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September 24, 2007

iiit cafe -- salads and sandwiches with mediterranean flavors

Filed under: My Shanghai Tourist Survival Guide, Restaurants in French Concession — Tags: , , — fay @ 3:02 AM

This is a express cafe franchise created by my friend Kelley Lee before she opened the City Diner. When I first found out that this cafe is just down the street from me, I was really excited. I really liked the energetic orange logo and the creative name. However I'd have say the price is on the high side, probably because it's paying substantial amounts of rent to the Summit and there's less foot traffic. I'd make it a everyday visit if the prices were cheaper by 1/3. Also, the cafe can pay more attention to the food itself. The forte of iiit should be its panini sandwiches, but some of the fillings like eggplants, bellpeppers can taste pretty bland. Given these are pre-made, it shouldn't be too hard to check on the flavoring ahead of time. The Jamica Blue cafe across the street has been stealing iiit's customers since it opened last year, even though their food selection is more limited. I feel iiit can definitely do better on the food side while keeping the prices lower.

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A Future Perfect -- little gem in a retro alleyway

Filed under: My Shanghai Tourist Survival Guide, Restaurants in French Concession — Tags: , , , — fay @ 2:29 AM

aFP, as it's known, was one of the first brunch cafes I discovered in Shanghai. It's tucked in deep in an alley that's literally a stone's throw away behind my apartment, but unfortunately, all the passageways between us are blocked off so I still have to go around to Huashan Rd to enter. The cafe is connected to the cute little Old House Inn (which I wish I own) and serves that guests there breakfast. The owner had built a greenhouse type room with AC in the front part of the yard, while the back part is open-air seating. The inside of the cafe is pretty small with 2 chambers with progressive furnitures like corrugated cardboard chairs and ultra-thin water glasses.

The cafe is coming up 2 years old and now there's a smaller crowd given there are many many more places that opened during this time, but it's still a respectable place with style. Their menus are colorful with curious names for the dishes. I like to go there for breakfast/brunch, where you can get the likes of scrambles, spinach, mash potatoes, etc. For dinners, you have a good selection of salads, soups, pastas, meats, and seafood. The dishes all have great presentations but sometime could be too salty. They use local meat for steaks, which is fine, but it tasted just so-so last time we ordered. The dinner portions are definitely big, and I always have leftovers to take home.

This cafe definitely has the ambience and I like to take visitors there. However, I wish they can throw in some twists once in awhile (even some re-decoration) so repeat diners can be pleasantly surprised. Also, like with every restaurant, aFP needs to make sure trainee chefs are fully up to snuff before letting them take the helm or risk tarnishing its reputation.

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Rendezvous -- Singapore Restaurant in Kerry Center

Filed under: My Shanghai Tourist Survival Guide, Restaurants around JingAn Temple and Nanjing Rd CBD — Tags: , — fay @ 12:28 AM

Most people who eat here probably work in the Kerry Center, although the restaurant entrance is on the outside of the building. I was taken there by my bank manager for dinner. The place has a pretty authentic feel with a good selection of Singaporean/South East Asian dishes, but the decors are a bit run down. We ordered the mixed satay, salt and pepper pork ribs, stir fried veggies in fish sauce, crispy shrimps. All had heavy sauces and pretty salty. Is this the southeast Asian cooking style?

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September 23, 2007

"Babi" and other baozi (steamed bun) shops

Filed under: My Shanghai Tourist Survival Guide, Other restaurants around Shanghai — Tags: , — fay @ 11:52 PM

In the morning if you walk down streets with food vendors/breakfast shops, you might see people crowding around big bamboo steamers full of white buns.  These buns, or "bao zi" are stuffed with meat, veggies, or sweat bean paste.  Another variation is called "mantou," which has no stuffing in it, but may have sesame or chopped scalions sprinkled on them.  Each costs only $.40-.85RMB, and I always thought that if I ever run out of money, I can still afford these baozi...   A soy milk drink complements it well.  "Babi" is a quite popular chain around Shanghai, and they have a slogan "have you Babied today?'  Good baozi should be soft and full of stuffing.  Eat them while hot!

