M Bar at the Mandarin Oriental reminds me of Shanghai’s slickly overproduced watering holes. The difference is that in China, these kinds of establishments stock only the most svelte and snowy-skinned of waitstaff, the kind with faces that inspire as much protection as possession.
(The physicality of Chinese beauty hits you in a very different way from Western beauty. Even at its most objectified, the former maintains a certain distance from its sexuality. It’s softer – it doesn’t assault you from the front so much as it circles an arm from behind.)
In honor of last summer, I ordered their Mo-del cocktail, which featured notes of rose and lychee, very Shanghai. I appreciated the generous helpings of sugared almonds and olives, which helped cut a very stiff drink.
I could almost imagine those were expat men lining the sill of the bar and spilling over the banquettes. I was never sure what to think of them last summer, to see them as so many suited malcontents, or to envy how some were mindlessly adept at making the city their jungle gym. Somehow, it felt unfair.
No related posts.
I’ve spent some time in Shanghai, but not in bars that reminded me of any place in Boston! Here’s how I described M Bar in a Stuff Magazine piece: “…clusters of foreign businessmen angle for an opening with gaggles of younger Back Bay women, while expensively and provocatively dressed older women gaze frankly over their giant vodka martinis at rather younger men.” It’s the bar where no one dates in their own age bracket! But really, despite the creepily entertaining people-watching, it’s not my favorite: a sugary, vodka-centric specialty cocktail list, high prices, and unremarkable talent behind the bar.
Posted by MC Slim JB | March 22, 2010, 12:40 pmExactly – you just proved my point that it’s totally Shanghai. ;)
Posted by Lingbo Li | March 22, 2010, 1:14 pmDid you go to Somers High School?
Posted by Emily Lippolis | March 28, 2010, 10:35 pmIndeed. I think you were a stage manager of the musicals at Somers High?
Posted by Lingbo Li | March 28, 2010, 10:40 pmrose and lychee drink, lovely!
Posted by vietfoodrecipes | March 30, 2011, 4:11 pm