Rainy Days in Shanghai: Tea Time at the Fairmont

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When we landed in Shanghai, the weather was so bad, there was sideways rain and menacing clouds set against brown-gray skies—not the kind of conditions in which you want to be bopping around the city, all tourist-like. The pouring lasted the entire four days we were there, and thus, we didn’t really see much of the city at all. This was fine by me, as we were holed up in the Fairmont Peace Hotel, which is quite like a city itself, for two nights and found more than enough to do to occupy our time. Or, as I like to say, we ate our way through the Fairmont.

After checking in, we headed straight to Victor’s, a cafe attached to the Peace Hotel, to stock up on pastries. We hadn’t eaten since leaving our hotel in Hong Kong approximately nine hours earlier and were absolutely ravenous. Little did we know then, it would have been smarter to save up space in our stomach for the full-on feasts that awaited us in the next two days. Our room had an espresso maker, so we made cappuccinos to accompany our late afternoon nibbles.

After some relaxation time—something I hadn’t had much of on the ship—we went to dinner with another visiting journalist from Singapore in the traditional Chinese restaurant, the Dragon Phoenix, where we tried a little bit of everything: Mongolian beef with ginger, the Peace chicken in rice wine, pineapple fried rice and much, much more.

After dinner, we retreated to the ground floor and nabbed a table in the Jazz Bar. If you’ve never been to a Fairmont before, you might not know that jazz music is one of the brand’s specialties. This was even more of a treat as we saw the acclaimed Old Jazz Band—whose average age is 77!—play, before being followed by a group of young American jazz artists. The place usually fills up quickly, particularly on weekends (they play nightly), so making a reservation in advance is recommended.

The next morning, we slept in (a luxury these days) and grabbed a late bite at the Dragon Phoenix—buffet breakfast was included in our stay—before heading to the on-site American restaurant, the Cathay Room, for an early lunch with the sales manager.

I was already so full from breakfast that I couldn’t even fathom eating again, but I ordered coffee and a small quiche anyway.

Though my intentions quickly changed when I saw this spread:

As a bona fide chocolate connoisseur and lover of all desserts, I couldn’t let these sugary masterpieces go untasted, so I loaded up a plate and sampled a few.

In between lunch and our next dining experience, SVV and I headed up to the Willow Stream Spa, where we got side-by-side Mystic Peace treatments, an hour-long massage that utilizes feng-shui principles to de-stress and relieve tension. Due to my running habits, I try to get a massage every month or two—or every week or two while on Semester at Sea, as it turned out—and this was by far the best treatment I have ever had.

Willow Stream Spa image courtesy of Fairmont

We had barely digested from earlier when it was time to eat again, this time at the Fairmont’s signature afternoon tea, which I’ve experienced in both Vancouver and San Francisco before. (High tea at Laurel Court in San Francisco, in particular, is a famed pastime and something everyone should do when passing through the city.)

High tea takes places in the lobby’s Jasmine Lounge, and if I thought the nibbles at lunch were delicious, they were nothing compared to the mini creme brulees, tea cakes, scones and clotted cream, sliders and various other treats. There were also champagne cocktails and macarons on a stick. Have you ever seen anything so cute as a macaron on a stick?!

I highly suggest if ever in Shanghai, you try to make yourself available for either the Classic High Tea (Monday through Friday) or the Afternoon Tea Buffet (on weekends), as it’s an experience your stomach won’t ever forget.

Shanghai was yet another situation where we did not have a bad meal—from Ghana to South Africa, India to China, every last morsel we tried was delicious. My stomach definitely has not suffered these past four months (though oddly enough, all my clothes still fit…thank God).

Have you been to China before? If so, what’s your favorite dish?

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COMMENTS
  • December 14, 2011

    Funny, I was just looking at photos from a day we spent in Victoria on Vancouver Island and was surprised to see how gray and rainy it was. I had actually forgotten the weather because we enjoyed our day there so much. Of course, it did get sunny in the afternoon, so I guess that’s what I remembered. I am always happy holed up on a hotel eating, though!!

    • December 15, 2011
      Kristin

      And that’s what I remember doing in Vancouver, too–being holed up inside (also at the Fairmont!) drinking tea and eating crumpets.

  • December 14, 2011

    So much eye candy. I believe my next life will be a food critic so I can eat my way around the world. Especially if guaranteed no extra weight gain. 😉

    • December 14, 2011
      Kristin

      I really am planning to run another marathon in April simply to counter all that I’ve eaten since leaving the US! I may not have gained weight (this time), but I’ve definitely lost muscle tone!

  • December 14, 2011

    Amazing!! Very jealous! Thanks for sharing. I ching

  • December 14, 2011

    Ooooooh! How decadent! You made me hungry and crave a massage in two minutes flat.

  • December 14, 2011

    You know, you’re doing a real great job of making tonight’s fish tacos look like crap. I want what you had!

    • December 15, 2011
      Kristin

      And now I’m back to the world of fried chicken and biscuits and gravy (i.e. the South), so I won’t be eating like this again for a long while!

  • December 14, 2011

    You did see the jazz show, that’s great, I loved it! Photos are as amazing as always – love that wide angle lens.

    • December 15, 2011
      Kristin

      It was awesome! And there was a jazz soundtrack on their electronic press kit, so I can enjoy it post-Shanghai, as well =)

  • December 15, 2011

    Funny how some cities are almost better in the rain. Casto (Chiloe in Chile) and Paris come to mind.

    Sounds like Shanghai, if it’s not one of those that are better in the rain, it’s still just as fun as it might have been on sunny days 🙂

    • December 18, 2011
      Kristin

      The thing is that I wasn’t overly impressed with Shanghai as a whole, but this hotel was just fantastic. So I didn’t mind forfeiting my precious hours on land to spend them indoors in this case =)

  • December 17, 2011

    So all you did was hang out in a gorgeous hotel and eat? That sounds like my kind of vacation!

    • December 18, 2011
      Kristin

      We would have a marvelous time traveling together, in that case =)

  • December 20, 2011

    I’m sorry I had missed this, very helpful!! How expensive was the spa treatment?? Already passing this article along to my friend in Shanghai and my husband! SO timely!!

    • December 20, 2011
      Kristin

      The majority of 60-minute massages started around $90, which isn’t too bad given that I paid that if not more at San Francisco. The full Mystic Peace treatment is generally about double that and lasts 90 minutes, but we did an abbreviated hour-long treatment.

      • December 21, 2011

        Thanks!!! So excited to be there!

  • December 20, 2011
    Haidang

    someone’s got a sweet tooth like me!! ;-))

    • December 20, 2011
      Kristin

      You better believe that! Given I named half of my blog after my favorite food, that should come as no surprise =)

  • December 26, 2011

    Looks incredible!!! Ahhhh now I miss China SO much.

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