Shanghai Moon: 24 hour dining and a step back in time

Old Shanghai glamour returns at Shanghai Moon (老夜上海). Lucky for you it's open 24-hours a day.

And if you go in the middle of the night you can have the place to yourself. It's open 24-hours a day.

From the elevator, follow the thinning red carpet down the hall and into the ballroom-style dining room, where the carpet springs back to life in a swirl of red, blue and cream. Pick one of the mismatched embroidered chairs and sit down to a quintessential Chinese table, a pink carnation in a glass vase and a red tablecloth.

A bit of history

If it is a typical night, nobody else will be around, leaving you free to gawk openly at the majestic and old-fashioned surroundings: the antiques, the chandeliers, the grand ceiling with distinctive molding and alcoves with velvet curtains you just want to get lost in.

On the walls, there are photos of Shanghai circa 1840s-1950s showing the everyday landmarks of the era (the first department store, the first cinema, the Huangpu full of canoe-sized boats) as well as landmark events like Prince Chun of the Qing Dynasty’s parade down Nanjing Xi Lu.

Nobody else will be around, leaving you free to gawk openly at the beauty of your old-fashioned surroundings: the antiques, the chandeliers, the grand ceiling with distinctive molding and alcoves with velvet curtains you just want to get lost in.

At Shanghai Moon, stick to what you know

The menu is full of your standard Shanghainese fare, with a bit of Cantonese influence.

Most of the menu is mediocre -- you’re there for the atmosphere, not the food -- so don’t order adventurously. Stick to what you know for maximum pleasure: the sauteed prawns (you bao xia, RMB 136 per jin) and local-style shredded eel (RMB 48) both have a home-cooked tastiness.

The most intriguing item on the menu is probably the Mao family recipe pork (RMB 60), but restaurant manager Pan tactfully warned us against it with “well, Chairman Mao hasn’t eaten it in 40 years.”

Or, just go have a drink. Chinese-American expat Sharon Li says: “This is where I take my out of town friends for a beer and conversation -- it give us so much to talk about. I love this place.”

The restaurant that time forgot

Pan, gentlemanly in his black suit, has worked the 10pm-10am nightshift for more than 10 years. He’s been here since it opened. He says that seven years ago the Old Jinjiang Hotel moved Shanghai Moon from the ground floor to the 11th floor. People promptly forgot about it. Then, four years ago, something of a rescue effort was attempted. Shanghai Moon was restored with beautiful antiques from Zhejiang and fresh paint.

Today, it’s a well-preserved example of what grand restaurants in Shanghai used to look like, partially due to the lack of foot traffic.

“These days, we keep it 24 hours because that is something we are known for. But almost nobody comes here after midnight.” Pan says.

That could all be about to change. We’ll see you there.

getting there

Shanghai Moon, Old Jinjiang Hotel
11/F, 59 Maoming Nan Lu, near Changle Lu
茂名南路59号老锦江饭店北楼11楼, 近长乐路
tel +86 21 6472 6386