The portion size came back to bite us when the waitress arrived bearing our high-end swift-spit, upon which we were about inform the waitress that we already had plenty of tea, before realizing that the “cup” she was holding was actually our bowl of soup. We peered inside the cup/bowl to witness a tangle of measly translucent shreds submerged in viscous yam stock - barely a meal for the bird’s nest’s tiny tittering creator let alone us. more ›

In a scandal that has rocked the soup-based food service industry (failed slogans: 'Got Soup-based Food Product?', and 'Soup-endous!'), well-known noodle chain Ajisen Ramen has been accused of making their broths using soup concentrate and cheap flavoring powders. Known for a guarantee that all their soups come from “a broth of pork bones simmered to perfection,” Ajisen has been fumbling for an explanation to deflect these allegations of soup-based fraud. more ›

In our ongoing Threesday feature, Shanghaiist takes the time to count out three of well... whatever catches their fancy that week. This week: Places to get that warm bowl of healthy something now that flu season is upon us. more ›

Someone in Shanghai is looking out for us Californians. First, Cantina Agave arrived and delivered Mexican food the way we remember it. Now, a cafe on Jinxian Lu has brought us New England clam chowder served in a sourdough bread bowl. more ›

This chain noodle restaurant was established over ten years ago and though there used to be 12 restaurants in the chain, only 5 remain. The quality of the food has, in our experience lacked consistency in standard but, the restaurant IS consistently clean and pleasingly inexpensive. more ›

Shanghai's recent spate of shitty weather has gotten us hungry for soup. And when we say "soup," we generally mean the kind of soups we grew up eating during cold Pennsylvania winters. Chunky soups. Soups, to borrow a slogan, that eat like a meal. On a recent trip home, we dined a couple times at Panera Bread Company, which serves, among other things, hearty soups in sourdough bread bowls. We remember thinking Panera would be one of the American chain restaurants we'd like to see exported to China, instead of Applebee's or TGI Friday's. more ›

Bravo to the big corporations — Hewlett Packard and Hennessy — that are each throwing huge music events this weekend and both are free to the public via registration on their respective webpages. On Friday, Hennessy is holding what is being billed as a "Hennessy Artistry Showcase" (last year featuring Juliette Louis and the Licks), out at the International Expo Center in Pudong and featuring Hong Kong pop star Wang Lee Hom, Gary Chaw, and... 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 ›

We have been accused (more than once) of dedicating too many words on this website to discussions of sandwiches. So we'll try to keep this one short, and just answer your questions. Fire away: more ›

Next time you’re in the Xintiandi area and are looking for lunch/dinner ideas, try Lan Ting Restaurant (兰亭餐厅). A block away from the tourist hot spot, on the corner of Taicang Lu and Songshan Lu, Lan Ting is perhaps one of the most well known eateries in Shanghai you’ve never heard of. The restaurant serving mostly the local crowd, doesn’t exactly grace the listings sections of City Weekend or Shanghai Talk on a regular basis. And with a décor that’s more Chun than Crystal Jade, Lan Ting isn’t a likely venue for client functions with your local vendor/supplier partners either. But that’s where we come in, with the scoop. more ›

Wang Jian Shuo introduces us to a local Shanghai restaurant chain called Zhending Chicken. We've never been, but we might go now -- sounds like an interesting place: more ›

Shanghaiist’s worst travel experience ever was on a 15-hour “sleeper bus” (ha!) from southern Shandong Province back to Shanghai. Packed to the rafters, Arctic January temperatures, layers of ice on broken windows, an ancient, festering interior dotted with rusty metal benches and the occasional sodden blanket (actual interior, pictured), black smoke chundering out of the engine console inside the vehicle, a desperate need to urinate for the second half of the trip and a Soup Nazi of a driver who couldn’t even be bribed to stop. To make matters worse, we joyously spied the night lights of the Oriental Pearl Tower in the disorientating haze of bladder pain and thought the horror was over, only to discover it was a miniature of the Pearl Tower located about 200 kilometres northwest of the city and we still had a four-hour crawl left to go. more ›