Housed in an old school building that had seen better days, this is the last place you would expect to find one of Beijing's most popular hangouts for the well-heeled. Just as bewildering are the streets that lead to this exotic lounge and restaurant near the south entrance of the Workers' Stadium at Gong Ti Nan Lu. (Apparently, there are two "Nan Lu" or south streets, one runs east-west, the other spans north-south).
Yet, inside Face Beijing, the scene changes dramatically and first-time guests will wonder if they have just stepped into an antique shrine. Prior to the Face Beijing's opening in July 2006, managing director Haidhi Angkawaijana and designer Frank Drake scoured Asia for three years, acquiring artifacts from Indonesia, Thailand and India to create the Bar's unique pan-Asian flavor, in their own words, "in the great traditions of Silk Route caravanserais".
Walls and ceilings are painted in tri-colors of ochre-red, sulphur-yellow and Persian blue. A mix of traditional Beijing terracotta and wooden flooring, coupled with candles and warm lighting, adds to the temple feel.
As with all other Face establishments in Jakarta, Shanghai, Bangkok and Pudong, guests can dine at the Lan Na Thai and Hazara restaurants, (serving Thai and North Indian Frontier cuisines respectively), before regressing to the Bar to unwind. Not surprisingly, a third restaurant named Jia, serves cuisine that is closer to home. Face Beijing also has plans to add a Moroccan offering in November 2007 in the form of a large Arabian tent replete with rugs and cushions.
And when conversion of the third floor of this school building into guest suites and construction of a spa are completed in 2008, Face Beijing would truly resemble the Silk Road caravanserais of the modern era that its owners so passionately and painstakingly sought to create.
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