck of the Irish: St. Patrick’s Day 2012 in Beijing

• CW’s Breakdown – The Big Badass List of Everything St. Patrick’s Day

• eChinacities.com – Shake Your Shamrock! St. Paddy’s Day Events in Beijing

• Agenda’s List – The Best St. Patrick’s Day Events in Beijing

Happy St. Paddy’s Partying!

STOP! in the name of WHALE!: JUE Launch Party

“Stop! In the name of WHALE!”

(My favorite photo of the night feat. WHALE!’s very own DJ Assassin Eyes)

JUE Music + Art Festival 2012 launched with a massive WHALE! dance-a-thon at 4corners肆角餐吧 bar last Friday night.

The music was blasting, the dance floor was rocking and people were getting sh*t-faced. Just your typical WHALE! party I suppose.

Good thing I took a nap before heading over because every WHALE! thus far has led into all-night ragers. This past WHALE! was no exception. I, myself, managed enough will power to drag myself out at a reasonable hour so that I could be up early the next morning for my Qi Gong workshop at The Hutong with TCM Specialist Alex Tan (more on this later!). But my point to mentioning this is that I missed the point around 3AM when police came and tried to crash WHALE!, but in the end, I hear WHALE! kept going!

Good on WHALE! for partying on!  

Here’s a recap of the night before I slipped out early…

LumDimSum Snapshots of WHALE! - 

(the Official Launch Party of JUE Music + Art Festival)

JUE Music + Art Festival Launches with WHALE!

“I like Crab People, I like the Crab People song. I’m not going to DJ it, but I think that when people hear Crab People as a DJ name, the first thing that pops into their head is probably “fun party, slammin’ tunes”. ”

- DJ Crab People of WHALE!

If you know South Park’s Crab People, then you’re probably cool enough to come to WHALE!‘s resurrection (we’ve been deprived without WHALE! for a little over one month now). Not only is WHALE! back, their party TONIGHT also happens to mark the official launch of the JUE Music + Art Festival.

Who is this DJ Crab People you ask? Among this zany group of ‘non-DJ’s', you’ll just have to turn up to find out.  In the meantime, you can read CityWeekend’s interview with DJ Crab People, which is kind of ridiculously awesome – check out the full interview here.

My weekend plans are looking pretty full thanks to JUE with their multitude of events from their launch party in collaboration with the unstoppable WHALE! team of your favorite DJ’s tonight to their headlining event Death Cab for Cutie’s concert tomorrow night (Saturday, March 10) at Tango. Get in with JUE starting tonight at WHALE! which will be hosted at the ever-popular, newly opened 4corners肆角餐吧 bar by the Drum and Bell Tower in Gulou.

“Come and experience the micro-smash for yourself. MUSIC! DRINKS! SEATING! TOILET FACILITIES!” – DJ Crab People

Now how can anyone say ‘no’ to toilet facilities in ALL CAPS?!

See you tonight at WHALE! 

Click here to see pictures from previous WHALE! parties:

• WHALE! on a Rainy Night in the Deep, Dark Hutongs
• “W” is for WHALE!
• A WHALE! of a Good Time

Event Details:

• Date: Friday, March 9, 2012
• Time: 10PM-late
• Location: 4corners 肆角餐吧
• Address:  By Drum and Bell Tower on DaShibei Hutong 西城, 大石碑胡同27号 (See map below)
• FREE ENTRY

Cuffed by Cupid: Charity Pub Crawl through Sanlitun

The idea is simple: Pay RMB 100 and you can pat yourself on the back for doing your good deed for the day by contributing to Migrant Children’s Foundation, a worthy charity organization in need of additional funds and you are set for a guaranteed great night.

Organized by fellow Beijinger Phoebe Mroczek, she took something as simple as a pub crawl and made it into an easy way to raise a decent amount of money towards a local Chinese charity organization she believes in while also putting together a fun event for her friends and anyone else keen to tag along.  The last pub crawl in December was cleverly titled the “12 Pubs of Christmas Charity Pub Crawl” and this month, she’s cuffing all participants to cupid (perfect timing with Valentine’s Day just around the corner) in this next charity pub crawl.

Rally up friends and potential love interests and be sure to dress up in red, pink or white. Once everyone turns up, you are pretty much ‘cuffed’ into a 9 bar pub crawl commitment that will take you through Sanlitun’s best drinking holes. Run-down goes something like this (subject to change at Phoebe’s discretion) -

Paddy O Shea’s (Starting Point)

James Joyce

The Den

Drive Thru

Luga’s

1st Floor

2nd Floor

3 Rock

With a total of 9 bars on board, you are guided on a pub crawl through Sanlitun, taking shots at each bar and tempted by superb drink specials to ensure that by the time you’re done, you’ve hopefully got cupid on your side.

