Chinese new beer: A wee dram of Scotland in Shanghai

Published on Thursday 14 April 2011 19:50

Alex Salmond has made developing links between Scotland and China a key goal. One man, though, has already taken a piece of Scottish life to the Far East

WITH his wry sense of humour and keen interest in the world, Tam Lang considers himself a welcoming publican of the old-school variety. Yet whenever one of his newfound patrons asks for something extra to mix with a shot of Scotland's national drink, he is given cause to bite his lip.

Some of those who frequent his dark wooded bar in the city with the highest population in the world's most populous country seek to unwind by ordering whisky with green tea. Other patrons, their tastebuds that bit more ambitious, have Tam prepare their nip with some mango and mint. Ask the no-nonsense barman for his opinion on such concoctions, and a sardonic reply is assured. "I've personally never tasted them myself," he laughs.

Lang, however, is no stranger to unusual mixes. Since opening the first Scots bar in Shanghai last year, he has witnessed first hand the curious and engaging cultural exchanges between the vibrant expat community who consider his enclave, Tam O'Shanter's, a home from home, and the local businessmen who regard this Edinburgh native's bolthole a welcome addition to the Pearl of the Orient. Lang, a gregarious 50-year-old, is strengthening Sino-Scottish links in his own cheerful way – pointing to the photographs of Rikki Fulton, Gregor Fisher, Robert Carlyle and Edinburgh Castle which adorn the pub walls, or inviting them to delve into his extensive reading matter, which includes the poetry of Robert Burns and Oor Wullie annuals.

Located in Shanghai's historic French Concession area of downtown Shanghai, the bar cuts a distinctive appearance on a leafy road where its neighbours include a film company and an upmarket fusion eatery. A Saltire is proudly emblazoned on the front door, and between tartan curtains, blackboards advertise upcoming televised rugby and football games. Inside, the paraphernilia includes a box of Scott's Porage Oats, an Irn-Bru can, a policeman's cap, and a hipflask. It is, Lang says, "nowt fancy".

"The bar's plain, a cross between the Bow Bar and Robbie's on Leith Walk. We're proudly middle-of- the-road. Everyone in Shanghai always talks about high-end bars and restaurants, but that doesn't do it for me. I wanted to prove you could open a Scottish bar with reasonable prices."

It is the kind of bar-room wisdom which Lang has soaked up since starting out in the hospitality trade with Scottish & Newcastle in 1982. He has worked in several hostleries across Edinburgh – including the Rutland Hotel, the Maybury, and Cinderella Rockafellas – as well as stints in bars in Ayr, Dundee, and Aberdeen. China, though, fascinated him from an early age. "When I was growing up in the 1960s, I was fascinated by the country, about what was happening to it and its culture," he says.

At the turn of the millenium, after "a few years of boredom", he decided the time was right to see the nation for himself. A contact at Scottish & Newcastle helped secure him a position managing bar in Nanjing on the east coast, before he made his way to Shanghai, managing British and Irish bars. All the while, he kept his eye open for the right kind of property to come available. When it did, he ensured fortune would look kindly on his new business: Tam O'Shanter's opened on 18 May last year at 8pm precisely, "all engineered to fit with the Chinese lucky dates and time".

Such an undertaking, he says, has not been straightforward. When he ordered tartan skirts and blue polo shirts for his three Chinese barmaids – Kitty, Annie, and Bessie – one barfly was quick to point out something had been lost in translation. If the uniforms are to be believed, the staff work at "Tamo Shanas".

Furthermore, the modest scale of the Scottish community in Shanghai – Lang estimates the population to be around 200 strong – pales in comparison to the tens of thousands of French and Germans living and working in the city. As such, he has found some reticence on the part of Scottish breweries to dip their toes into the market in the far east. At the moment, he has Guinness, Carlsberg, Strongbow, and Kronenbourg on tap, but for expats visiting the bar for the first time, the request is nearly always the same.

"Anyone here on holiday who comes in, the first thing they ask for is a pint of Tennent's lager," he laments. "As soon as Tennent's starts coming here I'll be able to keep them happy. If the Irish can send Guinness from Dublin to Shanghai, I'm sure Scottish companies can do the same. There's definitely a market for it. I've contacted the likes of Caledonian, and they never got back to us. Tennent's said China is not really a big market for them. I would love to get Deuchars IPA in the bar, but it's too difficult getting bottles brought here from Hong Kong."

