Weekend in Shanghai, China

In November, I had the opportunity to visit a friend in Shanghai. I’ve been to Shanghai many times before and posted some pictures from my last visit, when it was very cold. This time, the weather was unseasonably warm and the vibe electric. The timing was perfect as the city had just hosted the China International Import Exhibition and had gone through a glow-up. The city was shining brightly with every nook and cranny looking its very best.

This post will be very short as I only had two days to take pictures and wanted to stay away from the usual sports like the Pudong skyline. Instead, I wanted to focus on visiting some newly opened areas; the one I was most excited about was the restoration of the Zhang Yuan are by Swire Properties. Swire, probably best known as the majority owner of Cathay Pacific, has a special place in the hearts of westerners living in China. Their properties are consistently the best at providing a unique China experience with high levels of sophistication.

Another area I wanted to explore is the French Concession or Xintiandi area. It’s been one of Shanghai’s most popular areas for more than two decades and as I was about to see, continues to evolve and become better and better with time. It’s one of Shanghai’s most posh areas where homes cost more than their equivalents in New York, Tokyo or Hong Kong. The dining establishments are world-class and the environment unique to only Shanghai.

For this visit, I stayed at a local hotel chain called Atour. I stayed at their Jing’An Temple Road location. They have several locations around Shanghai and provided excellent value for the money. The metro station was right outside the hotel which made it very convenient. I would go so far as to say, the hotel exceeded my expectations, especially for the very low price (about US$80/night).

I tried three new-to-me restaurants that I want to share with you. They were amazing. The first was a Zhejiang food restaurant in the IFC shopping complex called Ye Ma; it’s located next to the Joel Robuchon at LG1-20-2. Every dish we had here was perfectly prepared and plated.

The second restaurant was Terrakota Shanghai, a Mediterranean themed restaurant with an awesome decor and really, really great service. Even after living in China for 12 years, this was the first time I’ve experienced non-Chinese service staff in a Mainland restaurant. This gave the restaurant a bit of a Hong Kong vibe and the service was extremely easy with native English speakers on hand. Every dish was unique and perfectly presented. I’ll definitely go back again and again.

The third restaurant was focused on Shanghai food with a very cool decoration. The waiting time was insane at more than two hours, but this was the one time the wait was worth it. The food at Ren He Guan was the best Shanghai food I’ve ever had. It was only after I ate there that I found out it has One Michelin Star. Considering how inexpensive it was, I was not surprised then that it took us two hours to get a table. It’s well worth a visit, however I suggest going early to get a table without waiting.

One of my favourite pass times in a new area is to explore cocktail bars. The smaller and more random the better. You may recall the stand-up only Bar Tight that I loved in Tokyo or when we stumbled upon Bar Us in Bangkok (thankfully before it became Asia’s 4th Best Bar).

For Shanghai, I found my way to Black House at #41 Fumin Road. This cocktail bar specialized in aged whiskey. They have one of two french oak tables that houses the whiskey as it ages. The bartenders pour the aged whiskey from the huge table. The whole thing is a bit theatrical and fun. Most importantly, the bar owners are super nice and engaging (and speak perfect English). They encouraged me to open the cabinets and inhale the smells from the uber expensive whiskeys they had on display and available for purchase.

One final mention should go to the Long Bar at the Puli Hotel. I didn’t get the chance to visit this bar, but it was recommended to me by several locals. I’ll definitely try and get out there the next time I visit Shanghai. For music, I managed to visit Potent and Culture Club. Potent was especially cool because they had a dark room where it was Techno-only. It gave me a Berlin vibe in the middle of Shanghai!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this short post on Shanghai. I was very impressed with how much the city has evolved in just a few years. The dining choices have gotten better, the city feels more international than the post COVID-19 era, and every corner was clean and showing its best self. I can’t wait to go back and explore more!

All images were edited using Capture One Pro Mobile on an iPad Pro M4. Equipment used included Fujifilm GFX100S II, GF55 f/1.7 and the X100VI.