Well name some casual one to go in this area :)

Not one with any specific purpose either, just somewhere where's good to go chill for a little while every now and then.

I'd prefer a morning style one with a coffee & snack myself to start my day :) Aegean or wicker basket good for me but like you say flexible to other opinions....

Lets see the general consensus :)

@Alien To me it just means the areas around Dianchi lu leading up to Dianchi lake.

Not quite the same area though, be a bit of a journey to somewhere like Salvador's just for a coffee & chat!

I live just near the new Ai qing hai mall myself and was thinking of starting or joining something similar to. Like you say @tigertiger, similar position, I also have a happy time with my Chinese wife but sometimes a bit of expat talk would go down well. Would be up for it anyway :) but just thought I'd add idea to this by saying we'll be opening a store in the Ai qing hai mall in about a month just for my wife's design and stuff but also thinking of leaving a little area of it for things like this, like you say coffee & doughnuts ;)