“Letters from the Bund"

A Journey with Park Chinois Doha

After months of creative immersion, our latest project has finally come to life — a story written in flavour, scent, and design.

This collaboration with the iconic Park Chinois, now opening in Doha, invited us to step into a world where elegance meets imagination — where every detail whispers of another era.

We delved deep into the brand’s soul to uncover its essence and unspoken stories — and what better canvas than the cocktail bar to bring them to life?

Born in London’s Mayfair in 2015, Park Chinois pays homage to the glamour of 1930s Shanghai — a city where East met West, and artistry thrived under the shimmer of lantern light.

Its spirit recalls the defiance of Billie Holiday’s “Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do” — bold, unapologetic, and timeless. Much like her voice, Park Chinois stands as a celebration of individuality and enduring style.

And now, as it opens its doors in Doha, we invite you to rediscover that world of decadence and allure — one taste, one story, one letter at a time.

https://www.instagram.com/parkchinoisdoha/

LETTERS FROM THE BUND
The Narrative

From a quiet apartment above the Huangpu, the city unfolds, lantern light dancing on the river, the murmur of music from the salons, the faint perfume of osmanthus in the air.

In the glittering decades of old Shanghai, these private rooms along the Bund become legendary intimate gatherings where celebrated actors, musicians, writers, and artists from across the globe mingled with locals luminaries. The air was alive with jazz and poetry, whispered confidences and bold ideas, as the city's most fascinating souls met beneath the soft glow of paper lanterns.

Here, the night's impressions are captured in ink, each drop carrying the scent, the taste, the colour of an evening among friends, artists and dreamers. These letter, sealed in the hush of the small hours, find their way across oceans and continents, carried on the wind or by the slow grace of steamship.

Tonight, these envelopes are open to you.

Each one holds not just a drink, a moment, a voice, a heartbeat from the Bound.

From a quite Bund apartment, above the shimmer of the Huangpu,
I write these letter as nights unfold in scent, taste, and conversation.
Each one is written in an ink distilled from the evening's mood, then entrusted to ship or wind,
so that it may carry whispers of Shanghai into the wider world.
May you, dear friend, feel a trace of my presence in every word, until distance yields once more to reunion.
Ever Yours, The Host

INK OF FLOWERS

Delicate, romantic, and perfumed — the ink carries the scent of petals
drifting down the boulevard.

🌺

Celestial Bloom

To Miss Anna May Wong, Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles

Your name was spoken tonight as the oolong curled its perfume into the air.

Pineapple and elderflower danced like fireworks in crystal — the kind only Shanghai can light.

I thought of you, shimmering on silver screens far from home.

Tanqueray Gin, Benedictine, Caramelised Pineapple, Oolong Tea,

Fruit Loops' Milk, Citrus, Clarified.

Red Lantern Affair

To Madame Coco Chanel, Rue Cambon, Paris

The glow tonight was as soft as silk on the skin.

Osmanthus and jasmine clung to the air as if they too wished to be stitched into something eternal

— much like your little black dress.

Tanqueray Gin, Osmanthus & Elderflower,

Jasmine White Vermouth, Prosecco, Soda.

INK OF CITRUS & SPICE

Bright and daring, the ink dances like jazz in a crowded room,

its tang softened by warm spice.

🍋🫚

Gold Dragon Sour

To Mr. Fred Astaire, Central Park West, New York

The band played a quick-step and the yuzu kept pace.

Ginger flickered through the room like a golden dragon weaving between tables.

I imagined your polished shoes tapping in perfect time.

Bourbon, Yuzu & Lime, Ginger & Vanilla Maple,

Touch of Soy, Allspice's Syrah Float.

Jade Rickshaw

To Mr. Noël Coward, The Strand, London

Tonight the streets were slick with rain and lemongrass.

Sichuan pepper teased the tongue like a clever remark.

I thought of the way your plays leave an audience smiling at the sharpness.

Ketel One Vodka, Green Tea, Lime, Lemongrass & Ginger,
Sichuan Pepper Tincture, Ginger Beer.

INK OF EXOTIC FRUITS

Vivid and lively - each drop bursting with faraway suns

and midnight gardens.

