EDITOR’S Note

More than a quarter of the foreign residents in China live in Shanghai, many of them calling the city their second home. Foreigners have long had an impact on the cultural history and diversity of Shanghai. Every month, iDeal talks with some of those expats about their experiences living far from home.

SHANGHAI’S history is closely allied with French influence. The city was once called the “Paris of the Orient,” and the old French concession area still retains the charm of French architecture and arcades of leafy street plane trees.

Although many old street names, like Avenue Joffre named after the famous French general, have been changed, French influence persists.

The elegant Shanghai Grand Theater was designed by French architect Jean-Marie Charpentier, and Paul Andreu designed the Shanghai International Airport in 1999.

Century Avenue, the major thoroughfare in Pudong, is called Shanghai’s Champs-Elysees, and there are more than 100 French restaurants, pastry shops and sidewalk cafes in Shanghai.

About 15,000 French nationals are registered as living in Shanghai and nearby areas. Some are working for multinational companies; some operate their own businesses.

We asked five longtime French residents of Shanghai to share their experiences

Florence Guillot, Living in Shanghai for more than 8 years, from Paris

Florence Guillot, 45, is an interior designer and stylist. She has lived in Asia for 13 years with her family. She has developed a clothes brand for children called Petit Poisson Lune in Shanghai and has worked for AD Magazine as a stylist. At the moment she is developing a course to teach Chinese how to dress and walk in the French style.

Q: What is “French lifestyle?”

A: Perhaps all the time we spend time cooking and having meals with family and friends at home. It’s not like in Asia, where people usually meet in restaurants.

Q: Describe authentic French food and wine from your home city.

A: Family dishes that are very simple but rich, like bœuf carottes, pot au feu and blanquette de veau. It’s food the way my grandmother made it. As for wine: red! The specialty of the village where I come from is Coulommiers cheese.

Q: Do you live what you consider a “French lifestyle’’ in Shanghai?

A: I cook French food, read French books, watch French movies, and speak French with my family and some of my friends, although I have integrated into Chinese culture pretty well and have many foreign friends. I am not really looking to keeping up a “French lifestyle.”

Q: Where are the best places serving French cuisine in Shanghai?

A: There are a lot of restaurants, like Le Saleya , Bistro de l’Ouest, where you can eat a gigot like at home, Le Cuivre, Franck, Le Bordelais and even La Queue du Chiot, a small restaurant where the chef is Japanese. Then there are Ferguson Lane and the French bakery Farine. You can almost feel like you are in Paris when it’s sunny and everybody eats on the terrace outside.

Q: Where do you usually go for nightlife?

A: The Unico, a nice place to enjoy with friends.

Q: What are the biggest similarities and differences between living in Shanghai and in France?

A: In both environments, we enjoy sharing food and laughter. The most important difference for me is so many people from so many nationalities. It is most interesting for me to try to interrelate with people from different countries. It can sometimes be very challenging.

Q: What is a typical French party at home?

A: Dinner with friends where everybody comes with something to share and where you eat and drink for hours and hours.

Q: Do you usually cook at home? Could you share a typical home French recipe?

A: I cook at home maybe half the week. I’m not a master chef but I enjoy simple dishes.

My recipe for chocolate custard requires 400ml sour cream, 250g dark chocolate, 4 egg yolks and 30g unsalted melted butter. In a saucepan melt the cream and chocolate until well combined. Beat the yolks and pour into the cream-chocolate mixture, stirring it thoroughly as it thickens. Add melted butter and combine well. Spoon the custard into small glasses. Refrigerate for three to four hours.

Claude Jaeck, in Shanghai for 12 years, from Alsace

Claude Jaeck, 55, founded the Amicale des Alsaciens de Shanghai (Shanghai Alsatian Society) in 2014 to bring together French residents originally from Alsace. He is a

Man passionate about history, especially French history in Asia. He is a consultant and corporate advisor, who lives in Shanghai with his wife Hsieh Shau-yu.

Q: What is “French lifestyle?”

