Vibrant… Wanfujing night markets

Indulging in this fine sample of Chinese gastronomic tradition is just one of the sensory experiences that make up Travel Indochina’s newly launched food-lover’s tour of the China.

The 13-day China Culinary Discovery tour takes wandering foodies through Beijing, Xian, Chengdu and Shanghai to explore the country’s colourful culinary scene – from sampling street food in the Forbidden City, to hands-on cooking lessons in hutong houses.

The journey begins in Beijing, the country’s bustling capital, where travellers explore some of the few remaining hutongs (ancient alleyways) and feast on a lip-smacking Peking Duck feast at one of the city’s most popular roast duck restaurants.

The culinary quest continues through Xian’s vibrant Muslim Quarter where a sumptuous dumpling banquet awaits.

A short flight then takes tour guests to Chengdu to see the captivating Giant Pandas and shop for ingredients at a traditional market to use in an afternoon Sichuan cooking lesson with the locals.

The tour culminates in Shanghai where foodies immerse themselves in the lively back streets of the Chinese Quarter and the former French Concession area of the city.

Travel Indochina’s inaugural China Culinary Discovery tour departs on 8 April.

www.travelindochina.co.uk

A Special Lunch Correspondent

Right now, this very instant, is the time to plan your trip to Shanghai.

I’ve been to Shanghai nearly every year for the past decade or so and let me assure you autumn and spring are the best months to be there. Forget winter (it’s miles above the equator) and summer is very difficult indeed.

Let’s say you’re there on holiday, or in town for a few days for business, and want to know where to hang out when your sightseeing or wheeling and dealing is done. Here is Lunch Magazine’s carefully crafted list of the top 10 things to do in Shanghai.

1. Kerry Hotel, Pudong.

Beer garden ... The Brew at the Kerry Pudong

It is in Pudong, which means there is no congestion and wide streets. The Kerry has transformed this end of Pudong. It sits atop a massive shopping centre, has its own restaurants (The Cook, The Meet), its own bar (The Brew), with its own beer garden which looks on to the biggest green space in Shanghai, Century Park. It has its own gym, pool, top class restaurants and the Cook is the perfect place for brunch.

http://www.shangri-la.com/shanghai/kerryhotelpudong/dining/

2. Antique Bike Ride. “Any questions?’’ says Thomas our host and head motorcycle rider.
“How many people have you lost this year?’’ I ask. Everyone laughs and Thomas says. “None, but there are still a few months to go.’’ Thomas is an unknown quantity at the beginning of the ride but by the end I have even more respect for him, if that’s possible.

Sideways ... the best way to see Shanghai

There follows over an hour on the backstreets, high streets and byways of old Shanghai on a collection of antique motorcycles.

He offers us all helmets but we all shake our heads. We go through the Former French Concession and in one spectacular move, roar on the wrong side of the road up Huai Hai Lu, one of the main drags of Shanghai. It’s not for your faint hearted, shy and retiring types. Everywhere we go we are photographed.

We also do a tour of the art district, or Yartz district as I christen it. (Don’t worry, there is a place to buy beer and give the culture a miss, so you don’t have to reach for your sidearm at the mention of the word).

The ride begins at the Peninsula, just near the Bund and ends just after dark, so you get the thrill of doing what you just did in the daytime, only with the sights, sounds and … ah yes .. even the smells of Shanghai at night around you and a throbbing machine between your thighs.
Absolutely unforgettable.

http://shanghaisideways.com/

3. Cotton’s. The best burger I’ve had anyplace, and yes I’ve had ground prime rib in the States. This burger is served with cheese and salad and this and that on the side.

I bully the staff into throwing in some jalapenos to go with the chilli and extremely hot Chinese lajiao (chilli). It comes with fresh freedom fries and I fall upon it with gallon after gallon of Brooklyn Lager.

