Discovering Arrow Factory Brewing

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Arrow Factory Brewing, sorry what?

Thanks to a ticket I won in the British Ball, I had a voucher for a (modest) discount at ” Arrow Factory Brewing”, a place I had no idea about.
It is a bit off the beaten track, along the Liangma River north of Canadian embassy and north of that big DRC compound.
Downstairs, the microbrewery. Second floor the main restaurant/bar, not too large and cozy. Looks like an old factory. Then upstairs what I call a “creative” terrace: overlooks the river but now in winter there is a tent with some heaters, making it a discreet place to have a meal and drink.

Drinks and food

We could say, Arrow Factory Brewing is known for its beers and its sausages. The “Dutch sausage” was very tasty. They make them somewhere in a hutong.
Beer I had was also good. Nice manager, from … Iceland!
I tried their “Brazilian Cachaça”. The bottle seemed genuine (marked “51” but not sure it is that brand I know). However disappointed as it had zero taste from the famous Brazilian alcohol made of sugar cane – I love that stuff. You can get the real one in some Beijing locations (e.g. Bar Revolution). I wonder if it is a (well done) fake. Next time I should tell the manager to drop that one for a real pinga. Otherwise the caipirinha will totally miss its true taste.
Nice place and reasonable prices, away from the Sanlitun crowds.

Shui Wawa promotion at Legend Beer

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Shui Wawa?

On 19 November, a Shui Wawa promotion at Legend Beer.
I was asked to help to describe the product and take some pictures.
SHUI WAWA, or, WATER BABY 4D, is a probiotic product putting a bio film on the teeth. It is similar to mouth wash, looks like foam toothpaste. It is a new generation of products to protect your teeth. Spray it in the mouth, wash the teeth with it then spit it out. It is a new way to use probiotics.
It was a fun evening, as usual having a lot of my favored draft “Worker Stadium West IPA”, a pretty bitter IPA I prefer above others of their good beers. See the picture with the brew master.

Shui Wawa promotion at Legend Beer

Anyway, a good excuse to enjoy the food, their sausages, baby ribs and crispy pork knuckle are all very well done. And all in the company of many nice people, friends and gorgeous-looking girls, and of course many Chinese. People from all over the world, USA. UK, Australia, Ukraine, Venezuela and Kazakhstan, among others. And many Chinese who were eager to take pictures with the photographer.
See also some pictures of earlier visits. One customer had ordered the big lamb leg,

District SR Frank Yih at Rotary Beijing

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Our special guest(s)

On 15 November District SR Frank Yih (Special Representative) joined the Beijing Rotary lunch at the Kempinski Hotel, along with other delegates from Shanghai.
SR Frank started his presentation with a video of RIP John Germ’s speech about this year’s theme – Rotary Serving Humanity. Frank then explained the Presidential Citation and the status of our clubs. There are 15 clubs and 5 provisional clubs in Mainland China as of today; there are 7 Rotaract clubs and 11 Interact clubs, see the slides. Frank also presented the district structure, finance and plans. The current District Service Projects are Gift of Life (GOL) and Save Kids Lives (SKL). SR Frank also invited fellow Rotarians to join him in the RI Convention Atlanta on June 10-14, 2017.

Our Gift of Life Program

One of our key project, now gradually the task is taken over by other organizations.
Congenital Heart Defects in China:
The incidence rate of CHD is about 0.7% to 1.1% based on the national data, and in the higher elevation regions the rate is increased to 1.37% to 2.5%.
More than 150,000 born with CHD per year.
About 1/3 died in one month due to the serious CHD or complex malformation
Another 1/3 died in very young age due to the exacerbation or delay of the surgery.
What we have achieved:
Over 20 million RMB raised by Rotary Club of Shanghai, Beijing & Chengdu;
More than 1,000 children from poor family operated.

Visiting Rtn James presented Save Kids Lives Project (SKL).

As few people know. the leading cause of death in China for children under 14 are traffic accidents, another major cause being drowning.
Ever seen kids sitting in the front seat, or back seat, without protection? Adults in the back seat without a safety belt? Those are major causes of death. Chinese totally ignore the terrible risks. In European countries those attitudes are punishable by law. In case of any accidents the kids simply fly through the front window, normally with instant death.
SKL promotes awareness of the danger, with the government and all concerned.

PP Piper explains DDF

PP Piper gave a presentation on the Fund Drive 2016: District Designated Fund (DDF) and the global Impact of Rotary Work.
The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to enable Rotary members to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty. The Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotary members and friends of the Foundation who share its vision of a better world. This support is essential to make possible projects, funded with Foundation grants, that bring sustainable improvement to communities in need.

Thanks  District SR Frank Yih for the visit and the presentations!

Old China Hands lunch 4 November

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Old China Hands at Morel’s Restaurant

Great to have our twenty Old China Hands at our lunch of Friday 4 November. The usual RSVP with people super busy, travelling or – with an autumn cold.

The next Old China Hands Lunch

Next one is Friday 2 December. I expect also people to be super busy again. The last one for 2016. In 2017, the first one to be on Friday 6 January. Mark your calendars!

Introducing the Rotaract West 2016 Winter Ball

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Focus on the Rotaract West 2016 Winter Ball

During our weekly Rotary lunch at Kempinski Hotel on 8 November we had our Rotaractors from Rotaract Beijing West introducing their upcoming Rotaract West Winter Ball.
As announced earlier the Ball will be at the Hilton Hotel on 10 December.
Thanks to Kien, president, and Brennan, Director of Media and Technology for the introduction.

(pics by Celine)

Details of the Rotaract West 2016 Winter Ball

I quote Brennan:

The Beijinger’s 2016 Best Band award winners, “Stevie Mac & the Mac Daddies” will be performing live!
Don’t miss out on the chance to celebrate the continued success of Morning Tears in China as we work together to rebuild the lives for children with imprisoned parents. This holiday season, we’re offering the chance to both give the gift of support to these deserving kids, as well as to gift an incredible party to your co-workers, friends & family!
As Rotaractors, we spend hours working to give back to Beijing with a passion that burns deep in the core of what Rotary is all about. We hope, that by joining us at this event, you’ll see that passion reflected in our work and we’ll enjoy together in fellowship, “The 2016 Winter Ball”!

See here the presentation by Morning Tears as well as the sponsorship opportunities:
161210-morningtears_winterball