"Jeremy Lin isn't handsome enough. I hope that in the future that when I'm with my husband, people can say to me jealously: 'Wow! So your husband is actually Jeremy Lin.' I feel like handsomeness counts as food, but basketball can't count as food." more ›

When Chinese students learn English, they learn how to speak with perfect English accents, or standard American accents. Those who actually end up in England/America are sure to be in for a surprise to learn that most English people/Americans don't speak that way. more ›

We've told you about chef cum entrepreneur extraordinaire Eduardo Vargas and the many, many pots he has his hands in around Shanghai's culinary scene. The latest, and potentially greatest, is the unassumingly chic Bistro Burger, down on the Fumin-Donghu expat strip. Trust us, it's worth it. more ›

A nice crowd of beer lovers gathered at Southern Barbarian on Saturday afternoon to ... well ... drink beer. Very good beer. And eat food. Very good food. Mission accomplished. For attendees who left with minds foggy thanks to the strong beers, these photos should jog your memory. Yes, you did drink that much. more ›

CARMEN RESTAURANT: Carmen Restaurant recently materialised on Xikang Lu, near the even newer Steak and Eggs. Passing by, what caught our eye was their blackboard promotion for all you can drink: 50RMB for chicks and 80RMB for blokes. Went inside and discovered the deal was just for draught beer (Carlsberg) and cocktails. OK, could be acceptable, but decided we'd better try their cocktails first before committing to an all-out drink fest. Winopete chose a G&T that was actually quite decent. A friend opted for vodka and tonic which was also quite satisfactory. What was not so good was being hurried into deciding did we want the all-u-can-drink deal or single drinks, and also being asked to pay before a sip of alcohol had passed our lips. Furthermore, this night a bunch of rowdy German card players to descended around us which led to the staff cranking up the music to a very conversation-unfriendly level. The timing of both these events led to us upping and leaving. The mouldy-looking furniture for a brand new venue is never going to earn brownie points with me, but a decent all-you-can-drink deal grabs our attention, especially given the dwindling reputation of Bon Bon. The bottom line is we'll try Carmen again. more ›

Oops..we have been sitting on this a few days, all the beers and amazing shows made Shanghaiist a little loopy and unable to sit down and type. The entry below comes via Emily Moy who had a chance to sit down with Talib Kweli and Ozomatli at the Yue Festival press conference last Thursday........ more ›

Shanghaiist loves our dear readers because you never hesitate to let us know when you disagree when it comes to a restaurant recommendation. Well, now's your chance to put a little of your own skin in the game. Famed restaurant guide Zagat is currently collecting survey responses regarding restaurants in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Users who submit the survey by the September 23rd deadline will receive a free copy of the resulting 2008 China's Restaurants and Hotels Guide when it's published. According to Zagat they are covering over 175 restaurants in Shanghai. We signed up (site registration is required in order to take the survey) to take a peek. The restaurants are broken out by district, and glancing at the full list it looks like usual suspects from the listings on City Weekend (which, by the way, appears to have upgraded their website). more ›

His instinctive understanding made the carcass snap and clarify beneath his nimble hand that held the knife so long, so many times, the handles' changed to shapes just like his fingers and his palms more ›

What's happening now: The Thai Food Festival is currently running in Shanghai through September 9th at four Thai restaurants that have received the official "Thai Select" designation from the Thai government. Organized by the Commercial Section of the Royal Thai Consulate General, Baan Thai, Lan Na Thai, Ma Boon Krong and Simply Thai will aim to present dishes that represent the four regional cuisines of Thailand. more ›

Would you believe the Eager Beaver? Check out the list to the right (paying special attention to the prices) and let us know what you think. They have most of the beers imported by American Craft Beer Partners (they have Brooklyn Lager, but it isn't on the menu), Coopers, Sam Adams and big bottles of Paulaner, which we hadn't seen elsewhere. We suppose they could use some Belgian beers and some Kiwi beers and maybe they should look into these Aussie beers headed to town soon thanks to Mat Ryan, formerly of Senses. But what Eager Beaver has now, already ranks the dive as perhaps the city's best hideout for beer lovers. What other places compare? Moon River Diner at New Factories comes to mind. Any other candidates? more ›

Yahoo! China recently ran a series of photos of fake brand-name products that they called "rice sprayingly funny piracy" (令人喷饭的盗版). In the spirit of piracy, we downloaded those photos and put them on our own site. We also added some other related images we found during a cursory Flickr search. more ›

Last Friday night, Shanghaiist dusted off its finest flannelette shirt in anticipation for the 4Live performance of Brooklyn band Locksley. more ›

The upcoming May holiday sees a Shanghai band heading to the US and a US band (not Pretty Girls Make Graves) coming to Shanghai. more ›

