You may be wondering if summer will ever arrive, but Shanghai is definitely heatting up as far as new openings, great gigs, and top news stories are concerned. Here’s what’s been happening over the past couple of weeks, along with some stuff to look forward to.

1) Bob Dylan

Big news for fans of folk rock’s grand master: the rumors were true… Bob Dylan is coming to town. He’ll be playing the Shanghai Grand Stage on April 8th. Tickets range from 280 – 1960 RMB, but make sure you get yours fast, as they are guaranteed to sell out.

2) Support for Japan

The good people of BEAN rallied their troops and threw a Tsunami Relief Concert on 19th March at Lune. The Saturday night shindig raised a total of 14,800 RMB for the International Red Cross Tsunami Relief fund. The line-up included The Beat Bandits, DJ B.O, Sal and Upnavala, Hotter Than Teppanyaki, and The Dudettes.

 

3) Rich city

The Financial Times has released figures indicating (somewhat unsurprisingly) that the citizens of Shanghai are the richest in China. Going by the GDP per capita, the Shanghainese earn an average of US$23,000 per year, which is approximately equal to that of Saudi Arabians. The notorious wealth gap looks set to close a little, after an announcement on March 9th that Shanghai’s monthly minimum wage will be increased to 1,280 RMB.

Le Petit Chateau, photo: cityweekend.com.cn

4) Open doors…

The onset of spring has prompted a swath of openings across town. Down at the Ferguson Lane complex on Wukang Lu, Franck Pecol (owner of Franck and Le Petit Franck) has opened a new pizzeria called a Côté. It’s small, cosy and simple, with a long communal table and a selection of 12 wood-fired pizzas. Choose from three wines by the glass, and enjoy your pizza on the patio when the weather warms up.

The team behind Le Petit Jardin have expanded their operations out west with a venue called Le Petit Chateau. It’s located under the Yan’an gaojia (1749 Yan’an Xi Lu, near Tianshan Lu), and has the same quirky-kitsch décor as the original. The focus is on food rather than coffee, with a huge menu of sandwiches, salads, Mediterranean mains and desserts.

March 11th saw the opening of China’s first “traceable” restaurant at 1 Wulumuqi Lu. The team serve up bistro food made with ingredients from the Metro Food Link Shopping Center. Everything that passes your lips can be traced back to the processing steps like planting, processing, packaging and transporting. Tasty food with a conscience – a great combination.

5) Closed doors….

It’s the end of the line for Salvatore Cuomo’s Y’s Table in the SWFC. The multi-cuisine food court will shut up shop for good at the end of the month. What will replace it? Watch this space.

The Barbie Store on Huaihai Lu has also closed its doors. The mighty six-floor emporium of pink just never caught on, despite the city’s love for all things bling and kitschy.

It’s all change over at the 528 Kangding complex, as wine bar Cuvee gets a makeover. It will reopen soon as a sports bar called The Shed.

6) Coming soon…

If you’re familiar with Hong Kong’s dining scene, you’ve probably heard of Jimmy’s Kitchen. The American-style diner is popular for its classic Western comfort food. But did you know that there used to be a branch in Shanghai? It was opened by a retired US Navy officer in the 1920s on Sichuan Lu. It moved to Nanjing Lu before being close down in 1949. The good news is that it’s reopening in the Jinjiang Hotel on Maoming Lu very soon. The menu will include fish and chips, baked snails, oysters Kilpatrick, Madras curry and several cuts of steak.

The Swatch Art Peace Hotel on Nanjing Dong Lu is set to unveil a concept called Shook! on the fifth and sixth floors. According to insider rumours, the food will be pan-Asian, and the wine cellar well stocked with vintage bottles. Later in April, the Bund’s biggest rooftop terrace will open up, just in time for summer.

Bund newcomer Hotel Indigo (the boutique line of the InterContinental brand) is opening a steakhouse called Char in mid-April. There will be corn-fed and grass-fed Australian meat, a selection of different sea salts, and a choice of steak knife. Upstairs will be the Char Bar, with the sort of terrace and skyline view that Shanghai dreams are made of.

 

7) More M&S

Despite the rumours of doom and gloom, British highstreet favourite Marks and Spencer’s assault on China looks to continue. Plans have been unveiled to open a fifth store on the Mainland in 2013, at the Shanghai City Center shopping mall. Let’s just hope they don’t run out of tea and biscuits like the Nanjing Xi Lu branch did last week…

 

8) Strange but true…

Nobody likes getting their bag checked in the subway, but most of us manage to conquer our frustration, unlike a man who went postal at Yan’an Xi Lu station on Line 3 last week. The passenger refused to comply with the security check, and strangled a 22-year-old female security officer who tried to stop him passing the cordon. The security officer fell unconscious, and the troublemaker was arrested on the suspicion of intentional harm. Ouch.

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Keywords: Shanghai watchdog news round up Shanghai Shanghai rumours New Openings Shanghai