the Beijinger

Fubar boss Chad Lager thrives on schemes and promotions that seem like madness. He launched Cinco de Drinko at Saddle Cantina, giving away half-price drinks for a whole day on the 5th of every month. Later, after moving to Tun, he did the unthinkable and started a ladies' night on Fridays - in Beijing nightlife, this was the equivalent of declaring the world to be round in medieval times. Both ideas worked. Then Chad went off to open Fubar, a "speakeasy" cocktail bar priding itself on large pours, quality drinks and good prices. All very sensible. Were Chad's days of dreaming up insane promotions over?

For almost two decades, DJ Vadim has been DJing and producing some of the most innovative hip-hop and electronica around. He's worked solo, putting out records on the legendary Ninja Tune label as well as on his own BBE imprint. Vadim has collaborated with everyone from Stevie Wonder to Kraftwerk, from Paul Weller to Sly Stone. Even his wife, MC Yarah Bravo, is a regular collaborator, as Beijing will find out when Free the Wax bring the pair to perform at Yugong Yishan this Saturday.

We asked notable Beijingers: "What's on your bookshelf?" Here's how Evan Osnos, China correspondent for the New Yorker magazine, answered:

The decor of this soulful little restaurant a block north of the Bell Tower is equal parts rustic teahouse and friend’s living room. The old-style wooden menu (in Chinese only) offers a hodgepodge of regional comfort foods. Try the whole braised fish (RMB 39), the potato vermicelli with homemade sauerkraut, beef and chilli (RMB 26), and the divine lao Beijing-style frozen hawthorn jellies.

Not sure if this is a classic piece of Chinglish signage or a witty piece of wordplay for an establishment offering more than coffee.

For those who frequented Souk in its heyday, Souk Lounge will come as somewhat of a shock. Sure, the pool table, booths, falafels (RMB 25) and shishas remain, but there are differences. If you can imagine a Moroccan youth club that decided to install a bar to attract more women, you’d be on the right track.

Once Beijing’s glitziest restaurant, The CourtYard’s glow has diminished of late. That’s why owner Handel Lee has brought in maestro chef Dan Segall (Louisiana, RBL, Domus) to overhaul the food. We caught up with Dan in the restaurant kitchen just two hours before March 8th's menu launch to find out more.

We asked notable Beijingers: "What's on your bookshelf?" Here's how Dr. Geoff Raby, the Australian ambassador to China, answered:

Last week we reported Peter Hessler’s last minute withdrawal from the Bookworm Literary Festival for unspecified personal reasons. Since then several other events have been canceled or changed, with one session altered after the author was refused a visa for China.