Date: Mar 19th 2014 12:04p.m.

Contributed by:
ericakatemartin

Days are slogging along and it’s gotten a little bit warmer, but we’re still waiting for the lovely Shanghai al fresco drinking weather that everyone keeps telling us about. Even so, new bars are opening and putting on their best new face for spring. Kelly Lee of Boxing Cat fame just posted the signage on Donghu Lu of her newest project Liquid Laundry, which seems might intriguing to us. It will be the city’s newest microbrewery with 15 original beers on tap. The food menu will include pizzas baked fresh in a wood-fired oven. We’re still unsnure on an opening date, but we do know that one of the partners behind the project is former Kerry Hotel F&B director Mike Huang. Captain Rooster, a friend chicken joint on Changshu Lu owned by the same people responsible for burrito newbie Dos Locos, had its grand opening party on March 15. We haven’t quite decided yet whether it’s a restaurant of a bar, but there is a respectable selection of draft beers on tap. Belgian Beer Cafe, which opened last month in Jingan Kerry Centre, is a moderately upscale spot peddling imported Belgian beer. It has two floors and a full food menu. And mega-club Linx had its opening party on March 18. Handle Bar has reopened, and now sells spicy chicken kebabs paired with flatbread that’s baked on site, which is pretty amazing considering its tiny space. They’re expecting a new wall mural soon, so keep checking back.