Going Away in Style

From [09.06.26] Going Away Party at Obiwan and Chocolate

A fond farewell isn’t very fond without that time honored tradition: the going away party.

In true Colleen and Sean fashion, we started the party on Friday night and kept it going all the way through Sunday night at 2AM. Well, of course interspersed with bouts of sleep.

Friday

From [09.06.26] Going Away Party at Obiwan and Chocolate

We began the marathon with what we originally believed to be our only going away shindig at Club Obiwan, a chill bar/lounge with a roof deck overlooking Qihai lake right in the middle of Beijing. We should have known that things wouldn’t have ended there, as the whole crew rolled over to Chocolate. Chocolate might just be the most spectacular club I’ve ever been to. Run and staffed by Russians, the club features a midget doorman sporting a mohawk, scantily-clad (um, underwear only) “dancers,” gaudily opulent velvet banquets and Louis the XIV chairs,a live band that sings Russian electro hits and reasonably priced bottles of alcohol. It didn’t take us long to realize our group of 15-20 definitely needed to buy the best booth right next to the stage — for a meager $150 in spend, which is 3 bottles of booze, mixers and a hookah. This was 1000 kuai here and would easily have cost $1000 in NYC (probably more). The night devolved and I’ll let what happened at the club stay at the club, but I escaped unscathed and sober. We sure went out with a bang!

Saturday

From [09.06.27] Ristorante Sadler and 最后的 Cash Box (KTV)

After packing up all day Saturday, we met up with Jonathon, Emily and Emily’s mom, Sandy, on Saturday. As a lovely engagement present, Jonathon and Em treated us to a wonderful dinner at Ristorante Sadler, an Italian restaurant in the Legation Quarter created by 2-star Michelin chef Claudio Sadler. The handmade breads were one of the highlights, as was my liquid risotto-filled ravioli topped with sweetbreads. Mmmm, brains. I definitely felt a bit smarter eating them.

From [09.06.27] Ristorante Sadler and 最后的 Cash Box (KTV)

After dinner, we hit up “Cash Box” — also known as Party World — for one last epic karaoke session. On the ride home, I couldn’t help but get a little weepy that I was leaving my best friend behind in Beijing.

[09.06.26] Going Away Party at Obiwan and Chocolate
[09.06.27] Ristorante Sadler and 最后的 Cash Box (KTV)

One Response to “Going Away in Style”

  1. Alla Says:

    So I was also under the impression that sweetbreads were brain, but it’s actually the thymus gland, which is in the neck, not sure how i feel about eating a gland…

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