DJMT 豆浆面汤国际青年旅舍

Article By Thabo Jaffe

I I’ve been on the prowl for rooftop bars for ages. Let’s start there.

If you’re able to read Chinese, you might be a little confused about the name of this new rooftop bar (Dou Jiang Mian Tang) and possibly confuse it with a restaurant – translated VERY roughly as soy milk noodle broth. The name stems from a little inside joke that CJ, the owner, had with some friends a few years ago when he was running a little stall (later also named DJMT) on the inside of the wall. As a humble Xi’an veteran (with waistlength dreadlocks) CJ can share with you a great deal of history about Xi’an’s rock scene and the many changes he’s witnessed over the years.

Located above a hostel of the same name, just 10m inside Xiaonanmen, DJMT is an understatedly warm and homey bar, that will often greet you with perfectly harmonized melodies from the likes of Simon and Garfunkel and The Beatles. You’ll take the elevator to the 4th fl oor and walk through the hostel to get to the upstairs bar.

The bar’s style is unparalleled, with warm lighting, inviting atmosphere, creative pallet seating and beautiful views over the city wall, especially if you’re lucky enough to make it there during a smog-free afternoon. I would defi nitely recommend the rice wine (mijiu) and yellow rice wine (huangjiu) as highlights of the menu, especially if they’vemanaged to elude your usual list of bar favorites. Along with the traditional order of rice wine should be a side of Drunken Fish to complement it, as it’s also partly made with, well, rice wine. For those feeling a bit puckish, you might be slightly disappointed to know that, for now at least, they don’t have a full menu of cooked food. However, you can still be well satisfi ed with their much wider range of bar snacks which most likely won’t be found at other bars.

While this is a new bar still trying to fi nd its feet, we were privy to some upcoming plans in the new year, such as an outdoor stage for warmer months, weekly themed movie nights, and a more comprehensive kitchen. All in all, if you like music, a relaxed environment, great snacks, views, and a change of scene, this is the place you’ve been looking for.

4F, First Block, East of inside of Small South Gate, Beilin District
( 碑林区小南门内东侧第一栋楼4楼有电梯 )
029-87623016
180-6680-8426
6:00pm – 2:00am

Average Price per Person /人均消费 : 60 RMB

PROS:
Easy to find – literally AT Xiaonanmen, decent priced (cold)drinks, and if you can bear the cold for now, great views of the city

CONS:
Possibly getting your own drink and waiting for it. And for now, going down to the hostel to use the toilet

Thabo is an avid explorer and less-thanworldly South African, always in search of new experiences. Stopping just short of suicidal, he’s a true Yes Man. You can reach him via email at thabojaffe@gmail.com

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