High brow meets high hems

(beijing weekend)
Updated: 2007-06-05 10:33

Hey ladies. You want to drink free champagne in suave digs? Yeah? Well, be prepared to bare your legs. But in keeping with the spirit of gender equality, guys can also snag a flute of the bubbly stuff if they are prepared to show their flesh too.

All you have to do is don a mini skirt and head to Zeta Bar, inside the Hilton Hotel, on a Friday night. There weren't any gents that I saw donning high-hemmed numbers last week but hey, the bar staff were plenty busy pouring glass after glass of Moet to long legged women swarming around chilled open bottles.

The fancy booze was kept in chrome cages behind the barkeeps, however when you're giving the stuff away there's little threat of theft.

My partner and my colleague had a filled glass in each hand while the males of the group bitterly swigged back not-so-cheap gin and tonics. Still, I don't want to give you the impression that this is not a classy establishment.

It's a joint that James Bond would feel at home in: high ceilings, balcony to leer from, dimmed lights and somber dcor. It actually reminded me of the inside of Bond's escape hatch in Moonraker (minus the balcony).

A jazz band was on hand to complete this scene of sophistication and the resident DJ, a snakeskin boot and leather pant-wearing Australian with a medieval haircut, lent the room a certain synthetic hipness.

Come to think of it, Zeta Bar is far more new Bond (Daniel Craig) than Roger Moore. Elegant? Sure. Willing to mince uptown cultivation with edgy urban chic? You bet. To top it off, free giggle-juice for girls in short skirts. Don't know what 007 would think about blokes in drag though.

Opening hours: Mon-Thu 5pm-2am, Fri-Sun 5pm-3am.
Location: Zeta Bar, 2/F, Hilton Beijing, Dongfang Lu, Dongsanhuan Beilu, Chaoyang District.
Tel: 010-6466-2288.



Feature  

Pilgrimage to Tibet
If you want to get a detailed Travel Handbook to Tibet and know more interesting tour routes leading to this divine place. Please click here!

Yunnan New Film Project
Ten female directors from China! Ten unique sights from mysterious Yunnan Province!Yunnan New Film Project,Travel with the film.Wanna know more? Please click here!
Editors' Picks  
Beijing Guide  

Eating out: A touch of Shanghai charm
Bars&Cafes: High brow meets high hems
Weekend&Holiday: Enter the dragon
Shopping: The rules of engagement
What's on: The tiger and the snow

Shanghai Guide  
Eating out: Cool ending for Sunday brunch
Bars&Cafes: Wine season comes
Weekend&Holiday: Sake quest
Shopping: Music pavilion
What's on: Oriental Dvorak