Results tagged “fourseasons”

Heading south down Hengshan Rd from Dongping Rd, turn trustingly left down a dark lane with a large ad for Yang's Kitchen on the wall. Keep walking till you see an old villa on your right-hand side where there is a faded brass plate with the faint engraved lettering "Le Garcon Chinois." (Actual address is No.3, Lane 9, Hengshan Rd). Go up the stairs and you are there. Le Garcon Chinois restaurant has a cosy and unpretentious bar that serves good quality drinks at very reasonable prices. There is an extensive cocktail list with most drinks priced RMB35-55. House spirits are mostly RMB35-40, including Bombay Sapphire and Tanqueray gins, both at RMB35. Vodka sippers can enjoy Grey Goose for RMB55, while Tequila massacists can revel in self-destruction by slamming down shots of Jose Cuervo 1800 at RMB45 a pop. Even though the bottled beers are run-of-the-mill, they are good value priced between RMB20-25 (Qingdao RMB20; others RMB25). For those on the wagon, soft drinks are also priced RMB20-25. Wine drinkers will be pleasantly surprised, with several wines available by the glass priced from RMB45-58, with the pick of the bunch being a fine Bordeaux red at RMB58. Should you wish to indulge in a bottle, a good selection is offered with this scribe noticing Vasse Felix merlot, Petaluma chardonnay and Henri Bourgeois sauvignon blanc. Being located close to many other well known expat bars and restaurants, this place should be on many more drinkers' drinking circuits. Go give it a try.

CARMEN RESTAURANT: Carmen Restaurant recently materialised on Xikang Lu, near the even newer Steak and Eggs. Passing by, what caught our eye was their blackboard promotion for all you can drink: 50RMB for chicks and 80RMB for blokes. Went inside and discovered the deal was just for draught beer (Carlsberg) and cocktails. OK, could be acceptable, but decided we'd better try their cocktails first before committing to an all-out drink fest. Winopete chose a G&T that was actually quite decent. A friend opted for vodka and tonic which was also quite satisfactory. What was not so good was being hurried into deciding did we want the all-u-can-drink deal or single drinks, and also being asked to pay before a sip of alcohol had passed our lips. Furthermore, this night a bunch of rowdy German card players to descended around us which led to the staff cranking up the music to a very conversation-unfriendly level. The timing of both these events led to us upping and leaving. The mouldy-looking furniture for a brand new venue is never going to earn brownie points with me, but a decent all-you-can-drink deal grabs our attention, especially given the dwindling reputation of Bon Bon. The bottom line is we'll try Carmen again.

Shanghaiist really needed a break and what better place to take that break than... the Venetian? I know what you're thinking: biggest casino in the world + gambling Chinese tourists = a big fat headache. Well, it wasn't that bad, really. The Venetian was fully booked over the weekend so we could only get one night at the Vegas transplant... which was quite enough for us. The casino is an exact replica of its Vegas hotel, except about ten times bigger, and just as gawdy and tacky... which makes it perfect for the throngs of Chinese crossing the border each day. The casino (which looked to be the size of several football fields) was completely packed both Friday and Saturday, and reached a fever pitch around midnight both nights. The big game in Macau is Baccarat, which is a glorified version of high/low, and a electronic version of Roulette called SicBo that is played with dice. The second level was the shopping plaza, complete with false "Venetian style" storefronts, canals and singing gondola drivers (see picture). Shanghaiist doesn't gamble (except for hold 'em poker, which isn't offered in any casino in Macau!), but was content just watching other people throw their hard earned money away.

We received this email today from a friend (and frequent eater of shengjian mantou):

It seems like, all across the network, folks were up to no good. Maybe it was all the green beer from last weekend...

We're a little late on this, but we're sad to report Shanghai has lost one of its better dining options: 239. Shanghai-Eats had the scoop last week:

Via Gridskipper, we learn that The Observer has singled out some of the world's top hotels, calling them the "Magnificent seven: icons of modern hotel design." A Shanghai property, of course, makes the list:

She's got some guy with her, too. Can't tell who it is because of the sunglasses. But who cares? Katie Holmes is in Shanghai! The mystery man with Holmes must be kind of well known, however. It's been reported that he is trying to keep a low profile -- not easy when you have a 20-person entourage and your own six-car fleet. The man, who looks to be quite a bit older than Holmes, is said to have a taste for gay men Sichuan food, so much that he spent 5,000 yuan at a Sichuan place on Yan'an Lu (is that even possible?). Holmes and her beau are staying at the Four Seasons and have visited Yu Yuan and 3 on the Bund. Tomorrow night they are expected to hit the Shanghai Grand Stage for the 2005 MTV Style Gala. After Shanghai, Holmes will head to Xitang, an old water town in Zhejiang, which has been shut down for the filming of some movie. Reportedly, Xitang will receive 100 million yuan for its trouble. We're sure much of that will trickle down to the people who need it most.