Run Through The Jungle (Don't Look Back)

London-based artist Issa Salliander is showing showing her work at Leo Gallery as part of their portraiture show "Faces," on now through September 19.

Shanghai vs. London, go:
Shanghai for xiaolongbao, London for roast beef sandwiches.

What's hanging above your couch?
Nothing, though behind it are a bunch of guitars.


Two Moon Junction

Best spot in Shanghai for art inspiration?
High up in tall buildings as I suffer from mixed fright/delight vertigo. It reminds me to not waste time.

How'd you get hooked up with Leo Gallery?
The usual way. I ended up at Leo through a friendly recommendation

Your piece in "Faces" is entitled Little Barack. How'd you come to that title?
The piece is a fictional portrait of an African Albino kid posing in Black Panther gear. It's a study on authority and race. The kid looks confused and sad as he's learning about the conundrum of being neither black nor white. As for the name I was looking at it with a few friends and it just came to us.


What do you paint/sculpt/build/draw besides portraiture?
I paint large scale (sometimes smaller) oil paintings of observations that I find interesting or amusing. Humour and feeling - or a conflict of feelings - are the two most important ingredients. Like a good old rock song.

What's your favorite medium with which to work?
Oil all the way. It can be a very seductive medium, I like the feel and texture. I even love the smell.

She’s sweet, friendly and modest. She sells imported goods like cold, soft mozzarella balls, ripe and creamy avocados and fresh basil. Avocado Lady is like your fairy godmother. She makes culinary dreams come true.

04:30 Wake up early, just as I have been doing for the last 20 years since I opened my store in 1990. I’m a bit tired, but eat a quick baozi for breakfast and head out the door.

05:30 Same routine every morning: I meet with my long-time friend and partner at the store and we open the front door. We start business very early in the morning so that local Chinese customers and foreigners alike can stop by to get what they need before heading off to work.

07:00 My partner’s husband delivers a shipment to the store full of arugula, parsley, basil and, of course, avocados. We take it into our store for sorting. Most of the herbs go into the fridge so that they can stay cold while the avocados are put out in a box next to the limes so they can ripen.

09:00 Customers come in on their way to work and school, picking up fruits, vegetables and cheese, plus a bottle of barbecue sauce here, a container of salt or pepper there.

09:30 A familiar face stops by and we chat for a bit. He is a young American who comes by my store often for groceries. Between the little English I learned in high school and his elementary Chinese, we exchange pleasantries and small talk as he buys some tomato sauce, pasta and fresh mozzarella. I charge him RMB25 and throw in a little basil for free. I was not always familiar with Western cooking, but a few years ago, a ...

The oldest surviving bar in Shanghai, the Jazz Bar at the Peace Hotel opened in 1929 as part of the Cathay, a spectacular Art Deco palace built by Victor Sassoon. The Peace Hotel, as it has been known since Liberation, has just re-opened after a three-year renovation, and has the old jazz band (average age 67; the pianist an incredible, myopic 88-year-old) back playing nightly shows. The drinks are pricey (beer from RMB50, RMB88 for cocktails, everything plus 15 percent for “service”), the room is over-lit and the furniture a little faux and plastic for such a splendid hotel but, for a slice of history, it’s certainly worth looking in, though we’d love a little of the smoky, dark atmosphere it once must have had.

DETAILS

What: Fairmont Peace Hotel

Where: 20 Nanjing Dong Lu | Near the Bund

Contact: 6321-6888

Sarah Jessica Parker, in Sex and the City said “I've spent $40,000 on shoes and I have no place to live? I will literally be the old woman who lived in her shoes!” Shoes, shoes, shoes, they are so magical to us women, we just can’t resist buying that pretty new pair when we overlooking the show window of a shoe shop, especially when there’s sale going on. Check out the amazing shoe sale here, now you can get your perfect pair without end up an old shoe lady.

Trendy Dutch fashion boutique D.I.S is now offering a super sale. Enjoy up to 40 percent off the homeware collection and 35 percent off the Dutch spot's imported goods. Take this opportunity and get a pair of Maluo sandals for RMB250 or Ruby brown sandals for RMB175. Be there before September 24.

ST&SAT at the second floor of Shanghai Everybright International Hotel is now offering a huge discount on all shoes and boots. Get a pair of sexy over-the-knee boots from brands like ST&SAT, Rizzo and Killah for under RMB400. Until September 5.