A: It is a blend of seduction, elegance, refinement, joie de vivre and plaisir. A talent for finding the joy of a moment without wondering what will happen next. In other words, it’s a philosophy of life that determines how we relate to one another.

Q: Where do you usually do for nightlife?

A: The French do go out a lot. They like to meet in cafés and bars to discuss, debate and “rethink the world,” sometimes into the wee morning hours. While they adapt well to Shanghai, the nostalgia of their mother country frequently carries them to wine and dine in the French style.

Q: Which restaurants, cafés and shops in Shanghai are the most French in your opinion?

A: Shanghai today is blessed with numerous such establishments, like Char, Unico, Jean-Georges, Le Bec, Cuivre, Mr & Mrs Bund and Franck, to name a few. All have, in a way, a je ne sais quoi character of French hospitality, exquisite food and unparalleled service.

Q: What are the biggest similarities and differences between living in Shanghai and in France?

A: Shanghai is filled with energy, constantly changing, adapting and looking forward. France, on the other hand, while always a great nation, needs to find a new breath. France is blessed. I miss the picturesque countryside, our history and world-class cultural events like exhibitions and concerts. Also the wide variety of foods that France offers, such as dairy, meat products and wines. While these are now found more easily in Shanghai, they still remain rather limited.

Q: What is a typical French party at home?

A: Dinner parties that start with a long aperitif drinks, finger food and lively conversation while waiting for everyone to arrive. Dinner as such rarely starts before 9pm or even 10pm and almost always features first, main, cheese, dessert, coffee and liquor courses. A party carries on well into the night.

Q: Do you cook at home?

A: Paradoxically, my favorite food eaten at home is usually uncooked, such as slices of Farine’s artisan bread, imported cheeses and cold cuts, and a bottle of red wine.

Juliette van Gaver, in Shanghai for 9 years, from Paris

Juliette van Gaver, 44, hails from Paris. She has created Poetik Bazar, which is an artistic photo project about Shanghai. She composes collages of images on aluminum or canvas boards, portraying typical Shanghai themes.

Q: What is “French lifestyle?”

A: It is the art of enjoying and sharing everyday little pleasures of life. Eating is one of the most popular aspects of the French lifestyle. Every meal is an event!

Q: What is authentic French food and wine from your home city?

A: In France, each region has its culinary specialty. Brittany has its pancakes with cider; Bordeaux, its cannelé cakes and famous red wine; Provence, its bouillabaisse and renowned rosés. In Paris, where I come from, we can find all of these specialties, but it is also the place to go for the world’s best pastry. Prestigious pâtissiers offer a wide range of delightful French desserts that are a feast for the eyes.

Q: Do you live what you consider to be a “French lifestyle” in Shanghai?

A: I live in the old French concession area, where so many small groceries, butcheries, cafes and bakeries have opened in recent years! As in France, I can buy a great variety of traditional French breads, pastries, cheeses, charcuteries, wines and flowers in only a 10-minute walk from my home. Also, there is nothing more French than taking time out of your day to sit with an espresso or a glass of wine on the terrace of a charming café. Shanghai offers so much.

Q: Where can the most authentic French food be found in Shanghai?

A: Le Bordelais on Jiashan Road is one of my favorite French restaurants. It has an amazing selection of Bordeaux wines and some delicious traditional dishes. It is cozy and relaxing. The Sunday brunch there is a must. Other places to recommend are Farine, the famous bakery shop on Wukang Road, and restaurants like Franck, Villa le Bec and Le Saleya. They all share the same French bistro atmosphere. La Creperie and La Cabane are also very popular for their unique culinary specialties.

The Angelina tea room is an institution in Paris. Here in Shanghai, the Angelina Restaurant Tearoom and Boutique offers guests an elegant afternoon tea. I also like the Madeleine Pastry shop that just opened on Gaojing Road in Qingpu.

Q: Where do you usually go for nightlife?