The bar/restaurant is in the courtyard of an old French mansion, with trellises, plenty of vines and lots of umbrellas and candles. The punters are mostly younger and mostly coupled up. A great place to take a date (I was there with the Old Man). Oh. Almost forgot, this review is for the one on An Ting Lu, I haven’t been to the other one yet.

http://www.cottons-shanghai.com/

4. Salute. Another Mediterranean inspired bar. This bar on Fuxing Lu is run by my very good friend Luka and his lovely Shanghainese bride. It’s only been open a few months and is one of the hottest venues in Shanghai, just off Hengshan Lu. Just by the way, in 1942 Hengshan Lu was known as Avenue Petain and the Vichy French and the Japanese were running the old French Concession. The Japanese were also running the entire lower Yangtze region and behaving rather unpleasantly.

But back to Salute. There is no wine list and no menu. Luka serves whatever he has handy after asking you what you feel like. It appears he has quite a bit laying around … the food is awesome authentic cold cuts.

My companion and I have a spicy salami and some proscuitto with some crusty bread to soak up the truly excellent Valpolicella Luka puts on our table. He only asked me one thing: ‘Please don’t give us any more publicity. I have enough customers’. Sorry mate.

http://www.saluteshanghai.com/

5. The Apartment. I find this place by accident one night when I’m heading to Zapata’s. While stopped at a traffic light a cab overflowing with women, girls, people of the opposite gender asks us where we were heading (the girls asked, I mean, not the taxi). When we tell them they say: “Zapata’s is for amateurs, come to The Apartment.’’

Chillin'... The Apartment's rooftop beer garden

Several hours and some unlikely adventures follow before we find ourselves at the designated rendezvous. The Apartment takes up an entire building and there is something to suit all tastes. On the first floor there is a club with doof doof music and a lot of chaps standing around, along with admittedly some really quite beautiful woman, being gazed at by the aforementioned chaps. Really, what fellows expect will come from gazing longingly at girls is beyond me.

We give that a miss and head on up the stairs. Another disco, with the same ratio of chaps to et cetera. With grim determination and dauntless courage, the birthright of every Australian, we decide to soldier on.

Finally the top floor. A beer garden on the roof. Snow Patrol is playing over the wireless. Clear skies and plenty of the right sort of company. The crowd is friendly (including our cab full of girls who actually do remember us – and have been joined by their grinning life partners).

The beer is cold. It’s a great place to hang or, if you’re in the mood, chill.

http://www.theapartment-shanghai.com/

6. Barbarossa. There is a square in the middle of Shanghai called People’s Square, and a park in the middle of the square, and in the middle of the park there is an island and in the middle of the island there is a bar, and in the middle of the bar … well you get the picture.

The bar is called Barbarossa. They have food and drink and during the day you can look at the giant lotuses in the lake. The day I’m here there's a light rain falling on the water. Upstairs there is a posh bar with a serious cocktail menu. Barbarossa is a must-see if you are in Shanghai. Look out for the lotuses – they can leap nine metres, I’m told.

Directions: It doesn’t appear to have a website. Enter People’s Park from Nanjing Lu West and keep on walking. Eventually you will hear music and when you see the lights of the old mansion, cross the bridge over the lake and there you are!

Tel: +86 21 6318 0220

7. The Glamour Bar, M on the Bund. It has glamour, it has style, it has romance and panache. This is the place to go to be seen and to get a serious cocktail.

You cannot be overdressed in the Glamour Bar, so wear your best frock, or bag of fruit, and shine those shoes for heaven’s sake.There is a balcony for smokers or for those who just want to step outside and look down the entire length of The Bund and say, "Holy cow, how awesome is Shanghai?''

Or go inside and prop up the bar and order another martini. You’ve earned it.

http://www.m-glamour.com/

8. Gintei for all you can eat sushi. The night I go there I’m hungry, really hungry. Did I mention it’s all you can eat? Well it is. It’s also all you can drink.

I order three tallies of Heineken, some Tsing Tao and some sake to keep the beer company. The waitress asks if we want it hot or cold. ’Cold,’ I say as my sister says ‘hot’ at the same instant. Let’s get both. Ursula shrugs.

We order a lot of food. The sushi is fresh. Very fresh and so is the sashimi. The butter fried steak is very buttery and very steakey. Don’t stop ordering because you’re full. And don’t stop drinking just because you have a skinful and your belly is bulging – it’s great food and a fantastic experiment in gluttony. Let’s go there again soon Ushie.

