Kulou

Bar-cum-club aimed at the post-Yongkang Lu crowd

Great news for all you Yongkang Lu regulars that are too cheap to get a taxi and too drunk to stumble far when the shutters come down every evening. Located on Xiangyang Nan Lu, near Fuxing Zhong Lu, is a brand new bar-cum-club called Kulou. The name means 'skull' in Chinese, which no doubt immediately secures its hip-spot status among Shanghai's angsty teenagers.

Heading inside, you'll be struck by a heavy dose of déjà vu. Yes, it's yet another slate grey colour scheme, this time with added chicken wire. We were half-expecting Wesley Snipes in late '90s leather-fetish mode to be propping up the bar, but rumour has it he was dealing with a pest problem at the time. There is a centrally-located DJ booth which faces a good-sized dancefloor occupied by chairs and tables on quieter nights. The second floor provides a few more tables and a good view of the DJ and dancefloor for the flat-footed among us.

Drinks are cheap and functional. The beer selection is limited with prices around 40RMB for a bottle. On the second occasion we visited, a small selection of cocktails had been added at the excellent price of 50RMB. The look of bafflement on the bartender's face when we asked for an Old Fashioned was worth the price alone. Luckily his right-hand man knew what was up and proceeded to squirt spirits from recycled mustard bottles into a glass, resulting in a just-about-drinkable cocktail.

On each of our visits, hip hop was the music of choice and the crowd consisted of young, hip Chinese and what could be described as Yongkang Lu overspill. With cheap drinks, a nice interior and good location, Kulou has some of the elements in place to make it a destination spot, but they're going to have to get edgier with the music policy in order to achieve that.

The purple neon sign hanging on the wall behind the DJ hints at one of the venue's problems. Shining across the whole of Kulou, it reads, 'I might be an asshole but I'm not a f*cking asshole'. Scared to swear in your own bar? Guys, you're going to have to get ballsier than that.