Booze @ Uprock

Posted in: Forums > Living in Kunming • 4 posts • Newest

• • Onobaron
    May 11, 2008
    9 posts
  • I want to start this thread by saying this it is meant as constructive criticism only, I am in no way trying to influence or hurt the business Uprock is doing. There is one major problem though, that has convinced myself, as well as a number of my friends, to strike Uprock as a venue we want to frequent, FAKE ALCOHOL. The last visit to Uprock, a friend bought a round of Heineken, and for a while I tried to say that perhaps the beer had heated and cooled too many times during shipping, thus creating a "skunky" beer. At 20 kuai a bottle, my friend paid a high price to buy 4 (small) bottles of undoubtedly BAD beer. After this, we all agreed to change location to have another. I won't say the name of the bar we chose, but here we all again had a Heineken. This time we got 4 (big) bottles at a price of 15 kuai per bottle. The difference was undeniable. This one had no "skunky" flavor, and was obviously a real Heineken. For the rest of the evening, the topic of fake beer was never from the conversation.

    http://www.gokunming.com/[...]

    If it is truly fake alcohol, this problem manifests itself in what is maybe Uprock's most well known weekly event, Ladies Night. The girls I've talked to, say that even though the pre-made pitchers of Margaritas are free, they would rather pay for a few drinks that are tolerable, than drink ones that are "weak" or taste strange. These are the two most common descriptions I've heard of the free Ladies Night drinks.

    I am writing this in the hope that the person in charge of buying alcohol at Uprock gets this information, and perhaps will improve the quality of either the products they buy, or the distributer they use. I of course like having another choice of venue in Kunming's nightlife, but whatever the place, it won't be an option if they're pushing fake booze.

• • Jared
    May 12, 2008
    19 posts
  • I haven't tried their Heineken but I can say that they are walking a thin line on their "Qingdao Laogao" beer. Despite the name it is a copycat brand of no relation to the original Qingdao. When they first opened they didn't even mention the Laogao part. If that's any indication, you may be right about those Heinekens.

    Personally I think Uprock's atmosphere is a welcome change in Kunming's nightlife scene, but I am definitely annoyed about the alcohol situation.

• • Private Joker
    May 13, 2008
    30 posts
  • Nevermind the beer, I had a whiskey and coke and 4 G&Ts in the space of 45 minutes and was completely unaffected so the spirits aren't great either.

• • timkunming
    May 19, 2008
    85 posts
  • I'll add to this. Simply stated, the drinks they serve are horrible. One of two things is happening - one, they're serving fake alcohol (or watered down) - or two, they're really skimming on the shots. I bought a gin and tonic, and I'll be damned if it didn't taste like a glass of club soda. My wife had a vodka red bull, and shockingly enough, not a hint of vodka's notorious taste nor smell present.

    Go there for the music, but have a drinking session somewhere else before you go.

• The Old Theatre Inn
• Lost Garden Guesthouse & Restaurant
• Chicago Coffee
• Kunming Mei's Mandarin School
• As You Like
• Keats School
• Moondog
• GoKunming
• YMCA Club 1933
• Slice of Heaven
• Kingsway Tented Resorts
• Bakery 88
• Camel Bar
• The Mask
• Kunming College of Eastern Language and Culture
• My Favor Restaurant
• Chapter One
• Wonders Of Yunnan Travel
• O'Reilly's Irish Pub
• Salvador's Coffee House
• Wangtianshu Restaurant & Deli
• Tenwest Mandarin School
• Cacao Mexican Restaurant
• Flying Tigers Restaurant
• Kunming Yu-Cong Enterprise Management Company
• Huiying Dental Clinic