Shanghai
When my friends are in town, I take them for drinks at… Il Bar on the 47th floor of the Bulgari Hotel (hotel.qantas.com.au/bulgari shanghai). It’s one of the coolest spots in the city, with great views from the terrace. You must have the Bulgari cocktail, which is gin, Aperol and a combination of orange, lemon and pineapple juices.
The best dumplings can be found at…
Din Tai Fung (dintaifung.com) – it’s a chain restaurant but you shouldn’t miss it. It’s such an institution in Shanghai and serves beautiful, authentic dumplings. For my caffeine fix, I go to… Sumerian (415 Shaanxi Bei Lu; +86 136 2174 0969), which uses a blend of coffee from Ethiopia. But I also love Seesaw (seesawcoffee.com) – it’s very popular with locals at the moment.
For a romantic experience, make your way to… the French restaurant Villa Le Bec (lebec. com.cn) in the historic French Concession precinct. It’s housed in a magnificent old mansion with a very cute garden, making it the perfect setting for a romantic dinner. For a cultural experience, head to… The Long Museum (thelongmuseum.org). It’s a really interesting space and ideal for modern-art lovers. For something classic, stop by the Shanghai Museum (shanghaimuseum.net) for Chinese history, galleries and exhibitions. The best daytrip out of Shanghai is… Suzhou, which is 30 minutes from the city by train. It’s known as the Venice of China, with canals and stone bridges.
Shanghai’s best kept secret is… its beautiful Art Deco architecture. The city was home to foreign enclaves in the early 20th century and many of the original buildings remain. You can hop in a motorcycle sidecar and be driven through the French Concession. Everyone thinks Shanghai is just a bunch of modern towers but at ground level it’s peppered with small towns and villages.