Final post for Shanghai is about my last night there. After all the press activities circulating the HSBC-Men’s Champions, I wanted to have 1 night out to experience the Shanghai nightlife.

Adrian was spinning at Monkey Lounge/Bar so he asked me to drop by and check it out. Another friend forewarned that the crowd is quite ABC, but is was worth a visit nonetheless. He gave me the address and also mentioned that it’s a bit hard to find. And Good luck!

Monkey Bar was introduced as a “secret” bar, just because it’s so hard to find and hidden in some dark alley with no signage. That must have been such a great marketing ploy, because the whole elusiveness just made you want to try hunt it down. And that, I did.

I hopped into the cab and got dropped off on Donghu Lu, and I must have walked up and down that stretch 3 times. So much for blending in, you might as well stamped a ‘LOST’ across my forehead. Finally I succumbed, and asked a group of girls where this elusive Monkey lounge was. They pointed towards a dark alley and said I’d had to walk further in to find the main door.

The only indication you have that you’re at the right place is by the black door with a cryptic etched-print of a monkey-philosopher.

As you pass the heavy velvet curtains and Roman columns, the room suddenly opens up to a high ceiling, lush warm and cozy lounge. Monkey lounge isn’t catering to the beer drinking frat boys, the crowd were well-dressed and sipped delicious but expensive cocktails. They either popped champagne as easily as opening a can of soda, or swirled their glasses of premium whiskies pretending that actually like that throat-burning shit. It was a tad pretentious to be honest.

But oh since I was here, “Excuse me, can I have a Lavender 75 please!” which was a cocktail which consists of Bombay sapphire, prosecco, fresh lemon and lavender syrup.

Feeling a bit hungry? You can order small plates of “atas” food like caviar, foie gras terrine or crispy frog legs. Or if you want to be a bit more adventurous, go outside to the roadside yakitori stall and sit on the tiny stools by the side of the road. If I were you, choose the vegetables, you never know what kind of meat they are skewering there .

Next stop, an underground club called Shelter and back to my hotel. Got back just in time to pack my bags and leave for the airport. Goodbye Shanghai!

Monkey Bar
Address: No 22, Lane 56 Donghu Lu,
near Xinle Lu
肇嘉浜路807号2楼（近高安路）
Xuhui, Shanghai, China

I met Andrew and Alvina for lunch one afternoon, and they took me to a hu nan (I hope I got it right) restaurant, walking distance from their office.

俏湘园 (qiào xiāng yuán) was a little restaurant with big flavours. Lots of the dishes we ordered were spicy with a think layer of chilli oil.

What we ordered:
飘香鱼片
外婆菜夹饼
芥菜烩山药
口水鸡
米
王老吉

All in all, we only paid approximately S$30 for all that good food. It’s embarrassingly cheap.

Qiao Xiang Yuan 俏湘园
Address:徐汇区(近天平路)

You can’t go to Shanghai and not have Xiao Long Bao! Actually you can… Din Tai Fung is pretty damn good.

Adrian suggested this hole in the wall place in the French concession. I can’t remember the name of the place, but when I do, I’ll update this post.

He said the crabmeat Xiao Long Bao was a must try, and it didn’t disappoint. These little packets of juicy fresh FRESH crabmeat was just so flavourful, it was the best seafood Xiao long bao ever tasted. I won’t go as far as saying it’s the best Xiao Long Bao, because I still like the traditional mince meat ones from Din Tai Fung.

Order at the counter, walk pass the group of ladies chatting away and filling Xiao Long Baos, seat yourself on one of the tables and just wait. It will take awhile because they only make it on orders.

I did say I’d make it a point to try new food this year, so I had a tiny bite into the chicken blood soup. Not bad, but not great. Edible but passable.

What a strange name. I wasn’t sure if people were saying Bund, Band or Bun!

The Bund is a stretch of buildings on a road which runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River. It sits between Baidu Bridge and JinLin East Road. The embankment has a 771-metre long wall built for flood control. It’s also probably the most famous skyline in Shanghai with mentions in famous movies, books and songs.

After googling a bit, it was said that grown all around that area are Chinese wisterias, gingko trees and azalea. I wish I took notice of the trees, would have loved to see how gingko trees look like!

Pictured below is the Shanghai city skyline seen from The Bund side.

The Bund is a beautiful stretch to walk at dusk on a cool day, but there is nothing much to do there besides that. Take a few city skyline shots and appreciate the architectural styles of the buildings and that is an hour walk about done.

The word “bund” means an embankment or an embanked quay, and comes from the Urdu word band, meaning an embankment, levee or dam (a cognate of English terms “bind,” “bond” and “band,” the German term “bund,” etc.). “Bund” is pronounced to rhyme with “fund”. The term was brought to Shanghai by the family of Victor Sassoon, a Baghdadi-Nepali Jew. There are many “bands” to be found in Baghdad, even today. There are numerous sites in India, China, and Japan which are called “bunds” (e.g. the Yokohama Bund). However, “The Bund” as a proper noun almost invariably refers to this stretch of embanked riverfront in Shanghai.
Source: Wikipedia

Pictured below is the newly refurbished Waldorf Shanghai Hotel on The Bund side, and also where the HSBC Welcome reception was held. Beautiful.

