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June 19, 2014

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Home 禄 City specials 禄 Hangzhou

Good watering holes to catch World Cup action

By Xu Wenwen | June 19, 2014, Thursday | Print Edition

WORLD Cup fever strikes again. In China, it means a lot of late-night drinking to catch the games live.

Good news is that in Hangzhou, many bars and restaurants will be open all night to broadcast the games.

“We have prepared 20 percent more food each day since the World Cup began, and it’s just enough to meet demand,” says Ma Kunshan, manager of Xinlong Chicken Feet Eatery, a popular franchise in the city.

Its main branch on Shenglihe Food Street provides both take-away and dine-in services. Of course, beer is selling well as the tournament progresses.

And its neighbors are doing the same thing, making the food street a 24/7 place to go.

Nanshan Road, a popular bar area, has seen business boom since the World Cup began. JZ bar, the city’s only jazz bar, put up a large screen outdoors so customers can catch the games and enjoy some cool jazz music at the same time.

Many restaurants are either extending their opening hours or buying high-definition TVs to attract customers.

Cape No. 7 Restaurant, which installed a large rear projector TV for each of its three floors, is open for brunch, says manager Tong Li.

Bars and restaurants believe the added cost will be worth it because enthusiasm for the World Cup is running high.

“We are not afraid it will backfire, we are just scared there will be too many customers,” says Wang Xiaojing, boss of Wangjiangmen Crayfish Eatery, adding she hired two more people to wash shrimps.

Wang Xia, manager of No. 1 Stone Age Barbecue Restaurant, says they are also extremely busy due to the World Cup.

“We only offer same-day reservations and every morning all the seats are booked up for that night’s games,” Wang says.

No wonder even cafes stepped into the fray.

Homestead Cafe is promoting its “beer and nuggets” set, which has been popular in the country due to a South Korean TV series. During breaks in the games, a house band plays music.

Even KTVs are vying for a slice of the action. Mago KTV gives customers free beer or cocktails as long as they win a mini football game. Inlove KTV has hired Brazilian models to dance with customers.

Shanghai Daily recommends some places showing all the games.

 Ibiza Bar

The bar’s outdoor garden has a huge screen showing all the games. The cheapest beer is 10 yuan (US$1.60) per glass and customers can enter a contest to pick the winners every night.

Address: 79 Nanshan Rd

 Base Bar

With many screens scattered around the bar, customers are sure to have a good view of the action. The bar also has a team of “Football Baby” dancers. Customers can enter a game to guess which team will win for a chance to win free beers or a football jersey.

Address: 5F, 298 Wenyi Rd

 Night and Day Bar

The best part of the bar is it boasts more than 80 beers from over 30 countries. During the World Cup, all beers are 30 percent off.

Address: 4F, Queen Park, 277 Wulin Rd

 Reggae Bar

This bar boasts loads of TVs, along with a snooker table, foosball and dart boards. Customers can smoke from a hookah pipe, watch the bartenders perform a cocktail show, and catch live music from a band. There’s also a good selection of beers.

Address: 131 Xueyuan Rd

 COCO Banana

An excellent DJ and house band attract many foreign customers and don’t be surprised hearing many languages spoken. Large screens cover every area of the big pub.

Address: 2F, A Mansion, Yellow Dragon Plaza, 266 Tianmushan Rd

 Nine Club

During the World Cup, famed Chinese drummer Zhao Muyang, and the band The White Rabbit will perform before the soccer action heats up.

Address: 262 Wantang Rd

 Old Captain Bar

The old bar is rather sedate with nice live music, mostly classic Chinese songs. Dancing is welcomed.

Address: 178 Shuguang Rd

 Casablanca Bar

One of the oldest bars in the city. It’s signature cocktail, Gentle Knife, is so strong that nobody has ever been able to finish four. The country-style bar starts house music at 9pm every night, but the band stops when the soccer kicks off.

Address: No. 2 Shengtang Scenic Area, No. 6 Park (northeast corner of West Lake)

 Eudora

This is a popular new bar with a nice location, great decor and affordable prices. It is offering a 5 to 10 percent discount during the World Cup.

Address: 101-7 Nanshan Rd

 ING Club

This new club is in the five-star Dragon Hotel. It features a 120-inch huge screen and high-end audio system to satisfy soccer fans. Customers who pick the right winning teams may even win an iPad mini.

Address: B1, No. 5 Mansion of Dragon Hotel, 120 Shuguang Rd

 Home Pub

Bartenders here have come up with 32 exclusive World Cup cocktails — one for each team competing in Brazil. For example, Margret plus Rochefort 8 (a Belgian beer) represents Brazil. A set costs 99 yuan to 176 yuan and includes a snack and one cocktail.

Address: 3F, Liyuan Building, Wensan Rd

 Wochinger Brauhaus and Restaurant

This German restaurant has a huge TV screen providing a nice view of the action. For 50 yuan, customers can drink their fill of freshly brewed Wochinger, a German beer dating back to 1587.

Address: B/F, InterContinental Hotel, 2 Jiefang Rd E.

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