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| Barbarossa: chic/ photo: Barbarossa |
GRIMY commercial hub by day, Shanghai transforms after dark into a sparkling seductress. This is a party town from way back. Yesterday’s opium halls and Somerset Maughams are today’s underground clubs and Giorgio Armanis. Shanghai has returned to its rightful place as one of the world’s great sin cities – and one gets the feeling that the party has only just begun.
The Bund and the Beautiful
After a half-century of neglect, Shanghai's iconic waterfront promenade, the Bund, is being dusted off and transformed into a luxury lifestyle destination, the epicentre of Shanghai nightlife. High-end restaurants, cocktail lounges, boutique breweries, fashion flagships, art galleries and spas are dotted between old banking headquarters along the main stretch of Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu as well as in the atmospheric backstreets, with more dilapidated heritage gems set to be gussied up by top global brands.
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When restaurateur Michelle Garnaut opened Shanghai’s first independent international restaurant in the old Nissin Shipping Building on the waterfront in 1999, she was told that Shanghai was not ready for fine dining, and besides, no one would come all the way to the Bund for a meal. M on the Bund has been packed ever since. This eminently stylish institution serves contemporary European fare such as its signature slow-baked, salt-encased leg of lamb, accompanied by an excellent wine list. Downstairs Glamour Bar has a sophisticated 1930s vibe and excellent straight-up martinis. It also plays host to a diverse collection of artists, panel discussions, musical recitals and an annual writers’ festival (tel: [86-21] 6350-9988, 7/F, 20 Guangdong Lu).
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| Vault: Lychee martinis |
Across the alley, Three on the Bund (tel: 6323-3355, www.threeonthebund.com, 3 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu) is a darling of the international press. The Michael Graves-designed beauty is home to some of the city’s top tables, an Armani flagship boutique and the first Evian spa outside France. On the top floor, New Heights (tel: 6321-0909) serves Western food with a nod to Southeast Asia. It’s the most casual and affordable option and boasts the best view in the house from the wraparound terrace.
One level down, in a veritable quarry of white marble, Laris (tel: 6321-9922) showcases the eclectic creations of Greek/Australian executive chef David Laris. There’s also a raw bar, chocolate room and an exclusive lounge, Vault. Kick back here after dinner with the exuberant chef himself and a lychee martini.
Three on the Bund’s only Chinese restaurant, Whampoa Club (tel: 6321-3737) on the fourth floor showcases celebrity chef Jereme Leung’s ‘new Shanghai cuisine’, with inspired beverage pairings by resident wine and tea sommeliers. The exuberant restaurant styled by Hong Kong designer Alan Chan also features private rooms for tea ceremonies.
Rated top for food by the Zagat Guide to Shanghai Restaurants, Jean Georges (tel: 6321-7733) is the three-Michelin-star chef’s only signature restaurant outside New York. Inspired by old Shanghai grandeur, the moody lounge is filled with pony hair club chairs and eel skin benches leading through to a luxurious burnished copper and cobalt blue dining room. Tres chic.
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| Bar Rouge: Sino sirens/ photo: Bar Rouge |
The Gothic castle at 6 Bund (6 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu), is also home to three upscale restaurants, and a couple of fun lounges. Our pick is Japanese Sun with Aqua on the second floor (tel: 6339-2779), which is remarkably good value for the Bund. Its adjoining Aquarium Bar has a cool underwater vibe, curtained beds – and sharks. The bijou Dolce & Gabbana Martini Bar (tel: 6323-2277) between the men’s and women’s D&G boutiques on the ground floor is a fashionable spot for a restorative espresso or ‘tini between shopping.
Bund 18 (tel: 6323-7066, www.bund18.com, 18 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu), in the powder-grey neoclassical former Macquarie Bank Tower features Hong Kong chef To Chi Hoi’s trendy Cantonese cuisine at Tai Wan Lou (tel: 6339-1188) on the fifth floor and the Pourcel brothers’ Sens & Bund on the sixth (tel: 6323-9898). But perhaps the most happening venue is the top-floor Bar Rouge (tel: 6339-1199). Designed by Imaad Rahmouni, a protege of Starck, the bar features 33 hand-blown Venetian chandeliers, Sino sirens splashed across the walls, and a scenic terrace. Between show-off bottle juggling and setting fire to the bar, the bartenders may deign to make you one of their signature ginger melon martinis. Party (and promiscuity) central.
