Cloud 9 Bar, Grand Hyatt Hotel, Shanghai

Cloud 9 Bar, Grand Hyatt Hotel, Shanghai

Friday 1 June, 2007

I've been raving about this place since our visit last year and have highly recommended it to many friends and work colleagues.

The Grand Hyatt Hotel is located on 53rd to 87th floors of the Jin Mao Tower, in the heart of Pudong, Shanghai's financial and business district. With a total height of 421m (1,380 ft) the Jin Mao Tower is the third tallest tower in the world, and the tallest building in the People's Republic of China. However, this is soon to change with the rate of construction occurring in Shanghai. Just a short distance from Jin Mao Tower is a newer, taller building that is set to break the record books again.

Jin Mao Tower is designed to withstand an earthquake of magnitude 6 on the Richter Scale, as well as the strongest typhoon and the building's shape draws on traditional Chinese forms. You take 3 elevators to reach the sky lounge on the 87th floor of the Jin Mao Tower. Known as Cloud 9 Bar, the sky lounge has spectacular views of the Bund, Huang Pu River and the city. Our ears only popped once on the way and it is all forgotten when you step out into the main floor of Cloud 9 and see the spectacular view. WOW!

We had arrived without a reservation but it was not a problem and we were very lucky to secure a window table. The menus are great offering a mixture of Asian bar food, desserts, a great wine list and extensive cocktail list. I decided to start with a cocktail called the After Party - which comprised of Absolute Vodka, pineapple juice, cranberry juice, ginger ale and sugar. It was so easy to drink that I questioned if it actually had any alcohol in it. But after enjoying two over several hours I can confirm that they definitely have alcohol in them!

We decided to order some Spicy tofu nuggets to snack on and they were so deliciously good that we ordered another serve immediately. They were beautifully presented in a miniature wok resting on a wooden stand and came with an aioli sauce. Yum.

The staff are very polite and oddly they allow spruikers of flowers, profile cut outs and tacky souvineers to roam the bar. The view is the drawcard at Cloud 9 and at night The Bund comes alive with all the old colonial buildings lit up. It is a spectacular city and I love everything about it.

Cloud 9 - 88 Century Boulevard, Grand Hyatt Hotel, Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai - T: (86 21) 5049 1234

http://shanghai.grand.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/entertainment/lounges/index.jsp