By Jim Boyce | Back when I had more time and energy, I used to organize an Australia Day pub crawl in The Vegemite Triangle, an area around Nanluguoxiang that had a trio of bars with at least partial ownership from Down Under. Ned’s and 12sqm are long gone and Mao Mao Chong is now under Chinese ownership, and still making quality drinks, but I have fond memories of annually indulging in Aussie wine, Bundaberg rum and Coopers and VB beer as well as egg-topped pizzas and Cherry Ripe. Good times.
And it’s good to see the Aussie spirit is still strong in Beijing. The city’s newest venture, The Flying Kangaroo, opened just over a week ago in the former Godfather space, will be leading the “oi, oi, oi” this year.
The crew at the ‘Roo have four pie options for Australia Day tomorrow: minced beef, shredded beef and gravy, chicken and mushroom, and shepherd’s. Get two pies, plus mashed potatoes, fries or salad, for rmb65. Check ’em out:
You can wash those down with Coopers, Crown Lager and VB at rmb20 per bottle. Or, if the grape is more your style, guzzle Billi Billi Shiraz at rmb30 per glass.
No word yet if the place will stream Triple J or will secretly reveal a new deep-fried TimTam dessert, but rest assured you will have plenty to eat and drink from the land that gave us WiFi, flying doctors and pop-top cans as well as Air Supply, Dame Edna and pavlola—oh wait, that last one’s Kiwi (kidding, just kidding).
The Flying Kangaroo will be open tomorrow from 11 AM until late, then close from January 27 to February 2 for the Chinese New Year break.
Check out my sibling sites Grape Wall of China and World Baijiu Day.
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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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