Just back from the Bund, CJW, which stands for Cigar, Jazz, Wine offers just that, along with 360-degree views from the 50th floor of the Bund Centre, right behind the tiara-topped Westin (tel: 6339-1777, 222 Yan’an Dong Lu). On one of Shanghai’s most spine-tingling intersections, Hamilton House (tel: 6321-0586, 137 Fuzhou Lu) is a trendy French brasserie and cocktail lounge in a soaring 1934 art deco mansion.
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| Sasha's: colonial vibes |
Follow the late-night crowd to Attica (tel: 6373 3588, www.attica-shanghai.com, 11/F, 15 Zhongshan Dong Er Lu), at the southern end of the Bund. Singapore’s clubbing heavyweight shows Shanghai how to party with a glam multi-level venue, top international DJs, and a chill-out terrace with spectacular Bund views. Italian fusion restaurant Finestre occupies the left dome.
Pudong Action on the Far Side
In general, Pudong is much more impressive to gaze at across the Huangpu River than it is to actually visit. The new financial district has wide-open streets and space-age skyscrapers but lacks real soul. A few standout venues make it worthy of crossing the river.
Adam D Tihany’s eccentric design (think giant snuff bottles and a deconstructed rice bowl) and French chef Paul Pairet’s deliciously quirky molecular cuisine conspire to make Pudong Shangri-La’s signature restaurant Jade on 36 one of the city’s most memorable dining experiences. The bar, in a fuchsia-inlaid jade box, is a destination in its own right offering creative cocktails and jaw-dropping views. Downstairs, the Japanese institution Nadaman serves teppanyaki and yakitori in a Zen-like setting with sleek granite surfaces and big paper lanterns, while Yi Café is buffet brilliance (tel: 6882-8888, Pudong Shangri-La, 33 Fucheng Lu, Pudong).
At the top of the world’s tallest hotel, the Shanghai Grand Hyatt, the 87th-floor Cloud Nine (tel: 5049-1234 ext 8732, Podium Level 3, Grand Hyatt, 88 Shiji Da Dao) is a popular novelty splurge, but unless you score a clear night the view can be disappointing. Closer to earth, the gargantuan entertainment complex Pu-J’s consists of two live music venues and eight plush karaoke suites, the largest of which accommodates a party of 18.
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| Face: Villa style hideaway |
Tucked away by the riverside behind the Oriental Pearl Tower is pop chef Salvatore Cuomo’s The Kitchen (tel: 5054-1265, Unit D, 2967 Lujiazui Xi Lu). The airy Italian is a great place for sundowner drinks looking across the water to Puxi, and its woodfired oven turns out arguably the city’s best pizza.
Playtime in People’s Park
Constructing an Arabian palace on historic green space in the heart of the city was a questionable move by Shanghai’s town planners – but the party people aren’t complaining. Deep in People’s Park, on the edge of a still lake, candlelit Barbarossa (tel: 6318-0220, 231 Nanjing Lu) glimmers like a mirage. Step inside to find three storeys of maharajah chic filled with North African antiques and the European trip-hop beats. Food and service can be lacklustre but you won’t much care after a cappuccino-flavoured sheesha pipe on the terracotta rooftop.
A more inspired initiative is the transformation of the old park greenhouse next door into a dazzling, light-filled Museum of Contemporary Art. The privately-run venture aims to become a launching platform for Chinese and international art and design. On the top floor, MOCA Caffe (tel: 6327-1282, 231 Nanjing Xi Lu), is a pleasant venue for drinks among the treetops.
On the rooftop of the old British Racing Club, now the Shanghai Art Museum, Kathleen’s 5 (tel: 6327-2221, www.kathleens5.com.cn, 5/F, Shanghai Art Museum, 325 Nanjing Xi Lu) is an elegant restaurant with a casual glassed-in terrace beneath the clock tower. It is hoped that the recent addition of Australian chef Matthew van der Zwan will turn around the kitchen and help this potentially great restaurant live up to its location.
