Live Like Bananas

“We should all aspire to live like bananas. They are on a permanent vacation, living in lush, tropical rainforests. From high above, a canopy of trees provides the perfect balance of sun and shade.”

I concur.

I may not be going to a tropical rainforest, but I sure am getting pumped for my vacation trip to Scandanavia!!

From August 17-September 3, I will be traveling from Sweden to Norway to Amsterdam!

Any tips/suggestions/spare couches would be greatly appreciated!

New Neighbor

After over a year of Banana Leaf in Solana’s Dining & Bar Street existing solely as signs that read “Coming Soon,” it finally opened its doors last week. All-Star Sports Bar & Grill finally has a neighbor!

When All-Star first signed its lease to begin construction a little over a year ago, Solana was a promising new destination, with a Californian style open-air complex with a shopping mall plus Dining & Bar street. Big names including Zara, Nike, Coldstone, Cro Bar, and even a Banyan Tree Hotel was meant to open just beside All-Star & Bling, (which would have been clutch for us to share their abundant supply of taxis for our guests as well).

While All-Star & Bling both opened according to schedule right before the Olympics, all of our neighbors continued to postpone and some actually back out of their leases completely (Banyan Tree).  And the result: Solana suffered the “ghost-town” syndrome throughout Winter 2008 while the Village in Sanlitun quickly made a name for itself and became the new hub for all shoppers and diners.

Fortunately for Solana, spring brought along sunshine aplenty together with more and more pedestrians and consumers, making Solana a better known destination.  Located right along a lake with gorgeous views of Chaoyang Park, Solana was sure to pick up in terms of traffic and word-of-mouth.

For the first time, All-Star now has a new neighbor and the entire All-Star family was anxious to welcome Banana Leaf to our hood. The owners arranged a grand dinner party, a night that quickly turned into a drink off of whiskey and vodka. Banana Leaf was also kind enough to send over some dancing, singing, “man-loving” entertainment.  A warm welcome and an appropriate initiation of Banana Leaf into the Solana neighborhood.

With this week also marking both All-Star & Bling’s 1-year birthday, it’s crazy that it’s already been a year. As one of the original spaces to open on Solana’s Bar & Food street,  it’s been interesting to see the area of Solana develop, fill up vacant spaces and slowly but surely climbing up to its full potential.

Overall Evaluation:

Banana Leaf (Solana): Brand, spanking new, just opened. But a well-known chain serving up Thai cuisine and a whole lot of live entertainment. Lovely interior, two stories with big private rooms and and lounge bar by the entrance.  Reasonably priced, so I’d recommend going in a big group who can appreciate some “man-love”.

Best Part:

• It’s located right beside All-Star Sports Bar & Grill
• Low Prices
• Amusing, animated entertainment

Comments:

• This outlet in Solana  is much nicer than others as it just opened. There is much better Thai food elsewhere (Lantung Thai Bar & Bistro, Very Siam, Purple Haze) and I’d only go to Banana Leaf if you were looking for an entertaining dining experience for a big group.  Otherwise, it’s just cheesy, mediocre food and service.

Another recently opened Solana addition:

Invito:  3 stories for 3 venues – Basement is cocktail lounge, 1st floor is a casual cafe serving fresh sandwiches with homemade bread, 2nd floor is a high-end fine-dining restaurant with a great terrace overlooking the lake.

I went for lunch with a friend and had a great sandwich for about RMB 50 and my friend just ordered two scoops of ice cream together with a ginger ale.  Total bill: RMB 160.  Yup, her ice cream and ginger ale were more than double the cost of my sandwich.

Best Part:

• It’s located is set right in front of a lake, offering a great patio and an upstairs terrace to oversee the great view.
• Nice selection of fresh sandwiches, breads, and desserts
• Impressive wine selection with machines that preserve wines after opening, allowing all bottles to be served by the glass
• Food is excellent, along with presentation

Comments:

• I will be interested to follow Invito’s development. Already a lot of word-of-mouth talking about Invito being a great restaurant with great food. Just remember you’ll be paying a very pretty penny for your meal…even if it is just ice cream and ginger ale.

