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Showing posts with label Drinks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drinks. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

A Masked Happy Easter Greeting at a Closed Bar in Hong Kong

The Bar Pacific in Hong Kong's Kowloon City was closed this past weekend, but they still made sure to wish people a "Happy Easter", face masks included.

"Happy Easter" along with numerous animals wearing face masks painted on a window


The bar presumably would have preferred to be open, but as a sign explain they had no choice.

sign explaining bar is closed due to a Hong Kong government mandate

Dear Valued Guests,

The Hong Kong government has mandated that all Bar Establishments to be closed for 14 days starting from April 3rd 2020 at 6:00pm. We will resume operations after the Government Mandate is over. Please stay safe!

Bar Pacific

The reason the government earlier this month required bars to close was a signifiant increase of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong. It isn't yet known when bars will be able to reopen, but a very recent decrease in daily confirmed cases may give them hope.

If bars do reopen in the near future, the COVID-19 disease will still be a threat to some degree. So as an earlier-placed sign suggests at this Bar Pacific, people will likely have difficulty sitting down for a drink there if they have a fever.

Notification of temperature check requirement


They may also be expected to wear a face mask when not imbibing, just like the critters on the window.

Bar Pacific in Kowloon City, Hong Kong

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Reason for a Drink: Baijiu Kegs and a Cat in Xuzhou, China

When you stumble upon a convenience store in Xuzhou . . .

The 艾尚烟酒便利 convenience store in Xuzhou, Jiangsu
Noticed after finishing a tasty local-style dinner


selling Anhui Yingjia Distillery baijiu from kegs . . .

man pouring baijiu from a keg
Definitely not sane for a keg stand


*and* they have a cat, . . .

a white cat in a convenience store
Seemed friendly but quite shy


how can you not buy a least a little bit of the recommended 45% alcohol baijiu?

half a jin of Yingjia baijiu
A generous half a jin (about one quarter of a kilogram or a little more than half a pound) of baijiu


I must say, as far as baijiu goes I found it to be pretty decent and, of course, many worlds better than imitation Bomb erguotou baijiu— better than the real stuff too. Thanks to the cat for convincing me to expand my horizons.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Malaysian American Drinks for Sale in China

American Punch, Lemon Lime, and Orange drinks for sale in Nanning, China:

American Punch, American Lemon-Lime, and American Orange drinks for sale at a supermarket in Nanning, China


Imports, of course.

Made in Malaysia, of course.

Monday, November 26, 2018

Sales, Gift Cards, and a Turkey Leg: Some Retail and Personal Thanksgiving in Zhongshan

Most Americans would likely be surprised to learn that Thanksgiving is celebrated, even if just to a minor degree, in China. This isn't using the word "Thanksgiving" to refer to a traditional Chinese holiday with similar themes. This is the Thanksgiving celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November as in the U.S., though with some differences.

Based on my own observations and conversations with people, my sense is that in general people are far less aware of the holiday than Western holidays such as Christmas and perhaps to a lesser degree Halloween. And those who are aware of it tend to be younger in age. In short, I would describe it as not being a big deal, but it's there to a degree. Yes, "a degree" leaves a lot of wiggle room, and I need it here.

Like with many other holidays in China, some retailers are happy to jump at the opportunity to use the holiday for a promotion. For example, in Xiaolan, a town roughly 20-25 km (more than 12 miles) from Zhongshan's central area, the entrance to a Superior City Department Store had a distinctly Thanksgiving theme.

Thanksgiving Day promotion at the Superior City Department Store in Xiaolan, Zhongshan


The signs explicitly mentions the Thanksgiving holiday along with a special opportunity to earn a 50 yuan (currently about US $7.20) shopping card if you spend at least 888 yuan. The number 8 is considered very lucky in Chinese culture, and its use is unlikely accidental even in the Thanksgiving setting.

I can't answer why the gift card isn't 88 yuan as well. And admittedly, it wasn't entirely effortless for me to sort out the English message on the sign, which notably doesn't appear in Chinese.

sales sign with "The Chance Is Only This Time Miss, Wait Another Year. Happy Thanksgiving"


I believe the intended meaning is something like: "Now is your only chance. Miss it and you'll have to wait another year."

In central Zhongshan, I saw a few other Thanksgiving sales.