A: I love Kartel. It is the perfect place to meet friends on the roof terrace to enjoy French charcuterie and cheeses together with a glass of rosé or red wine.

Q: What’s a typical French party at home?

A: Good friends, a nice table setting with candles and flowers, and a warm atmosphere.

Appetizers with a good wine
or champagne, followed by a four-course dinner of authentic French cuisine and wine.

Q: What are the biggest similarities and differences between living in Shanghai and in France?

A: A love for sharing and enjoying meals is very similar to both cultures.

But Shanghai is much more international and open-minded to new cultures than France.

Q: Do you usually cook at home? What’s your favorite recipe?

A: Yes, of course I cook at home! My specialty is the famous dessert tarte tatin, an upside-down apple tart in which the fruit is caramelized in butter and sugar before the tart is topped with puff pastry and baked.

Jean-Baptiste Le Blan in Shanghai for 4 years, from Brittany

Jean-Baptiste Le Blan, 35, who lives in Shanghai with his family, heads the marketing department for an international hospitality company. His two children are fluent in Chinese and now

Enjoy tofu more than camembert, he said.

Q: What is “French lifestyle”?

A: It’s all about pleasure and joie de vivre in culture, food, wine and moments with friends.

Q: What is authentic French food and wine from your home city?

A: My family lives in Tregon, a small seaside village in Brittany. The food there is some of the best seafood you could find in France ­— oysters, lobsters, sea bass, abalone and crabs. It is also the best place for crepes accompanied by local apple cider.

Q: Where is the most authentic French food in town?

A: If I had to name only one place, it would be the recently opened Villa le Bec on Xinhua Road. Great atmosphere and amazing food. But the best food is at home, using recipes from our grandmothers.

Q: Do you live what you consider to be a “French lifestyle’’ in Shanghai?

A: Living on Wukang Road in the heart of the former French concession is like living in a typical village in the south of France, especially in summer when the plane trees are in full leaf and crickets are chirping.

Riding through my neighborhood on my bicycle or scooter on Saturday mornings when I shop for the lunch food and stopping at a café along the way is exactly the way we would live in France.

Q: Where do you usually go for nightlife?

A: After a good French dinner at Le Bec or at home with friends, it’s time to enjoy the Shanghai night life and forget about Frenchness. This city has one of the best night scenes in the world.

Q: What’s are biggest similarities and differences between living in Shanghai and in France?

A: The great thing about living in Shanghai is that there are fewer French. I am being serious.

Q: What’s a typical French party at home?

A: Opening a recipe book from our grandmothers and starting from there. Of course, a couple of good bottles of red wine is a must.

Florence Paget in Shanghai for 11 years, from Normandy

Florence Paget, 47, organizes events for luxury brands such as Chanel, Lanvin and Van Cleef & Arpels. She is the founder and managing partner of Twist of Parti PRIS, a boutique event agency specializing in high-end events for the Chinese market. She lives in Shanghai with her husband and two children.

Q: What is “French lifestyle?”

A: Sauntering, sitting on a terrace with friends.

Q: What is authentic French food and wine from your home city?

A: I am from Normandy, so my favorite is cream and mushroom escalope. Wine? No doubt it would be from Burgundy!

Q: Do you live in what you would consider a “French lifestyle” in Shanghai?

A: Yes, in the former French concession. The architecture, plane trees, terraces and small boutiques are a dream.

Q: Where can one find the most authentic French meals?

A: No doubt about it. Go to Bistro de l’Ouest on Hunan Road. It has a small menu but authentic French food, with the best roast potatoes and the best green salad in town!

I like also the decor and music of Petit Franck on Wukang Road and the bakery Farine on the same street.

Q: Where do you usually go for nightlife?

A: Le Baron, a French concept from Paris created by French artist Andre Saraiva.

Q: What are the biggest similarities and differences between living in Shanghai and in France?

A: Similarities are the plane trees in the former French concession and all the bistro terraces. And the difference is how easy it is to meet people here in Shanghai.

Q: What’s a typical French party at home?

A: Barbecue with friends.