Pay to drink at a stranger’s home? Home bars a growing trend in China’s lonely big cities

BEIJING – Mr Ken Yang, 32, carefully picks up cubes of ice from a plastic box for a martini, before weighing the other ingredients: vermouth and gin.

He also came up with his own concoctions to welcome customers to his “home bar”, which opened in December 2023. These include drinks featuring 12-year-old vinegar from Shanxi province in north China, his version of “Butterbeer” inspired by the Harry Potter series and a tomato-and-tabasco vodka mixture – all costing 40 yuan each.

Owners usually charge an entry fee of 100 to 300 yuan per person regardless of how much a guest drinks, though some also bill customers according to their drink orders. Customers can order food delivery. “Potential customers started messaging me to find out more, but I didn’t really expect anyone to show up on my first night,” he said. That night in December 2022, seven people turned up at his home bar, which is named One Place.

Tech firm manager Snowman Wang, 30, started running a bar in his home in Shanghai in August 2023, as he understands that it can be lonely living in China’s financial hub. Mr Wang believes that home bars have taken off in busy cities as a result of the stress that young Chinese face at work and in making friends.

His wife quit her job in e-commerce at a tech firm in October 2023 to focus on running their home bar, Home-N. Mr Wang, who has kept his day job, said the “money made from running a bar cannot compare with a salary drawn at an Internet firm in China, but we felt that it was a worthy pursuit”.After his home bar took off, Mr Zhan left his job as a digital sales manager and opened a bar on rented premises in September 2023.

She wanted to make sure that their posts are not “in bad taste” and that they do not appear to have “difficult personalities”.Ms Wang, who works full-time at an Internet company in Hangzhou, started her residential bar about six months ago, after finding out about the concept on Xiaohongshu.

Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

DBS CEO’s 2023 pay slashed by 27% due to service outagesDespite the bank's record profits in 2023, the service outages led Gupta's pay to drop from $15.4 million in 2022 to $11.2 million, last year.
Source: IndependentSG - 🏆 2. / 72 Read more »

CEO Piyush Gupta suffers 27% pay cut due to DBS's disruptions, receives $11.2mSINGAPORE — DBS Bank chief executive officer Piyush Gupta was paid $11.2 million in 2023, the bank said in its annual report out on March 6, a drop of 27 per cent from the $15.4 million he brought home in 2022. This follows the bank's announcement in February that the 2023 variable compensation for its CEO and other members of...
Source: asiaonecom - 🏆 10. / 59 Read more »

Kentucky Bill sparks outrage: Mandatory lunch breaks axed, worker pay reducedLatest Breaking News
Source: IndependentSG - 🏆 2. / 72 Read more »

South Korea to Improve Pay and Working Conditions for Young DoctorsSouth Korea will address the demands of medical trainees by improving pay and working conditions. The government plans to limit working hours and provide monthly allowances for trainee doctors.
Source: STForeignDesk - 🏆 4. / 71 Read more »

Grab users can now pay using cryptocurrencySINGAPORE — Users of Grab's services will now have the option of paying in cryptocurrencies following the ride-hailing operator's tie-up with payments firm Triple-A. The Straits Times was alerted by Grab users to the development after they found the new payment option available in their GrabPay Wallet.
Source: asiaonecom - 🏆 10. / 59 Read more »

Yishun resident convicted after failing to pay town council charges since 2017SINGAPORE — A Housing Board resident who stopped paying service and conservancy charges because she was unhappy with Nee Soon Town Council found herself in court over unpaid bills amounting to $565.50. Chan Geok Eng failed to pay town council fees from March 2017 to July 2018.
Source: asiaonecom - 🏆 10. / 59 Read more »