Thanksgiving Day promotion at China Gold
China Gold jewelry store


Thanksgiving Day sale sign at a Xiaomi Mi Home Store in Zhongshan
Xiaomi Mi Home Store


Sign for a Thanksgiving Sale at Erke in Zhongshan
Erke — a Chinese sports brand


Also, you could buy a Thanksgiving themed gift card at Starbucks.

Starbucks gift cards for sale in Zhongshan, China


Or you could participate in a Thanksgiving event at Meten — an English language school chain — which took place a couple of days after the holiday.

Sign for a Thanksgiving Day event at Meten


And I came across one American-style restaurant — Hey Farm —offering a special Thanksgiving meal.

signs for Hey Farm Thanksgiving Day special meal in Zhongshan


Now I will switch to a brief account of my personal Thanksgiving experience — in particular my dinner in Zhongshan. The Hey Farm option didn't appeal due to the lack of turkey. I suspected a few other Western-style restaurants might have special meals for the day, but I figured they would already be fully booked.

So I focused on a option that has worked well in the past, including last year in Wuhan, and planned on a buffet at a Western hotel. This year, things didn't go quite as smoothly. I initially expected to eat turkey at the Sheraton Zhongshan Hotel. However, to my surprise that afternoon I discovered they wouldn't have a turkey or anything else special for the holiday. After that, I went for plan B and just showed up hoping for the best.

I am pleased to say the Hilton Zhongshan Downtown indeed prepared a turkey for their buffet. There didn't appear to be anything else special to Thanksgiving in their offerings but no matter. I scored a whole turkey leg, and the cranberry sauce gravy was excellent.

chef cutting off a turkey leg


Additionally, for the first time ever I drank a Haizhu beer — a brand from neighboring Zhuhai —with my Thanksgiving meal.

Yes, shrimp, snails, and bamboo too


To top it all off, I also enjoyed a good dose of horse milk baijiu. I must say I enjoyed the flavor, not easy for a 52% alcohol drink to manage.



Merriment followed.

So thanks to Zhongshan for giving me a taste of Thanksgiving as I'm used to having back in the U.S. The horse milk baijiu really made it though.

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Black Dumplings, Gourds, and a Meaty Mannequin: Halloween Spirit in Zhongshan, China

In past years I have shared Halloween-related scenes from cities such as Taipei in 2011, Changsha in 2012, Shaoguan in 2015, Shenyang in 2016, and most recently Changsha again in 2017. The posts have numerous photos of people in costumes, promotions, and food. Perhaps some day I will fill in some of what I missed sharing here, which includes Halloween experiences in Dalian, Shanghai, and Zhuhai. But for now I will share a sample of what I saw in Zhongshan, since it is where I spent Halloween this year.

One of the earliest signs of Halloween I came across was a promotion at 7-Eleven stores which began weeks before the holiday. Yes, I gave the three black cuttlefish items a try.

Halloween black cuttlefish foods at 7-Eleven in Zhongshan, China


The dumplings were tasty with some Sriracha-style sauce, but a couple of them were rather soggy. The sausage was too dried out. The cuttlefish balls were OK. None of it was as good as the black spidery pizza I tried at Pizza Hut in Shenyang two years ago. At least 7-Eleven had a special price for getting the three together. Not all the items were specially made for Halloween, but the dumplings are now gone.

To wash down all of that cuttlefish ink, 7-Eleven had a special Halloween deal on . . . Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey lemonade and cola drinks of course.

7-Eleven sign for Halloween sale of Jack Daniel's drinks


Moving on . . .

Three years ago I saw a Halloween display at n RT-Mart in Shaoguan. This year in Zhongshan, RT-Mart kept up the Halloween spirit.

Display of Halloween items for sale at an RT-Mart in Zhongshan


Display of Halloween items for sale at an RT-Mart in Zhongshan


Their selection possibly surpassed what was available at a Toys "R" Us in Zhongshan. Also, the display had a dark area inside of it where glowing items could be tested.

children playing with toys inside a display of Halloween items for sale at an RT-Mart in Zhongshan


A Carrefour in Zhongshan similarly had Halloween items for sale.

Display of Halloween items for sale at a Carrefour in Zhongshan, China


Carrefour took it up another notch, though, with a Halloween gourd display.

Halloween display of gourds for sale at a Carrefour in Zhongshan, China


The Shiqi Dasin Metro-Mall had a Halloween-themed food fair as part of celebrations for the one year anniversary of its newest section.

