Shanghai’s Best Kept Secrets
Shanghai TALK editors have a pretty sweet gig. We get paid to schmooze with bigwigs, rub elbows with local celebrities and eat and drink at the latest and greatest restaurants and bars. Inevitably, we are let in on a few secrets and sometimes we end up shielding our personal favourite spots to shop, eat, drink, relax and more from the public eye for our own selfish ends, but no longer! Shanghai, we entrust you with our deepest and darkest. Go forth and enjoy, my friends. Just don’t tell everyone.
Online
The Website for Serious Cooks – Gusto Fine Foods
Any chef worth his salt knows a menu is only as good as the raw ingredients, but home cooks lack the supplier lists to whip up their favourite restaurant dishes – until now. Gusto Fine Foods has supplied high-end restaurants and every five-star hotel in town since 2005, and now they’re delivering edible flowers, microgreens and organic produce to the public, not to mention Amelia’s Jams & Chutneys, Nonna’s Ice Cream and Sweets and Oh Mama Mia’s pastas, so now you can cook and shop like the pros.
Web: www.gusto-homedelivery.com
Online Answers to EveryQuestion – Shanghai Solved
Not just a way to make seasoned expats feel infinitely superior to the FOBs (although that certainly is one of the perks), Shanghai Solved is actually a pretty nifty tool for the city’s foreign community. The user-generated website promises a “Better Answers, Better Life” to all of its users, not to mention a handful of bragging-rights badges for regular contributors. Whether you’re looking for an American sign language interpreter or just trying to locate the best bong seller in town, Shanghai Solved has the answer.
Taobao for the Character Illiterate – Shopping Lu
Shopping Lu launched in September, offering residents of Shanghai a bilingual platform to shop for everything from bags to electronics. Tagged “The First E-Shop for Foreigners in China”, the website offers 20 to 80 per cent off products and a live online chat service so e-shoppers can contact sellers in real-time to discuss delivery options. With five payment options and brand new stock, this site is guaranteed to be a lifesaver for expats the city over.
Web: www.shoppinglu.com