No website. Tel: 6218 1932
75 Nanhui Lu, near Beijing Xi Lu

A slice of luxury... Oasis Room at Banyan Tree

9. Banyan Tree on the Bund. Stay here for a bit of luxury and a fresh perspective of bustling Shanghai. This brand spanking new urban resort has stylish rooms with amazing river views. But if you can, stay in the Oasis Room – it has its own private dipping pool. After a long night out, visit the hotel’s spa to reenergise and get covered in aromatic oils and healing herbs and spices.  

www.banyantree.com

10. Zapata’s. OK. So you knew I was going to end up here at some point. Zapata’s is a Shangahi institution. It’s got the biggest beer garden, the cheapest margaritas and plenty of eye candy for both sexes. Cheap cigarettes, inexpensive Mexican blotting paper (food).

Try not going there … go on just try. I can’t. It’s on Hengshan Lu near Dongping Lu. You can’t miss it and there’s a good bar called Sasha’s next door where you can have a quiet pizza and a cocktail when things get too rowdy and too bawdy.

http://zapatas-shanghai.com/en/home.html

One of the key elements – and the nicest – of Shangri-La’s flagship Kerry Hotel in Pudong Shanghai is Brew, its $2 million in-house craft brewery.
And the man on whose broad shoulders this responsibility lies is Kiwi brewer Leon Mickelson. It’s easy to believe the strapping young man who takes me on a tour of the most specced-up boutique brewery I’ve ever seen has managed to accumulate 14 medals in a lifetime of devotion to his craft.
Brew was handed over to Mickelson lock, stock and recipes by the Australian contractors who put the whole creation together.
Mickelson starts with Shanghai water and purifies it to the point where it may as well have fallen out of the sky over his native New Zealand.
Then he adds the minerals native to the water from which his beer recipes originate – for example, an obedient German package of ions for his Pils and some laconic Australian trace elements for his White Ant beer and somehow he recreates hard uptight English di-hydrogen monoxide for his India Pale Ale.  
There’s even some French campagne yeast for his cider, which; while virile, large and serviceable – still tends to run under a heavy mortaring.
Also very much in demand are Mickelson’s seasonal beers.

On this tour I’m invited to taste his pumpkin beer bled straight out of the vat. It’s mouth filling and cinamony.
Mickelson is kept flat out meeting demand for all his creations thanks to the onsite bottleworks supplying receptacles of free beer for the hotel’s guestroom mini bars.
Yes – don’t bother backing up and reading that again – there is free beer, or sodas, in the room mini bars – the Kerry doesn’t believe in socking you 10 smackers for a beer or a Coke for that matter. They just want you to relax, sit at the bar – every room has a bar by the way – and enjoy Mickelson’s handiwork at the end of the day – or even well into the night.
The bar concept should be embraced worldwide. It’s awful taking a new friend to your room only to have to them perch on the bed or lean against the wall.
And for a couple travelling together, it’s a great place to sit and debrief and decompress without having to get togged up and going down to the bar.

Someone's got to do it ... Brea and Mickelson

http://www.thecookthemeetthebrew.com/free-beer-in-kerry-hotel-rooms/

More oasis than hotel, the Kerry in the heart of Pudong in Shanghai has set a benchmark for other hotels to follow – in service, technology, cuisine and beer.

I say beer not because I have a one track mind and it's about all I think about … beer …. beer, beer, beer, chili – oops I digress. No, I say the b-word because it has a $2 million state-of-the-art Australian designed and built micro-brewery towering three stories high in its own glass cage over the bar, coincidentally called The Brew.

The Kerry is run with all the calm and charm (which seems to be the national trait of all Hawaiians) by Ed Brea, who hails from the Sandwich Isles via another Crown colony – Australia.

From its complimentary WiFi, which works flawlessly throughout and around the hotel, to its restaurants, beer gardens and courtyards, the Kerry has transformed Pudong.

The Kerry is the first of a new luxury hotel brand from the Shangri-La group and hopefully the luxury behemoth will use the Pudong Kerry and Mr Brea’s impeccable management as the template for all future iterations of the brand.

