A subject close to many of our hearts

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Monkey King

A subject close to many of our hearts
« on: October 20, 2007, 12:54:37 AM »
Chinese Pod has a new lesson on the outrageous price of beer in bars here:

http://chinesepod.com/learnchinese/pricey-beer/

I think this may be a regional thing.  I remember beers being relatively cheap in Beijing, and in Xiamen recently i was getting bottles of Qingdao for 10.  The Zhejiang / Shanghai area however seems to particularly take the piss regarding prices.  In a bar here in Ningbo you pay anywhere from 25 to 40 for one of those little stubby bottles of Qingdao.   This is even in ratty little bars.  Imported draft beers like Guiness cost 60 RMB a pint.  Why so expensive?

The funny thing is, the 'foreigner bars' here are always full of locals sipping on said Guinness or the equally expensive red wine.  Maybe it's a form of conspicuous consumption, showing off that you have money to burn.

I know the answer is to buy your booze at the supermarket, or drink in restaurants, but that's not quite the same as having a proper all night session in the pub - which in Ningbo can lead to a serious dent in your wallet.



« Last Edit: October 20, 2007, 12:56:22 AM by MK »

Re: A subject close to many of our hearts
« Reply #1 on: October 20, 2007, 04:29:00 AM »
25 kwai a pint at the Sham.  Some new places have opened nearby, and all are trying to goose up their prices.   cccccccccc  Points for sheer nerve, I suppose.
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Mr Nobody

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Re: A subject close to many of our hearts
« Reply #2 on: October 20, 2007, 06:16:38 AM »
still working on 3 kwai a bottle, but there is little on tap beer. well, actually none I have seen, but I have been told of some.

Reports will follow.
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Re: A subject close to many of our hearts
« Reply #3 on: October 20, 2007, 06:20:32 AM »
This is one weird thing; in Wuhan, the cheapest in any bar was 20 RMB for a small bottle (it was all imported stuff like corona etc, as well as 'Bud' which is actually brewed in Wuhan, but never mind that!).  Yet here in Dalian, which is in most other respects a much more expensive city, most bars have the bottles of good qingdao for 10 RMB a go, sometimes 15.

Paying 60 RMB etc for a beer is just absolutely preposterous.  I have never paid that much even in London.  When I was back in London in the summer, in the absolutely most posh pub I went to, I paid 3.40 for a pint, which works out to about 50 RMB, but that was a seriously snooty place.  Usual was about 2.50, about 35 RMB.  Relative to London salaries, of course, it's an absolute pittance compared with China.

I do get bothered with foreigners in China claiming that they went 'to the pub'.  For me, a pub is a place that the average working-class male goes to to kick back with his mates and have a few beers without it needing to cost too much.  These expensive (relatively) bars are not 'pubs' in the sense that I know them.  In fact, the outdoor xiao kao places with stalls and guys sitting round drinking cheap local beers all night are, in fact, the real Chinese equivalent of pubs.
It is too early to say.

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Lotus Eater

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Re: A subject close to many of our hearts
« Reply #4 on: October 20, 2007, 06:24:23 AM »
IN the bars in Xi'an they range from 10Y to 25-30Y.  The restaurants - 2.3-3Y, the shops 2-2.5 for the large Hans Ganpi.

Re: A subject close to many of our hearts
« Reply #5 on: October 20, 2007, 06:33:08 AM »
IN the bars in Xi'an they range from 10Y to 25-30Y.  The restaurants - 2.3-3Y, the shops 2-2.5 for the large Hans Ganpi.

Thing is... everyone knows they are cheap in restaurants/street stalls... I think people are bemoaning how (relatively) expensive it is to go to bars here... I mean even 10 RMB is quite expensive relative to an average person's salary...
It is too early to say.

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Mr Nobody

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Re: A subject close to many of our hearts
« Reply #6 on: October 20, 2007, 06:34:37 AM »
c-dog, I agree.