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| DR Bar: Minimalist venue |
Shikumen Chic: Xintiandi Bars and Clubs
Site of the Communist Party’s first clandestine meeting in 1921, the 19th-century shikumen neighbourhood of Xintiandi (Lane 181, Taicang Lu) is now a hub for all manner of glamorous delights. If you have the cash, you can’t really go wrong with the dining and drinking venues here, but some are more memorable than others.
T8 (tel: 6355-8999, No 8, North Block Xintiandi) is a fine choice for first-rate global cuisine in a lacquered Zen setting, with an impressive list of boutique wines. On Xintiandi’s central piazza, hip all-day global bistro and wine bar The Fountain (tel: 5383-2998, Unit 4, Building 10-12) emphasises great cooking and ingredients at affordable prices, with fun concepts like big breakfasts and a free shoe shine, two-degree beers (served with a thermometer), and flambé trolleys.
Fans of Liuligongfang will love Taiwanese owner Yang Hui Shan’s showcase restaurant TMSK next door (tel: 6326-2227, www.tmsk.com, Unit 2, House 11, North Block). Perch on a crystal stool at the bar, or head up the carved staircase to a sumptuous dining room complete with musicians playing traditional Chinese instruments on a small stage.
ARK Live House (tel: 6326-8008, House 15, North Block) is at once a bar, restaurant, concert hall and club. But it is the music that takes centre stage. The cavernous, theatrical interior is set up for serious performance, with a large raised stage, professional PA and lighting systems and a full schedule of local and international bands. Styles run from electronic and Latin to blues and pop.
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| Cotton's: Warm elegance |
The dark, sultry DR Bar (tel: 6326 8008, House 15, North Block) next door is owned by the architects of the Xintiandi development, Ben Wood and Carlos Zapata. Their minimalist venue showcases design materials sourced in China, from the ink stone slabs to the trio of vodka shooters served in a Chinese “cricket jar”.
If you’re craving Chinese, Xintiandi has two worth trying: Crystal Jade (tel: 6385-8752) or Din Tai Fung (tel: 6385-8378). Casual American bistro KABB has a faithful following and great hangover brunches on weekends, while The Collection (tel: 5351-0007) is a three-storey conceptual combo of Japanese restaurant Pure, girly dessert bar Sugar and Cube cigar lounge. In another shipshape shikumen slightly off the beaten track between Yan’an Zhong green belt and busy Jiling Lu, ZIN Wine Bar and Grill (tel: 6385-8123, Lane 66 Danshui Lu) is serious about its wine and hosts regular tastings and wine-pairing dinners. Twenty wines are available by the glass, and on Wednesdays Rmb98 (US$1 = Rmb7.4) buys you a glass of wine or beer and endless slices of gourmet pizza from the wood-fire oven. Brave the mosquitoes on the wooden deck at the back where a babbling brook and lush vegetation provide an idyllic setting for a quiet quaff.
Last but certainly not least, one of Asia’s foremost interpreters of fine French cuisine, Justin Quek, runs a mini gastronomic empire in Xintiandi. As well as The Fountain (see above), he manages two glorious shikumen restaurants just outside the main complex by the lake. The three-storey Villa du Lac (tel: 6387-6387, 383 Huangpi Nan Lu), in a former private clubhouse, features refined Cantonese and Yangzhou cuisine in a sumptuous French-Oriental villa. Next door, signature restaurant Le Platane (tel: 5383-2998, www.justinquek.com, 373 Huangpi Nan Lu) offers lavish French degustation menus upstairs, while downstairs Quek chalks up seasonal blackboard classics like roasted suckling pig with spiced red wine in a cosy brasserie setting.
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| Let your hair down at Zapata's |
Of Manors and Manners
Shanghai bars and restaurants have made full use of the city’s rich architectural heritage and many of the city’s finest old villas are now atmospheric hangouts. The most well-known of these is Face (tel: 6466-4328, www.facebars.com, Bldg 4, Ruijing Guesthouse, 118 Ruijin Er Lu). Set in the leafy grounds of Ruijin Guesthouse, this redbrick European-style mansion was built in 1936 as an independent garden residence, and was subsequently inhabited by the Kuomintang and the Communist Party respectively. It is now the reserve of the wining and dining elite, with topnotch La Na Thai upstairs, Hazara Indian restaurant out the back and Face bar on the ground floor, spilling out into the manicured gardens. Get there early to score one of the ornate opium beds. A second Face has opened in the Pudong heartlands (tel: 5027-8261, Dongjiao State Guesthouse, 1800 Jinke Lu, Pudong).
