Thankfully, our fair city has plenty of indoor options. Restaurants (and increasingly better ones), bars and clubs abound in Hangzhou.

So grab some friends or your sweetie and find a hotspot to bunker down in on this blustery Tuesday night!

A good half of the bar is outside – large downstairs terrace and good outdoor space above lets you see out easily. The location is on the way back from the Qiantang River on the Hupao Road junction with Jiuyaoshan Tunnel and so makes a fitting stop on the way home from your Meijiawu bicycle trip. The pints came a little slow – that’s only important for the first pint I guess, but the first is the most important… And the din that is Hupao Road can be a little oppressive at first. But if you have been in China for more than a week I bet you can block that out with a little mental effort.

At night there is supposed to be a band and a good vibe.

I dreamt about a Chateaubriand last night. 20 centimeters long, it was the whole tail end of  a filet of beef. Slightly blackened on the outside, this gargantuan piece of beef cleaved open, almost poetically, to show the soft juicy pink centre. I woke up just as that first piece was about to be gently and lovingly savoured. What a dream.

Actually, it wasnt a dream. It’s much better than that; we can all enjoy it. It was a flashback from dinner last night at Angelo’s new restaurant – Angelo’s New York Italian Restaurant and Bar, and that huge piece – 400g or about 10oz – of seriously delicious steak can also be yours.

Angelo’s is tucked up No.2 Side Street of Baochu Road. No2 Street is quite old Hangzhou – lots of little restaurants with doors wide open despite the advertised -4‘C, neon signs selling shrimps, groups of people stuck well into their baijiu screaming numbers at each other. Further in you might start to doubt that any western restaurant could be possibly be here, and Lo, the house of Chateaubriand appears next to the Minsu Hotel.

The restaurant is simple and slick inside. Plain white walls with dark furniture, large frameless black and white prints of old New York on the walls, and black laser-cut lampshades showing the New York skyline provide a modern clean feeling without being minimalist. The small bar at the end is a hive of activity as the barman, an old friend of Angelo, is doing something aggressive with a cocktail shaker – out comes a large Dry Martini, which has my name written all over it. “I’ll have one of those too please”. The drink is 3 minutes in the waiting. Good start.

Angelo is excited. It is only the second day of the soft opening period and people are coming in. “Too busy too busy we are still learning how to do things!” He grabs a menu and talks about it as if it is a list of his child’s A+ school grades. The menu looks good and feels good – has the feel of James Taylor’s handiwork. There seems to be a good range of stuff with obviously a strong American bent, not limited to New York. I didnt see the Reuben Sandwich on there (isnt that a New York staple?) But lots of other tasty looking things – mini burgers, crab cake burgers, pizzas galore, fish and chips, deep-fried calamari and mozzarella. Salads soups. Pasta. And of course that Chateaubriand. This restaurant is going to take a few visits.

And lest I forget to mention, the Martini is good too.

Three of us had the mini-burgers and fried calamari to share as a starter, both from the Share section of the menu. Personally, I felt the calamari were a shade overcooked, but the covering was delicious. Perhaps a slightly smaller, younger squid would be better. Over the table, the Chateaubriand was served in all its glory, alone, on the white plate. On the side were fried potatoes, mushrooms and few other veg served in their own small dishes. The waiter offered to carve the meat, but my friend preferred to do that himself. On my right, the Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich looked and tasted perfect – so many restaurants make the mistake of substituting poor beef and cheap cheese into sandwiches, but that did not happen here. My Fish and Chips were not really the British style I was expecting, rather fingers of fish deep fried in batter, tossed together with fries in a tall, paper wrapped cone. The batter was delicious and fish cooked til it was just firm.

I didnt get too far into the wine list – Angelo suggested a great bottle. Will have a go at updating this page soon.

After dinner, we got stuck into the Grappa and Limoncello, perhaps a little too much of it. But hey, there is little better way to cap a very fine dinner than a few shots of grappa.

-

-

-

Few events are so seminal that they actually change the course of the human condition as we know it. Early man’s harnessing of fire. The invention of the wheel. The CIA’s staged moon landings. Each one pushing man’s creative and technological abilities further into the unknown. Starting at 9:30pm, on Saturday, December 12th, an event will take place at Eudora Station on par with the greatest achievements of mankind. The stars will align, planets will shift, and Jingjing, Eddie, and Bong will reunite to sing all your favorite songs as only they can. Be sure to not miss what will surely be described as our generation’s Kennedy assassination. (Text with thanks to morehangzhou.com)

This lot havent played together since the crazy days of Paradise Rock. Saturday will be a big night in Eudora Station. 12th December 2009, for now one night only.

-

There is something to be said for those street side crappy pool tables you occasionally see  outside a small shop on the edge of Hangzhou. The beer is cheap, the tables are nearly free, and the worn out rubber, cracked slate (warped wood) and disfigured balls (gulp) means that seriously handicapped pool players like myself can compete a little with the pros. A little.