Round here, they usually feature a bbq of some kind off to one side that regularly brings round something dead and tasty. And cheap.

You suck down a few beers at leisure.

Yes it was the local equivalent of a pub.
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Raoul F. Duke

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Re: A subject close to many of our hearts
« Reply #7 on: October 20, 2007, 06:38:55 AM »
Dalian still benefits from the pioneering work of the lamented Dave's Bar, which cut beer prices to 5 RMB, basic cocktails to 15 RMB, and went into the history books forever. Dave's died of overpopularity (rowdy gangs of Russian sailors and so on), not from losing money. They made a lot MORE money at the cut prices!

Meanwhile in Suzhou, I think the stubby-bottle Qingdao is only 15 RMB at the Shamrock...not bad at all for this region. They're 50 RMB in the horrible creepy Chinese disco immediately upstairs from it. The Tuesday 2-for-1s, the Thursday all-you-can-drink-for-100 RMB deal, and the daily late-night 10 RMB shots all mean that one can still tie on a pretty good one there and not wreck the wallet too badly. When I do drink, even a broke guy like me can manage a little bit there.

It also helps to have a lot of drunk, crazed friends there who work in factories and stuff (ie are NOT teachers) and therefore can easily afford to come in and start buying the whole table shots by the bar-tray-full.

Here's to Li, the Sham, and the weird fuckers who hang out there. agagagagag
"Vicodin and dumplings...it's a great combination!" (Anthony Bourdain, in Harbin)

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we're building the corrupt, incompetent, baijiu-swilling buttheads of tomorrow!" (Raoul F. Duke)

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Mr Nobody

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Re: A subject close to many of our hearts
« Reply #8 on: October 20, 2007, 06:40:47 AM »
Wish I was there!!!!!!!!!!! agagagagag
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Raoul F. Duke

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Re: A subject close to many of our hearts
« Reply #9 on: October 20, 2007, 06:44:42 AM »
You will be, old friend. agagagagag
"Vicodin and dumplings...it's a great combination!" (Anthony Bourdain, in Harbin)

"Here in China we aren't just teaching...
we're building the corrupt, incompetent, baijiu-swilling buttheads of tomorrow!" (Raoul F. Duke)

Re: A subject close to many of our hearts
« Reply #10 on: October 20, 2007, 06:50:14 AM »
When you say all you can drink for 100 RMB does that include shots of absoluut and stuff?
It is too early to say.

Re: A subject close to many of our hearts
« Reply #11 on: October 20, 2007, 06:51:40 AM »
I found Kunming to be one of the most commendable places for drinking.  We went to the Camel Bar, which was a seriously good bar, a bit like a cross between a good Camden Pub and an Amsterdam coffee shop, with beers for about 8 RMB for a big bottle (that was qingdao black, which is actually very strong as Chinese beers go, about 5.5%) and 10 RMB for shots of proper western spirits.  I think I went in there with 100 RMB got hammered and left still with money in my pocket.  Very rare in China...
It is too early to say.

Re: A subject close to many of our hearts
« Reply #12 on: October 20, 2007, 07:47:19 AM »
I'm not a teacher, and I bet I'm making less than most teachers...  alalalalal
"You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on." -- Dean Martin

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Monkey King

Re: A subject close to many of our hearts
« Reply #13 on: October 20, 2007, 04:27:52 PM »
I forgot about Kunming - it was cheap there, and the big bottles too!  Has anyone seen that dark Qingdao for sale anywhere else in China?

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decurso

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Re: A subject close to many of our hearts
« Reply #14 on: October 20, 2007, 05:43:56 PM »
 Beijing has a reputation of being quite expensive but there are plenty of cheap bars and pubs here. It's not difficult to get a good sized mug of draft( half a liter) for 10-15 kuai. I think that's a reasonable price to pay to have a few drinks in a lively pub atmosphere while shooting some pool or listening to good music.