I also see that my good friend, the amorous Luigi who has the sexiest goattee beard in Shanghai, has defected from the Pasta Fresca restaurant chain and is now setting himself up in his own restaurant, also of course specialising in Italian food.

The new restaurant is in the basement of the Central Building, on the corner of Jinling Lu and Henan Lu, which was once the Shanghai Museum and before that a bank owned by Shanghai's most famous gangster from the old days, Du Yuesheng. Such history!! Such richness and depth!! And the richness is reflected in the pizzas that Luigi is serving in this new trattoria, which is called of course Trattoria! The chocolate custard creams that are the piece de resistance for dessert are for some sublime and for others a taste to be acquired. I am sure that the lunchtime trade for Luigi will be quite acceptable but it may take a little while for the night-time crowd to consider a move from the more established areas in Hengshan Lu and Sinan Lu down east to the Central Building for dinner. But as I mentioned last week, there are several other developments in the Bund area, including the new forthcoming M on the Bund restaurant to be opened by a master cheff-ess Michelle which could help to enhance Luigi's business prospects.

I saw my good friend Zhou Tiehai, Shanghai's most creative artist the other night at a cocktail party and asked him how things going. He said that shares in his company, which he claims are quoted on the Shanghai stock exchange as the Zhou Tiehai Corporation, are holding their value in spite of the impact over the past few months of the global financial crisis. I have personally invested in this company myself, purchasing a painting of Mr Zhou's which is currently being exhibited, he told me, in New York. Just think of that!! A painting that I own on public show in New York!! It makes me shiver!

Last Saturday saw just about everybody who is anybody in Shanghai, at least at the trendy end of the spectrum, gathered at Park 97 for an extraordinary and glorious fashion show organised by Movado. The clothes were a wonderful and highly creative amalgam of Chinese and western styles. I remember so clearly only a couple of years ago predicting confidently in these pages that Chinese influences were about to invade the fashion scene. I could see the future!!! It was obvious that the Qipao and other items of clothing from China's past would be echoed eventually in the trendy apparel worn by Shanghai's hip set. Some of them were a little ridiculous but most of them were not only beautiful but also wearable! I am already in negotiation with Mocado to snag a couple of my favourites from the show! There were not only models from Beijing and Hong Kong displaying the clothes but also a host of leading lights from our own little community strutting along the catwalk with all the confidence of road-tested models. Little Coco looked so cute, completely up-staging some of the professional models. I was so proud of him!

There are more and more new places opening up all the time in the nightlife territories that I oversee. Is there no end to the masochism of investors? Apparently not. Here they come, check books in hand, stars in their eyes and dreams of build little personal fantasy worlds on the edge of our already fantastic nightlife scene.

What are the new places? Well, we have the New York fashion cafe on the corner of Urumqi Lu and Jianguo Lu, which is described as a "Post-modern" cafe. I went to the opening last Friday and was very impressed.

Then there's Ove's, which is a new bar in the Golden Magnolia Plaza next to Dapu Lu. You go up the sexy outdoor tiered escalator and you will find Ove just to the right of the coffee shop. It is fundamentally a local handout for the residents of Haihua and Haili Gardens just across the road. But the Taiwan boss he is a great music lover and likes to stress a more eclectic music mix than most bar owners in this city. Last Friday, I saw an English guy named Andy singing some original songs by love, peace and happiness, which I am all in favor of. Shanghai's best female singer in the Karen Carpenter / Whitney Houston style, Pan Ruoyi, sings there most evenings as well.

There's also y2k, right on the edge or the Yanan Xi Lu elevated highway desolation strip, just past Dingxi Lu and almost all the way towards the Hongqiao spaghetti junction. The place is huge, featuring a large open area surrounded by a balcony overlooking a stage and dance area. There's also 38 private rooms round the back. Did I say huge? It's huge. The restaurant area is carpeted, comfortable and moderately plush and the furniture has the feel of what you'd expect in a solid western restaurant. It's a place that serves steaks and ribs and grilled salmon. Prices are pretty solid, but portions and food quality are well above average for the prices charged. In other words, it's good value for money. Live music is organised by the increasingly dapper sax maestro Wang Wen, now back from Dalian. He has incited me to lunch next week!!!

Byeeeee!!!