Link: http://dir.blogflux.com/cat/regional.html

Another places to surf around in the blogosphere.

Had an amazing opportunity to dine as a very cool but pricey venue today. YongFoo Elite, located in the old English Consulate compound. Mr. Wang, the proprietor, who also runs The Door, has embodied this venue with his dreams, his vision and his soul.
I could write this like a review but really I just wanted to share my impression of this place. It’s a private club that has a dining room open to non-members. It is located in a French Concession house that has been tastefully refurbished with some personal touches from the owner, an artist and collector of antiques. Rare pieces of furniture like an antique Gucci sofa set, a 19th century Chinese refrigerator, and lighting from pre-deco periods sourced from across the globe.

The actually feel is that there is a cross between Asian and Western, or in more politically more incorrect terminology, more of an “oriental- occidental” feel. The Main building is mostly classic western with some artistic touches, and while the annex building is a mish mash of Chinese pieces artistically combined to give an amazing feeling for most westerners. It looks and feels like a collection put together by British or American collector of Asian pieces. But words cannot carry the feelin one gets when walking through the garden or the annex building, only a visit can.
As photos are forbidden in the club, I can only refer you to website links that introduce this place.

http://www.yongfooelite.com/001e.asp
http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/shanghai/listings/dining/shanghai/has/yongfoo-elite/
http://www.worldsbestbars.com/public/venue_listing.jsp?categoryId=96&currentVenueId=16543724

Hope you enjoy the place as much as I did, but be warned, the average dining cost there is about 500¥ pp for dinner, though you can get drinks in the garden it seems.

A few says of SUNSHINE and all the blues went away…but we may have bits of rain yet before Spring finally arrives. Nonetheless, the warmer weather is welcome and soon all the patio dining places will be packed! I am hoping to see Sunshine peak through this week and have it sunny for the rest of the week, but we shall see!

This weekend looks to be a busy one with many things happening. Personally I just want to sleep this one away but I MAY just head out to the Zpark Bar opening tonight, as its only a couple hundred meters away from home so I can stagger back after that event. There are many music event happening this week including a Metal line up of bands on Sat night at Live bar that sounds rather interesting, or the Ultimate Facebook Shanghai party, hmmm…

Oh, my favorite wine bar now does BRUNCH! Starting this Saturday, Cuvee is now serving a brunch EVERY Saturday and Sunday from 12.30pm until 4.30pm. 135rmb includes an all you can eat Buffet, including some of our most popular dishes. Also includes 1 coffee/tea and free flow Juices and Perrier Water!! Will be interested to try this out soon! Bookings are advised if you want to come, as once the word gets around, it's going to be very popular. And yes, their amazing selection of wines and champagnes will also be available to order with weekly specials! http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=71376821797

Happening now through March 22!- The 2009 Shanghai Literary Festival will happen at Glamour Bar, sponsored by the M-bars. The Shanghai Literary Festival has been growing steadily in clout, heady intellectual supposition, and attendance since its humble beginnings a few years ago, and has hosted writers, novelists, and luminaries like Gore Vidal, John Ralston Saul, and Amy Tan in years past. Noted speakers this year include historian and culture critic Simon Schama, oft-persecuted French/Turkish writer Elif Shafak, and the always estimable James Fallows. For more info: (http://mrestaurant.sylogicsgroup.com/mrestaurant/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=38&Itemid=75%E2%8C%A9=en )

Friday, March 20- Zpark Bar Opening Party at Zpark bar in the new Renaissance Hotel at Zhong Shan park, Cloud Nine. This 25th floor bar opening makes it one of the few bars in the Zhong Shan Park area and will offer free cocktails from 930-1130pm. Music by DJ Mick and more. The Zpark Bar is located at 1018 ChangNing Rd, 25th floor of the Renaissance Hotel. 6115-8809 for info and rsvps.

