It’s very unlikely that anyone will ever knock the Bund off Shanghai’s list of head-turning destinations, but that hasn’t stopped the city’s entrepreneurial developers from trying.
For now, at least, pundits remain optimistic about the potential of the old Shiliupu Dock, in particular a former grease factory set prettily on the Huangpu River, its vast complex rehabilitated into a mod mix of restaurants, clubs and cafés.
Here, Hong Kong-based o&o studio have unified three ground floor units into a mood-lit watering hole specialising in handcrafted beer and whiskey. The motif of a full moon floating over the river runs subtly through the décor of circular bar shelves, mirrored discs, and clouds of glass hanging off the ceiling.
The robot cocktail maker is entertaining in a, well, robotic way, but greater pleasures are to be found sampling the locally brewed pale ales and tucking into chef Liang Shang Yun’s fusion Asian menu such as beef stewed with fermented red beancurd, and lamb meat balls hit with Xinjiang spices.§
