In my eyes
Indisposed
In disguise
As no one knows
Hides the face
Lies the snake
The sun
In my disgrace
Boiling heat
Summer stench
'neath the black
The sky looks dead
Call my name
Through the cream
And I'll hear you
Scream again

Black hole sun
Won't you come
And wash away the rain
Black hole sun
Won't you come
Won't you come

It's not a good time to be looking for a breakfast and an eclipse in Shanghai. You waited this long and didn't book anything? What were you thinking? All those fabulous, fabulous brunches are booked up.

You can always console yourself with the weather forecast, I guess. Weather Underground, BBC, Weather Forecast, MSN, and The Weather Channel all seem to be saying the same thing: rain.

There's a very few options. More on those in a second. First, a quick run-down, so you don't waste your time calling everyone with a terrace and a toaster, like I just did.

M on the Bund: FULLY BOOKED.
Kathleen's 5: FULLY BOOKED.
VUE Restaurant at Hyatt on the Bund: FULLY BOOKED.
Fat Olive: FULLY BOOKED.
JW Marriott: FULLY BOOKED.
New Heights: CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC; PRIVATE PARTY.
Bar Rouge: CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC; PRIVATE PARTY.

What's left (as of Monday afternoon):

BED, the reclining lounge on the fringe of People's Square, still has some tables/beds available on their terrace. Forty-eight rmb per person for breakfast-lite. Call 6359 5367 for reservations.

The Factory is doing a 108rmb breakfast plate that includes two Bloody Mary's, protective glasses for the first 50 people -- so, latecomer, bring your own -- and a choice of sitting up on their third floor balcony for the morning, or snagging a seat downstairs, where it's air-conditioned and trucking up to the balcony for the special six minutes. Seats are limited on this one, but there's still a few left. Call 6563 3393 to reserve.

Mesa & Manifesto have a few inside tables left for their 198rmb breakfast buffet, but everything on the terrace is gone. Booking guarantees you a space on the terrace to watch the world end. Call 6289 9108 to make one.

Le Royal Meridien's terrace is filling up real quick-like for their 250rmb plus 15% service jam. Breakfast foods of the apocalypse on that one, plus two glasses of the Champagne. When I called this afternoon, they had sixty bookings already and applied quite the high-pressure sales/booking tactics. I'm guessing it's genuine and seats are getting scarce. In case of rain, the whole shebang moves indoors to Michael Wendling's lovely French restaurant, Allure. Call 3319 9999 ext 7008 to book.

The Pearl Tower is a confused mess. Their revolving restaurant really fluffed it on this one; it'll be closed. Otherwise, it's business as usual at The Pearl. BYO breakfast.

Sky Lounge at the Grand Hyatt, on the 87th floor of the Jin Mao, will be laying out a breakfast spread for 198rmb plus 15%, from 7.30-11am. There are still tables available, but all they'll do if you call is guarantee a table, but which table is a matter of first-come, first-served on Wednesday morning. An important and tragic note: Upon calling, the concierge dejectedly informed me that, "you know, there's another taller building now between us and the sun, so you'll probably just be able to see the sky get dark, but not the eclipse." That's a hard truth, Grand Hyatt, and it's noble of you to be so honest about it. Call 5047 1234 ext 8778 to reserve.

That "taller building" is, of course, the Shanghai World Financial Center, and there's a couple of ways to see the eclipse from it. The 87th floor of the Park Hyatt -- The Dining Room, where breakfast is usually served -- will be closed to the public for a private function, but the hotel will open the 91st floor restaurant -- the multi-station showpiece -- for breakfast instead. That'll set you back 300rmb plus 15% service and all the window-side tables have been taken already, but regular tables remain. Of course, when it comes time, you'll be allowed to smoosh your face up to the sunward facing glass to burn the event into your retinas forever. Five-star all the way. Call 3855 1428 for that.

Otherwise, the SWFC observatory will be open. The 94th floor will be closed to the public -- private function strikes again -- but the 97th and 100th floors are open to all. Ticket prices between 8am-10am are 150rmb, include a pair of viewing glasses, and there's no reservation system. The SWFC people aren't sure what to expect in the way of crowds, but considering the 97th and 100th floors hold less than 500 people between the two of them -- not counting the small area that's been reserved for a tour group -- they suggest showing up around 7 or 7.30am to make sure of a spot. If demand is high, they're going to restrict entry, and the worst way to experience the eclipse is probably being stuck in line, clutching a 150rmb ticket.

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