"Hi, you know what? Originally it wasn't here, ten years ago..." The boy said to the girl next to him, "Look over there, it's so beautiful, that's the glass roof of the Forbidden City, right?" Here is the best angle in Beijing, there is no shelter in front of you, facing the Forbidden City, watching the sunset, drinking champagne, so happy. The girl did not take the boy's words at all, and was already immersed in the intoxicating situation of the slanting sun sprinkling gold, raising the champagne cup in her hand to the sunset, watching the delicate bubbles continue to rise from the bottom of the cup, and the corners of her mouth hung a smile.
At 5:30 p.m., the MO Bar of Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing, Beijing, was already in full swing. The hotel opened in March this year, and the MO Bar, which is the most beautiful landscape terrace bar in Beijing, quickly attracted the attention of the whole city, and the people with keen sense of beijing taste met at this bar that opened at 5 p.m., sat on the terrace and watched the Forbidden City under the sunset, and had a drink before sunset.
In Beijing at the beginning of June, it is the most comfortable and charming time for the outdoors, the temperature is pleasant, the breeze is blowing, in the spacious luxury hotel with a low view on the floor, the golden glass roof of the Forbidden City under the blue sky seems to be far away in front of the eyes, and the fashionable and exquisite girls are drinking wine to see the scenery, and they themselves are also a bright scenery. This is usually the only sight of a resort in a secluded scenic spot, and I couldn't imagine it at a hotel in Wangfujing, in the heart of Beijing.
This time, I flew to Beijing, and there was only one purpose, that is, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel In Beijing Wangfujing, which was "sharpened a sword in ten years" between Mandarin Oriental and Landmark Group. Very close to the Forbidden City, it is truly small and luxurious, with only 73 rooms and located on the top two floors of the central part of the palace. Even so, I was cautious and conservative in looking forward to the stay experience, as there are many new hotels that have been overutilized for their fame.
After checking in, I sincerely want to express my gratitude to the hotel, it allows me to regain the pride and pride of being a MO FAN, all the pleasant experiences and good memories about Wenhua East, with the service experience in this hotel, all remembered, this is Mandarin Oriental, spent 55 years to tell the world what is good for the hotel Mandarin Oriental.
Each luxury hotel has its own unique personality and style, Mandarin Oriental will not have too much ceremony and class, and every detail will bring people the comfort of a spring breeze. Whether it's getting up early to sweat at the gym, or having breakfast under the blue sky and white clouds at the Purple Restaurant, or reading and drinking coffee in the elegant public area The Library, or even the Mandarin Grill run by my long-time friend French chef Mikael Robin, I am comfortable and praised in my heart.
Speaking of my personal favorite, it is the place where the story takes place at the beginning of the article, Mandarin Oriental's iconic MO Bar. The most beautiful view bar terrace in Beijing is just one of the highlights of the MO Bar, and there are so many places to praise it. To quote a good tasteful female friend of mine, this is a bar that can be drunk from 5 pm to early in the morning, as long as there are good friends who come to Beijing, they will bring it in the evening, and everyone likes it to no.
A good bar needs good products, a good atmosphere, and a good environment, which will attract good guests, bring good experience and good mood. It is very simple to say, but it is very difficult to do, especially the domestic bar, often after a period of time, there is something wrong, the core reason is that people, only a good team can present a good production and a good atmosphere, technology, service and intentions are indispensable, many bars often pay attention to the same and ignore others. And this is the highlight of the MO Bar.
I love the TEAM OF MO Bar, the indoor bar area, the card seat area and the sofa area are not small, coupled with the large outdoor area, the guests sit scattered, need to meet the needs of the timely and rapid service, the manpower requirements are very high. Mo Bar can still maintain MO-style service even in a busy state, from the catering director to the bar manager to serve the guests together, and even if they are busy, they all have a pleasant smile on their faces, which is really admirable.