Friday, March 20- Fabulous Earth- Earthday Celebration at Sin Lounge, sponsored by “ARUP “ known for their famous Beijing Aqua building will be sponsoring this event giving out Free fabric bags and will be educating us on how to help save our Earth. Rsvp robby at Mirage Events:: 13918961269, robby@mirage-shanghai.com

Arts For Charity Extravaganza (ACE Event) Saturday, Mar 21, ACE - 1pm to 4pm, A student initiated charity event! High school students from 10 international schools will showcase their talents in fashion modeling, fashion design, painting, music and art to raise funds for "Shanghai Healing Home", a charity aimed to help physically disabled Chinese orphans needing operations. Your ticket purchase will help raise funds for this charity. You will also enjoy a good show put on by the students. We have excellent raffle and door prizes. Don’t miss this event. Tickets available at event entrance. Tickets: Adults 200, Students 100, for more information, LOFT Shopping Mall, 508 Jiashan Lu, Luwan near Zhaojiabang Lu嘉善路508号近肇嘉浜路

Saturday March 21 - ShanghaiUltimate Facebook Party 10- 6am perhaps? Open bar includes beer, vodka redbulls, cocktails, spirits & mixers, and soft drinks. There is also an outside area where you'll be able to get bbq all night long! Price: (80RMB guys/40RMB girls) Location: Bar Hulu 5308-9191 ( 2/F, 500 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, The Bund near Nanjing Dong Lu 中山东一路500号2楼近南京) RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=68244767958

Wednesday, March 25th 7-9pm - Chatfest - Shanghai, Language Exchange Meetup will be held at Dunkin' Donuts ShiMen Yi Lu 239, near Weihai Lu. Come join italki.com's members in Shanghai to: find a language partner, practice a foreign language, learn about different cultures, and indulge yourself with some Dunkin' Donuts. Posted for http://www.italki.com

March 28-29, 10am, Kids Expo @ Shanghai Exhibition Center –The first exhibition of this kind and size launched in Shanghai by World Events Agency (the organizer of Expat Show), Kid Expo Shanghai will be a two-day event, dedicated to all the kids (aged 0-16) and their parents living in Shanghai.

As a comprehensive exhibition and an educative event, the Kid Expo Shanghai will be a perfect platform to show all the services related to the kids’ education and daily-lives, with the participation of kindergartens, schools, training centers, hospitals, toy and game manufactures, clothes brands, FandB service providers, sports centers, travel agencies… For inquiries email kidexpo@weacn.com or visit www.kidexposh.com

((Community Sponsor)) Remove CHLORINE and other contaminants from your water before you bathe or shower. Come check out the ShowerBaby water filter at DirectWay’s website or come for a demo at the store in Jing An district, 509 Beijing West Rd.
DirectWay is a proud supporter of the ShanghaiExpat Community! Clean drinking water? Chlorine-free showers? Reduced Detergent use for laundry for eco-friendly washes. Preview the whole line of fine Water filters on the web site at: http://english.obusiness.cn/yhhnj/en/water/productlist.jsp ((Sponsor))

Charity announcements:

Help save the lives of babies in need of critical life saving medical procedures. Two of the co-founders of this foundations are friends of mine that I have only the utmost respect for in that they truly work hard for what they believe in, saving children’s lives, one at a time. Please check out the BaoBei Foundation and donate to a good cause… Give the gift of LIFE! http://www.baobeifoundation.org

Helping Hand Shanghai is distributing an environmentally friendly re-usable shopping bag that can be bought to benefit a choice of Shanghai charities: Shanghai Sunrise, Charity Carnival, Second Chance Animal Aid or Roots and Shoots. Just go to the link for more details: http://www.helpinghandsh.com/ .

Regular event announcements:

Saturday Mornings: The Original Saturday Morning Coffee Meet – this event is an informal place where expats and friends can come and meet old friends and new expats, to compare notes of just simply chat over coffee. Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at Zhong Shan Park’s Cloud Nine Mall graciously hosts the event and offers attendees a discount on drinks and food during the event, every Sat morning from 10:30-12:30. Informally, many in the group will continue onto have lunch together before splitting off to the many activities of the weekend. A great way to start off each weekend. Feel free to contact me about this event as I personally host this one.

