Houhai Area

Wine gives socializing a theme
By Annie Wei

Two French brothers make their wine restaurant, La Baie Des Anges in Houhai, a popular spot for socializing Beijing’s ex-pats. Olivier Six, 28 and Benjamin Six, 26, arrived in Beijing last June and started their business in September of last year.

But many cafes and restaurants offer events like wine tasting in order to offer their customers more alternative entertainment. How can La Baie Des Anges stand out in the competitive Houhai area?

“The place caters to the varied tastes of laowai, with many more different kinds of wine, and it’s a nice place to hang out with friends,” Louis Mok, a French student said.

It’s not surprising that more and more ex-pats start businesses in China, but more of them, who get into the dining scene, should have more experience as it applies to China.

“China isn’t new to us,” the Six brothers said. Before they moved to Beijing, they visited China many times. And their Chinese “uncle” in Beijing, who has been the brothers’ friend for many years, looks after them.

“The main difference of having a wine restaurant like this one is the working hours,” Six said. Customers in Beijing are used to visiting after 9pm, so they’re forced to cook at 1am and leave work after 3am.

The good news is their business is getting better, according to Six. One reason is that more people like hanging out in Houhai in summer than winter, and another reason is that their name is known by many people.

The two brothers try to organize different events every week. For example, there is a wine-tasting party every Tuesday night, live music played by their friends like a Brazilian music night that was staged on July 7, a theme party spotlighting National Day on July 14, as well as, a speed-dating event held on July 21.

“We organized our first speed-dating event in March and after that, we got many requests asking when the next one would be,” Six said. The speed- dating event costs only 80 yuan which includes three glasses of wine.

“So far, most of our customers are foreigners, French, American, Italian and South American,” Six said, “there are more and more Chinese customers dropping in, accounting for about 20 percent of our clientele. Most Chinese customers can speak English and some are good at French.”

La Baie Des Anges
Where: 5 Nangongfeng Hutong, Houhai, Xicheng
Open: 6pm-2am (closed on Monday)
Tel: 6657 1605