Shanghai – A Healthy & Beauty Trip

I’ve just come back from Shanghai… a shock! A crazy, amazing, inspiring, enlightened city of 18 millions inhabitants. I stayed 8 days all together & for such a city, you would need at least 2 to 3 weeks to get into the atmosphere, understand the culture & discover the best places (restaurants, bars, spas, arty & beauty shops). But, thanks to my friend Sophie, who has been living there for a year & a half, I had the chance to have a Healthy & Beautiful “accelerated” journey through the City of Shanghai .

Health & Beauty is not just about the new cream you apply on your face, a new hair style or the last mineral make up launched on the market! Sophie made the dream of having a nice, relaxing, healthy & beautiful journey become true by taking me to the greatest restaurants, the trendiest bars, the most beautiful spas & also the most unpredictable beauty & fashion places… now, my turn to share a sample of this Beauty journey with you.

Food is part of having a balanced life. As you all know, it is important to eat well for your body but also for your mind/mood. The diversity of savours, the various smells, the variety of colours is part of the experience of travelling & understanding the history of a city, a country, a region.

Restaurants:

Chinese: Lynn 99-1 Xi Kang Road, Shanghai 200040 (Inter. Nan Jing Xi Road & Xi Kang.Near Plaza 66). Tel: + 86 (0)21-62470101.

Lynn is located next to the famous Nanjing Road, the first commercial street of China. This road extends 5.5 km long and goes through 26 streets! You will find this restaurant just between the Shanghai Center which hosts the five-star Portman Ritz-Carlton Hotel and the Plaza 66 which gathers luxury brands from Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Dior to Hermès, etc…

Lynn serves modern Shanghainese food in an Art Deco-inspired atmosphere. It also successfully combines a competent cuisine and an efficient service at a very reasonable price.

Chinese, Yunnan region: Lost Heaven on the Bund 17, Yan An Road, Shanghai. Tel: +86 (0)21-6330 0967.

Lost Heaven is located next to “the Bund” (meaning the street running along the river), which is the most famous place in Shanghai. Enjoy the great view there and the classical architectural style of its 52 buildings !

In Lost Heaven, most of the Yunnanese specialities are simultaneously exotic and delicious. The dark, rich decoration and romantic spotlighting provide the perfect atmosphere for young culinary lovers !

Take a way, try…

Asian (Chinese, Japanese etc.): Element Fresh.

Thai: Simply Thai.

If you want to take a break from Asian food:

Various (Incl. excellent French food! Try the Lemon & Lemon Tart!?!!!): Mr & Mrs Bund, Bund 18 & 18 Zhong Shan Dong Yi Road, Shanghai 200002. Tel: +86 (0)21 6323 9898. Same area as Lost Heaven.

Mexican: Maya Ju Lu Road 568, perpendicular to Shanxi Nan Road  & Fu Min Road. Tel: +86 (0)21 6289 6889.

Maya is located in the former French Concession that was, in the past, designated as a home for French traders and business people in Shanghai. Today, it is one of the hippest places in town, with pleasant tree-lined streets, European style buildings and trendy boutiques and restaurants.

Tea time or Apero:

Park Hyatt Shanghai located in Pudong, in the “Decapsuleur” towel, the highest of Shanghai, nearly 500m. 100 Century Avenue, Pudong New area. Tel: +86 (0) 21 6888 1234. Try the desert menu prepared by the amazing chef Mrs. Ilhame Guerrah. The chocolate tart is the best I’v eeeeeeever  tested  … true!

Go for an apero either at the bar: Vue, located at the Hyatt on the Bund: 199 Huangpu Road (Tel: +86 21 6393 1234), or The Bar Rouge on the Bund (Num 18, same building as Mr & Mrs Bund). Loved the architecture, lights, vue & deco. Also, please… try the Strawberry Martini!

View: top of Hyatt on the Bund.

Fashion:

In addition, for Fashion, go to the textile market on 399 LuJiaBang Road. You can either buy “ready to wear” clothes or you can ask for “made to mesure”. There are millions of choices … I tried: for special cotton clothes: Chinese Style Dress Shop, ask for Dai Yue Qing located 1st floor, n°145. Wool & cashemire ask for Liu Hong Lan, located 2nd floor, n°245. Silk, go to Shou Wu Ming, on the 3^rd floor, n° 343.

Art:

For Arty fans, go to Moganshan road (Galeries) & Dongtai Flea Market.

Beauty & Spas:

After having walked around the city, shopping, sight seeing etc, you definitely need a break! Chinese massages are just amazing & it is soooooo cheap compared to Europe! Prices range from 7-8€ to 16€ for an hour massage… unbelievable. You can do 1 per day! Just a warning, Chinese massage is the manipulation of superficial layers of muscle involving the application of pressure. Thus, it is quite dynamic & energetic. Don’t think you will fall asleep! But you will feel great afterwards.

Spas: Dragonfly, you have 8 spots in Shanghai. I tried the one located on Dagu Road in the Jing’an District (+86 (0) 21-6327-1193). Services in Dragonfly include a variety of massages such as oil, Chinese, Japanese and foot massages, facials, nails and gentle waxing.

Also try, Aroma Age, which also has many locations all over the city. I went to one located on Changhua Road, next to Xinzha Road in the Jing’an District.

For a manucure, go to Helen nail spa in the area of the French Concession: 819 Julu Road Tel: +86 (0) 21- 54037802.

Cosmetics:

Regarding cosmetic Chinese products, I was a bit disappointed because with the exception of Herborist, I didn’t have the chance to discover another Chinese skincare brand. Would you know any?

Herborist is interesting in the sens that the products are the result of traditional Chinese cosmetology & modern technics to create fresh, healthy & natural products with Chinese essences. In Europe, you will find them exclusively at Sephora.

Otherwise, a multitude of nice refined, sophisticated Japonese brands (next holiday destination?!) such as of course Shu Uemura, Shiseido & Fancl.

Last but not least, interestingly enough, after Aesop, an other Australian brand; Jurlique offers products with a blend of herbs & flowers grown in the own farms of the company in Adelaide Fields, South Australia.

Also, all the European cosmetic brands have developed whitening creams specially distributed in Asia for Asian skin type such as: Guerlain (Perfect White), Estée Lauder (Cyber White), La Prairie (Swiss Cellular White), Clarins (White Plus), Chanel (White Essential), Clinique (Dermo White) & Lancôme (Blanc White), to name a few…

There you go for a small sample of my 1st trip to Shanghai, 1^st but definitely not the last one!

A great tks again for my friend Sophie Fihey’s collaboration.

- A Beauty Expert, AB, in collaboration with SF -