RE: Meeting Venue

In my humble opinion and it is why most bars in beijing suck....

They are not run by true drinkers and party people.  "Tourists" in the
fight club sense of the word.   So they don't succeed where they should.

Ambiance - pah!
Decor - pah!
Furniture - pah!

Not to give you all a jump start on my august column (based on oracle
presentation)......please read - Beijing and Shanghai Talk - Cyper
Society......

What makes for a good venue?  It is not all the superfluous "wank" shite
we never use anyway - like projector (then again we have never had one
before!  ;-) )

A bar is not it's furniture, colour scheme, carpet, music,
location....mere side attractions...

Anyway - a bar should be judged by its drinks and how interactive,
friendly and chatty the people that frequent there are.

A restaurant is judged by food - everything else really is just "wank"

For us our appraisal should be based on food + beer.  Nothing else is
important (WIFI is a pre-req).

I also forgot to mention the upstairs part of the cafe at soho that I go
to all the time.  Good food, nice lounges, plenty os space and good club
sandwiches and wifi...


Anyway - how much fun did we all have at Oracle?  And answer this
question:

"What made it fun?"

Alfa?  Sanlitun?  Beer?  Nibbles?  Projector?  

Nup, nup, nup, nup and nup.

I think we should concentrate MORE on what cab make meetings fun and
productive and LESS on frivalties like decor, ambiance, music and
whether or not the place is sexy enough....

Just my 0.02c.

Richard trying to keep it real.  "Less wank and more substance - my
nightlife crusade of Beijing!"




On Thu, 2004-07-29 at 10:40, Ali Zein Kazmi wrote:

> As someone with the requisite credentials in bars, clubs and restaurants,
> and self appointed social secretary to the LUG, I hail myself as critique
> par excellence on Beijing venues. Below are my choices in order of
> preference.
> 
> Bar Blu - Expensive drinks, although I am sure we can talk to the owner,
> they have wifi and a super sexy wooden floored terrace. The fountain is very
> cooling. The music s great, they have an overhead project and would probably
> be willing to host us indoors or outdoors. The upstairs in quiet. They have
> food which is nominally prices. A burger and fries is for about RMB 35,
> salads for about 25. The drinks average around the price of the meal. Its
> very close to other extremely hot eating spots on the north street.
> 
> Grampas - Non pretentious food and drink specials all night long. Lots of
> room. I don't think they are busy for a Tuesday evening. And we can probably
> get an even better deal from them. However, their music is bad, they don't
> have an overhead projector. They do have a television and dvd player, if we
> ever decide to watch videos. If its dinner time, and we need food, then
> there is not any place where you can get a filling meal at the price that
> Grampa serves at
> 
> John Bull - We may want to consider changing dates. These guys have events
> ongoing upstairs. And are generally busy every day of the week. They may be
> open to giving away free beer. But this needs to be talked about with Frank.
> 
> Red Yard - Great ambience. Will lose its value if you start going there too
> often. Wont be a place you want to get sexy with your girl if you are
> getting sexy with your computer. You know what I mean?
> 
> Artifacts 2 - Do they have wifi? I am sure Mike can hook this place up.
> Apparently they have a really nice view of the park. Still make the best
> Sangria in Beijing. 
> 
> Hollywood - I would rather not go to any place where I have lunch everyday.
> They do however have a very good banfan. I don't know about the wifi. The
> seating is a little off. Just don't want to have to deal with anyone local
> and tell them what we want. Just sounds like a hassle.
> 
> -Ali
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blug-general-bounces-+qp3TudyjKPvfBIPTTProkB+6BGkLq7r@public.gmane.org
> [mailto:blug-general-bounces-+qp3TudyjKPvfBIPTTProkB+6BGkLq7r@public.gmane.org] On Behalf Of miannini
> Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2004 10:05 AM
> To: Beijing LUG general non-technical discussion list - Not publicly posted;
> Beijing LUG general non-technical discussion list - Not publicly posted
> Subject: [blug-general] Meeting Venue
> 
> Alrighty,
> 
> David (The President formerly known as Yann) and I will go in search of cool
> venues this Saturday or Sunday. On the list is:
> 
> Bar Blu
> Artifacts 2
> John Bull
> Red Yard
> Grampas
> Hollywood (SOHO)
> 
> To qualify the bar needs WIFI, cheap drinks and good food.  However, cool
> venues like Red Yard, may not have to meet all conditions, I have a soft
> spot in my heart for Si He Yuan's
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> Michael Iannini
> President, BeijingLUG
> 
> ---------- Original Message -----------
> From: Adam Lowry <[email protected]>
> To: Beijing LUG general non-technical discussion list - Not publicly posted
> <[email protected]>
> Sent: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 22:17:47 +0800
> Subject: Re: [blug-general] Re: [email protected], Beijing LUG general
> non-
> technical discussion list -Not publiclyposted	<>
> 
> > Ali Zein Kazmi wrote:
> > > Grampas (Next to Grammas) also have wireless, beers and cocktails for
> 15. 
> I
> > > know its not very fancy. But we can do our work and get cheap food. 
> > 
> > That sounds good to me. John Bull's not bad, either, but it does get 
> > pretty crowded.
> > 
> > Adam
> > 
> > _______________________________________________
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> ------- End of Original Message -------
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