Event Details: 

• Date: Saturday, February 11, 2012
• Time: 4PM
• Location: Starting Point at Paddy’s, then you’ll be heading all over Sanlitun ‘hood
• Contact: crawlsforacausebeijing@gmail.com or call 15011002459

Migrant Children’s Foundation Background:

The Migrant Children’s Foundation is committed to enriching the lives of disadvantaged children in Beijing through volunteering. Our volunteers undertake one month support placements at under-resourced schools in Beijing, but the focus isn’t only on teaching – it’s about sharing experiences, giving time, learning new skills and experiencing life in one of the oldest, most fascinating and fastest-changing countries on earth. This is what makes MCF unique.

For more information, click here.

Emergency WHALE! at 4corners! Tonight!

Blue Alert! It’s a WHALE! Emergency TONIGHT!

WHALE! is holding a last-minute emergency party tonight, Friday, January 27, 2012 at the newly opened 4corners肆角餐吧 bar by the Drum and Bell Tower in Gulou.

Previously, WHALE! parties were rocking Beijing with monthly gigs around town, but since winter hit, it’s been a few months without some WHALE! fun.

So what calls WHALE! out of hibernation?  A member of the WHALE! family is leaving Beijing for a few months and this is his unofficial leaving party.

Who is leaving you ask?  Well, they are all masked by alias names, but here’s one hint: It’s the only DJ who changes his alias name every WHALE! party. This time around, his name is DJ No Requests.

Who is WHALE!?  Check out CW’s article on WHALE!’s DJs here.

If WHALE! is a new concept for you, the best way to sum it up quickly: WHALE! is “200 tons of danceable rock and electro in the deep, dark hutong”.  

And the eclectic music mix will be played by the regular WHALE! DJ Line-up featuring DJ Assassin Eyes, Bobby Dropper,  DJ Fun Party, DJ Dirty Pirate and our beloved DJ No Requests.

This has been something in the works the past weeks, but they’ve only just announced it and as this is the unofficial leaving party of DJ No Requests, there will also be an unofficial dress theme: Cardigans.

I was hoping to find some quirky picture of a whale wearing a cardigan, but I guess it figures the reverse is more likely.

So here you have it: Whales knitted onto a cardigan.

Close enough.

…or perhaps you prefer this knit WHALE!?

OK. Enough fun for now.

Time to WHALE! at 4corners! TONIGHT!

Click here to see pictures from previous WHALE! parties:

• WHALE! on a Rainy Night in the Deep, Dark Hutongs
• “W” is for WHALE!
• A WHALE! of a Good Time

Event Details:

• Date: Friday, January 27, 2012
• Time: 10PM-late
• Location: 4corners 肆角餐吧
• Address:  By Drum and Bell Tower on DaShibei Hutong 西城, 大石碑胡同27号 (See map below)
• FREE ENTRY 

The Orchid & Great Leap: Chinese New Years Eve Party

 Of all the Chinese New Year celebrations I’ve heard of, The Orchid Boutique Hotel‘s party is the first one to really spark my interest.

Set in a uniquely traditional, classically beautiful setting, this boutique hotel is located in a traditional Chinese courtyard and with the contemporary twist of featuring Western management and service. Having the best of both worlds, this seems like the natural choice for an ideal venue to ring in the Chinese New Year.

For this annual celebration, they are opening up to their space to the first 100 who sign up.  Teaming up with the guys at Great Leap Brewery, they are offering all-you-can-drink Great Leap beers and their signature house mulled wine for RMB 350 (RMB 300 pre-sale). One of the best views of fireworks in the city, party begins at 9PM.

Event Details:

• Date: Sunday, January 22, 2012
• Time: 9PM-late
• Location: The Orchid Hotel
• Address & Map: See below
• Website: Click here.

Snapshots of The Orchid Hotel:

Directions to The Orchid Boutique Hotel:

From Gulou Dong DaJie (Gulou East Street) simply walk ~200 meters up along the main Baochao Hutong alley, past the large military airforce base on your right, past Dali Ren Jia Yunnan restaurant and just up to Mr. Shi’s dumplings. The Orchid is only 5 meters beyond Mr. Shi’s dumplings. Look to your left for a very thin alleyway with The Orchid’s large white entranceway at the end.

Address:
#65 Baochao Hutong, Guloudong Road, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100009
北京市东城区鼓楼东大街宝钞胡同65号
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Tel: +(86) 10-84044818