Night life in Dalian to me, has been cheap booze, cheaper than Singapore , loud or should I say deafening music, and extremely poor ventilation.
Not to say that I’ve been to many places, but most of the places in the directory marked “HOT” I’ve made it a point to check the place out.
Maybe because I’m getting old, these scenes seem too overwhelming for me. Paulaner Brauhaus is a very comprehensive place to hang out, if you want food, drinks, live band, and chill out with some friends, an all in one place, still looking for similar ones if available here. To sit very far from the band (5 Filipinos), the music is okay, it's not so loud, but then the stage view is non-existent. Mango is good for stage performances, I should say, they have a very good local band that sings understandable English songs.
F2 at Shangri-La however has a small dance floor, high stools, another Filipino band of 6, has much better sound system, not too loud, but same as Paulaner, after a few visits, the songs becomes boring, repetition of same english pops. The ventilation system in this joint is much better than the rest, not a bad place to relax, and listen to the band sings.
The dance floor side is deafening, disco and techno music, just for dance lovers, I’m definitely excluded.Babyface, Viper both are the same. Loud music mainly for dance lovers. To talk in a group is to shout, end of the night I get massive sore throat, and ringing my ears. Banana Bar is also another deafening place, worse than the rest, and the local band, I could not understand when they sing in English, in Chinese, bearable, but they tend to eat up the words, so it’s more like mumbling in the music.
KTVs such as 25 Hours, Hao Le Di, He Sheng (opp. Ramada Hotel), all have poor ventilation. So, to sing in a room, with 1 or 2 smokers is bearable, if the whole crowd are all smokers, I’ll be damned! Suffocated so many times due to smoke inhalation, but it’s a craze amongst local Chinese.
I was and still wondering why there wasn’t any KTV pubs, just like in Singapore and Malaysia, where it’s a small pub, which serves food, drinks and those who wants to sing gets to sing, but in public, not individual rooms. On the whole I love the Bar Barco, however, it’s more like a snack bar rather than a music bar. Soft music from the mini player, 2 chefs at work, all seating are at the bar counter. Too small a place though, sometimes the place is so packed, only 11 seats available, none is left by 8 pm.
Another one I like to hang out is the Ramada Hotel lounge/bar. The 2 piece Filipino band playing there sings good songs, and music is not too loud, and very comfortable sofas, good for chilling out with a couple of friends.
I am still venturing, hopefully I will be able to find more good places to chill out in, and also more ventilated hang outs.
163x
Night life in Dalian to me, has been cheap booze, cheaper than Singapore , loud or should I say deafening music, and extremely poor ventilation.
On the whole I love the Bar 
