Just because we’re on the other side of the world from Ireland doesn’t mean that there won’t be plenty going on for St Paddy’s Day over here in Shanghai. This year, March 17th — the date when all of us are a little bit Irish — inconveniently falls on a Monday but fear not, the Emerald Isle’s Shanghai contingent are celebrating early with a bunch of events this weekend. Ireland Week 2008 has been going......

Kitchen fetishists, we know you're out there: For those of you who enjoy cooking at home, now you can add sexy cookware to your kitchen arsenal. Pantry Magic, which calls itself Asia's favorite place for specialty kitchen supply, is opening their first store in Shanghai in the middle of this month. From their press release: Pantry Magic carries a complete product line of more than 2,000 items from pots and pans to brightly colored mixing......

Shanghaiist has been feeling very French of late. After wondering when Paul was going to re-open and hanging out at Bar Rouge's "Excusez-moi" party... well, we had dinner in La Crêperie - Shanghai's new and so far only eatery devoted to crêpes from the Brittany region. La Crêperie enjoys a quiet location in the heart of the French concession at the crossroads of Dongping Lu, Yueyang Lu, Fengyang Lu, and Taojiang Lu (or if you......

It's possible that we just caught the recently opened Piccone Live Music Bar on a bad night, but honestly the most interesting aspect of our experience was the toilet in the men's bathroom. We checked out Piccone (we're not sure where the name comes from ... perhaps the owner's last name?) because it pitched itself as a live music venue, and it came along at time when other supposed music bars and legit live venues......

For great sushi rolls try Haiku by Hatsune. We want some right now. Haiku by Hatsune, 28B Taojiang Lu, near Hengshan Lu (桃江路28号-乙近衡山路). Tel: 6445 0021. Open 11:30-2 pm; 5:30-10:30 pm. Related Excellent reviews at dianping.com (in Chinese) A sanctuary for the senses (City Weekend) "Deliciously fresh modern Japanese" (SH)......

We never really noticed the villa at 39 Taojiang Lu, directly across from O'Malley's. Perhaps because it used to be home to the Xuhui District Taxation Bureau. But the place was hard to ignore on Sunday as we left O'Malley's (it was dog adoption day) — a fresh coat of paint, grand wooden gates, lots of lights and a big sign reading "Castle Oktober." Through the open gate we could see big copper beer kettles.......

There appears to be a push (or maybe a slight nudge) to save an old house on Taojiang Lu that for four years in the 1940s was occupied by Soong Ching Ling, also known as Madame Sun or Sun Yat Sen's wife. The two story villa, which is very close to O'Malley's, is currently occupied by 40 workers from the Shanghai Qianggu Construction Engineering Company. From the story: After 1949 when the People's Republic of......

With the World Cup having finally drawn to a close, what better time to review, not the tournament itself, but the various drinking establishments in the city that Shanghaiist frequented during a month of serious boozing and football-watching. Quite simply, there was no better excuse than the world's biggest sporting event to check out some new watering holes, and swell the coffers of Shanghai's already dirt-rich bar owners. Air Bar, 1066 Yan'an Xi Lu, was......