Shut Up And Drink Your Gin!

Eager to check out more of Xuzhou's nightlife I went out over a couple of weekends to see what was on offer.  I'd heard about a few places that were the best in town for cocktails, as well as some other more low key establishment.

My first stop was A&A Bar.  This was situated downtown, about a block north of Suning Plaza.  My Didi driver, who was silent for the majority of the journey, suddenly apologised for not speaking English that well and suggested I get out where we were as the bar was just up ahead and to the right.  I was taken aback about how nice and sincere he was.  I hopped out and walked ahead and then turned right.  I found myself in a pedestrian only area, in quite a wide street with multi-establishment buildings with bright lights on both sides.  I carefully followed the location pin for the bar on We Chat, but I couldn't seem to locate it.  I first went into a nondescript entrance, through the heavy curtain barriers and up a very dingy staircase.  On the second floor, I came across a bathroom, with tall girls yelling all around near the entrance to a bathroom.  Beyond the bathroom was some kind of student lounge club, with very loud music.  It was a bit strange walking past open bathrooms just to enter the premises.  I didn't think this was the correct bar so I went back outside.  

The location pin then jumped around, so I walked around the corner.  Now I found myself in a huge food night market with a million people ambling along everywhere.  I went parallel to where I'd initially started, and then inside a building which was more food.  Endless little food stores .  It all looked amazing, but I was on a bar quest.  Eventually I went out an exit back to the pedestrian street.  I showed a couple of younger trendy types the map and name in Chinese but they had no idea where the bar was.I then saw a group of Russians coming out of another nearby building.  After they left, I went inside.  Everything was decked out in purple.  I walked up a flight of stairs, and came across a heavy-set bouncer in a tshirt.  He motioned for me to enter the bar, but it turned out to be another student-type lounge place, again with loud music.   

A&A Bar

There was one dimly-lit place between the tall buildings, that I'd initially taken for a hotel or massage venue.  I walked up to it and there in small letters on the wall inside an empty reception were the letters A&A in a fancy, curvy font.  I went in, then navigated an obstacle course of sharp twists and turns along a little corridor with a few steps, then up a steep staircase and into the bar.  There was a small bar area and some tables and chairs alongside it, another larger table and chairs in an alcove beyond the bar, and more seating by the window.  I pulled up a seat at the bar, and was given a menu by a smartly dressed barman, who looked like he'd been transported from a 1920s speakeasy.  The menu was designed like an old newspaper sheet.  About a third was in ENglish and the rest in Chinese.  The barman explained what was what, but didnt go into any specifics of what their signature cocktails in Chinese were.  

Being more of a whisky bar, and not liking whisky, I asked if they had dark rum and could make me a Rum Old Fashioned.  They said they could, so I ordered that and a serving of fries.  The fries arrived in a rectangular basket, piping hot and tasting good.  The drink took a while but arrived and was also passable, although it had far too much orange peel and was a bit watery.  The cherry garnish was nice.  Meanwhile, the bar was silent except for one loud female patron.  The guy sitting next to me didn't look away from his phone the entire time he was there.  Wanting to try another drink, I looked up whisky cocktails, and then asked for a Godfather.  After all, one can't go wrong with Amaretto!  This arrived and was very classy, strong and good.

This Is Pig's Blood, Nice To Meet You!

Feeling pleased and warmed up, I left A&A and started aimlessly walking around.  I then remembered reading about another bar called Red Chilli.  I looked up the location and saw it was actually quite close.  After walking up the wrong street for 100m thinking I could cut through, I finally made it to a residential area that had a bunch of food trucks and carts at the gate.  I went inside, made a left then a right then a left again and found myself at Red Chilli Bar.  I went inside and was standing in a long narrow room with barely enough room to squeeze past the customers seated at the bar.  There were a couple of sunken seating areas near there and a DJ and tiny dance area at the other end.  I was greeted by a raucous "Welcome" through the haze of the cigarette smoke and motioned to sit down at a seat that had become available.  A jolly guy next to me greeted me by pointing to his red-coloured drink and saying "This is pig's blood, I'm drinking pig's blood, nice to meet you!".  I had no idea exactly what he was drinking, but he'd had a few (and so had I) and all was good in the universe.  The bar didn't serve beer, only whisky, so I ordered a Whisky Coke, and stayed another hour until they turned the lights on as it was closing time.  Despite inhaling about 20 packs of cigarette smoke, Red Chilli had a great vibe and a friendly owner.  It seemed like a fun place to go alone or with a group of people.

Grasshopper

About a week after my last bar sojourn, I went out to try a different place, the one I'd been informed have the best cocktails in town.  This place, named L&C Bar wasn't downtown, but seemed to take just as long to get to.  The taxi seemed to be driving all around some luxury apartment complex, then stopped alongside a group of shops on the side, right outside the bar.  I entered straight into a kind of reception area, but wasn't sure where the bar was or what was happening.  Some lady barked something at me, and pointed, so I followed her direction, and entered the bar.  I ended up sitting at the only seat available, at the bar, right by the entrance.  I was given a menu and ordered something I hadn't had in over 25 years, a Grasshopper.  It took forever to arrive, but was very creamy and delicious and far too easy to drink.  The only sound in the bar were the bar staff talking to one another. and the music playing through speakers  All the patrons seated at the bar sat in silence staring at their phones.  I put the bar to the test, agin ordering a standard Old Fashioned.  It was ok but had no sugar syrup.  Feeling bored being in this soulless place, I called it a night, paid the bill and went home, thankful I'd rediscovered the Grasshopper cocktail after all this time.