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April 29, 2008
Before you click play on this video, be warned: it is not for the squeamish or for animal lovers. A little while ago we headed out to He Lin, a Korean seafood restaurant on a street crammed full of other Korean and Japanese seafood restaurants, in Minhang district. We live beyond the ring road in the wilds of Putuo, but even we thought it was a bit of a trek to get there — and...
Continue Reading "Alive and Kicking: Baby octopus at He Lin seafood restaurant"
| April 28, 2008
Every once in a great great while, when the stars are aligned just right and the temperature is just so and the winds are blowing at just the right speed, Shanghaiist will leave the friendly confines of Puxi and venture out into the foreign and terrifying netherworld that is known as Pudong. We had heard that some of the more familiar names (Moon River, Malone's, Paul, Punjabi) in Puxi had migrated out to the Dong's...
Continue Reading "Greek Taverna on a Sunday afternoon"April 25, 2008
“You’d think Mister Tsuri would’ve tasted the food before he opened his stadium,” slurred a jovial member of our dinner party, as we spilled sake down our throats in a red-shag-carpeted cube. “There is no Mister Tsuri,” we explained. “It’s called Matsuri – it’s a restaurant name, not a person.” “Shut up and drink,” he shouted, toasting over a table littered with half-eaten dishes. That pretty much summed up our experience at Matsuri 123 Japanese...
Continue Reading "Your ticket to the Japanese food stadium! "
We've heard about this for a while, but never managed to head down so we weren't sure what to expect when we got to Kommune the other day. An OCN-style networking mingling over dinner? Thank god for the laidback Aussie nature, it's more of a cozy get-together among friends, i.e. booze and all-you-can-eat BBQ minus the pretense. So the price has now been upped to RMB 148 (from RMB 100) with two drinks thrown...
Continue Reading "Kommune: Great Ozzie Barbecue is back"April 24, 2008
Readers who have patronized the trio of establishments at Loft 98 (Cantine, Shoka, and Delish) in recent weeks may have noticed the weird, bird nest frame adorning the entrance of the Chinese restaurant a few meters away. Walk into that restaurant like we did last week and you'll find a simple, modern interior specializing in an old traditional favorite from southern China: congee. Aptly named So Congee (头牌粥品), its menu offers a choice of either...
Continue Reading "So Congee, so good"Advertisement: Shanghaiist Continues Below!
April 23, 2008
After figuring out where we like to eat we thought it would be fun to ask Shanghaiist contributors about their favourite places to drink. The discussion sparked arguments that are still echoing through the corridors of Shanghaiist HQ, but one thing is clear: we like dive bars and cocktails. Time Passage No 183, Lane 1038 Huashan Lu (nr Fuxing Xi Lu) 华山路 1038弄183号，近复兴西路 tel: 6240-2588 Cheap drinks, good food, and an incredible house cover band...
Continue Reading "Cocktails at Mokkos and Whiskeys at Cotton's: These are a few of our favourite Shanghai Bars"April 22, 2008
We're always on the look out for a cheap pint, because we're tight and like a drink purely as a service to you dear reader. Unfortunately, unless you like sharing your table with overly friendly bar staff and/or cockroaches, finding a decent beer that doesn't hurt your wallet can some times be a little tricky in this city. It'll come as no surprise for you to learn then that when it comes to buying a...
Continue Reading "The price of a pint in China"April 21, 2008
In our ongoing quest to keep you updated on the sugar free food and beverage options in Shanghai (and to keep with our tradition of posting stories that are "SOOOO interesting"), we thought we'd mention that locally branded Coca-Cola Zero — a sugar free carbonated beverage that "unlike the sugar-free Diet Coke, is formulated to taste like Coca-Cola," according to Wikipedia — started being available in Shanghai grocery stores and convenience stores sometime last week...
Continue Reading "Coca-Cola Zero makes Shanghai debut"April 20, 2008
Spanish sunshine: El Willy has gotten off to a hot start since opening in February, with the Spanish restaurant receiving positive reviews and good word of mouth. We had a decent first visit for dinner a few weeks back, but lately we have become quite enamored with their lunch menu. Our favorite is the juicy duck rice, a small tin of paella that is the perfect blend of the fatty bird and its grape and...
Continue Reading "El Willy exposed (and other food news)"April 17, 2008
April 15, 2008
Nestled in the corner of the Dragon Gate Mall behind the crowded bustle of Cheng Huang Miao and the Yu Garden is Donut Factory, which in its That's Shanghai advertisement that caught our eye last week, heralds itself as the bringer of true American donuts to Shanghai. Donut Factory makes an honorable attempt to elevate the social status of the donut in Shanghai. The glossy white tables, walls, and floors deflected all attention to the...
Continue Reading "Donut Factory doesn't fill Shanghai's big donut hole"
The Park Tavern (840 Hengshan Rd, near Tianping Rd) had its secretive soft opening almost 3 weeks ago. Opened by Gerard and Kinsey (ex Blarney Stone) and managed by Stephen Sands (ex O'Malleys, Fosters), this place was brought to our attention by some local, loose-lipped leprechauns. The place is beautiful: it's a 4-level extensively renovated old house very close to Xujiahui Park. There's a basement sports bar with pool table, darts and large TV screen....
