Just doing a quick tally of how many languages I can say “cheers” in, and I reckon to be in double figures, which speaks volumes about what kind of cultural engagement I usually get up to on my travels, but anyway… I happen to know that gan bei, when said with the correct intonation, means “dry glass” in one of the Chinese dialects, and it’s the promising name of a restaurant worth checking out in the Indonesian city of Bandung.
Design firm Bitte Studio set the tone on the walk into the venue with the Chinese characters painted onto the parquet brick path, and one is further clued in to the restaurant’s theme by the terrific wall mural at reception – the background looks like Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, but if it was a Vietnamese scene, the girl would be on a motorbike not a bicycle, so I’m sticking with China. Vietnam does feature in the menu though, alongside regional Chinese, Thai and Singaporean dishes. A boozy corner reflects the Gan Bei name, decorated with a bevy of Asian beer labels – still got a few of those to tick off the list.
