Lots of new and wonderful things opening up in Fensiting Hutong. Fensiting Hutong -- that's the one with Rager Pie and the OG location of Zhang Mama, just off Andingmen. In particular, this little piece of terrific just opened up: Blind Cats -- a rockabilly bakery and candy shop. Yes! A rockabilly bakery and candy shop. For real. Blind Cats ("only a blind cat can catch a dead mouse", evidently) is just one stylin'-ass room that fits maybe 8-10 people. It's done up to a careful perfection in rockabilly and goth kitsch, with Sailor Jerry tattoo flash art on the walls, skulls dangling from the ceilings, and shelves and counter tops overflowing with evil old toys, W.W.II stuff, cheeky candy, and whatever else. Ostensibly, they do three things: A bakery case with Snapple and cupcakes... ...a shelf of imported candy and a gumball machine... ...and of course, the Gulou-obligatory fridge of random imported beers. So, it's definitely a Gulou operation. It's a Gulou thing. It's definitely like someone's got just a little bit too much money and too much fabulous taste for their own good, and they've opened up a little shrine to themselves and their friends. But I can dig that. Why not? When this sort of thing is done right, these absurd little private shops and cafes, representative as they are of the idiosyncrasies and personal perspectives of their owners, it give this neighborhood its character. Blind Cats is definitely idiosyncratic and personal. The rest of this article is just going to be photos, pretty much. Look at all this neat stuff. Check it out. It's My Pet Monster. *** Perusing the bakery stuff on offer, when we went by it was what you see pictured below. Cupcakes and things priced between 10rmb and 20rmb. They're cooked on-site in this little closet in the back. It's literally a closet with a full oven in it. It's super cute. Of course, I'd expect this stuff to be changing all the time, as the proprietors mix and match whatever happens to be selling with whatever they feel like making that day. Expect this sort of thing though... Candies. Treats. They have. A bunch of imported stuff in big jars. Like 6 or 7 different gums and stuff. Camel balls! I tried one of these. Came out of the package, looking very much like a brown, camel's testicle. Popped it in my mouth, and then bit down on it, and SPLOOOOSH!, all this sweet liquid gushed out of the center of the thing. Don't know what I was expecting but I probably should have been expecting that. Anyway, beers... Beers are the standard weird shits you can find all over. You know the deal. But they've also got absinth! Of course they do... This is an absinth cocktail of some sort. The owner made it for me and waved off any cash when I tried to offer... ...and then --AND THEN -- he showed me this. So Absinth. Here's a piquant little thing you can try out some time. Check this out. Step 1. Get your bottle. Step 2. Get a big tumbler glass, a smaller tumbler, and a napkin with a straw punched through the center. Step 3. Pour about 2-3 shots in the larger tumbler. Step 4. Light it on FI-YAH. Step 5. Roll the flaming liquid around the side of the glass so it burns off into the other side of the tumbler. Step 6. Pour the liquid from the big tumbler into the smaller glass and shoot it. Step 7. Flip the big tumbler glass upside down on the napkin, so the napkin is holding in the gas that was burned off the absinth, and the straw is inside the glass. Step 8. Stick the other end of the straw UP YOUR NOSE AND SNORT IT. qbWFOUB6&^79gubj9-38... The Take-Away: Blind Cats: Come for the Camel Balls, stay for the Absinth snorting. Nah, honestly, it's a really unique sort of place. It looks really great. In the end, the beer is just beer, the baked goods are still being fine-tuned, and candy is candy, but it's really a neat little shop and the people who run it are super rad. Really nice and welcoming. It's a great environment. If you want to know where the Beijing rockabilly kids are enjoying their Absinth, bouncy balls, and cupcakes, here you go... Blind Cats is at 14 Fensiting Hutong. They're open daily from 6pm until late. ***