In Cafetique, Shanghaiist reviews coffee shops and cafes around Shanghai that provide the two things our writers need most in life: caffeine and wireless internet. How does your neighborhood hangout spot stack up? more ›

In Cafetique, Shanghaiist reviews coffee shops and cafes around Shanghai that provide the two things our writers need most in life: caffeine and wireless internet. How does your neighborhood hangout spot stack up? more ›

Holy cow, this makes me think twice about enjoying beautiful weather outside. A Japanese-Canadian guy eating outside the Grand Gateway Wagas in Xujiahui was stabbed to death (seemingly randomly) at around 5pm yesterday. The victim, unnamed, had been enjoying his meal outside when a middle-aged man came up and stabbed him, according to witnesses. A suspect was arrested at the scene, but there are very few other details. Strangely enough, the story was pulled off Xinmin. Are foreigner deaths too sensitive for the Chinese public? more ›

Roomtwentyeight, the restaurant at URBN Hotel, has suddenly closed up shop... even to the surprise of URBN. Apparently, the Wagas group owned dining location boarded up one day with "no notice, no nothing." Who'll be taking its place? Probably David Laris, maybe. Whatever it is, we hope it turns out to be better than what was there before: an oversalted, overpriced version of Wagas' already middling Bistrow franchise.
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We finally sauntered our way down to Xujiahui to try out Bistrow, and we definitely liked what we saw. Located where a Chatea formerly leaned against the Grand Gateway mall, Bistrow is the first of two (so far) of these upscaled Wagas offshoots. We started off light with the mixed starter plate (58 RMB), finding the hummus a little too sharp but the chickpea salsa and beetroot tzatziki to be clever and tasty teasers. The chorizo in our penne dish had a nice kick (68 RMB), but the star was the chicken tikka wrap (58 RMB), crammed with tangy mango chutney and thin slices of cucumber. more ›

Though never a fan of Starbucks, more because of their bland-ardization of the world's greatest drug rather than due to any kind of deeply held anti-corporate leanings, Shanghaiist nevertheless enjoys supping the occasional hot chocolate from a Medusa-emblazoned mug. With this Monday being particularly harrowing, we were looking forward to a dose of sickly sweet cream-topped womb regression, only to have our fragile psyche strained to within an inch of another long, expensive course of... more ›