Posts
Its name is strangely boring - Hot Bean Cooperative (炒豆合作社）. The word "cooperative" makes me think of NTUC and stunningly awesome music videos like this.
But there is nothing to cringe at Hot Bean. It is one of the hippest and coolest local joints in Beijing, and perhaps one of the best places for tourists who want a quick snapshot of where creative young Beijingers head to for a chill night out on a hot summer's night.
Located inside one of the traditional Beijing alleyways called hutong (named Hot Bean hutong, hence the name of the eatery), the Cooperative has a crummy entrance bathed in a red light that really reminds me of Geylang brothels from decades back (I was there for the beef hor fun).
The walls of Hot Bean are plastered with spacey murals like these, reminding some of Ultraman, others of Star Trek. I find them cute, but strangely spooky and sends me back to a macho period in my life when I sat with my baby nephew as he watched Teletubbies in the middle of the night.
That somewhat odd and kooky feeling was made worse by the two cats that the young owners of Hot Bean kept in a cage above the entrance. Really weird. I guess you can say I don't really like pussies on top.
But if the whole place felt a bit out of step with my old bones, then the food was a right match. Hot Bean (10-8401-6165) is more or less like a Chinese Yakitori restaurant, serving barbequed wings and other BBQ delights. Of course, it is at a mere fraction of what you would pay at Jap yakitori restaurant. Budget about 40 yuan per person, cold beer included.
The main draw was the chicken wings and I highly recommend the "Perverted Hot Wings". It was too spicy for most normal human beings, so just sit back, watch your idiotic friends torture themselves and revel in their misery. Hahaha...
Go for the BBQ Bacon, which is supposed to be a favourite among the guys. Certainly true for me. The wings and the bacon were served in a metal bucket, on metal skewers. There's something quite barbaric and manly about biting those wings off a metal skewer. I like.
But there is nothing to cringe at Hot Bean. It is one of the hippest and coolest local joints in Beijing, and perhaps one of the best places for tourists who want a quick snapshot of where creative young Beijingers head to for a chill night out on a hot summer's night.
Located inside one of the traditional Beijing alleyways called hutong (named Hot Bean hutong, hence the name of the eatery), the Cooperative has a crummy entrance bathed in a red light that really reminds me of Geylang brothels from decades back (I was there for the beef hor fun).
The walls of Hot Bean are plastered with spacey murals like these, reminding some of Ultraman, others of Star Trek. I find them cute, but strangely spooky and sends me back to a macho period in my life when I sat with my baby nephew as he watched Teletubbies in the middle of the night.
That somewhat odd and kooky feeling was made worse by the two cats that the young owners of Hot Bean kept in a cage above the entrance. Really weird. I guess you can say I don't really like pussies on top.
But if the whole place felt a bit out of step with my old bones, then the food was a right match. Hot Bean (10-8401-6165) is more or less like a Chinese Yakitori restaurant, serving barbequed wings and other BBQ delights. Of course, it is at a mere fraction of what you would pay at Jap yakitori restaurant. Budget about 40 yuan per person, cold beer included.
The main draw was the chicken wings and I highly recommend the "Perverted Hot Wings". It was too spicy for most normal human beings, so just sit back, watch your idiotic friends torture themselves and revel in their misery. Hahaha...
Go for the BBQ Bacon, which is supposed to be a favourite among the guys. Certainly true for me. The wings and the bacon were served in a metal bucket, on metal skewers. There's something quite barbaric and manly about biting those wings off a metal skewer. I like.
2 comments:
hahaha...love the photo of L. you are quick with your fingers! ;p
Priceless shot right? Haha. His wife was alarmed after seeing it. Flew back to Beijing right away to stop us from torturing her hubby. :p
Post a Comment