Shanghai St. Paddy's Day: Time to get Shanghai-rish!
You've heard of chasing the green fairy, but this Shanghai St. Patrick's Day is your chance to chase the green dragon.A cautious approach to public gatherings may have caused the cancellation of Shanghai's St. Patrick's Day parade, but there is still plenty of fun to be had around town to celebrate Ireland's patron saint.
Whether you're after culture -- or a distinct lack of it -- we've got you covered with everything from pub crawls to poetry readings.
1. Conventional wisdom: Shanghai's Irish bars
Shanghai isn't blessed with an abundance of "Irishness" in its bar culture, but stalwarts such as O'Malley's and The Blarney Stone tend to pull out all the stops for their St. Paddy's celebrations. At O'Malley's this year, you can expect specials on Guinness and Baileys on the night of March 17.
In past years we've noticed the crowd at O'Malley's skews a little younger than usual for their St. Patrick's Day party, but a good time is usually had by all.
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Often cited as Shanghai's "most authentic" Irish bar, The Blarney Stone is the place for fair-dinkum Celts to get their St. Patrick's Day drinks. Soak up a night of live music, and of course, pints of Ireland's finest.
O'Malley's: 42 Taojiang Lu, near Wulumuqi Lu 桃江路42号, 近乌鲁木齐路, +86 21 6474 4533, www.omalleys-shanghai.com; The Blarney Stone, 5A Dongping Lu, near Hengshan Lu 东平路5A号, 近衡山路, +86 21 6415 7496
2. Love a panda: Tipsy Panda's SHirish Pub Crawl
An option for truly hardcore Shanghai drinkers -- or anyone who can't stomach the idea of a Thursday night booze-athon -- the folks at Tipsy Panda are heading out on their pub crawl from 9 p.m. on March 18.
Starting at Oscar's pub and ending up at O'Malley's, this tipsy trek breeds dependence on more than just alcohol, with drinking buddies tied together "Trinity College, Dublin fashion" to drink their free Irish Car Bomb or shot of Jameson Irish Whiskey or at every stop.
For RMB 100 you also get buy-two-get-one-free shots and standard drinks at crawl stops, as well as happy hour prices on Irish pints for the first hour.
According to Tipsy Panda's Tom Koerner, pub crawling is "one of the best ways to bring all sorts of people together to drink, celebrate and hopefully make a few new friends."
March 18, 9 p.m., RMB 100, www.tipsypanda.com
3. Get sham-rocked: Drunken Dragon's pub crawl
Starting off at O'Malley's for a hour of open bar, free food and live music from 9:30 p.m., the Drunken Dragon's St. Patrick's Day Pub Crawl continues for a night of free shots and exclusive drink deals in a string of bars.
According to Johanna Hoopes from Dragon Events, they keep the line-up under wraps because it's “more fun that way," but she is prepared to reveal that, “While cities around the world will be dyeing rivers green and having parades, we'll be celebrating here in Shanghai with plenty of pints and cheers.”
The RMB 150 ticket includes a free green T-shirt for the first 50 people to reserve their place via the Drunken Dragon's website. Plan to call in sick on Friday.
March 17, RMB 150, 9:30 p.m., www.pubcrawlshanghai.com
4. A Night at the theater: Cónal Creedon's "The Cure"
Everyone is getting into the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, even the Jue Festival -- the feast of art and culture taking over the town this March.
From March 16 to 19 the fest -- along with the Shanghai Repertory Theater -- is hosting performances of renowned Irish playwright Cónal Creedon's one-man show, "The Cure," at Ke Center.
Starring Cork native Aiden O'Hare, Creedon's play is styled on ancient Irish story-telling, but the tale is a contemporary one, set during the height of the Celtic Tiger economic boom. It's the bittersweet story of a man who is lost -- brushed aside by a booming economy -- and cut adrift from the city that he and his family have inhabited for generations.
Ke Center, 613 Kaixuan Lu, near Wuyi Lu 凯旋路613号, 近武夷路, +86 136 4170 1170, shanghai.repertory.info@gmail.com
5. Cheap as chips: Mural
A long-time favorite of Shanghai's tight-ass crowd for its open bar sessions, Mural's hosting a St. Patrick's Day party with all-you-can-drink green beer and green cocktails, drink specials on Irish whiskey, Baileys and Guinness for the bargain price of RMB 50.
DJ Trix will be pumping out some tunes (not exclusively Irish though we're hoping for a sentimental U2 sing-along at some point).
Expect this place to be crammed with young-'uns looking to party as only the patron saint of the Emerald Isle could have intended.
Mural, B/F, 697 Yongjia Lu, near Hengshan Lu 永嘉路697号B 楼, 近衡山路, +86 21 6433 5023, www.muralbar.com
6. A month of Irish: Malone's
As Malone's St Paddy's promotion rightly points out, for drinkers "St. Patrick's Day is not just a holiday; it's a way of life." So they've got drink specials to celebrate throughout March.
RMB 50 will buy you pints of Guinness, Kilkenny and Murphy's and double-shots of Irish whiskey and Baileys, all day, every day at the Thumb Plaza branch.
If you want to extend your celebration of all things Irish in a more culinary direction, head to Malone's in Tongren Lu for Irish stew, Dublin mixed grill, salmon and leeks, Irish meatballs and cottage pies, priced from RMB 80 to 110 throughout March, with drink specials on the day itself.
Malone's (Thumb Plaza), 2/F, Thumb Plaza, 199 Fangdian Lu, near Dingxiang Lu 芳甸路199弄, 大拇指广场, 近丁香路, +86 21 5033 6717; Malone's (Tongren Lu), 255 Tongren Lu, near Nanjing Xi Lu 铜仁路255号, 近南京西路, +86 21 6247 2400, www.malones.com.cn
7. Poetry comes to life: The Glamour Bar
Of course, there is far more to Irish tradition than getting blind drunk, not least a rich literary tradition.
Part of the ninth annual Shanghai International Literary Festival, this Poets Alive! Event, at The Glamour Bar from 6:30 p.m. on March 17, brings together Bernard O'Donahue and Martina Evans, two poets from County Cork.
RMB 65 includes a drink (Guinness, naturally); kids and students pay RMB 10. It's the perfect way to indulge in a more refined St. Patrick's Day, or to get warmed up for the later festivities.
Glamour Bar, 6/F, 5 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, near Guangdong Lu 中山东一路5号6楼 , 近广东路, +86 21 6350 9988, www.m-theglamourbar.com
8. A rainbow of green: Shanghai Studio
Starting on Friday, March 18 from 10 p.m., Shanghai's LGBT community and their friends will be celebrating Ireland's national day by encouraging folks to "find their hunk of gold at the end of the rainbow" -- otherwise known as Shanghai Studio.
The dress code is green and organizers promise green beer, door prizes and perhaps even some of that mythical luck of the Irish.
The opportunity to dance an Irish jig or two may also raise its head.
RMB 50 buys entry with one drink, while RMB 100 gets you entry with three beverages.
Shanghai Studio, Unit 4, 1950 Huaihai Zhong Lu, near Wukang Lu 淮海中路1950弄4号楼, 近武康路, +86 21 6283 1043, www.shanghai-studio.com
