Food/Drink: November 2009 Archives

Looks like Shanghai’s Year of Pho will soon have its first cage match. Yes, our pleas for decent pho through the years have been thoroughly drowned out by the sound of so many pho restaurants popping up left and right, front and back. But something intriguing is happening on Wujiang Lu, where Pho Sizzlin’ has, up until now, laid claim to its pho-main with is colorful personality but decidedly average noodle offerings. A challenger has set up shop on the same street, and Pho26 is no glass-jawed pretender.

Daniel Gross of Slate has been over here reporting on the controversial Three Gorges Dam project. And while we can't say anything too bad about his coverage of that - which, while it reads more like a disgruntled travel piece than actual hardhitting journalism, is generally close enough to what little facts we know about the dam that it makes it impossible for us to nitpick - we were surprised by one of his pronouncements:

We were sent Silk Guides: Shanghai Eat & Drink Guide a couple weeks ago, but it took us a little while to get off our lazy butts and actually take a look inside... Which is a shame, because the guide, about a size that would fit handily into a purse if not really a pocket, is actually a pretty decent look at what restaurants you ought to try in the city right now.

Hey folks, remember our last Shanghaiist Scrabble night? You can win 250RMB of Cotton's vouchers and the title of Shanghaiist Scrabble champion if you come to the next one we're hosting: Tuesday, November 24th. Pit your vocab and scrabble strategy against the drinks you'll be getting in order to compete. It'll be a cold night, but with the copious amounts of alcohol and Cotton's warm fireplace (with real fire!), you'll be sure to feel as cozy as possible on a Tuesday night.

"I think we're going to need to have chicken for Thanksgiving this year," our roommate told us, faces twisted in dismay. A Thanksgiving traditionalist, she had been adamant about cooking the meal at home for friends rather than head out to any of the many restaurant/take away options other people have outlined.

We mentioned it briefly in this week's Pencil It In, but figured it bears repeating since it combines two things we love: charity and trivia. This Thursday, the Rotaract Club Shanghai and Hilton Shanghai are hosting a World Trivia Night with 100% of the proceeds going to various local charities.

We've got a pretty awesome weekend ahead of us. Even if you're not going to one of the many music parties planned for tonight (which you can check out in our midweek music preview), there's still a lot more going on. For instance...

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.

We've all been there - all you want is a salad and just don't want to make one yourself. And then maybe you do, and it doesn't taste the way you want it to. Total bummer. Well, next time this situation arises, we've found at least one good place to get a fix. Origin, a small café and restaurant tucked around the back of Taikang Lu.

White collar workers in Shanghai have expressed increasing dissatisfaction with the lunch options offered at moderately-priced restaurants around the city.