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 ›

Le Sheng, the latest venture by Shanghai's darling of fine-dining, David Laris, promises a marriage of traditional Shanghai food with more modern elements. Eager to see how the Greek-Aussie chef, who's tackled a plethora of concepts from Mediterranean to Continental to "Barbie," would fare when faced with the native cuisine, we motored down to the French Concession. more ›

It's going to be a crazy weekend! Drum n' bass outfit Pendulum will be playing at Boom, while restauranteur David Laris hosts the Shanghai Ireland Festival on Saturday. Litfest is still going on, and on Sunday a few North Korean movies will be showing at The Apartment to wrap up the weekend. And if that's still not enough, head over to our calendar for more. more ›

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Shanghaiist received an anonymous tip a few days ago that Laris, brainchild of restauranteur, David Laris, was scheduled to shut down soon but with the breaking news of the catastrophe in Jing'an, we had to put that story on the back burner. Nonetheless, intrigued to hear that such a highly visible venue on the Shanghai food scene might be on the verge of closure, we had to investigate. more ›

Every now and then, it seems that Shanghai suddenly explodes with hot-off-the-presses news about food: everyone's opening something or closing something or doing some event that you absolutely have to attend. And for those confusing times, Shanghaiist helps YOU out with a food news round up. So heeeereee weeee goooo:
• Last year, That's Shanghai hosted a Baijiu bartender challenge, where drink slingers from a bunch of Shanghai restaurant staples came together to try and make the best tasting Baijiu cocktails. This year, they've got competitors from Mr & Mrs Bund, Jean Georges, Tara 57, Hof, Closed Door, Fountain, Chinatown, M1NT and Manifesto to shake things up before a panel of judges. Surprisingly, the only place I've actually ever come across a selection of Baijiu cocktails - Shanghai Tang Cafe - isn't on the list. Oh well, if you want to see how these guys do, head down to Mesa & Manifesto (768 Ju Lu Road 巨鹿路748号) on April 14. Schtuff goes down at Seven.
• Speaking of That's Shanghai, they've headed to David Laris's newly soft opened project, the restaurant for eco-hotel URBN. Called , it sources free-range chickens from Anhui, lambs from Inner Mongolia and organic produce from well, whereever they can find it.
• Also just kinda opened: Avalon on Changle Lu. It's a "wood grill and wine bar" that will be run by Hilary Ambrose Jr., who worked in Jean George's New York "Haute South Asian street food" restaurant, Spice Kitchen. When it opens, they've promised 88RMB Canadian lobsters. Whaaat, I know where I'll be April 20.

• This is the last weekend you can catch Avatar before it's replaced by Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland in the city's 3D theaters (though it seems like it'll still be on the one IMAX screen in the city until March 26). [CNNGo]
• David Laris is a busy bee these days - which means we're in for a treat. Fans of Fat Olive, look forward to another one. Fans of his more casual Slice, get ready for Pie Hole. Lovers of his fancy outpost Laris, he's now taken over the kitchen at URBN. Oh yeah, and he's opening up a golf coursethemed clubhouse too. Woah. [SmartShanghai]
• Oops, it looks like protesting Liu Xiaobo's sentencing has gotten one person sentenced himself: Mao Hengfeng, a Shanghai resident, has been ordered to serve one and a half years of "re-education through labor" for shouting slogans about human rights outside a courthouse. [New York Times]

Greek munching: The Fat Olive, another recent David Laris project, serves some pretty good food. It's just that there's not very much of it. We went there a couple of weeks back and became smitten with the burger, which is served open-faced on a pita that cushions the drizzling juice from the tender, glazed patty. The meat on the kebabs were big, succulent, with a hint of spice but overwhelming original in flavor. A basket of toasted pita and tangy tzatziki were able sidekicks. But as far as mains go, that's about it. The Fat Olive is more for imbibing than it is is for eating, what with that huge terrace and the glam view of Pudong. Snacking on some simple Greek offerings is probably the more operative term. Check it out. more ›

The new Barbie flagship store aims to capture the attention of more than just those with blonde ambitions, and nowhere is this effort more apparent than the Barbie Cafe. more ›

Christopher St. Cavish reports that superstar chef Jereme Leung is out at Whampoa Club, the restaurant he helped found. Cavish also says David Laris is now acting as a consultant to the restaurant that bears his name. Meanwhile — and this should be classified as gossip for now — a source on the Bund recently told us that days could be numbered for several of the tenants of the former Union Building. Stay tuned. more ›

The handsome former slaughterhouse building "1933" is an Art Deco landmark in Hong Kou. which we've written about twice before. Apart from the occasional exhibition, its doors remain closed to the public, so we spent Saturday taking a peek around to see how this new "creative space" is taking shape. more ›

We went to opening night last Thursday and were able to get a sneak peek into the 1933 building mentioned a few posts back, where some of the exhibitions were still being touched up at the last minute. One of the purposes of the SICIW is to bring together art and design entities from all over the world into one place, perhaps fomenting future collaboration and connection. From Shanghai Daily: more ›

The 74 year old slaughterhouse that stands on 10 Shajing Road (虹口区沙泾路10号) in Hongkou has been remade as 1933, a lifestyle and design center. Some of the brains behind this new development include Paul Liu, formerly of Three on the Bund, and David Laris, owner of his eponymous restaurant also at Three. Has any Shanghaiist been there yet? Photo from Jake in Shanghai... more ›

Shanghaiist wandered into Shanghai Times Square on Huaihai Lu the other day -- against our volition, of course (this being a shopping mall and all). But in the end it was worth the pain of having to stand inside various clothes shops and nod glumly in support of countless new items that the better half seemed incredibly energetic about the purchase of. more ›

How does the other half live? Shanghaiist is talking about our print media counterparts — you know, the ones that have actual deadlines and office space to fuss over. We won’t pretend to put ourselves in their shoes (well, some of us might, seeing as how we occasionally swing both ways — in the non-biblical sense, of course), but we can, at least appreciate an alliterative headline, a punchy lead, and some slick, savvy reporting. Oh, and artsy photos — we like those too. So without further ado, we bring you Shanghaiist Reads, where we tell it like they tell it — only better. And without costing you a dime. (Just kidding ... we love our local rags. And they’re free.) Think of our summary of what's in the local mags as a tribute to our print brothers and sisters who fight the good fight — and still have time to come to our website when their bosses aren’t looking. more ›

A few weeks back, Shanghaiist batted around the question, “what would you suggest to someone with only one night in Shanghai?” Think we just found our answer. In the June issue of Conde Nast Traveller, the magazine highlighted 20 locales worldwide as the latest additions to its “journeys of a lifetime” series. One in particular was right in our backyard, figuratively speaking of course. In an entry titled “Dine a deux at the upper Cupola”, Traveller featured a magnificent restaurant/dining room, The Cupola, located on the city’s historic waterfront, offering a sumptuous dining experience with equally breath-taking visuals to match. This is what the magazine had to say about The Cupola: more ›