Now with the newly opened Pudong branch of The Funky Chicken, homesick expats on both sides of the Huangpu can sate their longing for rotisserie chicken. The chickens themselves are actually raised in China, but these are no gangly Chinese cluckers, but rather the busty, double-wide, sumo wrestlers of the poultry kingdom that used to grace our Western family tables. So with the urge to rekindle the childhood joy of tearing into that crackling skin of our Sunday roast welling up, we hailed a cab to Pudong. more ›

Recently, news reports have claimed the Chinese national marathon team has been raising their own chickens at their training facilities in Yunnan province, with coaches even reportedly tending to the chickens themselves. With athletes at the mercy of doping tests, the self-raised chickens were part of an effort to avoid any chance of chemical contamination in the marathon team's food supply before the London Olympics begin in July. more ›

Some strange allegations came forward earlier this week that Shanghai Pudong's Century Park is breeding hundreds of chickens, ducks and geese on an island to provide food to senior park officials. While park management has strongly denied these claims, as of today Chicken Island has been officially closed down. more ›

Kyochon Chicken is a Korean fried chicken joint that apparently has gained some following in the U.S., if our brother's yelps of glee when he discovered the outlet in Pudong's Thumb Plaza this summer were any indication. While our subsequent visits to the joint still didn't help us understand exactly what he was getting so ecstatic over, we have to admit - it does serve some damn fine fried chicken. more ›

• Chinese Taste for Chicken Feet May Save U.S. Exports [NYTimes] "China is threatening to cut off imports of American chicken, but poultry experts have at least one reason to suspect it may be an empty threat: Many Chinese consumers would miss the scrumptious chicken feet they get from this country. “We have these jumbo, juicy paws the Chinese really love,” said Paul W. Aho, a poultry economist and consultant, “so I don’t think they are going to cut us off.”"
• Official Netizens’ Day Gets Little Attention Online [WSJ] "China officially marked Sept. 14 as the country’s first Netizens’ Day, as decreed by the official China Internet Society… China’s 338 million Web users, however, didn’t seem to muster much enthusiasm for the first official day specially designed to honor them. An online poll on NetEase.com showed that only 50 people out of close to 5,000 Web users surveyed said they “know about the Netizens’ Day/Netizen Cultural Festival”, while over 98% “have never heard of such a festival.”"
• Indian media declares war on China [India Today] "At the meeting of the National Security Council Advisory Board last week, a senior member argued for strong measures to control the media - especially the 24-hour news channels. He was reacting to media reports about Chinese transgressions along the border which are creating a war-like hysteria. In the last two months, news items about Chinese activities on the border have surfaced with remarkable regularity in the Indian media. Invariably these reports are leaked on a Sunday - a lean news day."

A farm dog in Fujian Province has found itself an unlikely helper for raising its newborn puppies: a chicken. The hen reportedly moved into the kennel after the dog gave birth last month and has refused to leave since. She watches over the puppies all day, only walking outside when the dog is nursing, and refuses to let anyone else near them. Talk about mother henning. Source:Ananova more ›

We seriously LOVE some of the things we hear about going on in our city. Yes, some of the people we meet here can be harsh and mean, but this story goes to show that humanity still exists in Shanghai. Two weeks ago, Rebekah Pothaar, an executive with Ctrip.com, found that her ayi's husband was in a serious motorbike collision. They went with her to the hospital and found that surgery was going to cost... more ›

Someone told us recently that there was a new Mexican burrito place called Cal Kitchen that opened up not that long ago on Dagu Lu, and being long-time residents of California, we decided to see if it lived up to its billing as place for authentic Californian/Mexican food. Long story short, it doesn't. We ordered a big chicken burrito that in better days, might have been a contender—but as it was, it was a soggy... more ›

Okay, Shanghaiist has got several hundred blogs on his RSS that he scans through everyday. Some things scream at us, others are quickly forgotten and yet others are hidden in some corner of our brain for (mostly useless) information ready to be used at some future point in time. There are all these bloggers that you've never met personally that you can form an impression of only after a long period of reading their blogs. You're reading them every single day, and sometimes it almost feels as though they're your friend, even though you don't really know them. It's most surreal. more ›

During our times in the suburbs of New Jersey (don't hate), the American restaurant chain Applebee's was always a friendly place for meals with family and late night gatherings with friends. All of those nostalgic feelings came rushing back as Shanghaiist read some rumors on the internets about the opening of the chain's first outlet in China. With our curiosity peaked, we decided to go check it out. As Shanghaiist and accompanying guest entered the... more ›

Gll Wonton has nearly 80 restaurants all over Shanghai, all open 24 hours, they also deliver. Convenience is the key word here. The wontons are stored frozen, so this isn’t fine cuisine. The surroundings are moderately dirty, the ambience dull, and the staff inconsistent. Without much style, no English menu, and no real buzz the reason we're writing about Gll Wonton is simply about the Wonton. more ›

The North West Food Court is a casual sit-down spot – highly local, moderately clean, poorly staffed – with a rather varied menu. Prices range from 1 RMB (for a Fried Crispy Pancake) up to 58 RMB (for a Big Plate Of Chicken). more ›

