Yesterday I translated half of Southern Weekly's excellent article on McRefugees - those who make their homes in 24-hour fast food restaurants at night - and their lives in Shanghai. Here's Part II: more ›

A few weeks ago, Guangzhou's Southern Weekly had a very interesting feature on the McRefugees - people who, due to low pay or homelessness, spend their nights at 24-hour fast food restaurants - living in Shanghai's Xujiahui area. They were thrown into the spotlight in March, when one man stabbed a McDonalds employee who tried to kick him out. more ›

Colonel Sanders has found his conscience: after being threatened by lawsuits in the US, Kentucky Fried Chicken announced that come April of next year, all of its restaurants in the US will cease using oils containing the harmful trans-fats that have been linked to heart disease. more ›

That's at Kentucky Fried Chicken, which recently unveiled a new item on its menu, the cappuccino egg custard tart (卡布奇诺蛋塔), which, as you might surmise, is a cappuccino-flavored take on the traditional Chinese dessert. Shanghaiist decided to work our taste buds last night, though we decided to buy two single ones at 4.5 RMB a piece rather than go for the box. And you know what, it wasn't half bad, and on the internet we found some people who agree with us. OK, one person. We could't find anyone to interview as KFC was strangely empty in the early evening yesterday, though we did spot one of the only other patrons, a lonely and pathetic-looking man, eating one of these as well. Try it out. more ›

It was just a matter of time. Shanghai now has its first drive-thru restaurant -- excuse us, "auto shuttle restaurant," as Xinhua likes to call it. The "cylinder-shaped three-storey building" is owned by the Shanghai Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Co. Ltd., so we're guessing it's a drive-thru KFC. The English version of the story doesn't say where the restaurant is -- details, details -- but the Chinese version tells us it's on Kongjiang Lu, which appears to be a pretty long street in Yangpu District. They didn't offer us a cross-street. (Any intrepid Shanghaiist readers want to hunt this down for us? We would, but we don't have a car. Nor do we eat KFC.) more ›

Xinhua news reports that as of August 5, Kentucky Fried Chicken is introducing traditional Chinese breakfasts into its menu. The report states that Chinese people have traditionally viewed breakfast as an important meal, but with the growth and change of the city, finding a decent bowl of zhou (粥), the watery rice that has long been a staple of the Chinese diet, is becoming increasingly difficult. more ›