China’s Shangri-La: Touring the Orient, Part II
Island Shangri-La in Hong Kong: connected to famed Pacific Place mall.
EXECUTIVE DINING
by Fifi Chao
I left until now the two most cosmopolitan places in the Orient that I would place on an itinerary on their own,the beautiful and truly amazing cities of Shanghai and Hong Kong.
For those who have not been to China, it’s necessary to do the big-tour route in order to even touch on its cultural highlights. But, having been there several times, I concur with those who put the aforementioned in a category of their own.
Though we had four nights in Shanghai, everyone in our group was very reluctant to leave. It’s an eye-opener of a city. In the pre-cultural revolution before 1949, it was the largest city in the world, the pride of the Orient. When the doors to China swung shut, Singapore and Hong Kong stepped up to the plate as the showplaces of the region.
Now, Shanghai has recaptured the title “Pearl of the Orient” and has refurbished with a vengeance its creed of attention to culture, beauty, vitality and, of course, the most diverse restaurant scene in China.
Of keen interest, I would think, for our business readers is the fact that there’s a new sector of Shanghai across the Bund from the famous financial district of Shanghai,literally a new city that’s been built from scratch in a mere decade.
Think of a smaller version of New York, but with a striking skyline made up of mirrored and marble buildings that reach into the clouds (the world’s third-tallest building now resides there), shopping meccas that outshine what we know in the U.S., and a general beauty that’s hard to make the reader believe.
When we were there in 1990, Pudong was merely a vast patch of dirt being readied for construction. By 1995, infrastructure was in place and we saw a few completed buildings and a “city” of them in progress. Patrick was there in 1999 and told me I would not believe how impressive it is, and he was right.
When we asked how it was possible to build a city in a decade, the answer was that “in America, government at all levels hinders you. It is inefficient with the long waits for permits for everything. Here, we are given a mandate to follow the plans, to proceed efficiently and to finish on time. We get these good results by this method.”
In Pudong, you want to stay at the striking, business-oriented and very convenient new Shangri-La Pudong hotel. There’s a lot of wow factor, just like in its sibling hotel in Hong Kong where we were also lodged. Here, we looked from our 56th-floor window across the river, replete with barges and houseboats, water taxis and sightseeing vessels, at the Bund, which is sophisticated by day and an artwork of light by night. This hotel shares many of the amenities described in the Hong Kong hotel below.
Shanghai has fallen in love with light. From the old, revered center of this cultural wonder, with its pagoda-like buildings roofed in blue tile, to the newly polished buildings and brand new additions, floodlights and gentle colors of neon light up everything. It’s a vast canvas of art, the likes of which we’ve not seen before. Even an evening taxi ride via the freeways and underpasses has a lovely tinge, since all these are lined with blue neon.
We took our friends to see Patrick’s big home where he was born and lived until he was 18. It is the size of a small hotel and it might be a good time to start negotiating with the government to build something of that nature since the new Four Seasons hotel has just opened four blocks away.
A trip to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on the Bund is of interest. Everyone must visit the serene and pictorial Yu Gardens. International restaurants abound: Russian, Jewish, Austrian, Italian and French are but a few alongside the plethora of Chinese restaurants doting on their own Shanghai-style cuisine.
We had a French dinner one evening at a restaurant owned by a Parisian. Shop at Huaihai Lu where the street is lined with international shops, including Printemps department store from France. Save your purchases, though, for the nearby Hua Ting Lu Marketplace where the same goods are marked down considerably from the upscale establishments. Have dinner in the beloved and drop-dead gorgeous Meilongzhen restaurant. Museums and intriguing corners of this city can keep you busy for days.
Finally, we were off to Hong Kong, only a short flight away.
We settled in at the Island Shangri-La hotel in Central, which edged out the others as being the most beautiful of all. It offers a breathtaking panorama of the most famous sites and is connected to the famed Pacific Place shopping mall. Lavish appointments throughout lend an atmosphere of supreme sophistication. The custom wood cabinetry, large marble baths, brass and etched glass touches, good artwork, top quality bedding and bedside push-button controls for the whole environment put these hotel rooms above the luxury lodging I’ve tried in America.
Add the most interesting restaurant concept any of us have seen to date (I’ll report on that later), a level of hotel service also heretofore undiscovered and a lobby so lush and lovely you want to spend ample time there, and you still have only an inkling of what this Shangri-La is all about.
Hong Kong is Kowloon, the Island, the New Territories, shopping in places like Handbag Alley, the curiosity of Birdcage Alley, The Peak and Causeway Bay and the showrooms of famous designers, many with discount outlets.
Eat at Caf & #233; Deco atop The Peak. It’s a modern, two-story affair overlooking the grandeur and opulence of Hong Kong. The food is very much like California cuisine, very good. Take in Jimmy’s Kitchen, a decades old look back at the era of Colonialism, a dashing place with the looks of a gentleman’s club and a big menu of foods from around the world.
One caveat about shopping: Go to the famous Stanley Market to shop only for trinkets. Even after bargaining, you will not get the best deal. Makie Yu, director of sales and marketing at the Island Shangri-La, took it upon herself to get us to the shops behind the Peninsula Hotel that, despite their upscale environment, bargained down much lower than vendors at Stanley Market.
I will be happy to answer any questions on these two hotspots for travel if you plan a trip. I am merely an e-mail away.
chaothyme@aol.com