Continue Reading "Winopete: The Park Tavern"April 12, 2008
By Benjamin Cohen Shanghai is full of Chinese-owned “Italian” bistros that serve up overcooked and overpriced corn and ketchup pasta. We found a place that breaks that stereotype. Tucked away on Anfu fu, a few doors down from Enoteca, is a small café with inexpensive authentic Italian food, Lavazza coffee and imported wines. Caffé Saluto's been around for a few months. While the décor is nothing special (as you can see in the picture), the...
Continue Reading "Caffé Saluto: Inexpensive Italian food"April 10, 2008
We were invited to a private beer tasting at the soon to be opened Boxing Cat Brewery, and we always enjoy free food and beer (even if it is in Minhang). Boxing Cat Brewery is a collaboration between Gary Heyne (former brew master of Henry’s) and Kelley Lee (from iiiit!). They’ve put together a nice pub/restaurant that has a warm homey feel, a place likely to draw a lot of “regulars”. Gary plans on keeping...
Continue Reading "Opening Soon: Boxing Cat Brewery"
Not far back, Shanghaiist gave out the tip on Sofa Bar and Cafe – the hidden gem in the Xinhua Road community. We got a big surprise when a reader came on the comments section to also tip off the legendary Malatang stand just two doors down. Since the cat is already out of the bag, here are the details. Chongqing Zhoushi Mala Tang 重庆周氏麻辣烫 (Chongqing Zhou Clan spicy soup) is the best Jerry …...
Continue Reading "Probably the best malatang in the world?"Advertisement: Shanghaiist Continues Below!
April 10, 2008
On the festival circuit: There's a week-long Indian Food Festival going on this week, which was kicked off at the Renaissance Yangtze Hotel two days ago. Twenty different dishes from across the country will be served throughout the week, and since there is no other information in the press release regarding where those dishes will be served, we can only assume that they'll be found at the Renaissance Hotel: Speaking on the occasion [Union Secretary...
Continue Reading "What we know of the Indian Food Festival (and other food news)"April 9, 2008
Shanghaiist came across this great website by a resident food stylist the other day, and could not help but stare with our mouths agape at the insanely sleek and sexy pictures of a McDonald's big breakfast. Here's how said stylist Michael Elliott introduces himself on his website: After graduating with a degree in fine arts in 1998, Michael Elliott studied and worked as both a chef and pastry chef in Europe and North America. This...
Continue Reading "Food stylist writes about food, we write about food stylist"April 6, 2008
A few weeks ago, SH Magazine's resident food authority Christopher St. Cavish asked some big names in the Shanghai restaurant scene to give up their favorite, secret dining destinations. We loved reading the piece, and wanted the unearthing to continue. Since we at Shanghaiist are complete narcissists, we couldn't think of anyone better to ask than ourselves. In honor of St. Cavish's feature, we compiled the following collection of a few of our contributors' more...
Continue Reading "SH Mag reveals chefs' secret spots; we play along"April 4, 2008
- The Pudong branch of Malones opened last week in Thumb Plaza - In the same building, look out for the opening of The Eejit Inn, another Shamrock project managed by Declan (ex O'Malleys, Blarney Stone and Viscaya Club) and Brendan (Theme Pub Group Executive Chef, ex Dublin Exchange), due to open in May or June. The place name apparently honours another Pudong publican. - Joy is leaving Joy Bar and Cafe (corner of Wuning...
Continue Reading "Winopete: Boozers' bits 'n' pieces"
Cooler-than-thou hotel URBN on Jiaozhou Lu (Jing-An) is having licensing issues with its hotel bar, but the "room twentyeight" restaurant is in full swing serving moderately pricey (around 150RMB for a main) food and a good range of drinks. Their cocktail list is one of the most interesting we've seen in quite some time with the standout being the 'Tiger Rouge' featuring:Pisco (a Peruvian spirit)Pineapple, Raspberry and Lemon JuiceBalsamic VinegarFresh Basil Odd, but it works,...
Continue Reading "Shanghai's oddest cocktail?"April 3, 2008
We checked our mail this morning and were happy to see a new Sherpas menu dropped in the box. However, when Shanghaiist flopped down on the couch and ripped open the plastic out fell a ... K.K. Rabbit menu? The Sherpas site is still up and, as far as we know, running fine. This rules out the suspicion they'd been bought out by someone with less money. Unless a reader knows better? So we guess...
Continue Reading "Spot the difference: Sherpa's vs. K.K. Rabbit"April 1, 2008
Is the Chinese government on a warpath of revenge? After enduring an embarrassing year of recalls and bans that left the "Made in China" tag-line in serious need of rehab, it appears that officials are eager to jump on any reason to have the tables turned. After Italy identified higher than acceptable amounts of dioxin in some mozzarella cheese made in the southern Campania region, the folks at the always busy Administration for Quality Supervision...
Continue Reading "China cuts the cheese, bans mozzarella from Italy"