DJ Nu-Mark Makes His Mark on Beijing

Jurassic 5′s DJ/Producer Nu-Mark made a big return to Beijing at Yugong Yishan this past Saturday, July 12.

The place was packed as DJ Nu-Mark effortlessly fused different music genres together from soul, funk and hip-hop to samba and rock.  And of course, the show’s highlights are his funky musical toys.  My favorite is the cheeky monkey playing cymbals.

**Shout out to one of my most favorite people on this planet, Dan Goodman, who I gotta give credit to for dragging me to Yugong on his last night in Beijing.  You will be truly missed.

PUNK: Beijing Zoo 1 Year Party

Together with the Superstars who made it happen from the very beginning – DJ LOMANG & DJ SAUL D are now teaming up with 3x DMC world champion KID FRESH & HK premier female DJ/actress/model/TV personality DJ Miss Yellow for Beijing Zoo’s blow out 1 year birthday bash @ PUNK.

*For those of you who know the wonderful and incredible Daniel Goodman, he will be celebrating his last night in Beijing at this event so come by, groove to some great jams, and take the opportunity to treat this good man to a good, stiff drink.

Wokai’s Afternoon @ All-Star

***Change of Location***

Due to the rain, Wokai has changed their meeting place to be at All-Star Bar & Grill at Solana (Map) north of Chaoyang Park West Gate, for an afternoon snack and chatting.

This Saturday, July 10th, come out to All-Star Sports Bar & Grill and enjoy an afternoon with the Wokai community. Expect snacks, chats, and friendly faces. Fun begins at 5:00PM.

Wokai Background:

Wokai is a not-for-profit organization committed to alleviating poverty in China. Wokai (wo3kai1 我开 in Chinese) means “I start” and refers to the the opportunity that our organization provides to Chinese micro-entrepreneurs to start small businesses, start change in their own lives, and lift themselves and their families out of poverty. www.wokai.org

Don’t Judge a Bar by its Cover: Stadium Dog & Fubar

Last night, Dan Goodman, Wokai Beijing Chapter President, hosted a casual get-together at Fubar for their Beijing chapter’s volunteers for good drink deals and holiday cheer.

This year, I encourage everyone to give a gift that keeps on giving and purchase a Wokai Gift Card.

I have a thing for secret doors and I love that Fubar is hidden behind Stadium Dog hot dog joint, down the stairs to the bathroom, where you will find a grey brick wall that slides open with the click of a button, leading you into a cozy, speakeasy bar serving find cocktails for great prices -1/2 off drinks from 6-9pm.

Hats off to Chad Lager, previous manager of Rickshaw and Tun Bar for serving up a great bar concept alongside quality hot dogs.

Review of Stadium Dogs: Gongti Dongmen 10-11, Gongti 工体东门10-11   Tel: 6546-8364 (65-HOTDOG)

Best Part:

• Choice of classic 100% beef American-style hot dog, Italian sausage, German Bratwurst, or Veggie Soy dogs for only RMB 20 each. Combo orders of 2 or 3 dogs, includes complimentary beer or drink
• Choice of white or wheat buns (which were a little hard)
• Add do-it-yourself toppings: cheese, sauerkraut, olives, onions, coleslaw, mustard, pickles, tomatoes, ketchup, etc.

Comments:

• Buns were a bit tough
• Tomatoes were icy cold
• They were out of a lot of things: no soy dogs, Italian sausage or German Bratwurst, only American dogs

Review of Fubar: Gongti Dongmen 10-11, Gongti  Behind a secret door inside of Stadium Dog. 工体东门10-11 Stadium Dog里面 Tel:  6546-8364

Best Part:

• The grey faux brick wall that slides open with the click of a button
• Cozy, welcoming interior with high ceilings and jazz music
• Pretty much half-off drinks happy hour from 6-9pm (Mixed drinks of Bombay or 42 Below at 30RMB is a real bargain)
• Easy access to great hot dogs

Comments:

• Unpleasant positioning of a big fan that hits you right after you walk in.
• Wokai’s group aside, not many other customers from 7-9pm

Chains with Confusing Consistency

If you choose to franchise your business, whether you own a grocery chain, laundry chain or a restaurant chain, its safe to say that a certain level of consistency should be expected – consistency in the product sold, service, quality, quantity and selection.

Example of Consistent Chain:

When the second Hatsune opened in Sanlitun Village in April 2009 as a new location with a new design and makeover with the menu, Alan Wong was meticulous in ensuring that the service and product would equal that of the original Guanghua Lu branch that opened in 2001.  Customers like the option of a second location, but they still want to satisfy their sushi samurai cravings – they still expect the usual Moto-Roll-Ah among other favorite rolls.

Example of a Confused Chain:

I remember the first time I moved apartments and went to the neighboring Fornet Dry Cleaning Store to find that my Fornet card with pre-paid credit did not apply to this new Fornet or the gazillion other Fornets in Beijing.  What is that about?

New Example:

After hearing about my terribly disappointing experience at Chao Dian this past week, my good friend Dan Goodman FINALLY took me to the 24-hour dimsum spot near my apartment in the Tuanjiehu hood.  People always tell me about this mysteriously good dimsum spot near me, and I never knew what they were talking about…until today.

Surprise to me, this ‘mysterious dim sum restaurant’ turned out to be none other than the very well-known restaurant chain – Jin Ding Xuan金鼎轩. I have been to the branch next to Tango at least half a dozen times, whether for dinner or late-night grub and always took it as it is – a relatively cheap and massively ginormous Chinese restaurant with quick service, awful entertainment and half-decent food. I never even thought of it necessarily as a dimsum restaurant since their menu also features a lot of Sichuan dishes and standard “Chinese restaurant” dishes.

So naturally, I quite expected my brunch experience today to be similar to my previous experiences and was pleasantly surprised to find a winner!  Again, massive restaurant with 4 levels, it was packed (and luckily no wait upon arrival), quick service, big menu with lots of pictures, and a very satisfying dimsum brunch!

As it was a great experience, I’ll be a returning customer for certain, but knowing the way “chain venues” go in China, I think I’ll still be avoiding the branch by Yonghegong.

Review of Jin Ding Xuan 金鼎轩: 15 Tuanjiehu Nanlu, Chaoyang Park 团结湖南路15号 Tel: 8596-8881

Best Part:

• A good selection of dimsum staples – overall good taste and good prices (ordered about 8 dishes and total bill was RMB 86 (bill at Chao Dian for same amount of food was RMB 174)
• The place was packed, lively atmosphere
• Open 24 hours
• It’s in MY hood!

Comments:

• Normally in the “Best Part” section, I would highlight the fact that there are 4 branches of Jin Ding Xuan (Yonghegong, Tuanjiehu, Olympic Area, and Fengtai), but I would say my experience eating dimsum today was much better than my previously dimsum meals at the Yonghegong branch (which I thought was not fresh and very mediocre).

Highlights were BBQ Pork Buns, Shaomai, and LuoBuoGao, with other dishes being satisfactory.  Everything was good overall but nothing exemplary or mind-blowing in terms of taste and quantity. But for the price, it’s great value.

I’m just waiting for the day when someone opens a Hatsune equivalent to DimSum in Beijing (casual, fun vibe, smart design, high quality raw materials, great service, all for a fair price).