[Shanghai] Seesaw Cafe

Categories shanghai
[Shanghai] Seesaw Cafe

Seesaw Cafe

Add: 433 Yuyuan Lu, inside Jing’an Design Center / 愚园路433号静安设计中心内
Tel: 137 6170 0535
Hours: 8:30am~10:30pm
Price: 15~25 RMB/coffee
Visited: Jun 2012

The very recently opened Seesaw Cafe has all the elements I look for in a coffee shop. Glorious coffee, clean and stylish decor with courtyard seats, friendly baristas who are passionate to share their knowledge, and – drumroll please – buttery, sugary delights from Strictly Cookies.

A friend and I ordered a “coffee set for two” (58 RMB), which includes two cups of coffee and a selection of 4 dessert bites. We opted for a cappuccino and a latte, which came strong and smooth, with beautiful latte art.

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[Shanghai] PuLi Hotel & Spa

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[Shanghai] PuLi Hotel & Spa

PuLi Hotel & Spa

Add: 1 Changde Lu, near Yan’an Zhong Lu / 常德路1號，近延安中路
Tel: 3203 9999
Website: www.thepuli.com
Visited: Oct 2011

The PuLi Hotel & Spa, gorgeously designed with grey bricks, bamboo screens, and elegant antiques placed in seemingly haphazard ways, is one of my favorite hotels in Shanghai. It is centrally located between Nanjing West Road and Yan’An Road, yet it holds its own as a center of calm in the dizzying Shanghai cityscape. An urban resort indeed.

The sunken reception area is thoughtfully designed so that the standing receptionists are at eye-level with sitting guests. A small but important detail. Behind it, a 32-meter Long Bar offers one of Shanghai’s “longest” wine and champagne selections by the glass.

The library, very zen.


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[Shanghai] Downstairs

Categories shanghai
[Shanghai] Downstairs

Downstairs Add: 1/F, Urbn Hotel, 183 Jiaozhou Lu, near Beijing Xi Lu / 膠州路183號, 近北京西路 Tel: 5172 1300 Website: www.urbnhotels.com Price: [drinks] ~50 RMB [desserts] ~50 RMB Visited: Oct 2010 Venue now reopened as beergrdn, check website for details. Downstairs by David Laris, a stylish dining/lounge area on the first floor of Urbn Hotel, is a good place to rest…Continue Reading “[Shanghai] Downstairs” →

[Shanghai] Plum Gallery

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[Shanghai] Plum Gallery

Plum Gallery (venue closed)

Add: No. 1025 Nanjing Xi Lu, Lane 37, near Maoming Bei Lu / 南京西路1025号37弄, 近茂名北路
Tel: 5213 6565
Website: blog.sina.com.cn/plumshanghai
Visited: Oct 2010

Opened by a Taiwanese music video director, Plum is a small gallery inside Jing’an Villa (靜安別墅) dedicated to exhibiting offbeat and unique art. Also serves coffee, tea, plum soda, and wine. A cute place worth visiting.

The exhibition theme changes every 1 or 2 months. Currently, Plum is having an exhibition titled “Post-Ready-Made”, which showcases works from Japanese and Taiwanese contemporary furniture designers Noriko Daishima, Mercy Yeh and Nicole Teng.

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[Shanghai] Tonkatsu Hamachan 浜ちゃん

Categories restaurant
[Shanghai] Tonkatsu Hamachan 浜ちゃん

Tonkatsu Hamachan 浜ちゃん

Add: 176 Jiaozhou Lu, near Beijing Lu / 胶州路176号，近北京西路
Tel: 6256 8674
Hours: 11:30am-2pm, 5:30-10pm
Price: 65 RMB/set
Visited: Sep 2010

Located right across from Urbn Hotel in Jing’an area, Hamachan is a small 6-table restaurant specializing in tontaksu – Japanese style fried pork cutlet. Rumor has it that this place serves THE best tonkatsu in town…

The pork cutlet comes in two varieties, ロース (fatty) and ヒレ(lean), both at 65 RMB/set. Actually, there isn’t a significant difference in the meat itself other than the extra layer of fat on the fatty cut, which I prefer because it’s slightly juicier and the crust is thinner. All tonkatsu is served with special tonkatsu sauce and yellow mustard. The set also includes pickles, miso soup, shredded cabbage, and unlimited refill of rice.

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[Shanghai] Le Bistro du Dr. Wine

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[Shanghai] Le Bistro du Dr. Wine

Le Bistro du Dr. Wine

Add: 177 Fumin Lu , near Julu Lu 富民路177號, 近巨鹿路
Tel: 5403-5717
Hours: 5:00pm~2:00am
Price: [wine] 38-55 RMB/glass, 118 RMB and up/bottle [food] 48-88 RMB/pizza
Visited on: Aug 2010

In Shanghai, wine bars have been sprouting up like bamboo shoots after a Spring drizzle, and Dr. Wine is one of the newer addition to the scene. The decor is simple – leather couches, soft wood, warm bricks. The owners supposedly recycled materials from the original lane house to create a retro look for the wine bar. With a nice-looking wine list and classic wine bar menu items like charcuterie and sandwiches, Dr. Wine is ready to please.

If you want to splurge at Dr. Wine, you can. Vincent Landais (one of the owners) is a sommelier who has worked for Daniel Boulud in New York and Alain Ducasse in Paris. He makes sure that you can get a 1982 Chateau Lafite at Dr. Wine as long as you are willing to pay 45,000 RMB for the bottle. Or, for those of us with a thinner wallet, there are bottles starting from 118 RMB.

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