Lofty Ambitions

Bonito and Naam Thai - two great dining options in The Loft - By Michael O., Mar 13, 08

We're seeing several of these new post-Xintiandi creative/commercial zones opening around Shanghai. Last year, the New Factories opened north-east of JingAn, then Novel Plaza in Xujiahui. A few others as well are now open and the latest is The Highstreet Loft, on Jianguo near Xiangyang Nan Lu.

After a soft-opening outdoor creative bazaar a few months ago, the spaces in The Loft are starting to fill up.
The core building interior is a four-story shopping mall, with a mix of mid-to-upscale fashion boutiques, art, and furniture shops--all with glass walls that are open and airy, fully revealing what's inside rather than trying to trick the window shopper. We like it. There's a lot of playfulness and variety, and the whole space feels inviting.

There's also a row of cafes with outdoor seating (although toxic smells from the unfinished construction still hang in the air), including yet another Wagas, a Chinese dessert caf

MidnightBlueBoy

Mar 26, 08

If you papaya salad you had at Naam "was as good as the one...had in Bangkok", you must have gone to a really bad place in Bangkok. I tried Naam (and the papaya salad) last week: i thought it was just as mediocre as all the other Thai food i've had in Shanghai. And, i thought it was bizarrely overpriced: 60 RMB for some somdam with sticky rice? No thanks.

urgent

May 12, 08

I've returned to Naam a few times since writing the review, and unfortunately have found it to be quickly deteriorating in quality. The last visit, we asked for the food to be extra spicy, and the waitress said something dumb like "oh all Thai food is spicy" and our orders came out bland. Obtaining condiments to spice it up was unnecessarily difficult, taking several trips to get up and go the counter -- and we were the only customers!

It's too bad because our first couple visits were really impressive.
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