The biggest shocker for me is the architectural styles of the building. They just seemed so European it almost felt like you weren’t in China. Romanesque, Renaissance, Neo-Classical and Art Deco… and building heights are restricted in this area. Good town planning unlike places like Malaysia where the city’s “flavour” is lost by towering skyscrapers and horribly designed buildings. By the way, did you know that Shanghai as one of the richest collections of Art Deco architectures in the world.

On my last full day in Shanghai, I decided to venture into expat/tourist domain.

Here’s where I’ve got to mention my observations about Shanghai. I knew from conversations with friends and family that Shanghai has changed a lot in the past 5-10 years, how it’s grown and evolved into a booming cosmopolitan city. Keywords were Party town, colourful, modern, and fashion-forward.

This is my first time in Shanghai, and it was all of that. I guess I was expecting another Beijing, but I was blown away by the architecture, social scene and the amount of Chinese speaking expats in Shanghai! Old and new. East meets West. Locals and Expats. Shanghai is the great example of modern city living.

One such place where you’ll find all that is at Shanghai Xintiandi a residential area converted into a dining and retail pedestrian street. The buildings, like Tian Zi Fang, were Shikumen-styled. Exterior antique grey brick walls were retained and restored, but the interiors have all be done up in taste of all the modern F&B outlets, retailers and boutiques that have taken over this area.

The place has a really European feel, maybe it’s because of all the alfresco restaurants, bars and cafés. It just didn’t register that I was in Shanghai!

Spent a few hours doing what I love most. People watching. Family friends meeting up after 10 years, couples on dates, backpackers looking for cheap eats, Japanese tourists taking photos.

I sat at an alfresco café, pita & hummus, hot latte and keyword was… content.

One evening I was walking the streets of Shanghai, and was trying to find some dinner. Nothing on the main stretch of road interests me, until I looked down a dark alley and saw a sign for some 小吃 restaurant.

Here’s the problem. The menu was fully in Chinese.

Yes I can read some of it, but not most of it. So with my disgustingly bad Mandarin I asked the waitress to recommend a bowl of noodles.

W: “你喜欢吃甜的还是盐的？“

A: “盐的”

W: “你想试试肝脏面? 很好吃的！”

A: “Urrr….ok” (Had no idea what that was, but ok)

Liver noodles! With capsicum! and Raw-ish Onions!! ALL 3 ITEMS I dislike!! Not to mention the layer of oil on top of the noodles.

I just had some soup, a few mouthfuls of noodles and left the rest in the bowl.

I reckon I was in Shanghai at the best time of the year. It wasn’t hot and humid, not was it freezing cold as some of my friends have experienced. Temperatures usually fall sharply mid November as winter settles in. I was there early November and temperatures averaged around 16°C / 61°F in the day and a cool 9°C / 48°F.

What to wear?
Pictured above:
Day – Long sleeve flannel, Scarf, Jeans, Good walking shoes, Leather jacket (just in case)
Night – Wool dress, Leggings, Scarf, Black Boots, Leather jacket.

Big thanks to Adrian, Alvina and Andrew for your hospitality in Shanghai. Am very grateful for all your recommendations, time and company. See you in Singapore!

There’s more than the actual game going on at the WGC-HSBC Golf Champions. Visitors are treated to a whole range of hands-on fun at the Interactive Village when they enter Sheshan Golf Course.

First get yourself registered at the booth where you’re given your ID tag and a free cap. With the tag, visitors go round to different stations and log-in their best scores for each game. Attractive prizes to be won for the winners at the end of the day such as Callaway putters, balls, hotel stay at the Le Meridien, and signed merchandise from your favourite golf stars.

Or take advantage of the free 10min coaching session with a CGA golf professional.

What else is free? Two photo booths are also available for all to take home a little souvenir. Had a nice little chat with the vendor and he said on the first day alone 200 pictures were printed within a couple of hours. In Shanghai and still haven’t made your way down to the tournament? You still have one day left.

Wonder what the set up would be like at the HSBC Women’s Champions Singapore in february next year?

Taken from rooftop of The Peninsula, Shanghai.

About The WGC-HSBC Champions
The WGC-HSBC Champions brings together the winners of the highest-ranked tournaments from all over the world and is being held this weekend at the Sheshan International Golf Club from 4th-7th November.

Greetings from Shanghai!

Need to take a break from the Japan posts for awhile with the interruption of a little trip to China. The lovely people at Hill & Knowlton and HSBC have invited me here to let you know more about the The HSBC Men’s Champions 2010. The tournament officially starts today, but press activities already started on Tuesday, and since it was jammed packed with activities, I thought it might be fun to do a “Yesterday, Today” video to summarise it all.

There is more than the golf happening during tournament week. Instead of the usual golf news, I’ll show you something things happening off the golf course.

Highlights of the Day
- Flight to Shanghai – Love travelling, especially by air.
- Watched 2 movies – “Eclipse” and “Despicable me”, both of which I missed in the theatres
- WGC-HSBS Champions photo call – Held at The Peninsula on The Bund, where I got to see Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson and Martin Kaymer try Tai Chi.
- WGC-HSBC Champions Welcome Reception – exclusive private party with golfers, celebrities and business leaders at the Waldorf Astroria on The Bund

Previous Yesterday, Today videos
Yesterday, Today – 28 October 2008
Yesterday, Today – 12 March 2009