The Beijinger Blog - Ben Cheney

Spotlight: Stumbling Along - A pint with Stumble Inn owner Shane Neill

thebeijinger — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:00:00 +0800

Shane Neill is the owner of Lucky Street bar The Stumble Inn. The bar has just celebrated its half-year anniversary, and with its large selection of imported beers, was well-equipped for the party. We asked Shane a few questions about recent Lucky Street happenings and his views on Beijing’s bar scene.

Stumble Inn’s neighbor White Rabbit recently closed its doors for the time being. Were you a fan? White Rabbit’s sudden closure was a sad loss for Beijing. While I didn’t regularly party in there – and to be sure at times sharing a wall with them had its problems – they offered something simple and unique for the Chaoyang area, as well as top-notch DJs.

Spotlight: aloft Hotel F&B Director Tan Jit Kiang

agenda — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:00:00 +0800

Staying Aloft

aloft Beijing's F&B Director Tan Jit Kiang on putting the fun into a five-star hotel

Malaysian Tan Jit Kiang launched his career in restaurants after relocating to New Zealand at the age of 18. An executive chef by training, and with years of work experience in hotels in Asia and North America, Tan joined aloft Beijing in May as the Haidian hotel’s Food and Beverage Director. We asked him about his current workplace – an unconventional combination of five-star service and efficiency, laidback amenities that emphasize simplicity and sleek, contemporary design – and the hotel’s student-friendly promotions.

Spotlight: Samba Teacher Renata Secco

agenda — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:00:00 +0800

Rhythm of Life

Samba teacher Renata Secco brings a bit of Carnaval to Beijing

Beijing’s expansive avenues are perfect parade grounds, but usually only used as such for events like the upcoming celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic this October. No street parade on Earth compares to Rio’s Carnaval, with all of its colorful costumes, confetti, blaring music, floats full of dancers and general hedonism. Renata Secco grew up surrounded by her homeland’s rich traditions of dance and music and decided to devote her life to samba. A teacher by training and instinct, Renata is bringing the beat of Brazil to Beijing students for the third consecutive year in a series of classes at J-Ballet school. We caught up with Renata to attempt to find that elusive rhythm, and in the process of failing asked her a few questions about her passion.