With whisky, however, he has found more success, with more than 150 types in stock. There is even a Shanghai Malt Club, where Lang goes by he proud title of "Keeper o' the Drams". Indeed, figures from the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) demonstrate the staggering rise in demand from China.

Whereas only a decade ago, exports to the country were worth just 1m to the industry, it is now valued at 80m a year.

David Williamson, a spokesman for the SWA, told The Scotsman: "China is a very important emerging market for Scotch whisky. There's been significant growth in the market over recent years and it has real potential for the future when you consider the population." At the moment, the most popular whiskies in Tam O'Shanter's are Macallan, Glenrothes and Laphroaig, but as the first publican in Shanghai to arrange blind tasting sessions – a popular Friday-evening fixture – he is turning people on to more unusual bottles. "The Chinese appreciate my advice when it comes to whisky," Lang reveals. "If you tell them it's good, they'll buy even if it costs 700."

Not that such prices are the norm in Lang's pub. The cultivated reputation of the spirit means you would be hard pushed to buy a shot for anything under 10 in other Shanghai bars, but Tam O'Shanter's sell a measure for 5.50. And if you are hungry, a team of chefs at the bar have been trained by Europeans, and can skilfully recreate hearty fare such as Scotch eggs, sausage rolls, and haggis. The most popular dish is mince'n'tatties, which many customers order to carry-out before they head off home.

On any given evening, around 20 expats can be found in Tam O'Shanters. They make up around 70 per cent of Lang's clientele, with most working in the construction or engineering industries with firms such as Rolls Royce, although others are in finance.

In the pub, the regulars discuss events back home – Lang often prompts such debates, having read the latest edition of The Scotsman online – and compare and contrast Scotland with their adopted homeland. One recurring joke in the bar concerns the Edinburgh trams, which would have been completed "years ago" if it had been a Chinese project. Whenever the Scots return home, or have relatives visiting, they are sure to bring a treat into Tam O'Shanter's. One customer, Wallace Reid from Selkirk, had his mother, Anna, cook stovies for the pub when she was visiting Shanghai recently, a treat which went down "exceedingly well," according to Lang.

One regular, Adrian Page, says such bonhomie and banter is the biggest attraction. "I get no pretence, no hassles," he confides. "No expats in the bar think they are God's gift to China or the business world – quite simply, people like that would not be welcome. " Do not, presume, however, that such a cosy atmosphere is solely the preserve of expats. Australians and New Zealanders favour the pub, and it is increasingly popular with Chinese, especially among students, given the formal links between Scottish higher education institutions with the links of Shanghai's Fudan University and Normal University.

Lang met his Chinese wife, Li, while she was studying at Napier University (the couple have two sons, Donal, five, and one-year-old Andy) and is always pleased to find young people with the same experience of both cultures. He says: "They come back to China and into the bar to tell me they were a student in Scotland, and they ask for a pint of IPA or Tennent's. We had a Chinese girl who came in speaking English with a strong Glaswegian accent. That shocked everyone at the bar."

For those Chinese whose Scotland extends only to whisky and kilts, Lang and his patrons always have time, pointing out the cities and towns on a roadmap, or explaining the history of famous tourist attractions. An effusive ambassador for his homeland, Lang has critical words for those officials charged with forging links between Scotland and China in business, education, and tourism. The people in his bar, he says, do more to further Scottish interests than the administration at Holyrood, who he accuses of sending inefficient "working parties" to China. He says he encountered one mandarin who "had never heard of Irn-Bru or Hogmanay".

Lang does not "miss too much" about home other than "going down the Shore on a Sunday and drinking a good real ale with friends." He goes back to Edinburgh every couple of years, but even then, his time is spent sourcing whisky to stock at the bar. He is aiming to open two or three bars in Shanghai – a city the size of Aberdeenshire, but with a population four times that of Scotland's – before expanding to other cities. In the longer term, he would love to be the first person to bring the Highland Games to China. It is a bold ambition, but he knows better than most that even the unlikeliest dreams can become reality.

"Five years ago, you'd have never thought there was a market for a Scottish bar in Shanghai," he says. "But you just have to look at the speed with which China is developing and who knows, another five years ahead and anything is possible out here. I just need the Scottish beer!"