There’s no rattling dice at the only café-salon-bar on Chaodou Hutong. No cards slapping onto the tables, either. Those games are for people who have nothing to talk about. Often there are artists and theatre directors coming to Fu to enjoy exchanging ideas with their friends on cultural topics, and others simply come to enjoy the warm atmosphere and the music picked by the Fu owner.

They arrange poetry night and informal lectures on topics like the links between Chinese intelligentsia and kung fu. Laoye and Valerie, the couple who run the café, will tell you stories from their childhood about falconers unleashing their raptors on wild rabbits in Ditan Park. They are artists, translators, and theater managers---the ultimate cultural mavens. Sit down with them for 15 minutes, and you’ll find yourself locked in contemplations of things that matter.

The venue used to be a state-owned reserve and store for rice and bean products. A back room originally used as a warehouse, is set side for art shows and serious discussions. The front room’s design, with sofas, wicker seating, and cotton shades draping down from the ceiling, lends itself towards casual chats. Expect a thoughtful, educated clientele and art by the owner and his friends on the walls. Beer, coffee and tea from RMB 15. They give free chaodou (“fried beans” in Chinese, as the Hutong is called ) to carry on the bean shop tradition.