Sweet indulgence

One of the things Shanghai offers that you rarely (ok, never) get to enjoy in Finland is champagne brunch. (Or maybe we have those in Finland too, but I doubt.) It is utter indulgence, and that is just what makes it so great. It is free flowing champagne and abundant selection of delicious food. And friends. And an opportunity to use all those silk dresses that you have had tailor-made here. And, above all, it is a lazy, indulgent Sunday afternoon.

Here, many *****-hotels (and propably 4*, too, but why bother) offer Sunday brunch with either no champagne, one glass of champagne, or endless flow of champagne. We, naturally, opt for the latter. There are few hotels, where you can have the cool Bund / Pudong view while brunching away, but this time our hosts had chosen an inland establishment, Le Meridien.

They all offer a great selection of foods, but of course there are differencies in the selection and quality. Comprehensive selecton process is required before you can say you Le Meridien brunch seemed to have a sort of a modern air to it. They had an excellent grill stand, sushi, loads of sea food (from hummer tails to tuna Nicoise and from gravad lax (hmmm... I wonder what is the correct english term?) to oysters), good salads, quiches, roasted meets, asian delicacies, antipasties, cheese table, soups, fruits and desserts. Have to have desserts. Even though usually when it is time for desserts, you would be better of not eating anything anymore. It is like Christmas, in that sense.

In Le Meridien they also had a girl dressed-up like a nurse, except in pink and giving out medicines, except it was booze. I did not find that very classy. And who, in the name of Dom Perignon, wants vodka if there is champagne?

It is way too challenging to stuff down all those delicacies and enjoy at least a few glasses of champagne.

'Cause let's be honest: that is why we are there for. You can usually get champagne free brunch with about 100 RMB less.

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Le Meridien champagne brunch on Sundays 12-15, 458 RMB (~50 euros) per person.

Nanjing Est Road 789

Next time I plan to check what are the Shanghai Hyatt's offering. All three Hyatts in this village offer spectacular views to the river.

Other options:

- J.W. Marriot

- J.C. Mandarin
- "Tables" at the Portman-Rizt Carlton. Many people like this, but to me, the room was a bit dark, food selection was not that impressive. For example the signs telling which is which food were misplaced, and all in all it didn't left that high quality impression.