🥭🍉

Lotus Bloom Martini

To Miss Marlene Dietrich, Avenue Montaigne, Paris

Lychee sweetness whispered at the rim, cucumber and watermelon kept their secrets until the second sip.

I pictured your eyes catching the light as you sang in that low, velvet tone.

Casa Lotos Sotol, Litchi, 
Watermelon & Cucumber Cordial, Lemon

Shanghai Paloma

To Señor Diego Rivera, Coyoacán, Mexico City

The colour was magenta as the last minutes of sunset.

Guava and grapefruit sang together while mezcal left a trail of smoke in their wake.

It belongs on one of your grand walls.

Casa Lotos Sotol, Mezcal, Guava & Beetroot Cordial,
Lime, Grapefruit, Soda Water.

INK OF INDULGENCE

Rich, velvety, and unhurried — the ink writes in slow strokes

under the glow of a single lamp.

☕️🌰

Silk Noire

To Mr. Cole Porter, Waldorf Astoria, New York

Coffee and caramel hummed together like a late-night piano.

Five spice curled through the air — not sharp, but warm, like the last line of one of your songs that lingers long after midnight.

Ketel One Vodka, Five-Spice Coffee,
Toasted Sesame, Salted Caramel.

Mahjong Midnight

To Mr. Pablo Picasso, Rue des Grands-Augustins, Paris

Three rums conspired in the glass while black sesame kept its counsel.

A chocolate tile rested on the rim — I did not play it, but I imagined your brush painting it into something entirely new.

Rum Grog, Black Sesame, Orgeat,
Orange Liqueur, Lime. Blue Curaçao.

INK OF SAVOURY WHIMSY

Playful yet refined — an ink that surprises with its wit,

leaving a taste that lingers.

🍿🥒

Savory Pearl

To Monsieur Jean Cocteau, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris

Caramelized Popcorn and Campari are strange bedfellows, yet tonight they shared a table.

A pearl glistened in the glass — much like the way your words sparkle on both page and stage.

Casa Lotos Sotol, Caramelized Pop-Corn, Tanqueray Gin,
Sweet Vermouth, Bitter Liqueur, Clarified Pickled French Cornichons Cordial.

INK OF FIRE & VELVET

Bold and seductive — each word penned with heat,

softened by the shimmer of celebration.

🍦🌶️

Velvet Ember

To Miss Josephine Baker, Rue du Chevalier-de-La-Barre, Paris

Passion fruit set the page ablaze, and chili sealed it with a kiss.

A flute of Prosecco waited by its side, like a lover who knows how to enter a room — much like your own dazzling stage entrances.

Ketel One Vodka, Chili & Vanilla,
Passionfruit, Lime, Bubbles

Dear Miss Hu Die,

Your performances spoke when words could not—

grace, emotion, power in silence.

It is in that spirit that I introduce tonight’s five

companions—cocktails without spirits, yet alive in character.

May their silent elegance find voice in your artistry,

as cinema without sound once did, and may they

honor your journey from the Bund to the great stages aof Europe.

Ever Yours,

The Host

Dragon Rouge Tonic

A ruby-tinted G&T, alive with spice and clarity.

Residing where fire meets calm.

Zero Gin, Dragon Fruit & Hibiscus Verjus Shrub,

Grapefruit, Tonic water

Litchi Blanche

White tea and lychee whispering—soft, martini-like.

Dwelling in Shanghai’s moonlit garden.

Zero Strawberry Gin, Rectified Litchi & White Tea Cordial,

Rose Petal.

Coco Impérial

Coconut grace, a regal echo of the Mai Tai.

Keeping court by the imperial shore.

Zero Amaretto, Toasted Sesame & Salted Caramel,

Coconut, Pineapple, Lime.

Piquant Spritz

A zesty dance of verjuice, ginger, lemongrass.

At home among citrus groves.

Verjus, Elderflower, Lemongrass & Ginger,
Sonic Fizz.

Kāfēi De Nuit

Espresso, maple, ginger in velvet dusk.

Residing in the chambers of midnight.

Zero Amaretto, Coconut & Pineapple,
Ginger & Vanilla Maple, Espresso

🐝🍃

May these letters of scent and flavour remain with you

beyond the glass.

The Host

Thank You

GALLERY