Sips & bites | Arrow Factory, Paddy O’Shea’s, Migas & Tiki Bungalow

By Jim Boyce | Who makes Beijing’s best craft beer? For me, Arrow Factory has the tastiest regular lineup while Jing-A Taproom has the top seasonal and specialty beers. That’s not to say other places don’t have good brews, just that if presented with a “desert island” scenario, those would be my picks.

Anyway, I just posted my Unofficial Guide to Jing-A’s big ‘beerthday bash’ this Friday. Now for Arrow Factory: both venues have a two-for-one deal on select beers over the three-day mid-Autumn festival that starts tomorrow:

  • Thursday: Liangma River has Manman Lai Session I.P.A. while Wudaoying Hutong has Flying V American Wheat
  • Friday: Liangma River has Farmhouse Ale while Wudaoying Hutong has Manman Lai Session I.P.A.
  • Saturday: Liangma River has Flying V American Wheat while Wudaoying Hutong has Farmhouse Ale

If that’s too much info to process, just order the lager. With the Spice of Life sausage platter. Here they are happy together:

Spicy 'spice of Life' sausage, plus tasty lager, at The Arrow Factory.


Just a hop, skip and jump from Arrow Factory’s river location, The Beijing Beatles will play Paddy O’Shea’s at 9 PM on Friday night. Scoot down before 8 PM for happy hour joy: it’s 30 percent off most drinks, plus a buy one, get one deal on well drinks and local and Tiger beer. This place also has a neat lineup of ciders. The ambitious can tackle the Jing-A birthday party, the Arrow Factory two-for-one deal and Paddy O’Shea’s / The Beijing Beatles all in one night. Oh yeah, Paddy O’Shea’s also has Crazy Irish Hour.

paddy o'shea's crazy irish hour guinness magners baileys kilkenny


Fresh off its sixth anniversary celebrations, Migas has a full lineup of rooftop parties, including French Toast on Wednesday, Disco Extravaganza on Thursday, Four to the Floor on Friday and Housing The Bar on Saturday. Hmm, I’m more of a food guy, so the kitchen version of French toast would be of greater interest. But here’s some tasty news: I ran into Edu Gutierrez on the street this week and he said the massive new Migas in Guomao is still slated to open by year’s end. That’s the one with a 400-square-meter interior, an equally large terrace, food options that range from rmb50 to rmb200 per meal, and a design with a market feel on the outside and fine dining on the inside. Do these guys ever sleep? Anyway, here’s Gutierrez showing off that Josper oven:

josper oven at migas with edu gutierrez beijing china


Finally, The Tiki Bungalow—the bar equivalent of that friend who’s a bit too much of a bad influence—has eight new fall picks ready. They include Grumpy Brit, with gin, Pimm’s, Campari and lemon juice (50 rmb), Paper Airplane, with Bourbon, Amaro Ramazzotti, Aperol and lemon juice (60 rmb) and Tokyo Daiquiri, with rum, lime juice and house soy and ginger syrup (rmb70). What? No tribute to Higgins the Inflatable Shark? Or is he the Grumpy Brit in question?

phil and oliver bungalow tiki bar beijing china (2)


Check out my sibling sites World Baijiu Day and Grape Wall of China.

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Get regular Beijing updates via my Instagram and Twitter feeds. Also see my sibling sites Grape Wall of China, World Baijiu Day and World Marselan Day. Help cover the hosting and other costs of these sites with a WeChat, AliPay or PayPal donation.

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