From Cotton’s to Zapata's
Sasha’s (tel: 6474-66289, Dongping Lu) occupies a big red villa formerly home to the infamous
Soong family. The bar offers a relaxed, colonial vibe, great mojitos and an expansive courtyard with comfy wicker chairs. A new steakhouse, Prime, sits on the second floor. Sharing the garden, Mexican cantina Zapata’s (tel: 6474-6166, 5 Hengshan Lu) is still the place to be on Wednesdays – free martinis for the girls, ’80s house music and dancing on the bartop assured. Down the road in a two-storey heritage villa on quiet Anting Lu, Cotton’s exudes warmth and elegance, with four open fireplaces, a fabulous backyard deck and bar, to-die-for espresso martinis and a genuinely friendly vibe (tel: 6433-7995, 132 Anting Lu).
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| T8: Trendy haunt/ photo: T8 |
Another great alfresco option is A Future Perfect in the popular B&B, Old House (tel: 6248-8020; 16, Lane 351 Huashan Lu). A wholesome, organic approach is evident in the green decor of recycled materials, and a healthy menu of steaks, salads and smoothies. Best of all is the spacious walled garden under a leafy canopy where Panton-inspired cantilevered chairs and a futuristic outdoor bar are strikingly juxtaposed against the original 1930s facade.
South Beauty 881 (tel: 6247-6682; 881 Yan’an Zhong Lu) combines artfully presented Sichuan and Cantonese dishes and cutting-edge designs by Japanese architects SuperPotato. But the real gem is the property’s original 1930s mansion, now home to 19 dramatically decorated private dining rooms around a lipstick-red bar. Rooms seat from two to 50 people and there’s a lovely rooftop terrace. Another excellent option with an Asean kick is Lost Heaven (tel: 6433-5126, 38 Gaoyou Lu). Tracing the folk cuisines of the Dai, Bai and Miao ethnic hilltribes through China's Yunnan province and into Burma and Laos, the richly spiced curries are served in a suitably exotic villa setting.
Indalo (tel: 5382 0738, 4-1 Xiangshan Lu) is a cosy tapas bar in a French Concession mansion with authentic Spanish fare and a well-priced wine list. Another Mediterranean favourite is Casa 13, tucked away on the ground floor of a heritage Spanish villa. This warm, romantic venue with chandeliers strung from high ceilings serves hearty seafood, roasted meats, risottos and pasta, accompanied by an impressive wine list.
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| Jade on 36: Novel dining/ photo: Jade on 36 |
Finally, designer Wang Xingzheng has a passion for Chinese culture and his three bars should not be missed. Yongfoo Elite (tel: 5466-2727, www.yongfooelite.com, 200 Yongfu Lu) is a rarefied members’ club in the old British consulate evoking the Shanghai of popular imagination rendered in mahogany, old leather, crystal chandeliers and Chinese lanterns. The Shanghainese cuisine is nothing to write home about, but an evening spent draped across a canopy bed in the garden sipping gin and tonic and listening to Beijing opera in the background certainly is. The Door, way out in Hongqiao (tel: 6295-3737, 4/F, 1468 Hongqiao Lu), and Xian Qiang Fang (tel: 6351-5757, 5/F, 600 Jiujiang Lu) are similarly decadent.
A Walk on the Wild Side
Julu Lu caters to all tastes. Near the junction of Changshu Lu is a row of down-at-heel girly bars with names like Goodfellas and Badlands. However, the Fumin Lu end is infinitely classier. For its jaw-dropping industrial-chic interior and nouvelle Japanese cuisine, book one of the mezzanine tables at Shintori Null II (tel: 5404 5252, 803 Julu Lu). The same group also owns bar/restaurant People 7 (tel: 5404-0707) next door, known for its fun password-protected entrance and trick toilets.