Halloween-themed inflated arch at the Shiqi Dasin Metro-Mall in Zhongshan, China


Several nights before Halloween, the fair was packed.

Halloween food fair at the Shiqi Dasin Metro-Mall in Zhongshan, China


None of the food itself was any different from what could appear at any other food fairs, but at least one of the sellers was in the holiday spirit.

man wearing a caveman costume


There was also occasional dancing.

young women dancing


On Halloween day there were a variety of activities. The Lihe Plaza shopping mall appeared prepared for a musical performance, but I didn't stick around to listen.

Stage with a halloween theme at Lihe Plaza


One popular gathering area that night was the central outdoor area at the Central Power Plaza shopping mall, where there were several people painting faces as part of a promotion.

people gathered for Halloween activities at Central Power Plaza in Zhongshan


By 10 p.m on Halloween night at the Shiqi Dasin Metro-Mall, many of the vendors at the food fair had already packed up and departed. But even with a now sagging arch, there were still photographic opportunities.



Some bars, including one at the mall, also got into the holiday spirit. In part because most are far separated from one another, I didn't bother with a pub crawl — so no photos. I also won't be sharing a set of photos of people dressed up for the holiday. See the earlier posts for plenty of those. But here's one of a pirate sitting at McDonald's on Halloween night:

young woman wearing a pirate hat sitting at McDonald's in Zhongshan, China


Finally, for the first time ever I will award a winner (of what I happened to see) for best Halloween spirit. Carrefour wins hands down. No, the Halloween items for sale or the glorious gourds aren't what led to this special distinction.

Instead, I introduce the Halloween Dried Meats Witch:

female mannequin dressed in dried meats and wearing a Halloween witch hat


Perhaps that will become a popular costume for next year.

Friday, October 12, 2018

Three Offers in 24 Hours: Enjoying and Surviving Free Beer & Mijiu in Zhongshan

Yesterday after 6 p.m. I was ready to head back to my hotel in Zhongshan. A small bar across the street from Shishan Park (狮山公园) had earlier caught my eye due to its setting and name. Especially since the weather was rather nice and they had outdoor seating, I decided to get a single drink there first. Nothing more . . . I still had work to do.

Park Pub in Zhongshan


After walking into the Park Pub, I quickly appraised the situation. Sitting at a table were a young woman and two young men. They offered a mostly typical-in-China selection of foreign beers, and nothing particularly excited me. But one young man strongly recommended the Guinness Foreign Extra Stout. 7.5% alcohol was a little stronger than what I was aiming for, but what the heck. I asked the price and the woman told me they were treating.

They didn't offer a reason, and I wondered if they were presuming this was a worthy investment if I ended up buying many more drinks that night. So I made it clear I only wanted one drink and was happy to pay for it.

That wasn't happening. To my surprise, I was soon sitting outside next to a soccer field behind the pub drinking a free Guinness.

Bottle of Guinness Foreign Extra Stout


A little later, I noticed one of the young men locking the back door to the bar from the outside. He told me they had to go somewhere else for dinner, but that I was welcome to stay out back. He also insisted on leaving me with something more. So my view changed a bit.

two bottles of Guinness Foreign Extra Stout


After about an hour at the bar I was ready to head elsewhere, even though a soccer match was now underway. Nobody had returned to the bar, so I did my best to clean up and left via an entrance for the field.

With more alcohol in me than planned, I decided to take a walk through the old neighborhoods surrounding Shishan Park. As I approached one intersection I saw a group of men. They shouted, and I immediately realized there was no escaping.

Soon I was been treated to more drinks.

group of men eating and drinking at an outdoor table


The men were all (or mostly all) from Guangxi and had brought with them a jug of mijiu, a Chinese rice wine, from there. It appeared homemade, and I was intrigued. So although they first poured a glass of beer for me, they were excited I was game to try the mijiu and my drink changed.

Even when the jug of proper mijiu was later emptied, the drinks continued to flow. The man who was the boss of all (or mostly all) the men sometimes bought bottles of Chinese beer but generally bought Blue Girl Beer — a brand popular in Hong Kong — when he decided my glass needed filling.

After I took a photo of my new friends, a woman working at the restaurant, possibly the owner, shrewdly suggested I take one including the front of the restaurant.

local restaurant in Zhongshan


A couple of hours, some tasty chicken gizzards, and who knows how many drinks later, I gave them many hearty thanks and finally made my way back to my hotel where I soon went to sleep.

