Escape from town life

Two old-school Beijing party animals teamed up with one of the partners from a historic South Street dive to bring the ten-kuai bar to Nuren Jie.

The bartender is a young buck, hand-trained by the owners and encouraged to experiment.

The result is a menu full of imaginatively titled shooters – some classics, some invented. A good deal on great shots can lead to one Horny Bull and one Angel Kiss, two Slippery Nipples, one Blow Job, potentially one Gorilla Fart (depending on your partner), one Sex on the Beach, then one Orgasm – or even better, two – which results in the China White and one Cum Shot; it’s a Good Night, with any 12 shooters for RMB 100, any day of the week.

The boss-men are adamant that all their booze is real. One said, “We got tired of having skull-drilling headaches after a night on the town. We party here every day. But we get hangovers now, not headaches.”

Every Saturday, Escape hosts a free BBQ with sausage and wings. “It’s just an alternative to peanuts. I’d rather have wings,” says the South African owner. With a foosball table and an old-school arcade, Escape feels more like a rec room than a bar. Although the decorations aren’t complete, the managers have promise, and more importantly, dreams. If their ideas come to fruition, this could be a bar to draw ten-kuai aficionados out to dusty Nuren Jie.