China's top quality watchdog has done it again, protecting us from substandard food products that foreign mercenaries are trying to put in our mouths. Mineral water from Evian and Volvic have been named among 420 imported food and cosmetic items that failed quality inspection tests on entry into China: more ›

China's quality watchdog, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, says that 19 products, including Lipton Tieguanyin (pictured on the right) have been found to contain excessive levels of potentially harmful rare-earth minerals in a random check of 58 oolong products from Shanghai, Beijing, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian and Guangdong. Five of these brands are manufactured by Shanghai-based companies and they are: Mingfeng, Jiaranlu, Zhengxiangyuan, Cuiming and Shenxin. more ›

Shanghaiist and Boxing Cat Brewery present THE DUKES OF HAZZARD DO SHANGHAI! 4th of July, 2010 11 am to 4 pm Boxing Cat Brewery 82 Fuxing Xi Lu, near Yongfu Lu ALL YOU CAN EAT AND DRINK Beer, wine, house pours, burgers, dogs, wings & sides galore! more ›

In order to combat the daily amount of food waste that comes out of restaurants here in Shanghai (around 1000 tons!), over 60 restaurants and hotels will be taking part of a program that seeks to encourage patrons to take leftovers home... or maybe just not order that much. While Shanghai Daily doesn't have that much information on how they plan on getting restaurants to pimp their menus less (and therefore, we'd assume, make less money), it did say that people taking food home could win little prizes (like World Expo tickets). What surprises us is that Chinese people needed to be encouraged to hoard leftovers in the first place. more ›

2009 saw a few new truly great restaurants open up, dining trends hardening into the fabric of local eating culture, chefs making hops within and without Shanghai, and several welcome and unwelcome closings. But, list-wise, this is well-trodden territory, and I'd rather refer you to our esteemed media peers for great reporting and great writing of all the goings-on in the Shanghai food scene. Instead, check out the 5 restaurants that I frequented the most in the past year. None of them are western, none of them are fine dining, all of them I love. more ›

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. more ›

Hotpot season is upon us, and the first in our series of hotpot reviews this upcoming winter is Three Travellers [sic] (三人行骨头王火锅), a chain that recently opened its newest baby smack dab in the middle of the fantastic restaurant corner that is Fumin/Julu Lu. more ›

Thanks to ShanghaiExpat user TrueNorth, we get a summary of free local Japanese rag Concierge's rankings of the top ten Japanese restaurants in Shanghai, supposedly voted on by 100 Japanese CEOs. "Top" in this case is apparently defined by where these voters would most likely treat their business guests. TrueNorth was kind enough to include links to each of the restaurants that includes addresses (albeit in Chinese) and phone numbers; just scroll down to see the post. UPDATE: D'oh, looks like Smartshanghai was on this one a month ago, complete with English info and short descriptiions. Our bad, Chris, thanks for doing the legwork. more ›

A few weeks after Chris St. Cavish's epic breakdown of Stardog, we revisited Channel One mall to see how things have progressed for Shanghai's pioneer in the field of Asian contemporary hot dogs. more ›

Fans of China's roaring 50's and all its rosy cheeked proletariat propaganda may want to take a trip down to Shanghai Stadium to try 9 Che Jian (9车间). One of several restaurants that wrap around the rear of the stadium, this Sichuanese establishment decks itself out as a 1950's era Chinese factory; the name itself refers to a factory's internal segmented workshops. The place is quite a sight; huge windows stretch from its floor its very high ceiling, from which thick beams and industrial lights dangle. The wait staff wear factory overalls, socialist slogans pepper the walls (there's nothing like the words "unity is strength" to spur the appetite), and propaganda ditties blare incessantly from the overhead speakers. Oh, and a large statue of the esteemed Chairman Mao casts a serene look over all. more ›

Before one even gets out of the taxi, it's fairly evident who the celebrity is on the small restaurant stretch of Guyang Lu. Ji Heng (吉亨), an undersized eatery specializing in Taiwan-style beef noodles, is the only place on the block with a line of fans queuing up outside the door. more ›

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 ›

McDonalds ain't messing around with its China strategy. Having already spread out its home delivery service last year, and then lowered prices for its popular items on the China menu two months ago, it's now announced plans for a major hiring spree. more ›