All the rooms have sit down bars so you can entertain (or debrief or visit) without having to perch on the bed or lean against a wall and – are you sitting down – free amber fluid or (let's say it out loud) beer (and soda) in the mini bar.

It’s a few seconds walk to the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, it overlooks the green lungs of Shanghai – the expansive Century Park, and is integrated with the Kerry Parkside shopping mall and office tower.

Strategically positioned next to the Maglev (all of five minutes from Pudong International Airport,  you can also reach the subway without having to surface, which then links you with all of greater Shanghai for a few pennies.

“The idea is you have more than a hotel,’’ Mr Brea tells Lunch Magazine.

“It’s a lifestyle flagship attached to a shopping mall, office building and residence.

“Inside the (hotel) envelope one of the uni

Idea that could catch on ... Mr Brea enjoys a beer at The Brew with brew master Leon Mickelson

“It’s a good place to come and enjoy and have a pretty good hand-crafted beer as well."  I agree if you substitute Mr Brea’s laconic “pretty good" for awesome.

Mr Brea says he is not sure if the Kerry qualifies as boutique.

“At 570 rooms and 180 residences.  We are maybe boutique with critical mass."

As for the location, Brea says nearby Century Park is about the size of Central Park and one of the largest green spaces in Shanghai. 

"Pudong is a great hub for jumping off and seeing the rest of Shanghai. We have just got that little bit of everything. It’s a nice balance of having a place where you can not only do some serious business but you can also have a lot of fun while you’re here.

“Whether it’s in the Brew, Kerry Sports, going shopping or just hanging out."

He says oasis is a good way to describe the Kerry.

Mr Brea says the very strong emphasis on F&B has “been quite successful" for us.

And will the indoor onsite brewery concept with FREE BEER (in capitals because I'm basically Homer Simpson) on arrival catch on?

“I wouldn’t rule out other breweries. It’s a great concept."
 

The first time I walked into Cook restaurant at the Kerry Hotel in Pudong, Shanghai. I knew two things. One: I had to produce the video that accompanies this story and two, I had to do my darndest to try every dish on offer.

The vast length of cooking stations, with all the delights Asia and the West can offer cooked before your eyes, many with flames exploding, steaming dishes being rushed back and forth lends itself to video – over even the talents of a literary Gigantor like me.

And the variety of food lends itself to Asian style communal dining; it really is the way to go (hint: you get to try more dishes before you fill up rather than crouching over your own bowl like a Frenchman).

If you like living it large, Lunch style, and as I’m fond of saying, if you’re reading this then I have a hunch that you are that kind of person, then this is for you.

Deep breath: there is steamed clams served with garlic bread – in a word, tender and juicy. I ate too much and I’m afraid I rather hogged the dish. A massive serve of sashimi served on the ice: whiting, the freshest tuna I’ve tasted, salmon of course and lobster tail. Technically not sashimi, because it was cooked, but I understand you can ask for it raw. Anyway, it was all extremely fresh, the freshest. The oysters are from Australia so I doubled down on them.
Then skipping a few stations it’s barbecue: duck, pork, and suckling pig. I’m afraid I made a bit of a pig of myself with the goose.

The trouble with the food here is it’s all so good. And so is the beer. The icy cold Brew Pils is served in double glazed glasses. I mean there are two layers of glass with a vacuum in between. Leave it for 20 minutes and it’s still ice cold, unlike at home (unless you live in the tundra) – where you would have to find a noisy moment to palm it off on the help. Then it’s back to the Asian section for some Singapore chili crab.

I get some implements but it turns out I don’t need them, the crabs come pre-cracked and are the best I’ve had, and yes, I’ve been to Singapore where I spent weeks searching for the perfect chili mud crab and beer combination. Stop and get a picture of the untouched crab dish (meaning I forget to) to show to your mates back home. Let me assure you: It will be many a long day before you taste its like again.

Too full from the crab? Don’t let that stop you from grabbing another house-crafted Brew beer. The Cook is for dining with people who like to live it large -Lunch style – and there is something to satisfy the fussiest eater, so anyone with any complaints should be dropped off before you get to the Kerry.

