First impressions of Shanghai
Arrived just before 6pm last night (it is now 8am Monday morning here).
Journey from Pudong International Airport to the Renaissance Hotel fairly unremarkable. Aside from the billboards in Chinese script I could have been in Dallas.
Met up with my colleagues Paolo and Adrian and we went to the hotel's Wan Li restaurant. Among Chef Yuen's specialties that we sampled were jellyfish in lemon and sesame oil (jellyfish has the texture of a vegatable but a salty taste - not bad actually); saltmeat (pork) and oyster sauce (very tasty) and congealed gelatin with cucumber (delicious).
After a few drinks in the hotel bar (don't ever order a cucumber juice if you see one on a menu - its lovely verdant appearance is not matched by its taste), we headed down to the Bund. This famous waterfront strip didn't really grab us. Maybe it is better seen by daylight because on this Sunday evening it was very quiet. The views were disappointing too - the Oriental Pearl and Jinmao Towers being almost obscured by a mixture of smog and poor lighting. (Shanghai is an ill-lit city which, with all the high-rise buildings looming above you, makes you feel like you are on the set of one of the Batman movies).
We decided to head down to the Hengshan Road for a look round. This strip is one of the best-known for nightlife in the city. Certainly, it is wall to wall neon and odd pastiches of different architectural styles. We ended up in the Narcicus Bar where a local covers band was performing near-perfect imitations of The Carpenters, Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne and others. A slightly surreal experience. And for some reason the drummer was in a perspex enclosure at the back of the stage. If anyone has any ideas why, please let me know!
We didn't stay too long as we started attracting the unwelcome attentions of some of the pimps and hookers who also frequent this area of the city.
Journey from Pudong International Airport to the Renaissance Hotel fairly unremarkable. Aside from the billboards in Chinese script I could have been in Dallas.
Met up with my colleagues Paolo and Adrian and we went to the hotel's Wan Li restaurant. Among Chef Yuen's specialties that we sampled were jellyfish in lemon and sesame oil (jellyfish has the texture of a vegatable but a salty taste - not bad actually); saltmeat (pork) and oyster sauce (very tasty) and congealed gelatin with cucumber (delicious).
After a few drinks in the hotel bar (don't ever order a cucumber juice if you see one on a menu - its lovely verdant appearance is not matched by its taste), we headed down to the Bund. This famous waterfront strip didn't really grab us. Maybe it is better seen by daylight because on this Sunday evening it was very quiet. The views were disappointing too - the Oriental Pearl and Jinmao Towers being almost obscured by a mixture of smog and poor lighting. (Shanghai is an ill-lit city which, with all the high-rise buildings looming above you, makes you feel like you are on the set of one of the Batman movies).
We decided to head down to the Hengshan Road for a look round. This strip is one of the best-known for nightlife in the city. Certainly, it is wall to wall neon and odd pastiches of different architectural styles. We ended up in the Narcicus Bar where a local covers band was performing near-perfect imitations of The Carpenters, Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne and others. A slightly surreal experience. And for some reason the drummer was in a perspex enclosure at the back of the stage. If anyone has any ideas why, please let me know!
We didn't stay too long as we started attracting the unwelcome attentions of some of the pimps and hookers who also frequent this area of the city.
Labels: On the road
posted by Justin Toland at 1:00 am
1 Comments:
The darkness of the city was a temporary phenomenon brought about by a power shortage. The return to full power came a couple of days into my stay and coincided with the lifting of the thick smog.
Post a Comment
<< Home