Mature melodiously
6/1/2006 9:13
Shanghai Daily news
Yin Yang caters for all sorts: piano players, crepe
lovers, lovers, philosophers and even those just after a quiet place to read
their paper. In a city where few things remain the same from one
moon to the next, Yin Yang's offers an old world style permanence that causes
punters to sit a while, pondering and discussing.
Over the last few weeks,
the Shanghai Daily's After Dark department has covered some of the city's best
known bars - the Blarney Stone, Sasha's and Cotton's mark two. This week, to
begin 2006, we take a look at one of the many smaller, slightly out-of-the-way
bars that pepper Shanghai and are a treat to stumble upon.
Yin Yang is at 125
Nanchang Road. The name offers little clue as to its character; may I be so bold
as to suggest Capote's would perhaps be more appropriate.
Those who know this
pub aren't likely to talk about it much. Those who know this pub will probably
experience that sinking feeling upon reading this. Something they once cherished
and held dear as their own little "secret garden" must, hence forth, be shared
with the After Dark coterie.
To find Yin Yang go one block South of Huahai
Road M., along Maoming Road S., and turn left onto Nanchang Road. A further 200
meters and Yin Yang is on the right opposite a rather decent pizza place - it
simply cannot be missed.
It looks very familiar - something between Paris,
London and Chicago.
Yin Yang bares all the hall marks of a bar from an old
film where the main protagonists conduct some sort of frustrated, crosstown
affair: the man determinedly smoking while the beautiful lady stares out of the
window distantly. This is further compounded on a rainy, winter's night, the
sepia lighting, the street zipping by outside, the old stand up piano and, when
Shanghai Daily visited, continental, bluesy jazz mourning unrequited love was
the music playing.
Yin Yang is not a large place. There are but seven tables.
The tables to get are the ones by the window that allow for wistful, existential
gazing out over the street below.
Floor level is a meter above street level
affording Bogart or Hepburn wannabes delicious anonymity and a superior
perspective. Nanchang Road isn't Nanjing Road nor Huahai Road, but there's no
shortage of action none the less - it's a Shanghai street, for goodness sake,
and perfectly capable of mesmerizing for hours on end.
The external
appearance is that of a down-town, possibly train station, bar, many things to
many people, a true public house, and this sets the ambience inside. Yin Yang is
a working bar and has a good mix of those passing, in need of a swift livener,
and those who are liable to be there until close. Couples whisper sweet
somethings while groups argue the toss over post-modernism and others immerse
themselves in their Shanghai Daily or possibly even a Camus novella.
There's
something of a Gallic flavor.
Dark timber figures as do deep red colors, a
book shelf, eclectic art and a small bar, all illuminated by authentic looking
antique lighting. How Yin Yang differs from most is it feels as though this
joint has changed little since Paul "Fred" Varjak first told Holly Golightly in
the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" that despite her thinking she was a free
spirit, she wasn't. That despite her being terrified of others putting her in a
cage, she was already in a cage and what's more, she'd built it
herself...
Yin Yang's has an air of history and permanence, not the commonest
of characteristics here in Shanghai, and this is to be savored and enjoyed. Wear
and tear has occurred but it's far from scruffy.
The drinks list couldn't be
described as extensive, but it's perfectly adequate. Wine is served in good big
glasses by friendly and eager staff. Bottles of beer are reasonably priced as is
the simple snack food available: crepes (sweet and savory), spring rolls, fried
rice, etc.
Shanghai has no shortage of modern kit pubs and these serve their
purpose. It also has no shortage of brand new, squeaky clean bars designed by
somebody with a track record in international bar design and good on them. What
it has something of a dearth of are bars that have seen a significant foot fall
over a reasonable passage of time.
Shanghai's modernity is one of the city's
greatest appeals but the by-product of that is transience and temporariness, not
such welcome characteristics.
Like a good pair of boots, a proper pub
improves the more it is used and like an old movie Yin Yang invokes sentiments
few of the modern day creations are capable of invoking.
Tel: 6431
2668
douglaswilliams@shanghaidaily.com
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