Local Focus: THE drive-thru

From the creators of THE Brick in Shuangjing, we get THE drive-thru in Sanlitun SOHO. THE drive-thru is an ultra-clean, friendly environment finished off with wood tables, stools and a bar. While there are a handful of beer shops in Beijing, I’m pretty sure THE drive-thru stands alone with its enormous selection of beer, custom bicycles, pipes, organic herbs and hand selected spices. Yes, you read that correctly. Beer, bikes, pipes and spices. The owners, Ryan and Cici, have focused on the things they enjoy and have brought something different to Beijing.

The beer selection stands at 140+ beers from all over the world. The beer is reasonably priced and can be purchased and enjoyed there, taken out or even delivered all around Beijing. New beers are always arriving and they run weekly specials which are available on their website. I recently attended their American Beer Sampling event featuring 8 beers and a guest speaker from the Beijing Homebrewing Society. During the event, the speakers showed and explained the different kinds of hops used to make different types of beer and taught things such as which type of glass to use for different beers and how to pour a proper beer.

THE drive-thru is easy to find in Sanlitun SOHO building 5 on the 3^rd floor room 306. For beer delivery, they can be reached at 85900390 and 13911136564 or by using THE drive-thru website.

Government Crackdown on Illegal Foreigners

A couple weeks ago, the government announced that it would begin focusing on illegal immigration by strengthening management of the foreign community living, working and entering the country. About a week ago, a video featuring a foreigner sexually assaulting a Chinese girl surfaced on Weibo (China’s twitter-like platform) and caused an outcry amongst the Chinese nationals. Many Chinese believe that there are too many foreigners and that the laws are relaxed a bit for them.

Yesterday, the Beijing Public Security Bureau and Police began its 100-day crackdown on illegal foreigners. Police and Public Security Bureau officials will setup checkpoints and go through communities where many foreigners live checking their documentation. Citizens have also been encouraged to report any foreigners that they believe are residing here illegally using a hotline number.

While in China, you do not need to carry your passport on you, you should carry a copy of your passport picture page, valid visa and your temporary residence permit from your local police station. If you are stopped at a checkpoint and do not have these with you, you could be asked to go home and retrieve them.

About a week ago, my housing community police and a regular police officer paid me a visit. They said that they were checking to see which houses Chinese rented and which were rented by foreigners. They also asked to see my documents, which I produced immediately. The visit lasted about 3 minutes and they were extremely pleasant about it. 

Beijing International Auto Exhibition 2012

The Beijing International Auto Exhibition 2012 opened to the public on April 27 and has seen a steady stream of car enthusiasts and dreamers. Today, May 2^nd, is the final day of the exhibition that brought a bit of controversy about model’s clothing choices and some highly anticipated automotive unveilings.

I attended on May 1^st, Labor Day holiday in China, and was rather impressed by the venue and the amount of vehicles on display. Being a holiday, the event was packed but, luckily, the crowds were drawn to the high-end or exotic vehicles that were on display like the Ferrari, Lamborghini and Bugatti exhibits. While I had heard that the previous days had a focus on silicone implants, May 1^st seemed to focus more on electric and alternative fuel vehicles. There was no shortage of companies displaying the plug-in ability of their concepts and how their production would have less negative effects on our environment.

The venue is the China International Exhibition Center and is easily accessible by its own exit on subway line 15. Tickets are 50RMB and there is a student discount. The show is open until 5pm. Below are a few pictures from May 1^st at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition 2012. For more pictures, please see our full Beijing Auto Show 2012 gallery.

Ditan Folk Festival 2012/Dong Party Fest

While the two large music festivals, MIDI and Strawberry, drew large crowds away from the city, the Ditan Folk Festival 2012/Dong Party Fest began downtown. The relaxed atmosphere and convenient location brought a good crowd. Families picnicked, friends chatted and kids played frisbee and hula hooped. The weather was a little smoggy but nothing compared to what we are used to in Beijing. The bands and musicians sounded good and enjoyed the outdoor party as well. The drink stands were decently priced at 5RMB for a Yanjing can and the beer lasted until the late hours of the day. When it ran out, there were more stands located just outside the gate with plenty. The festival is located at Ditan Park near the north gate. Ditan park is easily accessible by either subway line 5 Hepingli Beijie or line 2 Andingmen and many bus routes stop there. The festival will continue today, May 1st, beginning at 14:30. Below are some pictures from day 1 at Ditan Folk Music Festival 2012.

 

Local Focus: Mr Beer Supermarket

Located in the quiet Mao’er hutong just off of Nanluoguxiang, is a new haven for beer enthusiasts. Mr. Beer Supermarket is stocked with stouts, ales, pilsners and even wines from around the world. The prices are the cheapest I have seen in Beijing and the selection is incredible. Mr. Huang, who insists it’s all about his love for beer, runs this roughly month-old supermarket/bar. There are a couple picnic bench-style tables inside and outside that can accommodate quite a few people and plenty of standing room in the hutong. Just next to the entrance are a kebab/chuan stand and a small supermarket selling fruits and chips/crisps.

I made my way through the hutong and just before coming to the stream in Mao’er, I found Mr. Beer Supermarket. While I was there, I enjoyed his attitude towards drinking beer and he actually joined me in putting back a few. Mr. Huang is always looking for suggestions and he has a notebook filled with beers that he will attempt to stock. The afternoon traffic was slow however around dinnertime, a steady flow of foreigners began to wonder in grabbing a few beers for their evening festivities. I stuck around into the evening to continue “taste-testing” with a few new friends and by the end of the night was rather impressed at how little money I spent for the beers that I drank. If you’re looking for a relaxed evening of beer drinking or just want to stock the fridge with good beers priced right, Mr. Beer Supermarket is a must visit. For a map on how to find Mr Beer Supermarket, please use our Restaurant/Bar listing.