Sunday Brunch at XinTianDi is hosted by ShanghaiExpat at the Coffee Bean there.. This event goes from 12 noon- past 2pm and is also a good place to meet up with those in the community .

Wednesday Night Mixers at Malones has been on going now for four years and running strong. Every Wednesday night, Shanghai Expat and Malones come together to host this mixer as a great place to come for food, friends, and fun. Located on the third floor, the mixer is a private space for Shanghai Expat community members new and old to get together and relax and chat. Runs from 9-12midnight, weekly , 3rd floor loft at Malones, 225 Tong Ren Rd near Nanjing Rd .

Ok that’s it for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Friday Facebook Update Friday the 13th of March- crosspost

The rain is back but it is supposed to clear tonight for at least a dry weekend. Let us keep our fingers crossed. It has been a busy week for me so sorry this one may be a bit short.

A few things going on to point out though... Saturday Coffee will be hosting Pierro and his monthly Book Exchange at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf from 1030-1230. Bring your books to trade or buy 2nd hand foreign books from him at 20rmb with the proceeds going to the Red Cross. He is doing this monthly and we are proud to be supporting this effort as we all know how tough it is to get English/French reading materials here in Shanghai. Will be at the Weekly Coffee Meeting listed below.

The Wednesday night Mixer this coming week will be sponsored again by Justbeers.cn, importers and distributors of fine Aussie beers. A VB promotion is happening right now and so they gave away about 10 cases last week to some lucky winners. Who knows what they will give away this coming week! So come on out and check them out, they do home delivery of fine beers and other beverages as well! Still trying to convince them to bring out the Pure Blonde beer girls… ;), just kidding.

At ths same Mixer next week, March 18, Directway will be displaying some of their health and safety products and will be giving away a few travel water filters and testers. Come check it out. Anyhow, all at next Wednesday at the Malones Mixer.

Tried out the new café Pier 39 last week. Had been ordering lunch from them but finally opted to go in and check out the tiny place. It was a nice Sunday night and so they were running out of a few things. Nonetheless, their proprietor was very good about accommodating us and making sure we had a good experience. The place IS time, seating about 20 max. And their food, is decent. The Clam Chowder is still their claim to fame and it was indeed good. Sadly they were out of bread bowls that night but having had it before, I can vouch for it saying that it needs to be a bit more sour on the sourdough part, but it is indeed good! Located on JinXian Rd near Maoming South Rd, it is a decent place to pop by. Also they are delivered by Mealbay.cn so you can order delivery online. And yes, they DO separate the bread bowl and the chowder so you can get it delivered!

Featured Site/Group this week: NextStep! Put together by my friend Joe and many active people, this group has become the leading networking site in Shanghai! Check out their site and group at: http://www.nextstepshanghai.com/ Its coming up on TWO years for them so an early congrats for growing so fast and to a job well done so far!

Friday- This seems interesting: ☺ Single Malt Nights- hosted at The Vault -Taste the finest single malt scotch whiskies at Vault Bar. Join us on a journey of peaty barley, sea salt and highland grass. Neat or on the rocks, your way is our way. Every Friday from 9:30pm to 10:30 pm. Vault Bar TEL (8621) 6321 9922

Happening now through March 22!- The 2009 Shanghai Literary Festival will happen at Glamour Bar, sponsored by the M-bars. The Shanghai Literary Festival has been growing steadily in clout, heady intellectual supposition, and attendance since its humble beginnings a few years ago, and has hosted writers, novelists, and luminaries like Gore Vidal, John Ralston Saul, and Amy Tan in years past. Noted speakers this year include historian and culture critic Simon Schama, oft-persecuted French/Turkish writer Elif Shafak, and the always estimable James Fallows. For more info: (http://mrestaurant.sylogicsgroup.com/mrestaurant/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=38&Itemid=75%E2%8C%A9=en )

March 13 – tonight – Mirage Events’ weekly party at Sin Lounge will again be happening. A bunch of ShanghaiExpat folks will be there this evening so come on by and check it out! Nice venue, convenient and not to plastic. It feels like a real lounge where talking drinking and dancing can peacefully co-exist. Sin Lounge is located at 211 Shimen Yi Lu, 23rd floor of the WantWant bldg.

