With its table football table, pinball table and darts board, this basement bar nestling in the shadows of the giant Shibuya station is nothing if not aptly named. Happily, its attractions do not stop with the diversions on offer. Among the many beers from all over the world on sale are draught German Holsten, which is very difficult to find in Tokyo, Belgian Kriek and Filipino San Miguel. Better still, until the end of December, you can drink as much Holsten as you can in one hour for just ?770, less than the price of a pint. The downside is the ?400 per head table charge, for which you receive a bowl of lukewarm nibbles from the extensive food menu.
Archive for May, 2010
Bramah Tea & Coffee Museum
corner of Gainsford Street & Maguire Street, SE1 (020 7378 0222)
London Bridge tube/rail/P11, 15, 42, 47, 78 bus. Open 10am-6pm daily. Admission £4; £3 5s-15s, OAPs, disabled, ES40s; £10 family. Credit AmEx, JCB, MC, £TC, V.
Website: http://www.bramahmuseum.co.uk
Though he’s been in the business for half a century, it was only in the early 1990s that Edward Bramah, a former tea taster, set up this unusual museum to chart the history of tea and coffee drinking. The new premises allow the two infusions to be studied separately, and their important role in British society to be documented. There’s also an impressive collection of coffee makers and teapots (including the world’s largest) and a cafÈ where you can try out the real thing.
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FA Premier League Hall of Fame
County Hall, Riverside Building, Westminster Bridge Road, SE1 (020 7928 1800)
Westminster tube or Waterloo tube/rail. Open 10am-6pm daily (last entry 5pm). Admission £9.95; £6.50 4s-15s; £7.50 OAPs, disabled, students, ES40s. Credit AmEx, MC, £TC, V.
Website: http://www.hall-of-fame.co.uk
Not a bad stab at giving a history of football from its origins to the present day (although you might want to give the first exhibit, the lamentable Football Physics Laboratory, a miss). The exhibition mostly comprises information panels and interesting interactive screens, with the odd dummy here and there, but disappointingly few bits of memorabilia. Not surprisingly, much is made of England’s World Cup victory in 1966. The final two exhibits are a bit of a letdown: the eponymous Hall of Fame, with lifelike but few models of famous footballers such as David Seaman, Alan Shearer and co (but, surprisingly, no Michael Owen), and the section where you get to play on footie video games.
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The Asian Comedy Experience with the Funjabi’s
If you’ve seen their BBC show ‘Goodness Gracious Me’, you’ll know what to expect from Sody Singh Kahlon, Shelley Chopra, Tony Singh and David Capstick. They are equally adept at social satire as they are at being just plain over-the-top absurd. Fans of such British humour, as displayed by ‘The Fast Show’ or ‘Smack the Pony’, will be very happy that they got tickets. Did you know that the Royal Family are Indian?
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Habana Café
Hotel Meliá Cohiba, Paseo, entre 1ra y 3ra (333636)
Open noon-4am daily. Admission $11 drink minimum Mon-Sat; $10-$30 Sun.
The café has a 1950s wannabe air to it. It’s decorated with American classic cars (a Chevy, a Pontiac and a Buick), pictures of Hemingway and loads of pre-Revolutionary memorabilia. Live traditional music is played here on and off all day long and there’s a show at 10pm from Monday to Saturday. Sunday nights feature first-rate bands such as Azur Negra, NG La Banda and Los Van Van. (These concerts usually start around 11pm.) Due to the high cover charge, this is pretty much a non-Cuban environment. The food is trying to be Hard Rock.
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Enemy At The Gates
A strong young Brit cast – Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Joseph Fiennes – lead the way in the most expensive European film ever made, a war epic about the siege of Stalingrad.
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Glass Comes to Life: Dale Chihuly
World-renowned glass sculptor Dale Chihuly’s work (as collected by George R Stroemple) is on exhibition at the Las Vegas Art Museum through April. Chihuly, a Tacoma native who today calls trendy Palm Springs home, learned his Venetian glass-blowing techniques while studying in Italy on a Fulbright Scholarship in the late-1960s. His most recent works include a massive lobby chandelier at the Bellagio Resort, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and an installation at the Tower of David Museum in old Jerusalem.
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The Album Museum
A museum that’s ideal if you like to be involved with the exhibits rather than just observe them. The house was built in the 17th-century but only the façade remains from the original structure. It’s been the home to butchers and clockmakers but now interactive exhibitions are the order of the day. Currently you can discover ‘Europe ZigZag’ and follow in the footsteps of Charles V, Erasmus, Napoleon and Tintin. You’ll travel back in time to see how Europe evolved, and who knows, you may even meet William Hague.
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