This afternoon I was exploring the same areas around Shishan Park. A man sitting in front of a small convenience store on West Road (西大街) who appeared curious about my photo taking asked if I would take one of him. I happily obliged.

man posing for photo in front of a small convenience store


Then he offered me some beer.

This time, I had to turn down the kind offer. I thanked him but explained I still had work to do and that the night before had more that satisfied my desire for beer.

While the experience at the Park Pub was somewhat unusual for me, in a positive way of course, the other two experiences were far more typical. They could be fit into the category of experiences in the past I've categorized as "Chinese being friendly to a foreigner in China".

And now I have indirectly explained why there wasn't a post here yesterday as planned. My night didn't exactly go the way I had expected.

Thanks to all for the drinks, whether I drank them or not.

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Sun Drying Flowers & Peels in Jiangmen

Yesterday shortly after going outside in Jiangmen, I saw more red silk-cotton flowers. These, though, were being dried in the sun.

Bombax ceiba (red silk-cotton, kapok) flowers drying on a chair


Around the corner from there, more red silk-cotton flowers were drying.

Bombax ceiba (red silk-cotton, kapok) flowers drying on the ground


Possibly some people are planning to use them to make herbal tea. The flowers are also used for soup and congee.

Next door, another item was sun drying.

tangerine peels sun drying on the ground

Xinhui, a nearby district in Jiangmen, is known for its dried tangerine peel, used in a variety of foods, soups, and teas. So it wasn't surprising to see these tangerine peels on the ground, even outside a mobile phone repair shop.

I saw these three examples of drying during a brief outing which didn't cover a lot of ground. Undoubtedly, more could have found on that sunny day in Jiangmen.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Bountiful Bombax Ceiba Flowers

Bombax ceiba (Red Silk-Cotton, Red Cotton, Kapok, 木棉) flower on the ground


The previous post included a single photo of flowers I saw in Jiangmen. Around this time of year I have come across these flowers before, mostly in southern China. I took the above photo almost exactly one year ago elsewhere in Guangdong province at the Guangzhou Orchid Garden. Although the flower isn't an orchid, Guangzhou is a particularly fitting setting since this is the city's official flower.

The scientific name for the tree which produces the flower is Bombax ceiba. The tree is also known by a variety of other names in English such as red silk-cotton and kapok. The name "kapok" is used for some other trees as well, such as Cochlospermum gillivraei and the more closely related Ceiba pentandra, also known as the white silk-cotton tree. So it may be better to avoid using the name. At least in this region, the typical Chinese name is 木棉 (mùmián), which literally translates as "cotton tree".

Whatever you want to call the tree, I welcome seeing the large deeply-colored flowers. And they are one of the key ingredients for Five Flowers Tea (五花茶 - wǔhuāchá) — a traditional herbal tea common in Guangdong and Hong Kong which I drink simply because I enjoy its strong bitter flavor (no sugar, please).

I didn't mention any of these details before because I wanted the earlier photo to stand alone. But viewing the photo while sipping some Five Flowers Tea would probably work fine.

Monday, March 5, 2018

Late Night Buds in Jiangmen

In response to a photo of riverside eating and drinking in Jiangmen, one question was "Budweiser?"

Yes, those are bottles of American Budweiser beer on the table. Those there weren't the only people drinking Buds. And on another night at this dining establishment — 星期五 (Xīngqīwǔ — Friday) — I drank a cold one myself while looking out onto the river and waiting for some roasted fish.

bottle of Budweiser Beer next to Jiangmen River


Chinese-brands Tsingtao and Harbin were available as well. I went with Budweiser since it seemed fitting for this outdoor eatery which prominently featured the beer on its signage and menu.

Friday "星期五" roasted fish outdoor riverside outdoor eatery in Jiangmen at night


Most of the nearby riverside options similarly feature Budweiser.

roasted fish outdoor riverside outdoor eatery in Jiangmen closed during the day


outdoor riverside outdoor eatery in Jiangmen closed during the day


All of these places only open at night, which fits the mould for a type of place I personally associate with serving Budweiser in some parts of China. In Jiangmen, I have also noticed Budweiser advertised at multiple karaoke establishments.

"Unleash your true self" Budweiser ads in Jiangmen


So if you want to sit by the Jiangmen River and drink some Budweiser, there are options. And if you want some roasted fish as well, you're really in luck. The ginger squid is good too.