Threesday: Healthy eating for the sick souls in Shanghai

In our ongoing Threesday feature, Shanghaiist takes the time to count out three of well... whatever catches their fancy that week. This week: Places to get that warm bowl of healthy something now that flu season is upon us.

Blame it on the cold weather snap, but Shanghaiist has been sick as a dog. When we’re hacking up a lung, we crave clean, msg and oil-free food…no easy task in Shanghai. Our three favorite restaurants for nurturing, chicken soup-like food are Anna Maya in the French Concession, Qimin Organic Hot Pot in the Jing’An area, and Mekong River in Xujiahui.

1) Anna Maya
A charming vegan, macrobiotic Japanese restaurant/café that okay, has no chicken soup, but does make the city’s heartiest miso. Anna Maya has yummy Japanese staples like rice balls/gen mai and curry with brown rice as well as typical western vegetarian fare including veggie or tofu burgers. The desserts are a bit hit or miss - we avoid the tofu lemon cheesecake, but can’t get enough of the decadent Irish crème chocolate pie. Anna Maya is also a great place to just kick-back with a glass of fresh juice or herbal tea and escape the bustle of the city. Meals around 60RMB, delivery available to limited areas.
3 Taojiang Lu, near Hengshan Lu, 桃江路3号，, 近东平路, 6433 4602

2) Qimin Organic Hot Pot
The recently renovated organic restaurant looks similar to its previous incarnation and thankfully contains exactly the same fantastic food. Each person is given an individual half-pot of bubbling soup base (organic chicken soup available) and a heaping helping of vegetables and meat. Lunch is the best time to visit as they have business sets for 68-88 RMB. However, Qimin’s dinner sets for around 150RMB include more food and a shot of their grape vinegar slushy (don’t knock it until you try it). For hairy crab season, they have a special soup base that includes 3 or 4 of Shanghai’s hairiest for 480RMB for two people.
407 Shaanxi Bei Lu, near Beijing Xi Lu, 陕西北路407号 近北京西路, 6258-8777

3) Mekong River
Shanghaiist hates eating in malls. However, we do make one exception for Mekong River’s sweet and sour seafood soup. The rich broth, sweet shrimp and clams, and sour vegetables make this pure comfort food for sickies. If you ask nicely, they’ll even throw in some tasty noodles direct from Vietnam. The soup, in combination with the best salmon spring rolls in the city (we aren’t sure what marinade they use, but it’s soooo right), makes us return to the hell known as the 'Xujiahui Triangle'. Affordable prices around 30-50RMB also make it easy on the wallet.
5/F Metro City, 1111 Zhaojiabang Lu,
 near Caoxi Bei Lu, 肇家浜路1111号徐家汇美罗城5楼
近漕溪北路, 6426-8256

Stay well this winter and let us know what your favorite healthy eateries are in our fair city.

Photo of Anna Maya.