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If you love pizza, pasta, risotto and the rest, then no doubt you've come across some shocking examples of pseudo-Italian cuisine in Shanghai. However, the experience of one Shanghaiist reader at Babela's Kitchen, the newest establishment in the Food Park on the corner of Beijing Lu and Jiangning Lu, was truly scary.
"I found a shard of glass as big as my little finger in my risotto, after I'd already put it in my mouth. As it was my last bite, I could have potentially eaten more pieces. I informed the staff, who only seemed slightly concerned, so I refused to pay, and returned to the office to ponder my possibly imminent demise. The staff also had the nerve to charge my friend 5 RMB after I left for a drink I'd had."
Fortunately the reader, who wishes to remain anonymous, has not yet shown any symptoms of massive internal hemorrhaging (though apparently it can take two weeks for glass to work its magic from within the human body).
Perhaps the Munchesque figure clutching at its lips in agony in the store's logo should have been a clue as to what to expect if you dine there. In any event, Shanghaiist politely suggests that anyone else wishing to keep their internal organs intact STAYS THE HELL AWAY FROM BAOELA'S KITCHEN.
In non-fatal fast-food news, one place that Shanghaiist does happily recommend is Hello Pizza, though our world was rocked when we heard they'd raised the price of their legendary 10 RMB pepperoni pizza to 25 RMB. That a pizza with meat was priced lower than one with just cheese always made us a little suspicious, though our inherent cheapness always won out in the end. Fortunately, the abomination of cuisine that is their fruit pizza is now also 25 RMB rather than 10 RMB, so even in the lean week before pay day we won't be tempted by such a wrongness.
Babela's Kitchen
1060-1068 Beijing Xilu 2F B-1-2 (by Jiangning Lu)
北京西路1060-1068号食博汇2楼B-1-2(近江宁路)
Hello Pizza
205 Nan Jing Xi Rd. (南京西路205号)
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Some of the lines outside of Babela and Saizeriya's locations are out the door and around the corner. It's pretty ridiculous.
Yeah, there's a Babelas on Sichuan North Road and it's always lined up, too. But, having lived in Hongkou, there aren't many other Western wannabies in the area, so out of desperation, I went there a few times.
That's a thing of the past as 1. I now live in Xuhui, and 2. I value my life.
Their salad's suck. Bad dressing and limp lettuce. Pizza is pretty fantastic, although I believe they've raised their prices. Pasta is nothing special.
Never tried their glass shards before.
Don't think you get off so easy, Feds. There's one on TianYaoQiao Road, just south of Xujiahui.
Cheap italian food (frequently) run by japanese chains are apparently like sugar to ants here. Saleya is another one. Don't eat there. Don't get curious, just because there's almost always a line.
Don't do it for your own self-respect.
There is only one risotto in town, at Ginger. The rest better forget.
Shanghai Risotto MUST go to Jade 36's pumpkin and goat cheese masterpiece. Ginger and Azul have honorable mentions.
I always love to read (supposedly un-biased) 'news articles' that bash one establishment for something and follow it up with a blatant commercial endorsement of a competitor. It really strengthens the validity of the original complaint.
If the concern here is the possibility of ingesting a 'non-food' item in a dish you didn't prepare/inspect yourself wouldn't the logical solution be to never eat out? Or seriously inspect each meal you order before eating it? (could anybody actually eat a piece of glass larger than your pinky finger without noticing?)
If the remedy, as the article suggests, is to simply go to a competitor wouldn't it make sense to show that the endorsed competitor has practices in place to ensure this sort of thing doesn't happen? Simply eating elsewhere doesn't ensure this not happening for we have all heard stories just like this in the past.
Its also nice when an individual author (blindly) represents an entire organization. In this case when the author states that 'the shanghaiist recommends...'
I may be wrong, it just seems unlikely that the author surveyed each employee of the shanghaiist about that statement and everybody agreed.
The main objective in this article seems to be bashing one establishment while endorsing another. Sadly when driving the point home in bold print the author even misspells the name of the establishment he is bashing.
After reading this article the reader is no better off or further educated in anyway other than knowing where an isolated incident occurred and the location and prices of a competitor, where this incident may or may not occur.
Too bad independent thought is a dying practice as people believe everything they read. If it wasn't, articles like this would never make it past the editor.
As for why I am writing this... I suppose in hopes to revive independent thought or my hope that somewhere in the world there are still people that think and can relate to my frustration.