Hotels are offering value-for-money packages for discerning and sophisticated customers. Photos Provided to
Private individuals are benefiting from the frugality campaign aimed at government officials, as major Shanghai hotels offer affordable Lunar New Year menus. Xu Junqian gives a round-up.
The ban on publicly funded banquets or "any form of extravagant spending" by the central government was ruthless but effective and the numbers are showing it. According to the Ministry of Commerce, revenue growth chalked up by the country's food and beverage industry in 2013 has been the slowest since 1991, except for 2003, the year SARS hit China.
In Shanghai, supposedly the "hotbed and greenhouse of extravagant spending", the buzzwords in the hotels are "value-for-money", practical "earthy" packages and "affordable" meals during the Lunar New Year about to gallop in.
Even for those who do not celebrate the traditional Chinese holiday, now is a good time for bargain-hunting and zooming in on value packages that will pamper the stomach without hurting the wallet.
You will have to hurry. Shrewd Shanghainese gourmets are snapping up the offers and according to industry sources, hotel dinners, lunches, brunches and room packages are already 60 percent booked.
There are still a few choice picks left for the last-minute planners.
Yilong Court, the Chinese restaurant at the Peninsula Shanghai, has "yee sang", a shredded vegetable and salmon salad, and three variations of pencai, the savory one-pot winter wonder that is layered with festive ingredients.
Rare in Shanghai, both dishes are typical seasonal favorites among the ethnic Chinese in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Even if you don't buy into the luck that these auspiciously named dishes are believed to bring, the variety of ingredients like pork belly, mushrooms and prawns will still light up the faces around the table.
Executive chef Gao Xiaosheng from Shangri-La Pudong's Gui Hua Lou, on the other hand, is sticking to tradition, and serving Huaiyang cuisine from East China.
A seasoned veteran in regional cuisines, Gao has created eight exquisite 10-course menus to usher in the New Year from Jan 30 to Feb 2, all promising good value for money.
At the Westin Bund Center Shanghai, where the Sunday brunch has clinched the reputation of being the best in the country for years, the highlight is still on the mid-morning feast.
Rice cakes at the Hyatt on the Bund.
On Feb 2, the second day of the seven-day holiday, a large selection of traditional Chinese snacks at a dedicated station will join the other regular offerings at the usually Western-style buffet hall. Homemade snacks like dumplings, spring rolls and rice cakes are offered "steaming hot", just like how grandma used to serve them.
A beaming God of Fortune will be giving out auspicious red packets. Instead of the traditional yasuiqian, or pocket money to tide over the New Year, guests will be given vouchers for dinners or afternoon tea.
If you are brimming with confidence that this is your lucky year, a more generous lucky draw will be put on at Ritz Carlton Pudong. Every hotel guest who has spent a night at one of its 285 rooms or suites during the Spring Festival will get a chance to take part in the draw.
Everyone is promised a prize, and rewards range from spa coupons, or takeaway dessert package to a free night at its Presidential Suite, priced at 120,000 yuan a night. This sprawling suite on the 51st floor boasts a 270-degree panoramic view overlooking both the historical Bund area and the bustling Lujiazui hub.
The famous rooftop bar on top of the hotel, Flair, will also be serving high tea throughout the week, allowing guests to enjoy wining and dining "not only in those moonlit evenings but also when the sun is still high".
There are plenty of seats, but if you want to sit close enough for an "arm's reach" to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, a reservation is suggested.
The best skyline view in Shanghai, however, is the VUE bar on top of Hyatt on the Bund.
This is the only hotel venue voted by the Times of London as one of the "10 things to do/visit in Shanghai". VUE is joining the other dining facilities in the hotel in going "all red" during the festival. Red will appear in fresh berry cocktails and red-hot snappy Vietnamese crabs and turkey sandwiches dripping with cranberry sauce.
To reward "supportive" diners and guests, the Hyatt is packaging some generous promotions during the festivities. At its Yuan Spa, you get to enjoy buy-one-get-one-for-free treatment. A minimum of two consecutive nights at the hotel will earn you credits to spend at any one of the hotel's restaurants and facilities.
Frugality is not such a bad thing, especially if you get to share the benefits wisely.
Orignal From: Festivities in Shanghai
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