Many people always feel that the hotel bar sells the environment and services, and the production has to pass, which is not worth looking forward to. This view is now outdated, from London, New York to Singapore, Hong Kong, many very good bars belong to the hotel, and this trend has begun to appear in China, MO Bar, although it has just opened, but has subverted many people's cognition, becoming one of the leaders. It is designed by the top 50 bars in Asia, the DMBA Bar of the Year, the highest-profile HOPE & SESMAE Temple Ice Room this year, and conducts meticulous and systematic consultant training for the team.
Witnessing the whole process of the Temple Ice Room from its opening to the present, I clearly understand that the Temple Ice Room can become the first Asian best 50 bars in South China, and can stand out as the bar of the year surrounded by shanghai and Beijing, relying not on flawless bartending technology or high sales that no one can match, but on their theme creativity, concept design and high degree of execution. They designed a very playful themed wine list for the MO Bar at Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing, Beijing.
The wine list is designed like a map book, open the cover, first see a familiar and unfamiliar subway map, look at the red line and circle, the station name marked next to it is so strange, until you turn it back to understand, the original station, is the name of an original cocktail, and each original cocktail, inspired by Beijing's historical, cultural, commercial landmarks, the Forbidden City, 798, Sanlitun, are transformed into cocktails in ways you did not expect.
Andrew and Bastion, the two directors of the ice room in front of the temple, shared with me their wine list creation process, at the beginning of the creation, not to taste or choose the base wine, but two people carrying cameras and notebooks, like tourists in Beijing, walking around and taking photos, understanding the stories behind landmarks and attractions, looking for the unique charm and pace of Beijing City where classical and modern are integrated. One landmark after another, scene after scene, and one photo after another, it finally turned into a cup of very Beijing and very MO cocktails.
Peking opera meets graffiti, liquor collides with hip hop, the picture of the entrance of Jingye Erguotou Distillery becomes Eurasian, which glows with the new charm of traditional Chinese wine culture, potato vodka from the United Kingdom and Jingye Erguotou from Beijing collide fiercely, adding Beijing white pear homemade fruit mushrooms, fennel amber flavor Mes, yogurt filter whey, so that it is intense, full of flavor, and the entrance is dense and comfortable.
The installation "Straight Lines and Curves" of Beijing's art landmark 798 inspired bartenders, American bourbon and French cognac as the base wine, colliding with the enthusiasm of youth, accompanied by distilled cider and homemade apple butter to bring out sweet fruity aromas and rich butter flavors, as well as lime juice and freshly squeezed ginger juice, this cup of Two Wrongs Make a Right that I like very much drinks the song of chasing away the waves of youth.
I've seen many cocktails inspired by history, humanities and arts, but I've never seen anything like original bartending that reflects the current socio-economic situation. Who would have thought that two creative bartenders would be inspired by the large number of discarded shared bicycles on the side of Sanlitun Street, using sweet white wine, bourbon, IPA beer, homemade Caribbean syrup and lemon juice to concoct a glass of 90 Seconds of Frame, bringing out the freshness of convenient life and the bitter helplessness behind the sweetness through the collision of flavors.
Sunset Hunter, inspired by the terrace of MO Bar, a new landmark in Beijing, is just around the corner. Fujana rum, Finette Hunter Liqueur, Lemon Juice and Syrup form a sweet and sour light drink with a fresh herbal flavor, and the last drop of red gold Bally becomes the point of the pen, making the whole glass of wine appear the beauty of the sunset. On the terrace, accompanied by a cool breeze, facing the Forbidden City under the sunset, enjoy a glass of sunset beauty.
There are also more cocktails created for MO Bar in the temple ice room, which are not listed here, and are left for you to explore and taste one by one. When you open the wine list, not only can you see the photos and introductions of cocktails, but also have the source of inspiration photos and the introduction of the landmarks, looking at the wine list is already like experiencing a small and fine stroll through Beijing, foreign friends come to Beijing, if you don't have time to visit, you can come to MO Bar, under the guidance of the bartender, follow the wine and drink together in Beijing.