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| Lost Heaven |
Lost Heaven creators have created their own Shangri-La in Puxi with a mega-sized four-story complex, complete with homewares outlet, resort-style bar and tribal-themed 300-seat restaurant.
The 3,000-square-meter addition to the Yin brothers' restaurant kingdom features fused ethic cuisines described as "Mountain Mekong."
It joins stalwarts Coconut Paradise and the original Lost Heaven on Gaoyou Road in Xuhui District.
This new Lost Heaven occupies a renovated shoe factory on Yan'an Road E., just off the Bund proper.
Its potential view to Pudong is obscured by a neighbor and there's a jumble of road construction in front. Construction is due to be finished by year's end.
Lost Heaven's newest incarnation still aims to provide a dimly lit romantic escape from the hustle and bustle outside.
The Yin brothers, Paul, Robin and Achaol, all play their roles.
Paul is responsible for the interior design, Robin the food and Achaol is ensuring the rooftop bars have the right house/lounge stylings in the tunes department.
The family lived in Yunnan Province before moving to Taiwan. They opened a successful Thai restaurant there before making their move to Shanghai in 2004, with Coconut Paradise opening a year later and Lost Heaven in 2006.
The newest complex was 18 months in the planning.
"From the beginning, it was always our dream to open a complex combining a shop, restaurant and bar, and we were always looking for the right place to make that happen," says Paul.
He designed all the interior elements down to the look of the chairsand lamp shades.
The look is inspired by the brothers' travels to Shangri-La in northern Yunnan, and the restaurant continues the exotic ethnic mix-up that dominated the Gaoyou Road original.
Robin has been in the kitchen, expanding the repertoire and he describes the mix of Myanmar, Yunnan and northern Thai cuisine, with Western compromises, as "Mountain Mekong."
The food is a departure from the fare at both Coconut Paradise and the original Lost Heaven.
The opening shindig last week attracted more than 2,500 people, who sampled the cocktails, many with Thai-style ingredients such as the lemon grass and chili-flavored Thaizeed cocktail.
While food was the major draw for the original Lost Heaven, the brand has been expanded in Lost Heaven Home selling everything from ethnic cushions and mugs to chocolates.
Bars are on the third and fourth floors. There's a rooftop bar with a Southeast Asian resort-feel, complete with bubbling water and day beds. And there's a wine bar and private function space for 200-300 people.
The bars are open until 2am, offering an alternative to the established nightspots on the Bund.
Opening hours: 11am-2:30pm; 5:30pm-2am
Address: 17 Yan'an Rd E. (near Sichuan Road)
Tel: 021-6330-0967
(Shanghai Daily September 3, 2009)