I’d like to take this opportunity to invent a new word – tableality – a mixture of table and conviviality. You know the person where, when you hear they are coming to lunch, you smile and think this will be a good one. There is also the opposite – the anti-luncher – or someone with low tabeality. 

Lunches are about great food and wine, awesome company and the exchange of ideas in a collegiate atmosphere.

There are occasions when we are all saddled with an anti-luncher, apparently recruited from the nearest lunatic asylum after she slipped out of her straitjacket, to stop the rest of us having a good time.

I'm not necessarily saying this happened at this luncheon, but let this serve as a warning for all Lunch readers when it does happen.

If you do happen to be with a blue nose wowser who doesn’t enjoy living it large, and gives you the hairy eyeball every time you order a beer or wear out the tiles going to grab some more chow, here’s what you do. Go to the restroom and stare into the mirror, breathing hard through your mouth. Then give yourself an uppercut – it’s time to man up and bring this termagant into line. Then go back to your table, grab the crazy shrew and hustle her into the nearest broom closet – with any luck she’ll find a ride home in there.

This advice will stand you in good stead all your life, not just at The Cook, but everywhere; if you tread on eggshells around mad people then pretty soon you’re just crouching in the corner trying to be as quiet as a mouse peeing on cotton wool, lest you upset the crazy person. No my friends, that’s no way to live your life. Get some more chili mudcrab, live it large, you can never be quiet enough for some .. shudder … people. So don’t bother. Grab another beer. Rustle up some more lah jouw* Better yet, slip on your finest finery, it’s time to make some outrageous claims, in short; there’s lunching to be done, and when there's lunching to be done The Cook in the Kerry is the place to do it.

The Cook
Kerry Hotel
No.1388 Hua Mu Road
Pudong, Shanghai
201204, China
T: (86 21) 6169 8888

www.shangri-la.com/en/property/shanghai/kerryhotelpudong/dining

*chili

I am in the ready area, seated next to a fellow guest who has had the good sense to come down from his room freshly showered and wearing his bathrobe and slippers. What a pro, I think sitting there in my jeans and RMs. Maximising the rubdown time, I mean, and minimizing the fiddle faddle.

Initially I'm introduced to a male masseur but I immediately put the kibosh on him – I've always been irrationally disturbed about being rubbed down by one of my brethren so I'm then introduced to Linda.

Unlike my new spa pro fellow guest, I'm directed by Linda straight to the changeroom where I stand underneath the rain shower and immediately start to relax. A day's worth of city grime and perspiration disappears down the drain. Finished and feeling relatively rejuvenated already, I come out and say: “Sorry I was so long.’’

“My English not so good,’’ she says. “That’s OK." I say. She smiles beatifically.

See what I mean? How can a male masseur compete with that?

The massage is a full deep tissue work out with lots of gentle stretching inspired by Wudang Wushu an ancient form of Chinese martial arts and finishes with those little karate chops, just like in movies.

It ends with me groggily sipping ginger tea on the edge of Linda’s soft workbench and I leave, reeelaxed with at least three es.
I am asked to fill in an after action report.
I tick all excellents and make no comments. How can this service be improved except perhaps by giving Linda a payrise?
At Kerry Sports, there is also a massive pool, jacuzzi, a sauna and steam room. I can’t find the last two, no doubt being too dazed by Linda’s ministrations.
There is a kids Adventure Zone, which, (and this will come as no blinding shock to those familiar with my maturity level), I do try out.
There is a slide that drops vertically about three stories. I go on it because it seems like a good opportunity to take an absurd chance with my life to no purpose.
All I can say is I’m glad when I finally come to a stop.
The Kerry is very kid-friendly and the Adventure Zone caters for children in all age groups.
Lastly, there is a running track on the roof, tennis court and a massive gymnasium, or sweating place as I call it, which attracts people from all over Pudong and Shanghai. It operates 24/7, and possesses four activity zones comprising more than 80 pieces of state-of-the-art exercise equipment. Additional recreation facilities include four exercise studios for aerobics, spinning, yoga, hot yoga and Pilates, whatever they may be.
I also take a one hour tai-chi class and I’m amazed at the strenuous workout the instructor gives me. When I finish (this is before the massage), I’m covered with a lather of froth (strangely like a beer) where other people would perhaps have perspiration and I'm well ready for Miss Linda, a shower and the deep tissue massage.

