12 Square Metres - The Movie

For those of you curious to see the little bar I've been banging on about so much over the past 15 months - 12 Square Metres, "Beijing's smallest bar" - this short film about the place was recently posted on the Chinese Web portal 163.com.  Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any facility for embedding the video directly in my blog here - but I do encourage you to click on the link: it's a charming little feature that captures much of the magic of our favourite watering-hole.  Highlights include Li Mei, our friendly hostess, mixing up the 'house cocktail', a Beijing Sky, and the rather gorgeous presenter tentatively trying the 'house snack', an Aussie meat pie.  The only thing it's lacking is the wombily cosy gloom we so love about the place.  The film was shot on a bright summer's afternoon, so it misses the nighttime ambience.  Ah well, the other thing it's missing, of course, is JK, the camera-shy owner, who was grumpily skulking over the road throughout the filming.  Oh yes, and it's missing myself and Dr Manhattan and the other regulars too.  Not so much custom during the daytime.  Only one actual customer appears, and it's not anyone I know. A fine introduction to the bar, though: if you're outside of Beijing and can't visit in person, this is almost as good as being there.