Jean Georges, Shanghai

It's unlike me to eat global rather than local in fascinating cities such as Shanghai, but it is much talked about and it would be interesting to see what's on offer. Jean Georges is in No. 3 The Bund, which is a building devoted to stylish eating and drinking. The Jean Georges restaurant itself is stylish alright - dark marble set against translucent gold ceilings and sand blasted light fittings. The service was competent without being too fussy. The food - inventive without being "fusion" - the Watermelon Gazpacho was a very nice palate cleanser if you have space for three savoury course. The wine list was a standard fare - good selection but not too adventurous (my fellow dinner objected to his lame Ice Wine.)

What was enjoyable? The view of Pudong was great. The cooking was strong and not adulterated by any Chinese influence (let's hope it will last).
What was not enjoyable? Main course fork was smaller than the main course knife. No plate for petits fours. Smoking.

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Dialogues des Carmélites at the Royal Opera

Michael Levine's set design for Dialogues des Carmélites was minimalist. Actually, was there any set design? I suppose the director Robert Carsen was clever at introducing formation of human figures in many different ways to suggest the context of the opera. It kind of worked. Blanche, sung by Sally Matthews, was pretty good. Though I did find the whole work quite tedious - I think the intimate nature of the dialogues needed a small and intimate performing space i.e. not the Royal Opera House. The ending was worth waiting for. Dramatic. Poignant.

Xuan Spa, Park Hyatt Saigon

After a long day on my feet travelling from frantic Bangkok to Saigon, I very much looked forward to a relaxing massage before going to bed. The Xuan Spa was a very pleasant surprise. The staff was very friendly and the atmosphere of the spa was tranquil - a world away from the screaming mopeds on the streets outside. The therapy room was big, with an en suite shower and lovely foot bath. The massage was good - classical Swedish - and at a leisurely pace. Subsequently I had a very good night's sleep.

Strauss Four Last Songs and Sibelius 5 - Singapore Symphony

The evening concert started with the overture of Lohengrin. Jukka-Pekka Saraste took a poised temple and the strings of Singapore Symphony rose to the ocassion to provide that mythical sound. This probbaly was intedned to set the mood for the Four Last Songs - I guessed. Evelina Dobračeva was the star soprano. Frühling got off to a sure, if a little safe start. The best was probably Beim Schlafengehen, sung with great stillness. September and Im Abendrot felt unblanaced - Dobračeva's subtle words were somehow lost among the swell of orchestral sound. This was followed by Morgen - probbaly the best song of the evening, perhaps the very light orchestration helped. Jukka-Pekka Saraste and SSO were on surer footing with Sibelius 5. The first movement was brisk with lightness and details. The second and last movements felt cohesive, leading to the well known tune in the finale. If only there were more people in the concert hall to enjoy the music.

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