We really hope all this great weather we've been experiencing this past week is going to hold up until the end of May, because we plan to be spending the entire weekend of May 29-30 outdoors at the Lujiazui Central Green for the inaugural Foodelicious, a food and wine event that aims to be the signature culinary event for all of Shanghai. From the press release: more ›

Issimo does lunch: The popular high-end Italian restaurant inside the JIA hotel is offering a lunch set dubbed 'Expressimo,' promising to get diners in and out within 45 minutes of ordering. 88 RMB (plus service charge of 15%) will get you a small salad, a pizza or pasta, and coffee. We love dining at Issimo, and this lunch set would be very seductive if only the pizzas were just as good during the day as they are in the evening. Hopefully, they'll get there before the deal ends at the beginning of May. more ›

Taiwanese food in downtown Puxi has traditionally been the purview of second cousins Charmant and Bellagio. Somewhat ignored is Qian Qiu Shan Fang (千秋膳房) on Baoqing road, a few blocks down from Charmant. What it lacks in decor and vibe it more than makes up for with competent basics and great value for money. more ›

On the eastern stretch of Guyang Lu, straddling the border between Gubei and Xuhui district, is a somewhat hidden block of Taiwanese and Japanese restaurants. We've tried a handful, all of them worth writing about it at a later date, but the standout for us so far is Yamatoya, which, while retaining some izakaya-ish features (there is a separate shochu bar and plenty of Japanese business folk talking shop), is popular because the food is pretty damn good. more ›

It's almost as though Shanghai restaurateur Kelley Lee is reading our mind. First she opens Shanghai's best Mexican place, Cantina Agave, a short stroll from Shanghaiist headquarters (and she always has the flat screen tuned into classic NBA games). And now, we learn (from her) that she is opening a Boxing Cat Brewery almost next door to us. (If next Kelley takes over the Iranian consulate building and turns it into an art house movie theater, the wife may start to get suspicious.) 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 ›

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 ›

Around three hours until our craft beer tasting at Southern Barbarian. Plenty of time to take in "A Better Brew: The rise of extreme beer," Burkhard Bilger's story in the latest New Yorker. That should get you in the mood. See you soon. more ›

Shanghaiist and Cotton's are teaming up to throw a Christmas party on Saturday, December 20 at the new Cotton's on Xinhua Lu. We'll have many more details very soon. But you can rest assured you'll be able to have your photo taken with Santa. more ›

Updating yesterday's list of Lucky Draw prizes for Saturday's beer tasting at Southern Barbarian, Sherpa's has generously offered RMB 500 in vouchers as a prize. See you Saturday. Come thirsty. more ›

Our big beer event at Southern Barbarian this weekend is just a few days away, so it's time to give you a few more details. Below you will find a complete list of the beers on offer for unlimited tastings. But first, let's run down the event's lucky draw prizes (everyone who attends will automatically be entered into the drawing): more ›

SH mag food guru Chris St. Cavish somehow got his hands on two free passes to the Shanghaiist beer tasting at Southern Barbarian. Check out his latest column for details on how you can win a ticket from SH. (And everyone loves a good sandwich joke. Those never get old.) more ›

Sorry for posting about a Saturday event so late on Friday, but we spent all day looking for an Australian slang version of "craic." We're still looking. Anyway, if you're looking for a live sporting event that doesn't involve rackets and famous people, you might want to head out to the British International School's Nanxiang campus tomorrow: more ›

Enjoy an autumn afternoon tasting world-class American craft brews. more ›

Thanks to the couple hundred people who attended our Election Hangover get-together last night at Sasha's, co-hosted by American Craft Beer Partners. It was a great end to a wonderful day (unless, of course, you wanted the other guy to win). more ›

Looks like many (most?) of us will have reason to celebrate tonight at Election Hangover. We'll be on the third floor of Sasha's (11 Dongping Lu, near Hengshan Lu, 东平路11号, 近衡山路) from 7 pm onwards. Drinks are half price including these fine beers from American Craft Beer Partners: Kona Longboard (from Obama's Hawaii), Brooklyn Lager, Brooklyn IPA, and Rogue American Amber Ale. (If you drink enough, perhaps Pennsylvania will begin to take its proper shape on this map.) more ›