The spirit of Shanghai gets distilled into a pair of cocktails
Tony Chen of The St Regis on the Bund, Shanghai, and Bob Xu of W Shanghai – The Bund create drinks inspired by their experiences in the city
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What drink captures the essence of Shanghai? The answers are found amid its streets
Shanghai, an important financial centre in mainland China, is a collision of old and new that can be seen in the two faces of the city. In this metropolis of around 25 million people, traditional shikumen buildings and longtang, or alleyways, jostle for space with gleaming skyscrapers. It has a global identity yet still recognises its deep cultural roots.
“For me, the city is full of very old streets and small restaurants that only the Shanghainese know,” says Tony Chen, assistant director of food and beverage at The St Regis on the Bund, Shanghai. Located along the city’s famous waterfront, the hotel overlooks the modern Pudong district and Huangpu River to the east and the shikumen buildings to the west.
“Shanghai is called the ‘bicycle city’,” Chen adds. “Through the bicycle, you can feel the city, you can smell the city’s scent. Shanghai has a lot of scents; all the streets have osmanthus. That smell, it’s the life – it’s Shanghai.”
A Shanghai native, Chen has vast knowledge of the city: its heritage and quirks, its backstreets with hidden gems, and its cuisine. “The food is very simple and very easy. The ingredients are fresh, just with soy sauce, sugar and salt,” he says. “That’s all … it’s the Shanghainese signature. When I eat family-style food, I can just relax and enjoy life.”
Over on the north bank of the Huangpu River sits W Shanghai – The Bund, which faces the iconic Pudong skyline. “When I was a child, I imagined Shanghai was full of skyscrapers and [everyone was] living a very high-paced lifestyle,” says Bob Xu, the hotel’s assistant director of beverage and food.
“What amazes me is that 20, 30 years ago, there was nothing here. But right now, I’m really walking a time tunnel to the future,” he adds, describing the Pudong district’s futuristic skyscrapers as an “iron forest”.
Originally from Fuzhou, a coastal city in southeastern China’s Fujian province located about 600km (373 miles) away, Xu moved to Shanghai four months ago. He studied hotel management in France before starting his career in China five years ago.
Since arriving in Shanghai, Xu has spent his free time exploring the city’s longtang, a labyrinth of alleyways lined with lane houses that form miniature neighbourhoods rich with the traditions of Shanghainese life.
“For me, the best way to escape the iron forest is to go to those old districts and neighbourhoods, and drink and eat with friends,” he says, adding that he loves the contrasts that Shanghai offers. “Just beyond a little secret garden, you have a skyscraper. It’s enriching when you are talking with your peers. This is the way I recharge myself.”
There is a sentiment that the essence of a city’s history, culture and spirit can be captured in a cocktail – for example, the Singapore sling, the Moscow mule and New York’s Manhattan. So if Shanghai was a drink, what would it be?
“It’s a dry martini with a little bit of yellow wine with some osmanthus flavour,” Chen says. “It’s Shanghai: a gin martini is international, yellow rice wine is traditional. When they are mixed together, it means Shanghai is an open city. And the osmanthus is our flavour; it’s the Shanghai flavour.”
Xu comes up with what he calls “longtang in a glass”: a gin-based cocktail that combines green bean soup, oolong tea and the dai dai flower – with the green bean soup, which is widely consumed in Shanghai during summer for its thirst-quenching properties, representing an authentic slice of the city’s life. “The Shanghai essence lies exactly in the contrast of the modern city and traditional Chinese culture, and it’s the combination of the two. I think this is the essence of Shanghai.”
Check out the video to explore Shanghai with Tony Chen and Bob Xu. The St Regis on The Bund, Shanghai, and the W Shanghai – The Bund are part of the portfolio of hotels under the Luxury Group by Marriott International.