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PLACES BEGINNING WITH 'E'
Located on Taikang Lu, home of factories cum art-galleries in the style of Manhattan’s SoHo area, Eastern Accents Jewelry is the outlet for jewelry designer Elaine Jiang. While deeply influenced by southeast Asian and Indian jewelry designs, Jiang has worked to make jewelry from these areas more wearable for the modern woman. Her jewelry combines both antique and modern finds from these areas and simplifies them for everyday usability. Her work evokes southern Asia while still being easy to wear with ordinary clothes both formal or casual wear, and Jiang describes it as “kind of Bohemian” and “very girly.” Jiang started designing two years ago when she traveled to Southeast Asia; she went to local homes and observed how people made their own jewelry. She has also traveled to Rajastan, India, and was deeply impressed by the precious stone industry there, thus the abundant use of tourmaline, laborodite, and other obscure stones in her work.
‘Eawe,’ or East meets West, is a design aesthetic that has long been exhausted in this town. But forsaking the name, this little boutique is worth a look. Within a simple, narrow space decked out with miniature models of the city’s skyline running along the white-washed walls, there’s input from three local designers. The collection of T-shirts will be the first to catch your eye.
SH readers may already be familiar with the face of an eerie mummy that brands the Chinese designed Eblis Hungi collection. And he’s opened up a bigger and better space along Changle Lu for the ever expanding line of t-shirts and denims. The new-fangled jeans (¥280-680) come in all shapes and sizes from pin-striped and faded to ripped and distressed – embellished with chunky red stitching, logos or patches. As for the quirky t-shirt graphics, he has introduced a splash of color into his monochrome line of black and white (¥100-120).
Also available in store is a line of Ape Sta sneakers in bright, neon colors (¥1,200-1,880) and a rail of other streetwear labels. While the second floor is still to open, with the further arrival of new designs, this streetwise boutique is still worth a look.
Starting out as a small family business in Southern Denmark, shoe company Ecco has blossomed into a worldwide brand. Shoes ‘designed to move you’ is the Nordic firm’s motto, and while they may not be the trendiest shoes on the market, they take the crown on comfort – with soft, bendy rubber soles designed to fit snugly around your foot. Ecco has opened up a new ‘Arena’ store in Xinmei Union Square selling this lightweight, functional footwear. And there’s a huge selection to choose from including smart, supple leather deck shoes, sturdy walking boots and a fetching line of golf shoes – all neatly arranged in line on rack after rack in a gleaming minimalist space. Designs range from the simple and practical to the more fashionable. Watch out for their spring and summer footwear featuring brightly colored sneakers and sandals with funky rubber detail.
Opened: January 10.
What: After the Thai Graraagaa was booted out of this prime real estate, the space went halfway around the world to find a new, French image. The food didn’t do much searching, though. They’ve found the same soup, salad, panini, pasta, and salmon menu Shanghai’s Western restaurants love.
The restaurant that gave Shanghai its first authentic Cuban experience a year and a half ago in its Gubei location now offers another spot to sample its laid back, Latino feel. El Cubano’s second spot on Huashan Lu, opposite the Hilton Hotel, provides the area with a cheerful Western lunch alternative with a pieced together island vibe; a huge Cuban flag covers the ceiling, Latin beats play in the background, whilst Havana Club rum bottles line the walls and window sills. The owner, chef and manager are all Cubans – scan the drinks menu and you’ll see (apart from Tiger Beer) nothing but Caribbean drinks - from Cuban beer and coffee to rum and cocktails - so you know you’re in for a good time. Their range of sandwiches includes the ample Steak Sandwich (¥75), Green plantains sandwich with roasted pork (¥40) and the venerable Cuban sandwich (¥55), filled with roast pork, ham and cheese. For tasty traditional food try fish on pickles, fried green plantains, meat croquettes, shrimp in creole sauce, and ‘ropa vieja’ (shredded beef), or go the whole hog and order your own roast baby pig.
Opened: June 25 marked their first steps into the dining world, and August 6 they annnounced it grandly.
What: Moroccan quarter in what feels like an international garrison in the farthest away lands of Pudong. It’s actually a new bar and dining complex brought to us by the people behind Face in Puxi, again adjoining a hotel.
Opened: February 15.
What: Diage has dropped its everyman Western menu, and picked up a funky Spanish “tapas and rice” concept.
Opened: Feb 8.
What: Shanghai is fast becoming a city populated with sandwich shops, and Element Fresh is leading the charge. Sure, it’s more than a place for something betwixt two pieces of bread, but that’s what they do best in these modern environs that are popping up all over the place.
Look: High wooden tables, a bar where the juicer sings and fruit go to die, and that familiar Element aesthetic that we’ve all come to know.
Food: Salads, pastas, smoothies, fruit drinks, nibbles, and did somebody say sandwiches?
People: This Element Fresh has found a great place to roost in Xujiahui, a neighborhood which doesn’t suffer for lack of restaurants, but offers very little in the way of western food. It pulls in lots of office workers from the surrounding towers, and straggling shoppers in this retail paradise.
Bill: ¥100 per person with a drink – slightly less for a quick lunch.
Hours: Daily, 6am-11pm.
Element Fresh was once just a popular restaurant serving sandwiches and salads in the Shanghai Center complex, a place where urbanites travelled to from far and wide for a simple sandwich, a western breakfast, or an impossible-to-find salad. My, how things have changed. Now you see sandwiches from one of Shanghai’s most recognizable brands in your supermarket, and pretty soon you won’t have to travel far for a mango smoothie or a truckdriver sandwich, because Element Fresh is expanding fast. Their new location on the fourth floor of the K Wah Center is a big step up from the Nanjing Lu location in terms of style and comfort – the tables are larger and spaced out for quieter lunches, there are comfy boots with great views of leafy Donghu Lu, and in the summer a terrace will be open for outdoor drinks and springtime sandwiches. And the menu hasn’t changed a bit from their tried and trusted formula.
For those sandwich-and-salad lovers who call Lujiazui home, fear not: Element Fresh has arrived. Located in the space-eater known as the Super Brand Mall, Puxi’s power-lunch favorite crosses the river. Armed with mid-level prices, and a menu stunningly simple yet satisfying for its variety, this Element Fresh also happens to boast the largest floor space of its kind, and a magnificent view of the city that treats life on the other side of the Bund as an afterthought. The horseradish grilled salmon sandwich doesn’t wear out its welcome despite a rather generous serving size, and the mango smoothie is an arctic blast of bold-but-not-overbearing tanginess. As is to be expected for a restaurant that favors healthiness over heartiness, Element Fresh has yet to catch fire as an after-work hotspot. But with a business model so tried-and-true (not to mention a wealth of daily drink specials), we’re guessing it’s bound to happen sooner rather than later.
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