We told you about the "man-eating catfish" (which was actually a whale shark), the man with the world's largest hand, the two-headed freaks in China, the world's tallest woman Yao Defen, the world's tallest man Bao Xishun (who has since been overtaken by a Ukrainian) and the moment he met the world's shortest man He Pingping. Oh, and how could we have forgotten the world's hairiest man Yu Zhenhuan (who is also a rock-and-roll singer!). Now take a look at this Chinese mutant ninja chicken -- it has FOUR legs. more ›

Back in April we did a post on the top ten books favored by the users of Douban.com, a book review and recommendation site. Since that time, tastes have changed and new books have been released so it's about time to take a new look at the site's top ten: more ›

For this Shanghaiist, lunch during the work week typically consists of lukewarm slop served downstairs in the company canteen. So, when we get a rare chance to take a day off from work or telecommute, we like to venture out and take advantage of the many lunch specials that are offered by Shanghai's popular restaurants. more ›

This restaurant deserves awards. Lots of awards. The menu is essentially Chinese food, but it’s been inspired by the best influences of the West. The concept is described beautifully in the name. more ›

Xingfu Lu is the cozy little street off to the side of busy Huashan Lu that is home to both Pirates, Logo Bar, and now the best cooked fish we've had in Shanghai, thanks to Chongqing eatery Xingfu 131. more ›

If "burger" can be defined in the simplest terms as meat crammed in a bun, then we think Macau-Portugese restaurant chain Lisboa can throw their hat in the ring for next year's Shanghaiist Burger Grill-off. Their pork bun (pictured) is one of the many affordable delights that keep us heading back to Lisboa when in need of some Asian-style comfort food. more ›

Every now and then we get an email from a reader that is just too bizarre to keep to ourselves. Just today, we had a reader who found himself so inspired by the controversy surrounding Chinabounder that he decided to write about his own experiences and send it in to us. We couldn't resist sharing it with you! more ›

For more del.icio.us. links, visit the Shanghaiist Contribute page, which is updated throughout the day. more ›

Sichuan food addicts beware! China’s food safety inspectors have found some startling news (well, actually it’s not that startling at all, as you can see here, here, and here), 13% of recently tested chili products have been found to be unsafe. The reason for the health concern is too much preservatives and improper labeling. more ›

The hostage crisis at the Putuo KFC two nights ago was a shining triumph for the Shanghai police, who managed to kill the bad guy and save the migrant worker's little four-year-old girl. Now, you can relive the glory with this account of the proceedings (in Chinese). Although we would have preferred to see Samuel L. Jackson or Kevin Spacey handle something of this danger, there was some local talent on hand. One of the negotiators dressed up and pretended to be the store manager, but to no avail. A female special forces officer also dressed up as a KFC employee and brought food and drink, but evidently, someone didn't do the chicken right, because the hostage-taker got nervous. The special forces officer had a gun stuffed in her pants but decided that this wasn't the best moment to use it. more ›

Click here for info and entry forms! more ›

It seems that the TIME Magazine China Blog has been blocked by the Great Firewall of China (GFW), or "GFW-ed" to use the industry nomenclature. The blog normally covers a full-range of issues, including topics and analysis that local media wouldn't touch with a 10 meter 棍, and as a rule, TIME tends to "err on the side of free speech." However, evidently the blog took things a step too far for China's censors, when on June 4th, all three bloggers (Simon Elegant, Bill Powell, and Austin Ramzy) wrote about the world's largest public square. more ›

The best two reasons to eat at Fēng Yù Fried Dumplings (Fēng Yù Shēng Jiān - 丰裕生煎) are the fresh shēng jiān, and huge glasses of cold soy milk. You’ll also get an authentic Chinese experience, friendly staff, central location, cheap prices, and fast service. The shēng jiān are fresh because they sell fast, so new ones are continuously being made. The soy milk comes - somewhat unusually for Shanghai - in a beer jug which reminds us of our first underage pint at The Six Bells in Lewes near Brighton, which at 14 was just enough to make us drunk. One pint of soy milk won’t get you drunk, but it’s a lot cheaper costing a mere 2RMB and more suitable for this hot summer. more ›

A quick update on what you are doing Saturday afternoon and evening. We are happy to announce that the Shanghaiist Happy Hour at ENO will feature food prepared by the wonderful people at iiiit!. They have come up with a special menu (with special prices) for the party: more ›

Potatoes grown from seeds that mutated in space while aboard a Chinese spacecraft are the newest culinary fad in Shanghai. This potato, dubbed the Purple Orchid Three, is supposedly going to be popular choice for upscale Valentine's Day dinners:

Several Shanghai restaurants have developed dishes using Purple Orchid Three 'space potatoes,' claiming that the unusual colour of the vegetables represents the 'nobility and romance' of Valentine's Day, the official Xinhua news agency said. more ›

The New York Times Magazine has an interesting story about General Tso's Chicken, probably the most famous "Hunanese" dish that most people from Hunan Province (or anywhere else in Mainland China, for that matter) have never heard of: more ›

Shanghaiist was browsing around on SHExpat Forums yesterday, and came across a thread discussing the loss of one of Shanghai's renowned cheap eating establishments — Turk's. more ›