Sunday, April 17, 2011

House Party

Three weeks since my last post. So much has happened, and yet, I've done so little. Seems almost a recurring theme.

The weather is starting to warm up. Good and bad, I suppose. Good because it will no longer be the cold that keeps me from going out. Bad because I hate the heat, and I can just tell it's going to be hot real soon.

- House Party

I went to my first "house party" in Shanghai last night. It's not really a house party... Well, it does take place at someone's house, but it's not really a party. It's where someone turns their house into a bar/restaurant. It operates without a license, and marketing is pretty much through word-of-mouth and evites. An incredible concept, really.

On Nanjing West Road, there's a district known as Jingan (Villa) Bieshu. It's an upscale neighborhood filled with old architectural 3-stories. Mostly old people live there, but increasingly, young people are renting out the ground floors and opening flower shops, souvenir/memorabilia stores, and bars/restaurants.

The one I went to was called Felix; run by a dude named Felix. Happens to be a middle school friend of a girl I met out here. He's an interior decorator by trade, and owns an antique furniture shop. Rent for 4 bedrooms is roughly 10,000RMB. It's a dinky place, but has really got it's own style. I suppose I had a similar feeling the first time I saw TianZiFang.

He serves noodles for lunch, and says business is good. At night, he turns his living room into a hangout. Small tables with benches; candlelit; a projector showing Love & Other Drugs against his white wall. There's an outdoor patio area with more tables, a dartboard, and a small fridge stocked with beer.

Without a doubt the coolest place I've been to in Shanghai so far.