[Hangzhou 杭州] Random

Categories hangzhou
[Hangzhou 杭州] Random

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Random

Add: D6, #7 Fenghuang Shanjiao Road, Hangzhou
Tel: 0571-8711 8620
Hours: Tue-Sun 10am-6pm (closed on Mon)
Price: ~100 RMB/person
Visited: Mar 2017

My last stop on this trip to Hangzhou was Random, a cafe / select shop located in an old neighborhood not too far from the city center. Its stylish shop front is quite a contrast from the ruggedness surrounding it, making it almost pop out from the background. Though it took a while to find, it was certainly worth the effort…

從東信和創園離開後直奔這次杭州行的最後一個目的地 － Random。穿過鳳凰城山腳下的老社區，拉著行李有點迷路有點狼狽，心裏碎碎念著幹嘛要這麽折騰，不過抵達這三層樓的漂亮小房子時立刻覺得 “呼，來了真好”。大片玻璃的摩登感在老社區裏顯得有點穿越，通透設計讓室內輕盈明亮。這裏藏地有些深，不是個會在無意中經過的地方，客人應該都是慕名而來的吧？

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I first heard about Random at last year’s Design Shanghai, when Random’s founders Norah and Oliver invited me to their pop-up cafe at the exhibition. Though it was just a temporary thing, the cafe made quite an impression, and I’ve been meaning to go visit their actual shop in Hangzhou ever since then.

認識 Random 的 Norah 和 Oliver 是在 2016 年的設計上海，他們當時在展場裏開了個咖啡館，雖然只是爲期四天的快閃店，不過做得相當用心，去過之後一直想著哪天要到他們杭州本店瞧瞧。

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[Shanghai 上海] TASTE Shop

Categories shanghai
[Shanghai 上海] TASTE Shop

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TASTE Shop

Add: 105, Building 3, Lane 210 Taikang Road
Tel: 18221041418
Hours: 12:30-8:30pm (closed on Mon)
Website: www.taste-shop.com
Price: [coffee] 12-99RMB
Visited: Jan 2016

When I was wandering the tiny alleys of Tianzifang a few weeks ago, my attention was caught by this quietly stylish shop near the entrance of lane 210. “TASTE Shop”, it says. I went in for a quick round and was impressed by its selection of homeware, accessories, fragrance, tools, and other pretty knickknacks, mostly imported from Europe and Japan. I had no idea at the time that I would soon be introduced to the owners of this place via a mutual friend. “They are opening a cafe right upstairs and need pastries,” explained the friend, “You guys should talk.”

某次在田子坊閒逛時發現了一家很漂亮的店，叫做 TASTE Shop。不大的空間裏陳列了各式各樣有型的雜貨，大部分好像都是從歐洲和日本挑選來的。心裏想著這家店主品味真好，沒想到兩周後就通過朋友介紹認識了。“他們樓上要開咖啡店，想跟你討論下甜點，” 朋友是這麽跟我說的，“你們聊聊吧。”

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So I came back on a sunny day to meet shop owner Yutaka, a fashion designer-turn-visual merchandiser, originally from Tokyo but has lived in Shanghai for over 10 years. Together him and his Chinese Canadian wife Viko (photographer by profession) started TASTE Shop back in 2013. Since then, the space has evolved to what it is now – a select shop, an exhibition space, and most recently, a cafe.

所以我挑了個陽光明媚的日子回到 TASTE Shop，和店主之一的 Yutaka 碰了面。他是東京人，不過在上海住了10年，加上母親是上海人，中文說起來極順（順到我一度以爲他是個取了日本名字的中國人）。做視覺設計的他和攝影師太太 Viko 兩人一起在 2013 年開了 TASTE Shop，本來是家選品店＋展覽空間，然後就在這個月，又多了個咖啡館的角色。

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The newly-opened cafe has so many chic details to notice. The menu, for example, is handmade – and by handmade, I mean even the paper itself is made by their staff.

這裏有太多漂亮的細節。比如說菜單是手工做的，而且真的是連紙本身都是店員自己做的，非常用心。

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Manning the cafe counter is Yutaka and his colleague Patrick. Both trained with Mr. A of Shinzan Mono (a coffee shop in the French Concession), but Yutaka specializes in hand drip coffee while Patrick does the espresso-based variations.

在吧台煮咖啡的有 Yutaka 和 Patrick，兩人都是從 “新參者” 咖啡店主理人小A那裏學的，不過 Yutaka 做手沖，Patrick做意式，一人一台機器玩的很開心。“新參者” 這家咖啡店我倒是第一次聽說，下次有機會去看看。

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[Shanghai] Quan Er 荃二 (2)

Categories shanghai
[Shanghai] Quan Er 荃二 (2)

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Quan Er 荃二

Add: 1 Alley 76 Wuyuan Road, near Changshu Road
Tel: 186 2165 1927
Hours: [Thu-Fri] 8-10pm [Sat-Sun] 3-10pm (closed Mon-Wed)
Price: varies
Visited: Sep 2015

I had previously told you about 荃二 (Quan Er), a tiny boutique on Changle Road filled with beautiful ceramics and other knickknacks collected from Japan. It has since moved to Wuyuan Road to a bigger and brighter space, with a charming loft design. In case you had missed the info last time, here it is again: I met 文林 (Wen Lin), one of the three shop owners, years ago through a magazine interview. A soft-spoken man from Sichuan, Wen was then the Associate Director of the lifestyle section at Bund Pic and travelled often to Japan for work. Throughout the years, he and his colleagues have accumulated an impressive collection of miscellaneous goods, and decided to open Quan Er to share this with like-minded others.

之前曾介紹過的日式雜貨店荃二，最近搬了到五原路。新的空間更大更明亮，而且還有舒服的夾層設計。跟店主之一的文林認識是在去巴黎之前，通過雜志訪問的緣故。四川人，相當安靜沈穩，跟他說說話似乎血壓都降低了。之前是外灘畫報生活版副總監的他，由于工作的關系經常去日本，幾年下來和同事們收集了不少手工藝職人的作品。想想不如開間店，分享給同樣愛好的人，于是就有了荃二。

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[Shanghai] Chang Zuo 長作

Categories shanghai
[Shanghai] Chang Zuo 長作

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Chang Zuo 長作

Add: No. 2, Alley 764, Changle Rd./ 長樂路764弄2號
Tel: N/A
Hours: N/A (no specific info during soft-opening)
Price: [drinks] 40-68 RMB [pastries] 40 RMB
Visited: Sep 2015

Just opened 2 months ago, Chang Zuo 長作 is the newest outlet by Chinese fashion brand/select shop Dong Liang 棟樑. Located on Changle Road, this beautifully renovated structure includes a first floor cafe, topped by 3 levels of boutique space displaying a carefully curated selection from independent designers, as well as Dong Liang’s own creations. The design style is a mix of modern and wabisabi, with careful attention to details. It’s exactly my cup of tea.

托荃二文老板的福，我在回上海的第四天就發現了棟梁于長樂路上新開的 “長作“。 一樓是咖啡館，二至四樓則是與棟梁合作的獨立設計師作品陳列室。整個空間非常漂亮，許多小細節都做的相當用心，而且雖是新店，卻已有種沈澱過，令人安心的穩重感。

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