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 ›

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 ›

As much as you want of the above for 150 kuai. more ›

Only five more days until the City Diner/Shanghaiist 4th of July party this Sunday — which, yes, we realize is the 1st of July and (thanks to a commenter) Canada Day. But we promise this party, like all Shanghaiist parties, is very Canadian friendly. In fact, this party is open to anyone of any nationality who enjoys food, drink, music and fun. Sound like you? more ›

We're feeling a little lazy this afternoon. Could be the weather. Could be that we are distracted thinking about 21 kuai pints of Pale Ale. Anyway, we thought it a good time to share with you this music video. We downloaded the album last year but didn't see the video until recently. Thought you might enjoy it: more ›

Just wanted to let you all know (again) that you are invited to the Shanghaiist Happy Hour at Henry's Brewery & Grill, near the Bund, this Friday (April 20 ... tomorrow) from 7 pm to midnight. Entry is free and all house-brewed beer (Honey Brown, Perfect Pilsener, Shanghai Nights, Raspberry Helles and Pale Ale) will be discounted 30 percent — that means a pint will be just 21 kuai. House wines and soft drinks will also be offered at 30 percent off. 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 ›

We understand it's kind of sad, but we have to admit to getting a little excited when we learn of new foreign beers arriving on the Shanghai market. So we read with curious interest these two stories about two New Zealand beers that have washed up on our shores. The brewery is DB Breweries, a big outfit that owns the likes of Heineken and Amstel. The beers they are sending to Shanghai are Tui and Monteith's Original Ale. Here are the commercial descriptions for the two beers: more ›

Planning a party can drive a man to drink. Thankfully for Shanghaiist, we're now just a short walk from good, cold beer -- KABB recently started carrying Samuel Adams Boston Lager. Now, there are plenty of places in Shanghai to get a decent brew -- if you are willing to pay for it -- but there is a definite dearth of hoppy beers in our city. And Shanghaiist likes a hoppy beer. A nice Sierra Nevada Pale Ale makes us sooooo happy. Unfortunately, we haven't seen any of those in Shanghai. There are two Australian beers -- Coopers Sparkling Ale and Coopers Original Pale Ale -- that you can find at a handful of local bars and restaurants. In fact, the City Mart (kind of a fake-and-not-really-very-good City Supermarket in the basement of the Pacific Department Store on Huaihai Zhong Lu) used to carry a nice selection of Coopers beers, and Australian wines, at very reasonable prices. We'd buy a six-pack of pale ales for 9 kuai a bottle. Pretty damn good (even if the beer isn't quite as hoppy as we would like). And then one day we walked in and all the Australian stuff was gone ... and replaced by Heineken. Yuck. Shanghaiist was very sad. more ›