Saturday- A month late? Seems guys tend to have this issue but just in case …”More Than One Night Stand” is being hosted at Park97 -Missed Valentine's Day for the first time? Don't worry, here we have another Valentine's Day Party for you. Check out the gorgeous girls & guys, enjoy the Hip Hop and Trance music. Remember to take your beloved one to the party or find one here if you are still single. Park97 TEL (8621) 5383 2328

Sunday- salsa night at a cool venue! Latino Sessions at MoCa! - Sunday is always a good time for salsa. Here at MoCa, the Latino heat has been felt by all the hot people. Shake your hips to the salsa sounds and don't forget to check out our new drink menu. RMB50 for caipiroskas, mojitos, sangria and wines by the glass. No cover. MoCa Cafe TEL (86) 1338 1731 435

March 28-29, 10am, Kids Expo @ Shanghai Exhibition Center –The first exhibition of this kind and size launched in Shanghai by World Events Agency (the organizer of Expat Show), Kid Expo Shanghai will be a two-day event, dedicated to all the kids (aged 0-16) and their parents living in Shanghai.
As a comprehensive exhibition and an educative event, the Kid Expo Shanghai will be a perfect platform to show all the services related to the kids’ education and daily-lives, with the participation of kindergartens, schools, training centers, hospitals, toy and game manufactures, clothes brands, FandB service providers, sports centers, travel agencies… For inquiries email kidexpo@weacn.com or visit www.kidexposh.com

((Community Sponsor)) Remove CHLORINE and other contaminants from your water before you bathe or shower. Come check out the ShowerBaby water filter at DirectWay’s website or come for a demo at the store in Jing An district, 509 Beijing West Rd.
DirectWay is a proud supporter of the ShanghaiExpat Community! Clean drinking water? Chlorine-free showers? Reduced Detergent use for laundry for eco-friendly washes. Preview the whole line of fine Water filters on the web site at: http://english.obusiness.cn/yhhnj/en/water/productlist.jsp ((Sponsor))

Charity announcements:

Help save the lives of babies in need of critical life saving medical procedures. Two of the co-founders of this foundations are friends of mine that I have only the utmost respect for in that they truly work hard for what they believe in, saving children’s lives, one at a time. Please check out the BaoBei Foundation and donate to a good cause… Give the gift of LIFE! http://www.baobeifoundation.org

Helping Hand Shanghai is distributing an environmentally friendly re-usable shopping bag that can be bought to benefit a choice of Shanghai charities: Shanghai Sunrise, Charity Carnival, Second Chance Animal Aid or Roots and Shoots. Just go to the link for more details: http://www.helpinghandsh.com/ .

Regular event announcements:

Saturday Mornings: The Original Saturday Morning Coffee Meet – this event is an informal place where expats and friends can come and meet old friends and new expats, to compare notes of just simply chat over coffee. Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at Zhong Shan Park’s Cloud Nine Mall graciously hosts the event and offers attendees a discount on drinks and food during the event, every Sat morning from 10:30-12:30. Informally, many in the group will continue onto have lunch together before splitting off to the many activities of the weekend. A great way to start off each weekend. Feel free to contact me about this event as I personally host this one.

Sunday Brunch at XinTianDi is hosted by ShanghaiExpat at the Coffee Bean there.. This event goes from 12 noon- past 2pm and is also a good place to meet up with those in the community

Wednesday Night Mixers at Malones has been on going now for four years and running strong. Every Wednesday night, Shanghai Expat and Malones come together to host this mixer as a great place to come for food, friends, and fun. Located on the third floor, the mixer is a private space for Shanghai Expat community members new and old to get together and relax and chat. Runs from 9-12midnight, weekly , 3rd floor loft at Malones, 225 Tong Ren Rd near Nanjing Rd .

That is it for now! Hope everyone gets to see a bit of Sunshine this weekend!

Cheers!

Ed