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Soulful concept takes Shake to heavenly heights
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AFTER opening the successful jazz lounge Heyday at the crossroads of Xingguo and Tai’an roads, creators Brian McKay and Sally Dai have expanded upon their fine-dining-plus-live-music formula with a new genre: soul.
“The concept of Shake really originated from a feeling that we needed a place that focused on soul music in Shanghai. Soul is joyful, infectious music that moves your body, and I just wanted to have a place where one could experience this genre at a very high level of quality,” he said, who referenced the style and sensibilities of mid-1960s America as an inspiration for the new venue.
While Heyday was meant to be a place where one could sit back with friends and enjoy a relaxing drink and show, one of Shake’s main draws is its dance floor.
McKay worked with Kokaistudios partner Andrea Destefanis to lead the design effort. “We wanted to create a 1960s style Manhattan supper club vibe, where you would feel like you had just walked into a scene out of ‘Mad Man,’ and I think Andrea and his team nailed it. Personally, I really feel like I’m stepping back in time when I walk in the door,” he said.
The marble bar is a centerpiece of the space, and serves as a place where guests can mingle while still having great views of the stage. A flowing gold ribbon starting from behind the stage and going out to the bar is a cool flourish that will remind fans of Heyday’s interior without seeming derivative.
But there’s more to Shake than a winning concept and design: The dining experience was one of the best I’ve had lately. Head chef Danyi Gao had one of the hottest private dining businesses in the city and McKay was thrilled for the chance to work together.
The Chinese chef has created a fusion menu inspired by her travels and upbringing. Though most of the dishes are made with simple ingredients, the final results are more than the sum of their parts. The dishes are designed to be shared.
I started with the Fusion Beef Carpaccio with Thai lime fish sauce. This interesting take on the traditional carpaccio concept delivers a refreshing Thai touch to the extremely tender beef slices.
The Honey Cheese Tofu with baguette (60 yuan/US$9) was equally amazing. The mildly salty cheese with its buttery texture spread on the warm toast squares was absolutely delicious.
The star of the hot dishes was the Philippines Home style Crispy Pork Feet Confit (138 yuan). I was thrilled to see my favorite Filipino dish here at Shake and again the chef demonstrated her skills.
The cocktails were developed by Colin Tait, who most recently led the bar at Vesper Bangkok, which was named the 17th Best Bar in Asia and the Best Bar in Thailand by Asia Top 50.
The cocktails were created around Shake’s 1960s-New-York-and-soul-music theme, so they bear names like The Godfather of Soul, Son of a Preacher Man, and the Apollo. I picked Apollo and Rehab to accompany my dishes and both were as good as I expected.
Shake has also lined up the top soul singers in the city and live performances run from Thursday to Saturday.
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