I am so happy, Boys and Girls!!! Summer is just about here and I'm pulling out my other wardrobe later today! Meanwhile, here's the news:

I understand the Rock Cheese cafe on Nanjing Lu has closed. These places come and go in Shanghai with frightening rapidity, don't they? But Always opposite seems to be doing fine. I've always thought of Always as being a particularly safe location for a bar.

Soup alert: the huge Shenji Soup Restaurant on Beijing Lu is closed for a total renovation.

BATS, the bar in the basement of the Shangri-La Hotel in Pudong, is doing good business, with a New Zealand band currently performing the hits. Their version of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody is totally knockout, especially the a capella harmonies right at the beginning. It's truly worth going for that 30 seconds alone. I sat in a booth at the back in total rapture!

I don't know about you, but I have a serious sweet tooth. Which is getting easier and cheaper to take care of all the time. When I was in Beijing recently, I bought my favorite Magnum ice cream, and paid just 5.50 RMB for it, compared to the seven RMB which remains the standard price in Shanghai at this point. But for how long? Deflation is a strange feeling. There's also lots of new candy shops opening up around town, lined with bins full of different types of candy. It's all sold in bulk which means that you can pick and choose. Many are imported from the US and Europe. All of which is good news for the dentists of Shanghai!

How many times have you bought a VCD only to find its tyhe wrong movie, or the picture breaks up half way through a crucial scene or -- worst of all -- the second disk doesn't work and you don't get to see the end of the movie? One answer to the problem is a chain store called Maya, which must have 100 outlets around the city by now, which does real VCD's and music CDs with quality that is reliable. The prices are slightly higher, but hey! At least you get to find out who did it!!

Like moss over a stone, like The Thing That Swallowed Xujiahui (which I have to say -- forgive me, Dave Barry -- would be a good name for a rock band), the Huating market is creeping out of its original territory and taking over the neighbourhood. The side alleys are now full of people selling stuff. As you approach the market, you are met by out-rider hawkers offering you CDs or socks or the Latest Cool Cheap Product long before you get within range. Here's a tip: the best time to go is just before sunset when most of the crowds have gone home, the stall owners are packing up, and you can cruise through quickly picking up what you need at the best prices. Vendors are always willing to let things go at the cheapest prices late in the day.

Shanghai has no center, it has a whole bunch of central points, none of which totally dominates. There's the area around the Shanghai Centre, Lujiazui, the Bund, Hongqiao, Xijiahui ... lots of them, each with a different purpose and feel. Leaping into the field is the eastern end of Huaihai Lu, near Huangpi Nan Lu. It's been a wilderness of construction sites for much of the past three years, but it's getting sorted out now very smartly. Shanghai Central Plaza, Hong Kong Plaza, and the Lippo building are now all either open or nearly open the whole area has an ultra-modern and efficient feel. A good balance to the more Olde Worlde sense of the western end of Huaihai Lu. Quite a few old buildings got lost along the way ... but I'll leave Tess Johnston to shed the tears. Let's face it: the city had to renew itself.

Byyyyeeeeeeeeee!!