But there is also something to be said for a real pool bar. It’s warm in the winter and cool in the summer, the tables are flat and while the beer isn’t quite so cheap, it is at least cold. There are many middle of the road places that help bridge the gap between street-side and real place, and you’ll have to find those yourself. But for a real table, Colors Pool Bar is probably the best pool in Hangzhou.

Colors Pool was opened two or three years ago by a Singaporean pool champion. Dont know why he chose Hangzhou – maybe he thinks us lot have a trick (shot) or two to learn. But once here he found a great spot on three floors in a small street running north from the Hyatt hotel. It’s pretty obvious that he knows a lot more about pool than interior design: the place is nice to look at but the tables are goooood. So are the sticks.

There are two tables on each floor, when he could probably have fitted three. The furniture is haphazard, the walls dark red and the bar looks like a pill-box machine gun slit. But hey, we’re here to play pool, not diagnose the owner’s design health. And in any case, for those  waiting to play, Colors is still way more comfortable than any other pool bar in the town.

After a game or ten, you can retire to the roof. There is little outdoor seating in Hangzhou – sitting outside in Hangzhou, until recently, was not considered fitting for modern urban dwellers – and colors does this well, with a large roof terrace overlooking remnants of old Hangzhou.

Tables are about 65Y an hour so you can play 8 or 9 ball. The guys rack the tables in seconds so there isnt much of a delay between games. Beer gets big discounts if you buy by the bucket.

-

-

Paradise was the first bar I ever went to in Hangzhou. And in it I met many people who are still good friends today. If you only knew how long ago that was, and me, you would be amazed. Paradise went through many phases, some good and some bad, mostly something to do with what manager the owner had hired for that month. (Not kidding, she was a psycho and staff lasted less that a month, most of them.) Perhaps the most successful time was during Kana’s tenure that actually lasted, to his credit, two or three years. The place was packed pretty much every day of the week, with new drinks and shots, great live music (The Honeys, Huhumamas, to name two) and bashes held for all known countries party days. And then some. It was a great place, and I am obviously biased.

The restaurants are different, for sure, but the concept of Paradise whether intended or not, was great. Good music, good food, a happy laid-back place with no pretensions is a base for building a good crowd of loyal fans. Paradise had that gift and the fans, and Eudora has it too, while at the same time, they surpass Paradise in most ways, from food and decor, to staff, and it’s debatable, but the location too.

Eudora is a smart place. Well-lit and spacious with a long bar on the ground floor, its long and narrow lay-out draws you in. I am sure the bar area is always busy, but if you want a quieter drink, slip towards the rear. Upstairs is all restaurant in bright colours, but not garish, and the roof is simply unbeatable for any bar. The menu is eclectic, but strongly European and American. Schnitzels, pastas, great burger, pizzas, local and imported steaks, sausage and more. (The chocolate truffle cake, oh god.) The beer list is extravagant, and while the wine list has some lesser offerings for us poor writers, it is weighted towards those who like wine. The music is superb; Pink Floyd was playing when I walked in the first time and immediately lifted the spirits. Being opposite the artschool and a 45 second walk from the lake and Xihutiandi, you cant knock the location.

What doesn’t Eudora have? Hmmm. I wish it didn’t have the TVs showing 3 or 4 different sports channels, and it doesn’t have 15 years as a central meeting point for all Hangzhouvians. Well, it does take 15 years for the first case, but Eudora will become central much quickly than that. And if the owner were to read this, he might switch off the TVs outside of game time, (doubtful) but he wont read it. “Amateur reviews are not much good for the reviewer, the reviewee, or the viewer.?.” Gulp.

Other Links
Eudora Station
Eudora Station Hangzhou
MOREHangzhou
Eudora Station Beijing
10Best
CityWeekend
TheBeijinger

-

-

-

The secret of success is Ye Dan, the erstwhile owner. He’s been running bars, in a seemingly hands-off approach for years. He makes sure staff are good, prices are cheap, and puts on good tunes with visiting DJs. And some great chicken wings too – order 2 or 3 portions to save you ordering more.

It’s a little tricky to see from the road, and when you do find it, you’ll kick yourself for not noticing the 4 foot number 7 in bright red neon just outside the door. As a hint, if you are coming from the Yellow Dragon Stadium, go past the Dragon Hotel, and you will see a flower shop on the right just after the bus stop. 7 Club is behind the flower shop.

Supremely relaxed place.

5pm – 2am
-

-

If you have any photos of this place, mail them in

-

The Shangri-la Garden Bar probably isnt going to be a destination for the evening unless you are staying in the Shang, or tucked into dinner at one of their restaurants, Peppino’s or the Coffee Garden, but if you are ever after a quiet good cocktail with a bit of live background jazz, you cant go far wrong with Garden bar. When the weather allows, not very often admittedly, the terrace outside is definitely a pace to kick back.

There is wireless internet and you have to ask for a temporary, free, hotel logon.