Puttin on the Ritz – Hotel Ritz-Carlton Pudong / Shanghai / China
Categories Destinations, Hotels3 CommentsAfter arriving in Shanghai International Airport, we took the skytrain which was fantastic.
Acctually we reached 455km/h, amazing.
We checked in at The Ritz-Carlton in Pudong.
Things I liked most, the rooms are all luxuriously decorated; beautiful deep-soaking bath tub, high-tech, you can get panoramic view of the bund – if you choose the right room type – which is nothing less than amazing. This could be one of the best hotels in the world. But the problems are the overall service level. Unfortunately it was Chinese Spring festival holidays, which means many tourists were in town. But this should be no excuse for a hotel like Ritz Carlton. So there’s only a very small front desk for check in/out on the 52nd floor. The limited capacity to handle guests inevitably leads to lines, especially during this holiday seasons like this one. When I was checking out, the scene at the reception area was like buying a ticket at a Chinese train station.
If you have done this procedure in one of the chinese mega cities you will know what I mean.
Use the shoeshine, think positive and get a bit of China.
We enjoyed the breakfast and got an amzing view.
Things you should know: China is the world’s second-largest country by land area and the third largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area. Wow.
The Chinese script is the oldest still in use in the world. It works completely differently from Western writing systems, which are based on sounds, because
it was a purely picture-based script. A symbolic picture with elements referring to the meaning was created for each object. This was painted from top
to bottom and from left to right. This script is over 4,000 years old and hails from a period when humansled their lives only using a few items. However,
it requires a lot of effort to master: whereas a few months are enough to get the hang of the 26 letters in the Roman alphabet, it takes a lifetime to learn
the numerous Chinese characters.
Bar tip:
Located on the mezzanine level, styled using natural elements and the contemporary lines create a cool and chic feeling to match the bar’s ambience, which is enhanced by an LED lighting system that evokes different moods throughout the evening. A technologically sophisticated interior design creates an inviting and intimate setting to enjoy bubbly libations and specialty Martinis offered by professional bartender.
From Monday to Saturday from 8:30pm till late.The talent Jazz Band is conducting performance in this Shanghai’s most popular Jazz Bar.
Besides this our restaurant tips for Shanghai:
#1: Three on the Bund
Its in one of the glorious 1920s colonial buildings, converted into an art gallery and designer shopping emporium, with four restaurants. The 7th floor roof terrace has a fabulous view over the river and Pudong. The restaurants are Laris, New Heights, the Whampoa Club, and Jean Georges (outpost of the New York chef Jean Georges Vongvichteren). On the top of the building is a little cupola, which has been cleverly converted into two private dining rooms, each with just one table. The upper cupula has a table for two, the lower one a table for up to eight. In these you can eat a menu prepared by any of the restaurants, or indeed even mix and match courses if you wish. We had lovely Sea Scallops with Caper-Raisin Emulsion and Lobster Tartine, Lemongrass, Fenugreek Broth, Pea Shoot. It was fantastic.
The chef Jean Georges is fantastic and known for its use of spices with more classical dishes, and indeed this was on show tonight e.g. the lobster had very distinct spices. The Desserts were an excellent mix of chocolate dishes, including a fine chocolate fondant.
Overall a yummy lovely exerience on the bund, the great thing here is the setting. YYou have the sense from this that it is a bit of an unusual novelty rather than a pure dining destination, but it is a seriously romantic setting.
Tip #2
A revolutionary 10-seat multi-sensory experience restaurant Ultraviolet. It will evoke a bold and exclusive dining experience that engages all the senses to create the ultimate luxury.
Ultraviolet, a sort of dress rehearsal for the final draft of the restaurant which has finally rolled out. And after this, admittedly invited, tasting, we can say definitively that yes, Ultraviolet is radical and it was very much worth the wait.
Ultraviolet is located in a secret location in an old Shanghai neighbourhood. After being driven to the restaurant by their private driver, you enter a set of inconspicuous double doors and cross into Pairet’s fantasy restaurant: a mixture of James Bond lair and mad scientist laboratory. Mesh metal doors slide open without any visible human attendants. Your chilled drink awaits on a bar counter of raw wood. After a few sips, another door slides open, beckoning you down a hallway lit by a Baccarat crystal chandelier. Then, a final set of doors slides open. You can’t help but laugh as the 2001: A Space Odyssey opening chords play while you step into the all-white dining room: a plain rectangular table flanked by 10 white adjustable chairs. The dining experience begins.
Each course is paired with 360 degree video projections, surround sound music (a different song tailored to each course) and even custom scents: sometimes they waft from a pressure cooker which is hand carried around the room, sometimes from a scent machine installed in the ceiling and with one course, the scent of cigar smoke captured in a glass dome is held up to your nose by a waiter.
The full dinner includes 20 ‘avant garde’ courses.
For other courses, many of which are paired with drinks ranging from dessert wine to peppermint tea, projections include crashing ocean waves, ancient trees in fog or Indonesian masks. A ‘micro fish and ship’ course is actually a single giant caper berry deep fried in batter and paired with anchovy tartar sauce. The food is central to the night, never just a prop; each meticulously crafted bite is so delectable, we’re left craving more after nearly every course.
It was a great experience.
Just enjoy.
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