Popular Hutong Cocktail Bar Mao Mao Chong Opens Slick New Guanghua Lu Location

UPDATE: THIS LOCATION HAS RECENTLY CLOSED, THOUGH MMC'S HUTONG LOCATION IS STILL OPEN AND GOING STRONG.

"The pollution today is terrible, so you'll need to drink something," says Eric Liu, mixing up a concoction brimming with pear juice, because that fruit supposedly has plenty of toxin fighting properties. But of course the Mao Mao Chong owner and bartender isn't readying a purely wholesome drink – it also has a generous splash of Grasovka vodka, along with bitters, honey, and a submerged cinnamon stick for a final touch of spice. Liu calls it the Peking Opera (RMB 60), and it's one of the many new cocktails on offer at his recently opened Guanghua Lu Soho location.

This second branch couldn't be more different from the cozier, Nanluogu Xiang adjacent original Mao Mao Chong. It can easily fit 70 people and has stark, black walls (though elaborate paintings, just like those at the first hutong spot, will be mounted soon). The kitchen is also bigger, allowing this fresh venue to serve up far much more food compared to the limited range of pizzas at the old Mao Mao Chong. Those items include straightforward Chinese dishes like RMB 29 plum drumsticks, RMB 26 sanhuangji sliced boiled chicken, RMB 32 curry beef, and a range of simple western fare like club sandwiches and salads.

Aside from the more abundant food and new beverages like the Peking Opera, Liu is also tinkering with a soon-to-be released array of champagne cocktails, one of the few varieties that hasn't been overdone in Beijing's increasingly crowded speakeasy scene. When they are ready (within the next few weeks) Liu will serve them for a cheap RMB 50 each. In the meantime customers can sip on glasses of that bubbly Castelnau for RMB 50 per glass, or opt for a dangerously tipsy all you can drink RMB 200 in the afternoons. More prudent midday customers can instead just sample the food from 11am onward, a much earlier start time than Mao Mao Chong's earlier incarnation, and part of Liu's effort to attract Guanghua Lu's white collar crowd.

Liu finishes by saying that his longtime hutong regulars are welcome to drop by and have their first round on the house at this new Soho spot, and while those alleyway dwellers will likely have trouble adjusting to the sight of a slicker Mao Mao Chong, Guanghua Lu locals will surely be stoked to finally have a trendy new cocktail bar in their comparatively parched part of town.

Mao Mao Chong (Guanghua Lu)
Daily 11am-2pm. Unit 218, Guanghua Lu Soho, Chaoyang District (158 4271 9052)
毛毛虫：光华路Soho一期218室

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Photos: Kyle Mullin