A preview of the Tibet trip (now in Guangzhou for a spell). More to come!
To be anxious wasn’t shameful, it was a high calling. It was to be alive to life’s contradictions, more receptive to the true nature of things than everyone else. It was to be a person who saw with sharper eyes and felt with more active skin.
“
| — | from “The Maniac in Me” by Daniel Smith |
Zach Galifianakis sighting?
Some claim it was really him in the club last night and most of us were too blasted to fully register him as the real deal vs. ‘that guy that looks like the guy from The Hangover’. I’m still searching the interweb for proof. What the hell would he doing at Shelter?
No doubt that Hifana brought it. (Maybe Zach’s a fan?) We were pleasantly surprised.
Trading Shelter for Sherpa’s tonight- for realsies.
And since it is the nature of all phenomena to change every moment, this indicates to us that all things lack the ability to endure, lack the ability to remain the same. And once all things are subject to change, nothing exists in a permanent condition, nothing is able to remain the same under its own independent power.
“
| — | the Dalai Lama |
Carvings/etchings/burnouts of Chinese using mixed media canvases- reclaimed furniture, vintage posters, building facades- done over a period of just a couple months(!) in Shanghai by the Portuguese street artist VHILS. On display at the brand-new MD Gallery wayyyy out in North Puxi, but it’s worth the trek.
Tea for Two
Brunch can be excessive. You are, in principle, replacing two meals with a single meal, but this meal amounts to more than those two meals ever would, 90% of the time. I’ve recently decided to switch it up and head out for high tea, to spend an afternoon sipping vs. gorging. In the past few weeks, I’ve raised a teacup at both the Park Hyatt Pudong (Shanghai World Financial Center) and at The Peninsula (Bund area).
Beginning with the Park Hyatt: We went to Pudong- which is in and of itself is a feat for us Puxi-dwellers. On the 87th floor is the Living Room. The decor is spare- white tablecloths, muted tones, a windowed wall of glass and steel. On a clear day, we would have had a fantastic view of the Jinmao Tower- the SWFC being directly adjacent. On this particular Saturday, however, it periodically peekaboo-ed through the drifting smog clouds.
Our teapots of longjing were steadily refilled. The two-tiered cake stands, on the other hand, took more time to materialize. The spread was average. Savory beat sweet, but there were misses on both sides. The foie gras sachet was odd- a bit too much gooey-ness and richness to take in one bite. The ham panini was meh, the smoked salmon on pretzel bread mini-bagel was good, not great. There was your standard Swiss roll, a charred cannele, and a chewy raspberry macaron. At the end of the day, we were full, but not exactly satisfied; N, who went for the glass of rose, slightly more satisfied than I.
Tea time at The Peninsula the following week was at The Lobby (do all the afternoon teas have generically-named venues?). String instruments and a live pianist presided over the palatial space. Whereas the Hyatt Living Room was quiet and insulated, the Peninsula Lobby was buzzing and grand. Not before long, the tables were filled with mostly well-to-do Chinese families, including swaddled toddlers and spoiled youngsters with iPads.
Peninsula offers two tea sets: the first with a rotating theme; this month, it was strawberry. This menu featured strawberry scones, sandwiches made with strawberry-laced breads, strawberry desserts- you get the point. As pretty in pink as the three-tiered stands looked floating off to other tables, I was afraid of OD-ing. I opted for the less fun-sounding “Naturally” set, featuring a variety of whole-grain and sugar-free treats.
We began with the whole meal raisin scones, served with the prerequisite clotted cream, strawberry jam, and the addition of a lovely lemon curd. Then, starting from the bottom tier and working our way up, we had a chicken tikka wrap, red pepper tart and a Napoleon of sorts layered with cream cheese(?) and what tasted like that rye health bread from the supermarket which has a crazy long shelf-life of two years or something (not so nice).
The sweets were this set’s strong suit: a manuka honey and banana dome, a yummy green tea match trifle (love matcha!), and the best, saved for last- a precisely cut rectangle of some chocolatey, nutty goodness.