Kerry Spa
The Kerry Hotel
No.1388 Hua Mu Road
Pudong, Shanghai
201204, China
T: (86 21) 6169 8888
F: (86 21) 6169 8899

http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/shanghai/kerryhotelpudong

That experience will be available in the Middle Kingdom from July as China ramps up its super trains in a move that humbles American ingenuity and puts pressure on airlines.

The futuristic high speed train will begin operation between Shanghai and Beijing in July.

Traveling at 300km/hour (180 mph) the new high-speed rail link between Beijing and Shanghai will make the trip in just 4 hours and 45 minutes. There are 90 trains operating each way daily carrying 1004 passengers each.

Compared with 50 flights per day currently linking the two cities, the train system is expected to have a significant impact on the airline business and take pressure off conventional rail, which can be devoted to hauling freight.

China travel oracle Helen Wong of Helen Wong’s Tours (www.helenwongstours.com) said  the fast train made more sense than flying.

“Like in Europe and Japan, the excitement of travelling on a high-speed train which reaches a speed of up to 350km/h is a comfortable, exhilarating experience. You actually get the chance to see more of China’s countryside from the comfort of your seat,’’ Ms Wong told Lunch Magazine.

Trains make sense ... China specialist Helen Wong of helenwongstours.com

She also emphasized the advantages of taking the train over dealing with the hassles of flying.

“One of the beauties is that you don’t have to check in two hours ahead of departure time as you have to do when flying.  Bring into play security checks and travel time it takes to reach the airport from the hotel, train travel makes good sense. Let’s face it, a train journey of less than five hours sounds like a worthwhile alternative to the two-hour flight.’’

One drawback though is that there’s no porter service and the luggage area is restricted. So you need to travel light – that means no heavy oversized suitcases, she said.

The immense network of fast trains – it is the most recent piece of a planned grid that will span 45,000 km in four years – would have far reaching implications for travel within China, she said.

“Such is the demand for air tickets that there was a need for an alternative swift style of transport to take the pressure off flights. The fact that rail travellers can cover the distances in less than half the previous rail time will encourage more to travel.”

And with oil rapidly running out, rail travel makes more sense than ever.

“As the price of aviation fuel continues to rise, the need for fast train travel has become more essential for travel throughout China. The growth of a nationwide fast train network will take pressure off domestic flights. At the same time it will increase the number of tourists, both domestically and from abroad.”

Ministry of Railways chief engineer, He Huawu recently described the project as “the pride of China and the Chinese people.’’.

“It took just 39 months to build such a high-standard and world-renowned high-speed rail line, which is a gift for the 90th anniversary of the Party.”

China Guide’s Peter Danford said since trains rarely are delayed or affected by weather the new railway link is expected to be as fast as taking a flight and less expensive.  These services will give tourists greater flexibility in their schedules and help decrease the cost of tours.

The trains have business class, first class and second-class seating.

Mr Danford said the link was the latest temptation to lure rail fans to China.

“ Rail travel is considered to be a romantic and historical mode of adventure.  Yet in many western countries its development has stopped or faded away entirely in favor of air travel.  China is a living example of railroad development in the modern era,’’ Mr Danford told Lunch Magazine.

Those who are fans of railroads will find much to do in China, said Mr Danford.

“If you are flying in or out of the Pudong international airport in Shanghai then you can ride the Maglev train between the city and the airport.  On a test run the train achieved a record speed of 501kph and is routinely run at 430kph during the day.  Even if you are not flying out of the airport you can buy a return ticket from the city and make the 8 minute trip in both directions.

“You can also ride the subway systems in Beijing and Shanghai, a very practical way to get around and avoid traffic on the surface.

‘’From Beijing a trip to Xi’an on the deluxe soft sleeper train can be a romantic and fun adventure.  With your own private two bed compartment including a private toilet, you can hide in your cabin and look out the window.

