Upon my most recent visit to Trader Vic's, I was met with a warm welcome by the attractive and well presented staff (a collection of women in colourful long silk gowns). The staff were informative and delivery of the food and drinks was rapid in pace. I also learned something about tiki bar culture and how the Trader Vic's franchise was instrumental in spreading it globally. The history of the tiki bar is an intriguing part of American popular culture which stretched out from California. Once numbering in the thousands worldwide, and building in popularity from the 1930s, tiki bars had their heyday after WWII through the late 1960s. Tiki bar culture was also linked to the "Hawaiiana" culture that was trendy after it became the 50th American state in 1959, which was most propagated through the (eternally recycled) Hawaiian shirt fetish (which, side-note, was big in Japan when I went over Christmas). Bands like the Beach Boys and the 1950s era where the "martini lunch" preceded after work cocktails furthered this fun and vibrantly colourful trend.

Overall, the main draw of the Trader Vic's bar concept, which arguably continues to this day (even somewhere as vibrant as Shanghai) is that entering such a place allows one to take a vacation without ever leaving their home base. Trader Vic's smartly located itself off Nanjing Lu where many of the looming office are situated to provide Shanghai's first island oasis. They plan on following this main "island" with another smaller bar-only concept near the bund. It also must be told that Trader Vic's invented the classic Mai Tai around 60 years ago, and they still do it best with lots of spicy imported rums, lime juice and their own original mai tai mix.

I highly recommend it as an after-work destination, as it can fulfill many different desires under one roof: firstly, the need for a prompt after-work drink (which is potent enough to quell the post-egocentric-client-meeting angst), secondly for a nibble to eat with colleagues whilst gossiping over said client meeting, and thirdly as a place to stay into the night for massive plates of what can only be described as "International" food. Trader Vic's recently lowered their prices by around 15-20%, and also now boasts more potent cocktails (I had only one Menehune juice cocktail, which is like a sour mai tai, and needed to catch my breath before tackling the stairs out of the restaurant. Anyone who knows how much I can down on weekends will understand that it must be potent). The bar manager says they use about twice the alcohol of other bars in their large cocktails. Prices range from 55- 65 rmb. I recommend the Scorpion Bowl drink (170 rmb for a full liter) for nights with friends or a date.

As for the bar food, my favourite by far was the beef cho-cho: an extremely delectable steak skewer finger food which you finish cooking yourself over a pretty ibachi flame. The jalapeno cheese balls, crispy calamari, and boneless chicken wings (boneless? In Shanghai? Yes, it's true!) round out a yummy assortment of sharable foods. The main courses served in the restaurant can best be described as fusion. You can enjoy a wok-fried plate with quality ingredients for only 98 rmb, or you can try the recommended house specialties cooked in a 2000 year old Chinese oven. This ingenious oven smokes food slowly so as to retain the natural juices and provide a lovely woody flavour to meats. All this for only 130-248 rmb, depending on the meat of choice. Tasting menus also provide bang for your buck, with 3 courses costing only 288 rmb.

Trader Vic's
Address: 598 Feng Yang Lu, near Datian Lu and Nanjing Lu
Tel: 021-52283882