@FIREFLY COCKTAIL BAR
NE W B A R S | E AT & DR INK
Intimate Intoxication By Ryan Gandolfo
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f you’re looking for a quiet and cozy place to enjoy a drink and company, @Firefly is a new spot that checks those boxes. Located off Huaxia Lu in the heart of the city’s downtown area, the cocktail bar can be found on the second floor of R&F Yingtong Square, with the establishment’s neon sign visible from outside the mall. The entrance can be found through a small glass room loosely decorated with whiskey bottles (if you can even call it decoration). Once inside, however, the bar takes on an impressive design, redefining a traditional bar layout: There is ample space for guests to kick back with a beverage, while the bartender operates behind a bar uniquely shaped like a capital I. The offerings at @Firefly feature an array of specialty and classic cocktails as well as a collection of Scotch and Japanese whiskeys. Oddly enough, the drink names on the menu are written in Chinese while the
FLYING PAN White Out! By Matthew Bossons
ingredients are added in English – meaning only bilinguals will really know what it is they’re ordering. The Meizi Guniang (RMB85), made with choya, pineapple juice, cranberry juice and lemon juice, is both visually appealing and tasty, albeit catering to those less inclined for the hard stuff. Meanwhile, the Old Fashioned (RMB85) is true to form and delivers a boozy punch complemented by an orangey aroma. If you’re arriving with an appetite, you’ll be disappointed to learn that the bar has few food options, so we recommend grabbing a bite beforehand. Perhaps most captivating and distinctive about @Firefly is the vibe, with the space illuminated by the bar shelves and multicolored drop-down lights, while classic hits you’ve likely heard in a movie or two play overhead. To sum it up, we view @Firefly as a prime spot to take a date or simply check out with a small group of friends.
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hen you first watched the Matrix Reloaded, were you enthralled by the brilliant white hallway filled with endless doors that Neo wanders to locate the white-haired boomer known simply as ‘The Architect’? Or, what about the blinding white interior of Jango Fett’s flat on the planet Kamino in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones? If you were moved – or inspired – by the stunning lack of color in either of these iconic film sets, then there is a new bar near our office that you will absolutely love: Flying Pan (Chinese name: 半山小馆). While the establishment shares its English name with an iconic Hong Kong diner, you won’t want to arrive here expecting eggs benny and black pudding. No, this spot, for us anyway, is all about the beer and the very, very colorless interior. In addition to walls as white as the exterior of Al Pacino’s nose in that one Scarface scene (you know the one), Flying Pan sports four taps, each pouring a different small-batch concoction. On our most recent visit, Flying Pan had a Baltic porter (RMB45 per glass), hefeweizen (RMB48), West Coast IPA (RMB48) and an elderberry cider (RMB45). The IPA is as memorable as Kate Winslet’s topless scene in Titanic, with a passive hoppy taste that renders it a sessionable choice. The hefeweizen is equally
Price: RMB150 Who’s going: close friends, Curious Georges Good for: private talks, cool photos for social media Nearest metro: Zhujiang New Town (Exit A1), 7 minutes’ walk
Open daily, 7pm-2am. Shop 205, Fuli Yingtong Dasha Shangchang, Huaxia Lu, Tianhe District 天河区华夏路 富力盈通大厦商场205铺 (82730070)
as good, although the elderberry cider smells and tastes like soap from Bed Bath & Beyond. Worth noting: The taps here are set to change on occassion, as Flying Pan’s draft supplier, which is based in Foshan, will provide new brews seasonally. While we don’t have space to profile the full range of beverages and foodstuffs at the bar slash restaurant slash cafe (you know, because we wasted so much space with stupid pop culture references), Flying Pan does offer a decent selection of Western and Chinese edibles as well as coffee, tea and a limited range of cocktails.
Price: RMB48 per drink Who’s going: employees at That’s GBA, people tired of drinking at the 7-Eleven across the road Good for: wearing sunglasses inside, losing your white sweater Nearest metro: Taojin (Exit B), 15 minutes’ walk Open Daily 6pm-midnight. 10-38 Luyuan Lu, Yuexiu District 越秀区麓苑路38号10 (189 0220 4150)
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