Drink Archives: - Page 5 of 10 Bespoke Travel Co

Lost Heaven Silk Road

April 21, 2016 Shanghai

Dunhuang is a lovely place, it really is. Sweeping desert sandscapes, ancient Buddhist grottoes… unfortunately it takes a butt-numbingly long and wallet-bustingly expensive flight to get there. You could say we’re grateful, then, that the Lost Heaven team have spared us the time and serious expense in bringing a little bit of the Silk Road to our very own former French Concession.

Lost Heaven Table — Nothing wrong with a bit of drama at the dinner table.

The vast venue is an attraction in itself, spread over two huge floors with a huge terrace brushing up against the leafy plane trees of Julu Lu. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the huge space, but do not miss (we did on our first two visits) the room tucked away at the back behind the bathrooms. A painstakingly accurate partial replica of Dunhuang’s Mogao Caves awaits, ignored by most of the diners. The perfect spot for a pre-dinner drink.

Botany Bar

March 23, 2016 Beijing

There’s a new bar in town. A secret bar that we’ve grown to love despite its oddities*. It’s called Botany and we think it’s rather great. Here’s why:

Its founder and chief mixologist Frankie Zou has a stellar CV, having run the bars at Maison Boulud and TRB before launching Botany. He also just happens to be the sweetest person ever.
It’s hidden, speakeasy style, on the 12th Floor of an apartment block in Sanlitun, so going there makes you feel like you’re on a secret mission.
Perfect for you and 5 friends, don’t you think?
Every single cocktail features carefully crafted plant-based bitters and ingredients – from shiso leaf to Yunnan black truffles and thyme.
Your evening will be peppered with thoughtful treats galore. From hot towels on arrival to Alsatian mushroom Tarte flambée (yes, really) circulated at regular intervals. Even a little parting gift…
Look at that cheeky face.
Every drink you try will make you go. ‘Ooooh, what is that flavor?’ or ‘Mmmm, so unusual!’ – and we mean this in the best possible way. Subtle yet extraordinary is how we’d describe these cocktails.
The location – in an apartment – means that if you’re here on a night when others aren’t, it really can feel you have your own private bartender.

*By oddities we really just mean the décor in the bathroom and adjacent private room. But if Russian Oligarch Chic is your thing, you’ll love it.

A Ninja’s Guide To Beijing’s Best Japanese Restaurants

December 10, 2015 Beijing

Beijing has an abundance of great Japanese joints, in part because the Japanese are the biggest foreign community in the capital, but also because the ingredients can be flown in fresh and it’s damn good food. The only thing is that the best are usually the hardest to find, as they tend to be spread over the city, in locations that you’d never expect to find food, let alone the restuarants that you wished you knew existed. You will need the skills of a shinobi to track down the finest fare but luckily, we are here to help you. Here are five of our faves:

Brick & Wood

Brick and Wood Beijing — Photo: LumDimSum.com

This restaurant, located down a hutong that seems deliberately dimly lit, is perhaps Beijing’s finest kaiseki, which determines that you put your dining fate completely in the hands of the chef. The food will be fabulous but it’s always a better experience if you turn up in a smaller group (three tops) and shell out for the most expensive menu.

Candor

December 3, 2015 Shanghai

As you can imagine, the need to keep up with the latest and greatest Shanghai cocktail bar openings is one of Team Bespoke’s favorite things about being a bona fide City Expert, and the fervor with which we relentlessly pursue our mission has been remarked upon by many a cocktail companion. It does help us though, when bars cluster themselves together for our tipsy convenience. We were delighted then, to find Candor nestled literally next door to another 2015 Bespoke favorite, The Flask. One big difference, though, and the clues is perhaps in the name – whilst The Flask has opted for the increasingly ubiquitous speakeasy route (hiding their entrance behind a Coca Cola fridge), Candor is loud and proud with a giant shop front and a bright circus-cum-boudoir theme.

If you like your cocktail to come with a boozy history lesson, co-owner Aaron Feder, previously of El Ocho and Heyday, is your man, and his encyclopedic knowledge of the topic is something to behold. Aaron ran us through the menu with vigor, before suggesting a Genever Old Fashioned. Result! We’d never tried this base spirit, an early precursor to gin, before, but it was perfectly made and proved delicious.

Just What Beijing Needed – A Tiki Bungalow Bar

November 8, 2015 Beijing

Tiki Bungalow Bar drink — Suffering Bastard, madame?

Stop right there – we know what you’re thinking. A Tiki bar? In Beijing? With grass and parrots on the wall? Must be a short-lived joke, right? Actually, no. This is the real deal. High quality (and high alcohol content) Tiki cocktails in a carefully designed tropical hideaway – this is very much worth putting your grass skirt on for.

We never got over the short, rum-soaked kiss that was the first Bungalow bar. After a brief stint this summer in a hutong, the phone box sized Bungalow bar was promptly shut down. Phoenix like, it has resurrected itself. This time it’s bigger, tiki-er and boozier than ever.

The Beijing Taproom Tour – see Beijing Beer by Beer

October 6, 2015 Beijing

That’s right, craft beer has hit Beijing in a big way, and Bespoke has a new evening tour to help you (or your guests) navigate your way through the scene. Join affable local Beijinger Frank on a jaunt through the city’s hidden artisanal taprooms and uncover the delights of an ale made with Sichuan peppercorns, Watermelon Wheat Beer or a pint of ‘Iron Buddha Blonde’. Not only will you get to chew the fat with a real, beer-loving local, you’ll get an insider intro to the hippest micro breweries in town.

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