After spending some time in Hong Kong, Steven and Michell Marolho moved to Shanghai over four years ago just before their eldest daughter was born. Now living in the former French Concession, they have two beautiful daughters, Zara (4) and Jade (3). This down-to-earth Australian-Mexican family tells Urban Family a bit of their favorite things about the city…
Our favorite…
Restaurants
Unfortunately one of our favorites – Paulaner on Dongping Lu – has just closed.* Otherwise, we also go to Alla Torre in Grand Gateway, a great pizza place that we take the girls and they love to run around the outdoor play area. We try to go to a mix of different places but it’s all about finding ones that are kid-friendly. Ginger by the Park is also really good with its outdoor terrace.
Date-night spots
We try to stay very local when we are on our own, but when we want to spoil ourselves we go to the Bund. On the second floor of Bund 5 is Atto Primo – it is really good and different than the other popular restaurants in the area. If we want to have a dance then we to The Apartment because it’s just down the road from us and we can have a bit of fun.
Summer activities
We are members of Ambassy Club so we spend a lot time taking kids to the pool there. Our general rule is if the weather is good then we try to do as much outdoor stuff as possible since we both enjoy outdoor activities. We also go to Red Town and the girls really like to play around the grass field with all the sculptures.
Play centers
We take the girls to Happy World. It has a bunch of different kids’ indoor gyms. The play area at Grand Gateway is also a favorite of the girls. But, they are still too young for things like the trampoline.
Place to travel outside China
We go home to Mexico and Australia all the time. We really love Cancun and traveling to America. We haven’t done too much travel around Asia yet and that’s our next big thing because the girls are getting older so we can start to branch out. We always tend to stay very safe with places we know when they were younger.
Aspect about China when you first arrived
Four or five years ago China was booming while the rest of the world [was experiencing a slowdown in the economy], so we were really impressed with how fast everything moved here. The energy here is also very different to that of Europe and the Americas. Everything is so stimulating, especially when you first arrive.
Tip for newcomers
People are your best source of information and just consulting everyone you meet is the best tip. Expats tend to congregate in small areas and people are generally very helpful because everyone has been through the integration process. I would ask specific questions and you’ll find the right solutions.
*The Paulaner Xintiandi and Binjiang Da Dao locations are still open.