To Mentor is To Inspire

Having had the opportunity to collaborate and work together with so many diverse projects, I’d had a great advantage over those who choose stability.

I’ve had the opportunity to learn through working on different projects with different people in different work environments and management styles. From straight up dictatorship to playing the friend role, it’s been quite an experience to manage each relationship on a basis of loyalty, honesty, professionalism.

Lucky for me, I’ve never been alone.  From the days I first started managing PR for Block 8, I was fortunate enough to have two incredibly caring and inspiring mentors: Sebastien Noat & Alan Wong.

Sebastien is hands-down one of the most ambitious, brilliant, eloquent, energetic, and hard working people I know. He is always on the go, full of creative ideas, indisputably persuasive, and knows exactly what he wants. And he goes after it. I saw him go from the General Manager of Block 8 to starting up his own Consultancy Agency – Alchemy, where he took me under his wing and made me part of an unstoppable team, working with some of the most prestigious F&B client companies in China including Domus & Cabaret with the Tiandi Group and LAN Club with the South Beauty Group.  Alchemy is also the creative group behind the concept, design and launch of All-Star Sports Bar & Grill + Club Bling.

While in many ways Alan is similar to Sebastien in the sense that he is extremely capable, personable,  has an inherent gift to managing his staff and business associates, along with the power to inspire and teach, Alan is also one of the most down-to-earth, chillest people on this planet.  This is where Alan’s management style is so brilliant.  I have encountered too many times, people who manage through means of commanding, dictating – which to me, is just condescending. Alan, on the other hand, I have yet to hear yell at anyone or seen him truly angry.  I have seen him frustrated, worried, stressed, and at the worst, I’ve seen him disappointed, but that to me is more powerful than anger.  What he inspires in those who work for him is a motivation that drives people to do not only do what is best for Alan or themselves, but more importantly, what’s best for the team.

Before I saw Alan as my mentor and before I even started working for Alan, I was already Alan’s ‘little sister’.  Turns out, we went to the same high school – Rio Americano High School in Sacramento, California.  Small World, huh?  Now, after two years, I’ve worked for Block 8 and all of Alan’s restaurants in the Hatsune Restaurant Group, including the launch and grand opening parties of his two newest outlets in Sanlitun Village: the second Hatsune restaurant & Karaiya Spice House. Since then, I’ve had the honor of working as Alan & Hannah’s wedding planner and most recently, I’m a proud Auntie to baby Mason Kalei.

I have yet to begin my own company where I’ll be mentoring and motivating my own staff, but when that day comes, I will be happy if I can instill just a fraction of what my mentors have inspired in me to achieve.

Alchemy Team: Left to Right - Joe Zheng, me, Sebastien Noat

Wine Bar Enoteca Serves Up a Sweet Weekend Brunch

Turns Out – Enoteca (Located in The Place Shopping Mall), known for their fine wine selection, just served up another reason to extend your weekend stay – they just started a sweet weekend brunch! Shanghai’s ever-popular wine bar is now also a great Sunday Brunch destination. Who knew?

*Enoteca just launched a new menu 2 days ago and I’m a big fan of their brunch:

I highly recommend:

Enoteca’s Brunch (available Sat-Sun until 4pm) RMB 120, includes:

• Salmon Tartar
• Quiche (today it was mushroom)
• Chicken Caesar Salad
• Brie + Emmental Cheese paired with Parma Ham + Cooked Ham
• Egg ‘a la coque’ with caviar
• Bread
• Butter Croissant
• Jam
• Fresh Yogurt
• Fresh OJ/Grape Juice

Enoteca's Brunch

For those who prefer a more typical American brunch, try their American Plate for RMB 98

• Eggs Benedict (choose from ham or salmon)
• Pesto Sauteed Mushrooms
• Pork Sausages
• Grilled Bacon
• Hash Brown
• Baked Tomato
• House Salad
• Fresh OJ/Grape Juice

For those who prefer a lighter brunch option, I recommend their

3 Tomatoes Salad for RMB 45 (all salads are RMB 45):

• Sundried, Roasted + Fresh Tomatoes, Feta Cheese and Olives