My high tea experiment was intended to avoid the over-indulgence that big brunches can bring, but each time we finally finished, we were never that far from dinner reservations.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
I’ve listened to this song too many times on this rainy day from my ‘home office’. It’s remained a favorite… but I’ll still play it and think to myself… how good is this song???
Here Comes The Sun?
I have seasonal affective disorder. It’s self-diagnosed. When it’s dreary and grey, so is my mood. By this time of year in New York, it may be rainy, but it’s usually at least a few degrees warmer whenever it rains. Here in Shanghai, it’s been its usual cloudy, rainy, still cold, and even a bit windy (in case the other three things weren’t depressing enough). It’s weather that’s been great for my liver and for my gym habit, but drives me absolutely stir-crazy.
I was shocked to draw the curtains back last Saturday morning to find the clouds lifted. On this rare day, I felt obligated to find a reason to walk around. Naturally, I decided to go in search of sartorial inspiration- new season, new clothes! First stop: William The Beekeeper, a small vintage shop on Fenyang Lu in the former French Concession. It was a slow Saturday- the shopgirl actually had the door locked when I tried at first to enter (She probably wasn’t expecting nice enough weather that anyone would be out and about either). After learning that I was from New York, she excitedly reported that the shop owner was also from the U.S. (California). Her own label, Kaileeni, is also for sale in addition to the small selection of vintage. Fun indie music played as I tried on a few Kaileeni dresses behind the curtain (tempter to ask Shopgirl for the mixtape). The dresses were ~$100-$130 USD. There was also a small selection of jewelry, including a pewter(?) vintage chain (around $90) and earrings by independent designers, and a selection of purple and fuchsia suede convertible clutches by a French label for around $200+.
The following Sunday, I dragged the brunch crew along to Lolo Love Vintage, a shop on Wuyuan Lu opened by a locally-based fashion stylist. When you first walk down the small alley leading up to the shop, you can’t tell whether it is actually a business vs. someone’s house. Once inside, you’re once again fooled by the benches filled with chatty Shanghai hipsters (the shop doubles as a cafe). Concerning the merch, there was a table full of reasonably-priced earrings for about $10-20 USD a pair, retro hats for around $70-100, and a rack each of long dresses, polyester print blouses, knee- to ankle- length dresses, and menswear. Scanning the weathered bookshelf o’ handbags, I came across a Bally black-and-white shoulder bag, and a red suede Gucci mini backpack in good condition (for ~$500). Near the bookshelf was a glass display case with slightly more pricey vintage baubles, over which a rack of assorted eyeglass frames hung (good for the hipsters). We tried on a few patterned dresses- great prints, not-so-flattering shapes- and therefore, left empty-handed, but inspired.
We happened upon Mix House at 71 Wuyuan Lu just a few doors down from Lolo. It appeared to be a consignment shop, judging by the labels. As much as I love vintage, this was the most exciting retail find of the weekend in terms of finding clothes that were wearable. On the carefully-edited rack hung Stella McCartney, Givenchy, Marni, Anna Sui, Moschino, D&G (the list goes on) frocks in great condition for $120-$150 USD! I tried on an amazing Fall 2011 Givenchy RTW orchid print dress and cursed that it was a touch too snug in the waist (I blame European sizing). The eager Shopwomen, however, had plenty of alternatives at the ready. (I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman when Richard Gere hands over his credit card and instructs the sales staff to be nice to her!) I wavered on a pleated Stella blouse and a silk printed Anna Sui blouse, each about $80-90 each. Both were super cute and so ’me’, but my enthusiasm waned as I began to question the authenticity of the goods. I am in China, after all- had this shop been anywhere else, I would have declared myself dead and gone to fashion heaven. My friend joked that the deep discounts were possible because this was the stuff that ‘fell off the truck’ (haha). At the end of the afternoon, she made out like a bandit, whereas I left with just a business card. Even though the trip didn’t add up to much more than window shopping, it had at least gotten me outside and anticipating the spring forward.