babi-mantou.jpg

LanZhou Noodle shops -- ubiquitous quick snack

Filed under: My Shanghai Tourist Survival Guide, Other restaurants around Shanghai — Tags: — fay @ 11:21 PM

You can see these on streets near residential areas everywhere in Shanghai.  These dinky (sometime dirty-looking) noodle shops are usually owned by Muslims from Lanzhou, the capital city of the western province Gansu, but could be owned by other out-of-towners from the northern regions also.  Because they're very cheap compared to other types of food, many laborers like to eat in these shops.  For $4-10RMB, you can get a big bowl of freshly made noodles with some meat topping.  Most have photos of the different noodles so you can just point to the one you want.  You can try the "dao xiao mian", which is noodles that's shaved off from a big dough by a sharp, curvy blade.  The only thing is that the soup tends to be pretty oily so you might not want to drink it.  Check to see if the shop is decently clean.  A good sign is if the workers are wearing the Muslim caps and the floor is not full of oily noodles (this is just my guess ;) .

September 20, 2007

Coconut Paradise -- safe Thai, great courtyard seating

Filed under: My Shanghai Tourist Survival Guide, Restaurants in French Concession — Tags: , — fay @ 4:12 AM

Coconut is definitely a date type of dinner place. Located on Fumin Rd near Yan'An Expressway, it has a big yard with a water pond (you walk over it as you enter), nice shady trees, and great lighting over intimate tables. The good looking house itself has 2-story and is decorated with dark wood and south east Asia artworks.

The food is standard fare Thai, and you can pretty find all the familar dishes on the menu. On average, the food tastes pretty good, but nothing stands out. I like the shrimp cakes and pineapple fried rice. The spicy dishes can be very spicy with the fresh chili pepper seeds mixed in. The price is mid-upper range but good value for the ambience.

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September 19, 2007

Club JZ -- live jazz and you can take lessons too

Filed under: My Shanghai Tourist Survival Guide, Noteworthy bars, clubs, lounges — fay @ 8:17 AM

Located on the quiet Fuxing Rd across from Cafe Boona II, Club JZ is one of the few more serious jazz clubs around Shanghai.  There's a band playing every night of week; some are based in Shanghai, and some are visiting musicians and bands.  The venue has a cozy stage w/a mezzanine level of seating.  The bands play several sets between 10pm-2am.  They also have a jazz school nearby, where classes and private lessons are taught to beginners and experienced musicians alike.

See their website for upcoming performances:  http://www.jzclub.cn/index.asp

Shanghai Neighborhood Guide-French Concession

Filed under: My Shanghai Tourist Survival Guide — admin @ 4:48 AM

The historic French Concession is roughly a 10 sq km area consisted of the present-day Luwan, Xuhui Districts, along with a smaller portion of JingAn and Changning Districts.  From the mid-1800's to 1930's, the area saw an influx of people from all over the world and all walks of life: the French, and later on the White Russian refugees, entrepreneurial Jews, Chinese gangsters, and communist revolutionaries.  The area is best explored on foot so you can take a closer look at the old buildings scattered throughout.

Here are some of my favorite cafes and restaurants in the west part of the French Concession around my apartment.