Nike store at IFC Mall 's offering up to70 percent off at its latest collections. You can get a nice pair of trainers for a jaw-dropping RMB147 only. Head there before September 6.

A Crocs super sale is opening to the public on the 9th floor of the office building on 800 Dongfang Lu. Discounts are huge (up to 85 percent) on all items. They aren't the sexiest shoes you can find but it's important to let your feet free once a while. Until September 5.

After satisfying your feet with a gorgeous pair, head to one of City weekend Gourmet Fest hotspots and satisfy your ...

VOID bring Rob Hood to The Shelter on Saturday and if Detroit awesomeness is your thing, then you're already looking forward to it. To many (by which I mean me), he's the master. He founded Axis Records with Jeff Mills, was an early member of Underground Resistance with Mike Banks and then went on to write the book on minimal techno with his own imprint, M-Plant. I have a little shrine to him in my apartment.

Anyhoo - before that, Antidote's night at Yuyintang this evening (Thursday) looks interesting. It features Danish jazz drummer Emil de Waal and electronic producer Spejderrobot playing abstract jazz, with Chinese folk hero Xiao He backing them up. There's also indie rock tonight at Not Me and freestyle dystopian hip-hop at The Shelter with ROM. ROM is doing some of the most futuristic stuff around, a kind of blend of dub-step, hip-hop and George Orwell spoken word. It's something you have to see and it's only RMB20.

Friday seems like a pretty regular night in Shanghai, with the usual stuff going on at M1NT and Bar Rouge, hip-hop at Node, plus some new U.S. residents at Muse, also spinning hip-hop.

Our pick of the bunch is housewives' favorite DJ Sacco at Mural, spinning New Wave pop.

Saturday night sees the return of Australian folk guitarist Jeff Lang. He plays twisted, playful blues and he packed out YYT last time he was in town. That's the event of the weekend for live music fans. Meanwhile, Boing Boom Tschak moves to Dada on Saturday night, with MauMau, bEn Thriller and The Uhhh playing bouncing techno and darker stuff. Acid Pony Club play Shiva Lounge, so go and cool off up there if the beer at The Shelter gets too warm ...

The haute cuisine at Tang Gong is a must-try for Cantonese food enthusiasts in Shanghai. The star dish, the classic roasted pigeon ( ru ge, RMB25), is nutty and robust with just a hint of gaminess. Less traditional yet equally toothsome are the fatty slices of velvety salmon sashimi (san wen yu ci shen, RMB168) served atop a mountain of ice, while the fried conpoy (dried scallop) and bean vermicelli with XO sauce (jiang fen si bao, RMB68) comes topped with a generous amount of fish roe that gives each savory bite a nice bright crunch. The thick, black, and bitter herbal pudding pancakes (gui ling gao, RMB24) won’t suit everyone, but we like the strong green tea taste and the sweet crushed peanuts and sesame it comes with.

DETAILS

What: Gamey goodness

Where: Tang Gong

Contact: For bookings and inquiries call 6251-6148 or 6251-3960

This week, our Eat Right series has been exploring all the ethical issues of dining in Shanghai. Today we continue the series by looking at sustainable seafood in China.

Who doesn't love indulging in fresh salmon sashimi with a glass of warm sake? But as you dine on your Japanese delicacies, did you stop to think about where it came from?

Three-quarters of the world’s oceans are over-fished or fished to their limits. Now is the time to be asking these questions in the restaurant: What type of fish is it? How was it caught? How long does it live? This is the only way we can make environmentally informed decisions about the seafood we buy.We recommend you say "no thanks" to shark fin, "think twice" before we tuck into tuna, and make a "better choice" when buying local. Here's why:

Sharks fin
At all costs, avoid shark’s fin soup. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), 10 million blue sharks are killed for their fins every year. Once the fins are harvested, sharks are thrown back into the ocean to die a slow death.

Bluefin tuna
A source of the world’s most highly prized toro sushi, bluefin tuna is another one to avoid. Just this year, it was put on Greenpeace’s seafood red list, “a list of fish that are commonly sold in supermarkets around the world, and which have a very high risk of being sourced from unsustainable fisheries.” Rudy Guo, the man behind local restaurant Osteria, says Chilean sea bass is similarly endangered. Not only has the Environmental Defense Fund issued a health advisory due to high levels of mercury, but the slow-growing fish reproduces late in life and is therefore naturally vulnerable to over-fishing.

