[Birthday trip] Day 05/06: City Walk - AnFu/WuKang Road + The Gentle Monster café - NUDAKE + Yu Garden

We woke up early for breakfast, as our plan was to beat the crowds at Anfu/Wukang Road.

Anfu Road is one of the trendiest & coolest places to visit in Shanghai. It is lined on both sides of the street by century-old parasol trees, and the area has become a must-go for hipsters and tourists, and is a delightful hidden gem that perfectly blends with the city's rich history

We took Didi to Harmay at Anfu Road neighborhood in order for me to get some beauty product purchases. Before that, we visited the cutest café in Shanghai - 13De Marzo. We were there about 15mins before the café opened for business but the café was already packed with people, waiting patiently for the staff to get ready. 

I went up to the upper level to take some photos and videos at the premises before the crowds came rolling in. 13De Marzo offers cute and trendy wear featuring adorable teddies

Once the business started, we swiftly got into the order website and placed our order. YES! We were 2nd in line! Hahaha. 

When you purchase a hot or cold drink, it comes with an adorable palm-sized teddy bear plushie clinging to your cup and straw.

Plushies are all the craze lately, and 13De Marzo does it well by elevating up the café scene by giving a free little teddy bear with your purchased drink! This café was truly enchanting.

Anfu Road boasts many popular independent businesses, from perfumeries and fashion boutiques to cafes, teahouses and wine bars. It is also close proximity with other famous nearby areas such as Wukang Road and Changshu Road.

The shopping experience along Anfu Road was terrific!

If you are looking for cosy, European-style lunch spots or cafes, then this place is the perfect ideal spot for you! 

The century-old Wukang Mansion, Shanghai’s oldest veranda-style apartment building, was designed by a Hungarian-Slovak architect. This building attracts many visitors to take photos against it.

If you want to photograph it without the crowds in your shots, you should aim to get there early in the morning! 

We decided to visit a legendary restaurant in Shanghai which you can't walk in without a booking. This was an impromptu decision since Old Jesse (Lao Ji Shi) 老吉士 is located nearby to Wukang Mansion. OMG! The waiting time was about 60+ mins. 

While waiting for our table, we went to Baker & Spice, a café similar to Starbucks to chill. We ordered drinks to while away our time!

Finally, our waiting number appeared in my WeChat app, and we walked back to Old Jesse (Lao Ji Shi) 老吉士,to have our lunch. 

Don’t miss out on ordering this fatty goodness Stewed Pork Belly (红烧肉). Both Baby and I usually avoid fatty pork bellies, but this was too good to resist. Upon serving, you could smell the fabulous aroma of the sauce. The meat was of the perfect texture – soft and tender. Dark, sticky and sweet, the sauce was an absolute winner.

I finally tried a bowl of the authentic / true-blue Shanghainese version of Onion Oil Handmade Noodles (葱油拉面). My recommendation - Skip your white rice for this!

The Crab Meat with Jelly Noodles (蟹粉炒粉皮) was absolutely amazing. The portion was generous.

Would I recommend Old Jesse? It's a mix of a Yes & No. The food is indisputably delicious, but I wish I the service was better. I did a review on the Dian Ping App as per below, and I received many responses from other users on how they felt the same way as me!

Next, we headed down to the HAUS NOWHERE flagship store to visit 'The Gentle Monster' café in Shanghai, which is also known as NUDAKE. It is famous for its 'Croissant Gym' theme!

The croissant gym features a variety of fitness equipment which resemble or incorporate croissants as a theme. I took many random photos against the croissant-themed equipment, making it more than just a visual feast.

We decided to visit the Yu Garden 豫园 at night, and we did not regret it. Yu Garden is a total must-visit if you are in Shanghai. Step into Yu Garden and you’re basically time-traveling. It gave us a full legendary vibe - As night fell, colorful lights illuminated the whole place.

Yu Garden is bathed in warm golden lights, highlighting the grand traditional architecture of the place - It really feels like you’re living inside an old-school Chinese drama.

Every corner is photo-worthy, and the beauty of this place is truly beyond words, it’s something best experienced in person. Therefore, do not miss out on visiting Yu Garden at night!

During the winter festive season, Yu Garden features stunning night illuminations accompanied by music. 

I tried the viral Giant Crab Roe Dumpling from Nanxiang Mantou Dian (南翔馒头店). We had it at the Casual Hall of Yu Garden (Second Floor)

I had fun sucking the broth out from the Giant Crab Roe Dumpling. We also ordered the Crab Roe with Rice, but it was mediocre. We preferred the one at Ren He Guan.

After dinner, we spent our last night in Shanghai on a shopping spree at the Yu Garden Bazaar. We purchased 上海土产，souvenirs and many other Knick-knacks stuffs!

Tips for Visiting Yu Garden - Arrive before sunset to enjoy both daytime serenity and night-time magic. Watching the transition which offers two beautiful experiences! 

This was our last night in Shanghai, and we wanted to see the beautiful skyline of Shanghai one more time on our last night before we headed back home. We took Didi to The Shanghai EDITION Hotel for our rooftop reservation.

ROOF is an open-air lounge area which offers one of the most spectacular panoramic views of Pudong from the Bund while enjoying our causal drinks. 

I love the breath-taking scenic skyscraper view of the city. The view was miraculously beautiful - Nothing ignites the night like Shanghai. 

What a long and fulfilling day! After our drinks, we headed back to the hotel via Didi. We needed to do our packing, as our flight was scheduled for the afternoon, the next day.

We really loved the breakfast spread, and we took our time to enjoy it longer than on the other previous days we were here.

As our flight was scheduled around 4+, we headed out straight after breakfast do a final last-minute shopping. We went to SMP Mall which is just a 1-minute walk away from my hotel, and I picked up some of my favorite Chinese beauty products and visited the local supermarket as well.

We had a simple lunch at the premises before walking back to the hotel to do our checkout at 1pm. Our private transfer which we purchased from Klook was scheduled to pick us up at 1.30pm from our hotel to the airport.

After 5-ish hours flight and a few movies later, I was back in Singapore. I have come to the last and final post of my Shanghai holiday. Thanks so much for reading up on my experiences during my Winter Shanghai trip. It has been a few months since I came back from Shanghai. We will meet again soon, Shanghai!