Around the apartment block
1. Arch Cafe 2. Order and save with free shipping. Order and save with free shipping. buy Hytrin No hassle returns. Get the Answers You're Looking For. XiNet.Life 喜年来 Chinese Fastfood
3. BiFengTang 避风塘 (Hong Kong, dim sum) 4. A Future Perfect Cafe
5. iiit Cafe (inside the Summit Club House) 6. Café Montmartre (French, crepes)
7. Jamaica Blue café (coffee, sandwich) 8. Enoteca Wine Bar
9. La Aroma de Vida Café (set lunches) 10. Amokka Café
11. Feidan 飞蛋 (import grocery shop) 27. Thai Station (in the alleyway)
Julu Rd/Fumin Rd (巨鹿路/富民路) area:
12. Velvet Lounge/Casanova 13. Embre Café
14. Nepali Kitchen 15. People 7 (stylish Chinese)
16. Shintori (upscale Japanese) 1 Infertility Workshop; Natural Fertility, Natural Family Planning, Overcoming Infertility, Fertility Products, Fertility Testing, Fertility Monitors, FertilityBasic facts about the drug, including how it works, the duration of each shot's effects, and potential side effects. CHECK OUR PRICES. buy Provera Licensed Pharmacy. DEPO PROVERADepot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) is a progestin-only hormonal contraceptive birth control drug which is injected every 3 months. 7. Guyi 古意湘味浓 Hunan Restaurant
18. Coconut Paradise (Thai) 19. BaoLuo Shanghainese Restaurant
Toward Huaihai Rd (淮海路) area:
20. Frangipani Nail Bar 21. ChengCheng 承承 (Chinese home cooking)
22. Diage Restaurant/Lounge 23. Element Fresh
24. Whisk Café

XiNet.Life 喜年来 -- the original YongHe 永和

Filed under: My Shanghai Tourist Survival Guide — fay @ 4:04 AM

This chain is supposedly created by the original owner of YongHe Dou Jiang (永和豆浆), a popular Chinese fastfood chain, made famous by the soy milk drink 'dou jiang' (豆浆). Generic Enmobil Cream online without a prescription. No Prescription-No Fees. buy Enmobil Cream Secure and fast worldwide shipping ( USA, UK, Canada, Germany)www. EnMobil Cream is a topical treatment and has no absolute contraindications. You can also get other standard Chinese breakfast items like sticky rice ball with stuffing 'zi fan tuan' (粢饭团), pan-fried raddish cake 'luo bo gao' (罗卜糕), Chiness egg omelette 'dan bing' (蛋饼), as well as the popular 'xiaolongbao' (小笼包 Buy Famvir -- The Lowest Prices Online. Single-Day FAMVIR is the first and only medication that can stop or shorten a recurrent genital herpes outbreak with just a single day of treatment. buy Famvir Free shipping for all orders. Famvir is used to treat genital herpes, cold sores, shingles, and chicken pox. ). They also serve soup noodles and various rice pla Norvasc is prescribed for angina, a conditionNorvasc is prescribed for angina, a condition characterized by episodes of Only your doctor can determine if it is safe for you to continue taking Norvasc. Learn about the prescription medication Norvasc (Amlodipine Besylate), drug uses , dosage, side effects, drug interactions, warnings,Norvasc (amlodipine) is a calcium channel blocker used to treat high blood pressure and angina. buy Norvasc 99 for 30 pills, $64. 50 and other prescription drugs at MedStore. tes. The price is slight higher than what you would see by street vendors, but it's definitely much cleaner. They can also deliver for free for orders over $25RMB.

NOTE:  This location has closed down as o Through a combination with a beta-blockerFull chemical and drug information. VerapamilDrug information and side-effects for VerapamilCelebrex 100mg 100 Capsules $58. buy Verapamil Find Bargain Prices On Verapamil. It's in the class of blood pressure medications calledCatalogue of side effects for the medication Verapamil -- sold under multiple brand names including Calan, Verelan, Isoptin and Covera-HS -- a calcium channel blocker which may beFull prescribing information for cardiac conditions, sold under brand names including Calan, Verelan, and Covera-HS. f Feb. 2008, to my chagrin.  Hopefully some good restaurants will move in soon...

September 18, 2007

Shintori -- cool, loungy Japanese

Filed under: My Shanghai Tourist Survival Guide, Restaurants in French Concession — Tags: — fay @ 11:25 PM

Located a few doors down from People 7 and Nepali Kitchen, the resturant is hidden in a narrow alleyway with little lights on the ground. Inside, it's a huge, industrial feeling loft space. The sushi bar/open kitchen is on the first floor, while tables are sparsely placed on the first and 2nd floor. The dishes needless to say are on the pricey side. But with the kind of cool food presentation and atmosphere in there, you wouldn't mind. Oh, like in People 7, don't forget to check out the bathrooms.

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