Mr Danford said if you really want an epic railway journey, ride the highest train in the world, between Beijing and Lhasa.  “The journey takes over 50  hours and the train has oxygen outlets so guests can breathe easy,’’ he said.

Travel by the new fast train in conjunction with hotel bookings and sightseeing can be booked though Australian-based China specialist Helen Wong’s Tours (www.helenwongstours.com or phone 1300 788 322 in Australia).

The China Guide (www.thechinaguide.com) will be offering booking services for these new trains as part of their China custom and group tours.

Jonathan Porter

“WANG Hau!’’ I bark at my cab driver from the backseat. She nods beaming at me and lays rubber on the road outside the nightclub I have just departed, not unfortified by strong drink.

Wang Hau, or “rocket ship’’ in Shanghainese argot (it means nothing in any other language or, indeed in any other Chinese dialect), is the local name for the JW Marriott in People’s Square, it means that building and no other in the conurbation (there being no rocket ships in the vicinity).

It is a relief for a Shanghai cabbie to have an unambiguous command from a Westerner, no preface of “could you please take me to‘’, or “good evening, if it’s not too much trouble could you please …‘’, that is just noise to a Shanghai hack.

Just say where you want to go, make sure they understand and sit back and try to relax, which means not paying too much attention to the traffic. And it’s impossible for them to give you the run around unless you’re way out of town; it’s the biggest building around, towering 60 stories above Tomorrow Square in downtown Puxi.

Riding in a cab in Shanghai is a lot of fun if you don’t care how long you live. With the video screens in the back seat it’s like the JW itself, a microcosm of Shanghai – the starship Enterprise lands in a parking lot (apothecary market) in Elizabethan England.

Turn your back on the JW and look down Jiang Yin Road and you could be back a few hundred years ago, turn around again and you’re looking at a building that would be at home in Star Trek.

Not that there are any apothecaries around. Nanjing Road would stand up against any shopping district on the planet.

And it’s next to a series of business complexes and on the subway, which gives easy transportation access to surrounding districts.

JW Marriott hotels lie at the top end of the Marriott hotel group’s selection of brands. 
Delivering flawless service in five-star surrounds, Marriott’s Puxi digs stand tall next to the historic Shanghai Art Museum. You just need to cross the street to People’s Park or it’s just a short walk to Xintiandi and Huai Hai Road (I pronounce it “War High” and people seem to get it.

In the heart of People’s Park of course is one of my favorite bars in Shanghai – Barbarossa, but of course that is another review.

I speak to Michael Mali, general manager of JW Marriott Hotel and Marriott Executive Apartments at Tomorrow Square Shanghai, who recently made the trip across the river from a hotel in Pudong and asked him what he liked best about living in Shanghai.

“The best of Shanghai is that it exposes you to both international and local
experiences, sometimes it wows you and other times it will frustrate you to
crazy,’’ says Malik.

“The restaurant business is more competitive than ever, guests can find a really good variety of fine dining establishments. A good example is along the Bund, which offers upscale dining and clubbing.

“If you want to explore a bit more, new bars are springing up around the French concession area, in particular El Coctail – great to try but make sure you make a reservation before heading there.’’

And what is the best thing about the JW especially for travelers seeking a refuge from the anarchic organisation of the streets, shopping and life in fast forward that is Shanghai below?

“Its convenient location in a landmark building with fantastic 360 degree views of downtown Shanghai. The outdoor swimming pool is a great getaway in the summer and it has the highest library in the world on the 60th floor.

“And to completely wind down, the spa is a glorious sanctuary offering a full range of pampering treatments.”

I must admit to trying the JW’s signature massage – a ‘four hand massage’ with personally blended oils and I can attest it was a Vishnu-like experience. Pure pleasure and importantly, it completely regenerated me for when I stepped out of the JW Starship Enterprise the following morning.

JW Marriott Tomorrow Square

399 Nanjing West Road,

Huangpu District Shanghai 200003 China

Phone: +86 21 53594969

Jonathan Porter

www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/shajw-jw-marriott-hotel-shanghai-at-tomorrow-square/

jporter@lunchmag.com