Amidst Shanghai’s crowded canyons of modern skyscrapers, it’s so easy to overlook the city’s increasingly precious haul of colonial era piles. All the more reason to applaud the Gaga group’s latest restaurant venture, the local F&B bigwigs tapping long-time design collaborators Coordination Asia to repurpose the historic Changning Villa into a bright, airy restaurant and café.
Set on the grounds of the former St Mary’s Hall which was established by the American Episcopal Church, the 19th-century building’s two levels are a slick study in white and black – the original pitched ceiling and windows carefully contrasted with slashes of petrol green, oak detailing, a bank of shimmering brass light fixtures, and Marcel Wanders furniture.
Similarly, executive chef Jacky Zhu parlays an Asian influence into his light and seasonal Mediterranean menu, which explains Gaga’s popularity with suits and tai-tais who stream in from the neighbouring Raffles City mall throughout the day for a leisurely lunch or quick java fix.
INFORMATION
Website
ADDRESS
Gujian Building
No. 1
Raffles City
No. 1181 Changning Road
-
Highlights from the transporting Cruise 2026 showsThe Cruise 2026 season began yesterday with a Chanel show at Lake Como, heralding the start of a series of jet-setting, destination runway shows from fashion’s biggest houses
-
Behind the design of national pavilions in Venice: three studios to knowDesigning the British, Swiss and Mexican national pavilions at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 are three outstanding studios to know before you go
-
Premium patisserie Naya is Mayfair’s latest sweet spotHeritage meets opulence at Naya bakery in Mayfair, London. With interiors by India Hicks and Anna Goulandris, the patisserie looks good enough to eat
-
Tour the best contemporary tea houses around the worldCelebrate the world’s most unique tea houses, from Melbourne to Stockholm, with a new book by Wallpaper’s Léa Teuscher
-
Prada and Wong Kar-wai dream up a cinematic restaurant in ShanghaiPrada partners with Wong Kar-wai to bring Mi Shang Rong Zhai to life, a dining experience influenced by the arthouse director’s seminal oeuvre
-
Enjoy heritage views and contemporary brews at a new Beijing caféJM Café, White Pagoda Temple by B.L.U.E. Architecture Studio nods to the history of the Xicheng District while injecting a shot of vitality
-
Must-visit cinemas with award-worthy designThere’s more magic to the movies at these design-led cinemas, from Busan Cinema Centre’s ‘flying’ roof to The Gem Cinema Jaipur’s art deco allure
-
China’s Alila Shanghai hotel is a stylish hub of idle tranquillityAlila Shanghai, the brand's first urban resort in Greater China, is a serene bolthole amidst the pulse of the Jing'an district
-
2025 getaways: where Wallpaper* editors will be travelling to this yearFrom the Japanese art islands of Naoshima and Teshima to the Malaysian tropical paradise of Langkawi, here’s where Wallpaper* editors plan to travel to in 2025
-
Travel back to the Ming dynasty at Beijing’s new Mandarin Oriental hotelMandarin Oriental Qianmen merges traditional culture with contemporary needs in a 600-year-old historical building complex
-
Inside Palazzo Versace Macau, a lavish, mosaic-rich hotelPalazzo Versace Macau, the brand’s first hotel in Asia, continues to preserve Donatella Versace’s swanky hospitality vision