Local fish
Locally raised fish ...

Australian “disturbed folk” guitarist Jeff Lang returns to Shanghai after last year’s sold-out tour. Check him out at Yuyingtang this weekend.

How did you enjoy playing China in 2009?
It was a bit of a blur, but really interesting. I had five days here playing back-to-back shows. One night I’d be in a Beijing rock club, the next I’d be in a traditional opera house.

Did the crowds get into your “disturbed folk” sound?
Most people didn’t know my music, but it’s interesting to play for virgin ears. There were no preconceived notions of what I should sound like, which is a useful barometer of how I’m doing. China is the most “off the map” place I’ve ever played.

You play slide and lap guitar. Did you pick up any Chinese instruments when you were here?
I got hold of a sanxian, a three-stringed instrument made using snake skin. I had a hell of a time getting it through customs back to Australia. I wouldn’t claim to be able to play traditional Chinese music, but I can get a good sound out of it–out of almost anything with strings that you can pluck. I’ve used it on one track that I’m going to release soon.

This tour, your bassist Grant Cummer-ford is joining you. How does that change things?
It means there’s a conversational element to the performance. I don’t tell Grant what to play. He just works around what I play and the dialogue between us creates spontaneous energy on stage.

DETAILS

What: Jeff Lang

When: Sept. 4

Where: Yuyintang,

Contact: 5237-8662

Tickets: (RMB50)

Did you catch Jeff Lang at last years tour? What songs are you eager to see him perform this time round?

Shanghai's anti-smoking campaign, which was implemented in March this year, is working according to local health authorities yesterday. BE (Before Expo), the city started cracking down on smoking in public places including schools, hospitals, banks, supermarkets, shopping malls and elevators.

Compared to efforts six months ago, when the city enforced its public-venue tobacco control law, the latest investigation report shows that the anti-smoking rule was strictly followed at 72 percent of public venues that were spot-checked. Public health authorities have been paying undercover visits since the law took effect.

The report noted that the smoking ban is difficult to enforce, as smokers can easily leave the scene long before the arrival of the law enforcement officials. Li Ming, a local lawyer and also a deputy to the city's People's Congress, the legislation body, proposed installing smoke alarms at non-smoking areas to help catch lawbreakers. Li also said yesterday that the city should ask restaurants to provide no lighters or ashtrays, unless customers ask for them.

The city will continue to check the implementation of the smoking ban in public areas every three months until September 2012.

Have you noticed a decrease in smoking in public places? Do you think that the ban is working?

Via Shanghai Daily.

Are you dreaming of light and fluffy pancakes covered in maple syrup? Well City Weekend is going to help make your dreams come true. Here are three of Shanghai's best pancakes.

Element Fresh | American

This ubiquitous eatery offers a hearty stack of three thick, homemade pancakes (�38) for breakfast and brunch from (7-11am on weekdays, 7am-4pm on weekends). Maple syrup and fresh fruit come on the side of each order to ensure that your day has a sweet start. If the maple syrup isn’t enough, tack on an extra portion of bananas, blueberries or strawberries for �10.
Where: Rm. 112, Shanghai Centre, 1376 Nanjing Xi Lu, Tel: 6279-8682

Jing’an Restaurant | European

Priced at �95, the palm-sized buttermilk pancakes here don’t come cheap. But you’re not just paying for the pancake itself–it comes with the restaurant’s earthy ambiance, tree-top views and five-star service. The thick little pancake arrives a perfect golden brown and topped with house-made blueberry sauce, blueberries, maple syrup and an enormous dollop of butter that’s nearly the size of the cake itself.
Where: 1 Changde Lu, The PuLi Hotel and Spa, Tel: 3203-9999

Mr. Pancake House | American

Where else would you expect to get some of the best pancakes in town? The flapjacks (�22-28) at this homey joint are thick and fluffy, and they come with your choice of toppings, including blueberry, raspberry, banana walnut and chocolate sauce. The fruit is fresh and the chocolate generous. The pancakes come in two sizes–they’re five-inches when you order them as part of the omelet (�28-35) or American-style breakfast (�28) plates and eight inches when ordered by themselves.
Where: 877 Wuding Lu, Tel: 6255-1648

Words by Lea Zhang, Geoff Ng and Sophie Friedman.

Did we miss your favorite place for pancakes ...