Shuangjing's Nightlife Scene Stutters

Shuangjing, whose bar scene has been simmering on the verge of breaking out into Sanlitun South for many years now, has stumbled as of late. First was The Brick losing its manager Dave Bob last year to Home Plate Sanlitun, and more recently Zhuang has been gutted.

The Brick continues to ply its trade, and Grinders and Ashen are still open, but as any nightlife denizen knows, it takes a lot more than a handful of watering holes to make a scene worthy of bar-hopping and having any hope of attracting anything more than a neighborhood crowd.

The convenience stores in the neighborhood are doing their part in carrying a large line of imported beers, and the food options are decent with Lily's and Charlie's doing brisk business. But most of the rest of the strip is cluttered with far too many Chinese choices that all focus on spicy food as if the place was Ghost Street South.

Main Street Bar and Cafe across the street is also still in business, though it changed its sign out front to "M" and it's looking worse for wear since the last time we visited: the food menu has been scaled down considerably: one of the cool one-way-mirror bathrooms is out of order; and it took several rounds of back-and-forth with the bartender to find a beer from their extensive menu that was actually in stock.

While Plan B in Pingod is nearby and there's always Bang! Bang! on the Fulicheng side, these two are just a little too far away from the main drag to contribute to the area becoming a serious nightlife magnet.

Short of reeling in an additional three or four bars (and perhaps another foreign restaurant of a different variety), it seems the neighborhood is destined to remain only a choice for those that live nearby.

Photos: Michael Wester