Christmas in Hyatt

Review
Veranda

Veranda With a visit to the Dragon Hotel's impressive buffet already under our collective belts, we were excited to see what their Italian restaurant had to offer. You'll find the word VERANDA solemnly positioned next to a large, glass door in big, bold letters, and walking through the entrance revealed the same airy, open, well-lit atmosphere as found in their buffet. Italian food is one of our greatest weaknesses, and the author of this review was classically trained in the cuisine himself, and he’s loved it ever since he first discovered the joys of basic à la minute pasta dishes. He knows a thing or two about a thing or two on the subject, so let’s continue to listen to what that person has to say in the ambiguous 1st person plural. In short, the meal we had at VERANDA was an experience worth repeating many times over, and has given us hope that we will see some changes in the local food scene that Hangzhou is in dire need of. We’re going to posit that the dining public will benefit greatly from the elevated level of food education that isVeranda available to anyone who wants to make the rather modest investment of plunking down a few hundred RMB for a meal that will set a solid culinary benchmark in return. Road-weary gourmands will be thrilled to see that there is indeed...

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Review
Dragonfly, Nanshan Branch

Dragonfly It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the majority of the MORE staff does not concern themselves with luxuriance. From the faux Chuck Taylor’s to the seemingly endless supply of tight fitting, yet equally unflattering T-shirts, it looks like most of us bought our clothes from the same Seattle thrift shop circa 1993, so it's easy to assume that we would know nothing about massage therapy, aroma therapy, or anything that requires one to put cucumber slices on their eyes and say, “I deserve this.” But you’d be wrong, because a long time ago, in lands far away, we hooked up with people way above our station, like the author of this piece who dated a girl who graduated from the Boulder College of Massage Therapy, and his caveman-like sensibilities were literally kneaded into a rather civilized appreciation for aesthetics. Dragonfly Therapeutic Retreat brings professionalism forth in an industry that is swimming in innuendo, as well as delivering a true escape for those who are in need of Dragonflysome world-class relief from the hustle and grind of daily life. The day we walked into their location on Nanshan Road, our olfactory senses were delighted to detect gentle hints of lavender, wood, and spices. We were led into the back room to have a look at the facilities, and were soon...

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Hot Spot
nake Retreats
For the past ten months, my downstairs neighbors have had workers remodeling their place, and for the past ten months those workers have been drilling through the concrete that separates our respective abodes, as though they were contracted by Halliburton and that apartment was an Arctic Wildlife Refuge. Every day, seven days a week, like clockwork, my tentative slumber is broken at 8:00am by what sounds like the repeated grinding of Fran Drescher’s face into my ceiling, over and over again, with no reprieve in sight. Had I known, when I’d signed the lease, this place actually was purgatory, I probably would have kept house hunting, but hindsight is what it is. So when my boss called to tell me we were headed up to Naked Retreats to spend a quiet evening on Moganshan, I took the news as though I’d just received a temporary pardon from God. Hyperbole, you accuse? Read on.

After a pleasant drive out of honk-happy Hangzhou, we soon found ourselves wistfully awash in the fresh air and lush greens of Mount Mogan. As we navigated the sycamore-lined switchbacks in our ascent to Naked Retreats we could feel the built-up stress waft off our backs like fog off a mid-morning lake. We were greeted by Doug, the onsite manager, who, despite his allegiance to the Boston Bruins, proved to be both amiable and articulate. (Our apologies, he’s fantastic, but it is hockey season.)...

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