High tea on the roof of Shanghai

2007-11-01

Instead of paying around 100 Yuan for entrance tickets to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower to soak in the view of the city, why not opt for afternoon tea at the neighboring Cloud 9, convenlently located on the 87th floor of the Jin Mao Tower, providing you with both the views and something hearty to go with it?
Here, in the Hyatt’s high hotel bar, guests can have the splendid view accompanied with a good coffee or a bit of tasty tapas.
One thing that is part of the experience is the difficulty with which the bar is reached, because getting to Cloud 9 can be quite an adventure in itself, since guests have to first take the ground floor elevator to the lobby level of the Hyatt hotel, then pass through the hotel lobby – getting a first quick look of the splendid views – and afterwards find yet another elevator, which will take the guests to the 56th floor.
On the 56th floor several flashy hotel restaurants are located. Continuing from the floor with restaurants, guests must take yet another elevator up to the top of the Jin Mao building, to the 87th floor. Here the staff will make sure that no one gets through without fitting into their unspoken criteria of how one is supposed to look in order to have drinks here, on the rooftop of the city.
But… going through these meticulous steps of entering the bar is surely worth the hassle, as the interior of the Jin Mao building is as mush a part of the luxurious experience as you could wish for.
Once there, Cloud 9 graces visitors with a wide variety of drinks: From the unmentionably pricy cognac to the 65 Yuan caffe latte. Prices are visibly adjusted to keep guests to a minimum , so that the magnificent view can be enjoyed in silence. The menu offers a broad selection of champagnes, whines, cocktails and hot beverages, as well as a smaller selection of tapas.
We went for the black coffee and caffe latte, savored alongside an aromatic cognac and a cheese platter to share. The caffeine filled treats were as good as they get, making every-body forget for a while that each cup of mocca goodness cost the equivalent of an entrance ticket to a tourist site.
The cheese platter consisted of a flavorful, strong blue cheese, a meltingly smooth camembert, some gouda-type firm cheese, and some olives. Served with a punt of dates as well as some green grapes and crackers, the cheese platter went well with the afternoon break. For cheese lovers, this was indeed the prefect mix.
The interior of the Jin Mao top-floor exclusive venue surely oozes luxury, yet the building is more impressive from the exterior or inside the ground floor lobby than at the top.
Cashing out big time to get into Cloud 9 would be very much worth the while due to the view, even if the food and drinks are short of world-class. Luckily, the quality is also recognizable when it comes to the treats.

Cloud 9 is open from 11:30 am to 2 am.
Address: 87/F Jin Mao Building, 88 Shiji Avenue, Pudong