Atop the the Sofitel Silom, on the 38th floor, diners at Shanghai 38 view Bangkok through ceiling-high windows. A Chinese singer accompanied by a pianist sings favorites while patrons sit at burgundy and white cloth-topped tables.

The menu features about 150 entrees giving guests an unlimited selection of Cantonese cuisine’s traditional possibilities with a limited number of contemporary additions. The Shanghai combination is a platter featuring boiled chicken in Chinese wine, red pork, steamed pork slices, duck, squid and fettuccine-like jellyfish. There is also deep-fried bean curd with five-spice salt, and soft-shell crab with garlic and lily buds with XO sauce. Roasted suckling pig Hong-Kong style is delicious, as is the barbequed peking duck, each being worth the visit. Braised abalone in oyster sauce is pricey but highly recommended. The pan-fried cod fish with XO sauce is tender, very sweet and delicious at the taste. To finish our meal, we enjoyed the fried Chinese pancakes.

The wine selection offers a good range of moderately priced, 1,200 - 2,500 baht, wines from around the world. The staff is friendly and polite.