Happier Abroad Forum Community

I recently went to an expat-filled bar right in the middle of the Coco-Park Shopping Center called Mccawley's Irish Pub. There is also another chain in Shekou as well as in Guangzhou.

The most popular one is in Coco-Park, due to the big Western shopping center here, and also because there are many other expat restaurants here too, such as Papa Johns and Cold Stone Creamery.

I don't recommend shopping at Coco-Park, because everything there is so damn expensive there; best bet is to shop in Laojie (underground market) for clothes, or Huaqing North for electronic, cellphone and computer accessories.

Anyway, if you're looking for Chinese females to sleep with, then you're in the right place. Just don't go expecting to find a 'good' women there, though. The foreigners that I went with--and also the ones I met at the bar--tell me that there's lots of gold-diggers hanging around the joint; so be careful, if you're interested in some of the girls there. Take that in mind when going there. And, yes, some of the girls there are smoking hot.

There's a good mix of foreigners and Chinese socializing together, so that's one cool thing I liked about the place. It also seems popular with some Chinese couples as well. And the Chinese/Filipino band that plays there at night, is pretty good as well.

Also, the food is pretty good at Mccawley's (they even serve breakfast!) but it's a bit on the expensive side. (A pint of Guinness cost 70 yuan...outrageous!)

They've got excellent hamburgers in the pub and the fish-and-chips is some of the best in Shenzhen.

It's also a good place to hang-out and network with other expats and foreigners, for jobs and other information; I'm trying to meet with other foreigners there, so I can find a better job that pays more than what I'm getting currently. (I'm getting screwed by my agency, so don't bother using one if you're looking for a teaching job in China.)

So, any HA members live in or near Shenzhen? Maybe we could meet-up and hang-out there if you like. The one thing that I miss about the USA and also England, is that you can find a pub or bar right down the street from you, so it's very easy to get to, and hang-out in one; that's not the case in Shenzhen (and some other parts of China), and the prices are to damn expensive here, for the beer...

Oh, here's the website of the bar: http://www.mccawleys.com/ft/

When you say you miss having a pub right down the street in the USA, you mean you miss having a pub right down the street in New York City. Most Americans live in the post-WWII built environment, which was fashioned with strict single use zoning regulations. They cannot walk to a pub, they have to drive. Which means they cannot drink long or much, or they will face DUI charges, because the cops are waiting outside all such establishments, at least on weekends.

It also means they will be associating in the pub with self-destructive lowlifes, because that's all you find now in American watering holes. This is one of the big reasons I go to Europe -- you can walk to watering holes and expect to meet normal middle-class people there.

Nice report. Guangzhou was sorely lacking in bars, as was the rest of China I saw.

I took Falcon to an expat bar in Guangzhou. We had excellent food but for the price of an imported beer you could get 10-20 local beers from my local supermarket. Lol.

We didn't see many "single" Chinese women that night, it was mostly expats on a family night out with the kids.

There was much better bar culture in Thailand, and also in Japan.

Chinese guys seem to prefer KTV places, but they're risky due to the extreme risk of getting charged huge amounts of money.

Best place to find teaching jobs is to get friendly with the admin staff at a University - they were forever showing me teaching jobs in Gz.

gsjackson wrote:When you say you miss having a pub right down the street in the USA, you mean you miss having a pub right down the street in New York City. Most Americans live in the post-WWII built environment, which was fashioned with strict single use zoning regulations. They cannot walk to a pub, they have to drive. Which means they cannot drink long or much, or they will face DUI charges, because the cops are waiting outside all such establishments, at least on weekends.

It also means they will be associating in the pub with self-destructive lowlifes, because that's all you find now in American watering holes. This is one of the big reasons I go to Europe -- you can walk to watering holes and expect to meet normal middle-class people there.

Yeah, Europe is great for 'bar-hopping,' and i miss that part of my life...

In Europe, going to pubs is a common, everyday occurrence, where people from all socio-economics levels and walks-of-life gather to relax and have a good time. In the U.S., it's more about finding 'one-night' stands and getting smashed, rather than it being about a social gathering and meeting new people...

In my neighborhood in Queens, it's rather easy to find bars and pubs even in residential areas. I don't know why you would have to go to Manhattan for that, unless you're going to some pretentious, ultra-hip joint, which I'd rather pass on...