When I asked the hotel concierge to reserve a table at David Tang’s China Club, he said “no” in the beginning. Only after insisting, he agreed “to see what he can do”. We did get a table that night and in fact, it seems that asking your hotel’s concierge is the only way to get to the restaurant if you are not a member. The club is located on the thirteenth floor of the Old Bank of China Building (it is multi-level) and when you get there, you feel like you have just been transported to the 1930s Shanghai. Beautiful place. What is more impressive is the contemporary Chinese art collection on the walls. It is worth to come only for that.
While the walls are packed with art, the dinning room was packed with expats that night. I don’t know, but it made the restaurant less “exclusive” immediately. I have absolutely nothing against expats, but was that a sign that China Club is kind of “Disneyland” for the foreigners while the locals know better places to go? Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the evening and the food was not bad either. (The very extensive menu included all kind of Chinese specialities.)