Nearby, an old electronics factory retains its buzz as the well-heeled watering hole Manifesto (tel: 6289-9108, 748 Julu Lu). Be sure to try one of their creative cocktails like the Belgian white chocolate martini. The downstairs restaurant, Mesa, has a good modern Australian menu and fabulous weekend brunches.
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| Future Perfect/ photo: Future Perfect |
Offering plenty of booze, babes, and beats, Tongren Lu is the new Maoming bar street. Blue Frog (tel: 6247-0320, 86 Tongren Lu) wins points for its slick but super-casual ambience and famous 100 shooters. Within stumbling distance, Malone’s (tel: 6247-2400, 255 Tongren Lu) is a beefy American cafe popular with the beer-swilling masses for its super burgers, sports and Filipino house band Art 6. The top floor of this massive bar has been refitted as a slightly more sophisticated chill-out zone, complete with a country-western crooner.
Further down the road is funky late-night venue Mint (tel: 6247-9666, 2/F, 333 Tongren Lu), which packs them in from around midnight till 7am on weekends. This intimate, rosy space has plenty of nooks for snuggling and an energetic roster of international DJs and themed events. The ‘No Man’s Land’ ladies night on Wednesdays is not only testosterone-free from 9-11pm, but female patrons also get plied with drinks and food, exotic male dancers and smooth vocal house. Guys get to prey on a room full of tipsy women after 11pm.
Also on Tongren Lu, City Diner (6289-3699, 2/F, 146 Tongren Lu) is open 24 hours. Their hearty portions of all-American comfort food go down a treat after a long night of drinking.
Shanghai Clubbing - Dance until Dawn
Packed to the gills and reeking of parfum and pretension, the enormously popular Baby Face (tel: 6375-6667, Unit 101, 138 Huaihai Zhong Lu) consists of two separate dance areas, a central bar that you’ll be lucky to get to, and exclusive mezzanine lounges requiring a Rmb2,500-3,500 minimum order. There’s a cover charge on weekends, bullish bouncers manning the door and floor and a largely local crowd. If you know the right people and moves there’s lots of fun to be had in this club. If not, enter at your own risk.
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| South Beauty: Sichuan fare |
4 Live (tel: 6415-0700, Bldg 7, 8-10 Jianguo Zhong Lu) attracts a young crowd with its raw, industrial vibe and local bands. In Fuxing Park (2 Gaolan Lu), Upstairs at Park 97 and Lux lounge (tel: 5383-2328) seem to be evergreen favourites with a glittery clientele. A glittery clientele queues at weekends for entrance to this evergreen venue. On the other side of the park, slick club Guandii (tel: 3308-0725) attracts a mainly local crowd. Don’t forget your dice and aviator specs.
Futuristic Bonbon (2/F 1329 Huaihai Zhong Lu), backed by UK dance institution godskitchen, is still popular for hardcore house, electro and breakbeats, and visiting turntable celebs. MAO (tel: 138160-95660, 46 Yueyang Lu) stands for Music Art Oasis, and features a recycled chrome and concrete interior, all-natural cocktails, and a grassy backyard chill-out zone. Philippe Starck designed club Volar (tel: 1348223-9390, 99 Nanchang Lu) is full of drippy chandeliers, be-jewelled eagles and the exclusive set. It’s members only but a well-connected Concierge should get you in. At the end of the night head to the tiny Dragon Club (tel: 5404-4592, 156 Fengyang Lu), which kicks on until 7am at weekends.
Mellow Mood - All that Jazz
Shanghai and jazz are synonymous and the city’s two most outstanding live jazz clubs are within a stone’s throw of each other on Fuxing Lu. The plush JZ Club (tel: 6431-0269, 46 Fuxing Xi Lu) features players on the international circuit and superb late-night jam sessions, while the long-running Cotton Club (tel: 6437-71108, Fuxing Xi Lu) is a much rawer venue with a dark, smoky interior and righteous blues. Recommended by our readers is the Blues Room, a new late night venue at 146 Tongren Lu, right off Nanjing West. Watch for the late-night jam sessions.
Shanghai waits for nobody, so strap on your beer goggles and enjoy the ride.
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