At TIAO, the cocktail bar inside Mandarin Oriental Qianmen in Beijing, drinks are more than recipes. They are stories told through taste. The bar has introduced its third menu, called Worlds Apart, where each glass connects Beijing’s local traditions with moments from cultures far beyond the city.
The menu begins with the place itself. TIAO sits in Caochang Hutong, a street with more than four centuries of history. The team, led by Head Bartender Matt (Guo Wei), looks at how hutong life has changed over time—folk arts, daily routines, and the shift toward modern urban living—and places those changes alongside milestones from global art, science, and society. The result is a collection of drinks that use flavour to explore parallel worlds.
One of the highlights is Caochang Hutong, a cocktail built with green Sichuan peppercorn, Wuliangye baijiu, and Guizhou sour broth. It captures the lively rhythm of hutong life in a single sip. Another drink, Water Sleeves, blends guava with Champagne, inspired by the graceful yet tense movements of Peking Opera.
The menu also looks outward. St. Peter’s Basilica combines gin, sherry, and strawberry, echoing the elegance of Renaissance architecture. Dancing Notes brings together rum, Thai green tea, and a tom yum extraction, designed to reflect the emotional contrasts and precise structure found in Mozart’s music.
Each cocktail is tied to a story, whether drawn from Beijing’s streets or from faraway places. Rather than retelling history, the drinks reinterpret it, using taste as a way to connect culture, time, and space. The Worlds Apart menu is now being served at TIAO, offering guests a chance to experience Beijing’s memory and the world’s heritage through the language of cocktails.
TIAO
Mandarin Oriental Qianmen, Beijing
No. 40, West Xinglong Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing
