Before I get started, I want to tell y'all how I met the owner. On a flight from Shanghai to BJ ~8 months ago, the man broke out an ice-cold (something that never happens on itra-China flights) Tsingtao shortly after take-off.

We got to talking and I subsequently gave him a spot on our "team".

The man is really cool.... and now he has a bar inside of Chaoyang Park.

We went there last night for the pre-launch. It was/is nice enough to blow Susie Wong out of the water.

Nice - I haven't been back to Beijing in about 8 months (lived there for two years) and I'm really expecting the bar scene to have completely turned over by the time I get back in the summer. I'll have to check this place out...

Moondog,

Where is this place? Looking primarily for bars/lounges that are fairly laid back places to grab a beer or some decent wine. Not really looking for clubs. Any non-smoking place would be a big plus, though I imagine they may be hard to find in China.

It's inside Chaoyang Park (well yes and no because you don't need to actually enter the park to get to it) right beside #8 Wenquan, with which it shares the same employee housing. I'm having trouble whether to call it a "bar" or a "club" because it shares characteristics of each; basically, it reminds me of Suzie's earlier (and IMO better) days when "she" was just a bar, but has the clear potential to evolve into something along the lines of the current version. While it is certainly not a smoke free establishment, it does boast high-cielings, superior air con, and a (yet to be openned) rooftop, overlooking the lake.

For true "laid back", I think there are other places that might serve your interests better. One that comes to mind, is Capone's, which is an Italian restaurant whose menu exceeds its chef's abilities, but happens to feature one of the best singers I have seen in Asia, if not worldwide. In addition to writing a lot of Michael Jackson's earlier songs, he has played with pretty much everyone on the Motown label you can think of. While I'm generally not a big fan of his genre, he is a star performer (I'm kind of embarrassed that I can't recall the man's name; attaching names to musical acts never was my strong suit) and the atmosphere is classy yet manages to avoid the pretensions of networking spots like Centro.

The main reason I'm excited about enough about Block-8 that I posted here, was because my friend, who I respect greatly and his brother, are owners.

However, I willingly concede that its stylings are a touch on the elitist/trendy side (Centro and LAN combined) so it's likely to attract the very crowd you might be trying to avoid, even if it also snatches me in the process (I don't play that scene at all, by the way).

BTW, feel free to PM if you want more suggestions. A lot depends on your physical location and the time of day.

Paid a visit on Saturday evening for a few hours and it really is unique in the way it's designed. Because it's "not a bar/not a club" I think the place is still finding out which direction it wants to go. The layout is such that a group of friends can hang out and chat without yelling over music, however the hard-core party goers in the group will probably get a little bored. I enjoy the elegance of the place, but then again, I'm kind of an elitist

P.S.: I've been very disappointed in the wine selections here in Beijing. There is only a few Italian restaurants that I've found where the wine list is extensive, all the other places have been garbage. I don't recall seeing a big wine list at Block 8 (but I didn't ask).

Maybe Capone's deserves its own thread; in the interim, I just googled the singer and shall post here:

http://www.answers.com/topic/taylor-bobby

My Capone's strategy is to head there for drinks and desserts (much better than the entres), often after eating at Xiaowangfu. A word of warning though; it's on the 4th floor of a mall ("The Place"), which locks its main doors at ten. So, if you go there after ten (or want to leave), you'll need to use the service entrance in the back (pretty sweet lease, huh!).

www.capones.com.cn

If any of you are in my Facebook, take a look at the photos from Capone's in my album titled "Birthday Weekend I - Step One: Cut a Hole in the Box" for our night with Bobby Taylor. Dude bought our entire table a round and me a birthday cake/dessert.

Thanks, Moondog, for the recommendation. Just got back from China with BJ being my last stop. Just wanted a cool place to relax and chat with some local friends and Block 8 was perfect. Even though it was a bit slow on Sunday night when we stopped by, we were all impressed with the setting and service.