We are sitting in City Diner, aka the office, making our usual rounds on Chinese blogs and news sites. On our table are two cards advertising a startling development in the diner's drinks list: Brooklyn East India Pale and Rogue Dead Guy Ale are now available for consumption at Rmb40 a bottle. more ›

We here in the Ist-A-Verse know that we're sensational, but it's very rare that we get a chance to be sensationalistic. This week, we've decided to have ourselves a little fun and try our hand at tacky tabloid headlines, using nothing more than our favorite posts from this week. more ›

A new organization called the American Craft Beer Partners (ACBP) has a mission statement you don't need to be drunk to rally behind: "[T]o bring some of the best craft beers in America to China and make them readily available to beer drinkers in Shanghai." These guys are the early front-runners for Shanghaiist 2007 People of the Year. more ›

Happy Holidays! more ›

At least that's what celeb writer Yu Qiuyu (余秋雨) said at a recent public function. From Slate Indiaenews.com we found this report: more ›

-Bostonist discussed two big state issues-- what sort of math constitutes a marriage and what kind of alcohol can be sold in most grocery stores. And the politically minded Curt Schilling went on "Jeopardy!". more ›

The success of the website Overheard in New York has spawned similar sites in China's major cities, such as Beijing, Guangzhou, Changsha, Xi'an and Shanghai. Recent news reports on this phenomenon are referring to Chinese sites, but there are also English sites: Overheard in Shanghai and this site -- which is still empty. more ›

So everyone is reporting what we warned you about. Here's what the AP said: more ›

DJ A. Vee, bangin' it out more ›

The Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci died recently at the age of 77. Known during most of her career for aggressive, throw caution to the wind type interviewing, she's had an audience with movers and shakers from the Ayatollah Khomeini to Henry Kissinger and Deng Xiaoping. In the New York Times obit/article linked to above, we found links to several of her interviews, including one with Deng Xiaoping in 1980. The interview is interesting as it takes place at a critical juncture in Chinese history -- Deng had assumed control two years earlier and launched the reforms that set the country on a drastically different path than the one Mao had envisioned. The interview deals with the legacy of Mao, the Gang of Four, the Cultural Revolution, and what the consequences of China's reforms. more ›

While the work may no longer be at Shanghai Sculpture Space (please correct us if we are wrong), you can still see it here. You can also see photos from the party here and here. And you can buy a piece of art that is somehow related to the show here. more ›

GigShanghai: Sonnet (yay!) , film noir and Swiss goth more ›

A couple items of interest from the ever-unlinkable South China Morning Post's online Mainland news rundown. These are quick hits that often leave many facts open to interpretation: more ›

Since Shanghaiist has been accused of ruining things like the old Tang Hui, we thought we'd share with you the fruits of our actions -- the new, improved (?), definitely not at all dingy, gritty, divey, '50s-Motown-music-during-the-intermissions place on Xingfu Lu you that once knew and loved. Here's the rundown: Tang Hui has not only expanded and moved to a four-story villa on the corner of Huating Lu and Huaihai Lu (85 Huating Lu, just by the Changshu Lu subway station) but they've also expanded the concept -- there are now four floors and will thus feature simultaneous music (one act on floors 1-2, another on 3-4), so that if rock doesn't strike your fancy that night, you might be able to catch some electronic or more intimate (solo instrumentalist) performance instead. And while they're sticking with the mainland scene, expect them to book some overseas acts when they're in town. more ›

Shanghaiist, still jobless, was heartened to read this news from the Hindustan Times about the shortage of baristas in Beijing and Shanghai: more ›

Sideways on Xinle Lu more ›

Shanghaiist liked this little article from Business Week which focuses on the innovative architectural landscaping that is going to make certain places look less shitty remake China from the ground up. Yessirree, we've got the National Swimming Center in Beijing, the new Beijing International Airport, the Shanghai World Financial Center (which looks like a huge sewing pin or snazzy bottle opener for giants), Shanghai's planned Donghai bridge that will connect us with the outlying islands, and the Dongtan eco-city on Chongming Island (the first phase to be completed in 2010, the whole thing by 2040 ... which means just in time for Shanghaiist to retire in what we hope will become an eco-Brooklyn on the Yangtze). There's also some less monumental but also interesting concepts, like "The Commune", eleven avant-garde villas by the Great Wall which we think is being run as a hotel, and what to us is the best of the lot -- the "Linked Hybrid", a residential complex which will house 2,500 people in 700 geothermally heated and cooled apartments that will be connected at a certain floor with a ring of cafes. Though we had problems opening up some related web pages, we think it will also include a movie theater, a kindergarten, and parking for all those extra Bentleys. more ›