Luxe Living in Shanghai for Less than 200RMB-Part II Wednesday, 01 September 2010 10:12 Written by Andrea Burzynski

In “Luxe Living in Shanghai for Less than 200RMB: Part I”, we covered pampering via food, drink, shopping, and nightlife.  In this installment, we’ll delve into health, hobbies, and more shopping!

Shanghai  Luxury #5: Massage

In most western countries, “getting a massage” conjures up images of upscale spas and pampering.  In China, the same phrase can evoke associations with pink lights and unsavory offerings of “full service”.  Seeking a luxurious yet distinctly Shanghainese experience, I arrived at Sugar and Spice on Jiaozhou Lu in Jing’an for a traditional Chinese massage.  The pleasant and demure service, soft music, and candles guiding me up the stairs promised a perfect way to relax after my high end “shopping” and libations the day before.  I wasn’t disappointed; the soothing atmosphere provided an excellent backdrop for the skilled masseuses to pressure-point away my aches.  I left wondering how anyone lives without regular massages.

Luxury factor: 4 out of 5 stars.  Inexpensive, quality massage may not be uncommon in Shanghai, but nothing screams privilege like telling your friends back home that you get massages all the time because, pshh, it costs less than a bottle of Prosecco.

Cost: 100RMB for a one hour of Chinese massage

Shanghai Luxury #6: Wine tasting

After all the eating, drinking, and relaxing, I wondered, is this all there is?  Is there any meaning behind it all?  Fortunately, I stumbled across a classy hobby to solve this existential crisis: wine tasting and collecting.  At a Dolls wine appreciation course in a private room at Mesa & Manifesto taught by the Dolls’ own Chinadoc, we learned how to start our own cellars, how to speak to a sommelier, and how to describe wine.  We swirled our glasses, exclaiming things like “It smells like lemons!”, “I taste pencil shavings!”, and “This one is full-bodied with hints of happiness and fabulosity!”  Well, maybe not the last one, but some of us probably felt those things after so many “tastings”.

Luxury factor: 5 out of 5 stars.  Is there any hobby more fantastic than sipping wine whilst ascribing esoteric characteristics to the contents of your glass?  I think not.

Cost: 150RMB per person for a two-hour session (Okay, I cheated a bit on this one: the class was two sessions).  Hopefully it will happen again soon for those who missed it the first time!

Shanghai Luxury #7: Custom made clothes

When living the high life all over town, the question of what to wear comes to the forefront.  Shanghai definitely doesn’t lack for shopping options, but ready-to-wear is so plebian.  The luxury consumer would insist on haute couture, right?  Since I haven’t bumped into Karl Lagerfeld lately and figure he’s a bit out of my price range anyway, I headed to the fabric market.  After scoping out several different vendors based on FlorG’s recommendations, I decided to have a ruffled silk blouse made on one of the upper floors.  Although the silk felt genuinely high end, the haggling about the price did not.  A week later, I picked up my custom creation.  It was… fine.  Pretty, but for all of the individual attention, I admit to being a little underwhelmed.

Luxury factor: 2 out of 5 stars.  Having something unique can be fun, but the shouting, haggling, and measuring tape whipping over my lady parts did not make me feel rich and special, nor did the less-than-Lagerfeld quality of the results.

Cost: 150RMB, depending on your bargaining skills.

Bottom Line

When I pursued high-brow experiences at low-brow prices, the theme that emerged was quality over quantity.  When dropping into upscale places, restraint is key: one cocktail or dessert at a high-end place can give you a taste of the high life without breaking the bank, but insisting on a whole bottle or meal can have you trying to make it up to your bank account with Tsingtao and jiao zi for months.  Stay classy – in small doses.

Comments 

 

#3 RE: Luxe Living in Shanghai for Less than 200RMB-Part II — Ada232 2010-11-07 03:18

Hey gals,

I notice that most of the expats are living at "Xu hui" areas. Do you ladies aware that prices of most services/things varies from suburbs.

I live in "Hong kou" area due to work. This is an area mostly consist of migrant from other part of china. Therefore things/services on this end are cheaper.

For example, I took a friend from the state to my local supermarket he was shock by the price tag and he said he wanted to start shopping here. He told me that he got a small bottle of dove for about 50rmb, and now he pay 40rmb for a big one(3 times bigger).

Recommendation 1 for massage.
1. It a big foot massage place(have to check out the name), 168rmb include 120min of foot massage(include hebal soak, hand and should massage) and 60min of chinese body massage. And you can have unlimited serving of hot tea, chinese dumpling in soup(yum, very nice), sweet rice ball, and fruit. If you opt for thai massage it will cost 20rmb more with a total 80min of body massage.

2. Are you gal into wine tasting thing? If yes, I can organise it. I can also arrange a deal with the wine distributor. So that dolls are able to bring wine that they like home with wholesale price. (Love me. Don't hate me. I am using my position to pull string here.) I am a dolls now.

3. I been hearing people taking about fabric market. Where is it? I have been to two different location full of talior, as I was required to arrange for staffs' uniform before. So I did deal with lots of tailors. They are cons, have to really negociate with them very hard. And the quality didn't match.

Ada

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#2 RE: Luxe Living in Shanghai for Less than 200RMB-Part II — Andrea 2010-09-28 07:53

Quoting aLeGnaRoMa:

I enjoy reading this. It's well-written and thought out. I agree with staying classy in small doses.

Thanks!

I'm trying to write more regularly for this site, so if there's anything specific anyone is interested in reading about, let me know, and I'll see what I can do :)

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#1 Great Writing — aLeGnaRoMa 2010-09-19 15:20

I enjoy reading this. It's well-written and thought out. I agree with staying classy in small doses.

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