Barhulu is the latest stylish addition to the range of elegant Bund nightspots.
Every taxi driver knows where to pick up fares after 10pm - Yuyao Road, Tongren Road, and the Bund. The Bund has the ambience of class, and luxury, with the price tag to match. But expats love the nightlife.
Now they have a new Bund option, with the swish Barhulu recently opening. It's right next to Huangpu Park, only a few minutes away from Three on the Bund and 18 on the Bund.
Since the 1920s, the Bund has been the place where the East meets West, and the designer of Barhulu selected the hulu, or the calabash (the figure-eight bottle gourd), with this in mind.
The hulu is a traditional Chinese symbol for luck and prosperity (hu sounds like fu meaning luck, lu sounds like the word for rich). Traditional families used to hang a hulu outside their door to ward off evil and invite good fortune.
"You often see it in paintings of Taoist figures, who always carry a hulu with them. It has a nice rounded shape for design," says Amy Fu, the club's public relations manager.
The lights and table legs are shaped like hulu, and the bars themselves are shaped like hulu. Even the bathroom door knobs are little hulus.
The traditional shape works well with the glittering clubbing atmosphere and adds an intriguing element.
Like many bars and restaurants on the Bund, Barhulu has a balcony - a small air-conditioned patio with views on both sides of the Bund, not only the Huangpu River.
It opens at 4pm as an Italian restaurant, with Asian elements blended in by the chef. Drinks are the standard Bund price: a martini is 68 yuan (US$10).
After dinner, the lights go down and the music is turned up. Barhulu is a house-based club, playing a range of remixed music from intimate jazz to the biggest contemporary hits worldwide.
The club's music director Dark Lo says they will play remixes of old Chinese songs such as "Ye Shanghai."
"It will be interesting to hear a modern remix of old Chinese songs, especially at the Bund," says Lo, who is also the entertainment director of Brown Sugar Entertainment, the Taiwanese group that runs Barhulu. It owns the well-established Brown Sugar restaurants and jazz bars in Taiwan and is eying the potential Shanghai market.
"The first time we saw the place, we felt like setting up house here," Lo says. But it's not just house on the music menu, with Barhulu also set to host live performances featuring both DJs and bands. There are different themes for different days of the week.
Friday and Saturday nights are party and dance music; Sunday is Latin night; Monday and Tuesday are soul and funk; Wednesday and Thursday are more old school.
Resident DJ IZZY is experienced in radio and post-production and spinning as a guest DJ and for outdoor parties. Lo also says that the club plans every month to invite guest DJs.
The next will be Swedish producer, songwriter, pianist, and DJ Rasmus Faber on July 19. The club will feature a Latin night with open bar from 8pm to 10pm, and Latin dancers and Latin cocktails.
Just one tip - don't get lost in the bathroom with all the mirrors, especially if you're tipsy.
Venue: Barhulu, 500 Zhongshan Rd E1
Tel: 5308-7889
(Shanghai Daily July 10, 2008)