cover:
Shanghai’s Best Kept Secrets

Jamie.Barys, 2010-11

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.

Web: www.shanghaisolved.com

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

Activities

French Facials for a Steal – Ann Jema

Hidden in plain sight on Hongmei’s busy Commercial street, Ann Jema has been offering health you can smell to China since 2002. The French beauty brand was founded 40 years ago with the idea of using aromatherapy to harmonise the body with nature. Today, Ann Jema has made a name for itself among in-the-know spa-goers for its facials. Ninety minutes of perfumed bliss costs you less then RMB 400, and fans claim its one of the best facials in the city.

3325 Hongmei Lu, near Huaguang Lu. Tel: 5422 1735

Lazy, Thirsty Sunday Afternoon – Nanxiang Tea House

Nanxiang is one of the best spots in town for tea connoisseurs to while away a lazy afternoon, and then pick up tea leaves from the attached store. Ask for varieties grown on Nanxiang’s three tea plantations in Yunnan, Hangzhou and Fujian for the best infusions. This chaguan also stocks beautiful handmade tea sets and other wares, which make perfect gifts for friends and family back home. Don’t miss the second floor Pu’er storage room, a sight to behold (and smell).

438 Xiangyang Nan Lu, near Jianguo Lu. Tel: 6431 5012

Bars

Japanese Champagne Cocktails – Ci5

The Japanese have always one-upped their Asian neighbours when it comes to mixing drinks, and Ci5 is no exception. You’ve probably walked past the 25-seat Champagne bar en route to the local Dongbei diner without ever realising some of the best bubbly cocktails in the city were being quaffed behind its quiet exterior. Be prepared to pay a seating fee, and the booze isn’t cheap either, but the service is good, the ambience is better and the drinks are delicious.

1797 Huaihai Lu, near Wanping Lu. Tel: 6471 8060

Bohemian Escape – Y.Ys (Yin Yang)

Although Y.Ys is one of the city’s oldest bars and featured in Wei Hui’s Shanghai Baby, it remains a lesser-known venue. The basement club has long since closed, but the small upstairs seating area festooned with old communist relics still remains. It’s the perfect venue for an afternoon cup of tea, a pre-dinner aperitif from their list of Belgian beers or a stiff nightcap at the break of dawn. A sign over the door declares ‘keyi tan’, and the inimitable atmosphere of Y.Ys will surely get you talking.

125 Nanchang Lu, near Ruijin Er Lu. Tel: 6466 4098

Bargain Asahi – Lotus Land

I bet you’re thinking, “Lotus Land on a list of hidden gems? C’mon!” I know, I know, but Lotus Land has opened a new restaurant (same name, different cuisine – they moved from India to Japan) and they’re serving draft Asahi for RMB 10. Per pint glass. All the time. Just a stone’s throw from the Bund, this little underground restaurant is the perfect place to get your buzz going before heading off to highrolling bars and peeling some pink ones off your bankroll.

Basement of Times Square. 99 Huaihai Zhong Lu, near Pu’an Lu

Shopping

Tea for a Pittance – Tianshan Tea Market

Offering four floors of tea leaves, tea wares, antiques and Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Tianshan Tea Market is the centre of Shanghai’s tea culture. Friendly vendors offering free samples are the best part of this wholesale market – definitely take a sip of everything before you buy it. Whether you’re hunting for the rare Anji white tea or just looking for a tea set that won’t break the bank, Tianshan Tea Market will help you stock up on all your tea and TCM needs at a great low price.

520 Zhongshan Xi Lu, near Yuping Lu Recommended by Shopping Tours Shanghai. Web: www.shoppingtoursshanghai.com

Most Original Christmas Presents – Painter Street

Ever wanted to replace a celebrity mugshot with your friend’s face, but needed a medium classier than Photoshop? The Painter Street in Xujiahui is the answer to your prayers. Recent graduates of art schools are waiting with paintbrushes in hand to turn magazine pages and old photographs into mantle place-worthy art. Prices aren’t bad considering you’re commissioning your own painting, and the alley is next to a huge furniture markets so you can easily redecorate according to your painting’s colour scheme.

Painter’s Street, 212 Wending Lu near Nandan Lu

Neighbourhood Cigar and Wine Bar – Sommelier

Good cigars are often likened to great wines, and at this newly-opened epicurean shop, you can have both. The Shanghainese owner prefers the Old World terroir of Europe and only the finest tobacco leaves from Cuba, thus a wine rack and humidor boast the best of both regions. The store doubles as a wine and cigar bar, and you’re invited to kick back and talk about what great taste in luxury products you have while enjoying your purchases at a tea table in the back room.

115 Wukang Lu, near Hunan Lu. Tel: 159 0538 8185

Pimp Your Kitchen – Shanghai Hotel Equipment Centre

Forget IKEA, Pantry Magic and that tragic little corner store hawking aluminum pots and pans that melt on high heat. Shanghai Hotel Equipment Centre is the be all and end all of shops designed to stock your kitchen in this city. The warehouse stretches over three floors, all filled to the brim with every imaginable cooking accessory, from gas stoves to glassware to industrial-sized woks. Did we mention that everything is going for wholesale prices to boot?

345 Aomen Lu, near Jiangning Lu Recommended by Shopping Tours Shanghai.

Web: www.shoppingtoursshanghai.com

Best Foot Forward – Sam the Shoe Man

Louboutin, Choo, Blahnik, McQueen, Dior and more delivered to your door? It sounds too good to be true and, strictly speaking, it is. This is, after all, the land of shanzhai, which means rather than paying thousands of RMB for a pair of designer shoes, you can buy ‘designer’ shoes for mere hundreds. To shop Sam’s massive range: go to the website, find what you like, then send him an email to get a price quote and make sure they are available in your size (up to 42!). When you’ve confirmed your purchases, Sam brings them to your house so you can try them on and pay cash on delivery. It’s just too easy and unlike standard online shopping, you get to check out the quality in person before handing over your cash.

Web: http://photo.163.com/highheelreal

An Authentic Antique Experience – Mulan Hua Ge Curio Warehouse

Deep in the nether regions of Pudong is a time machine ready to take shoppers into the living rooms of pre-Cultural Revolution China. With mountains of chairs, stacks of tables and towers of trunks dominating this chaotic warehouse, the Mulan Hua Ge Curio Warehouse houses the city’s best disarray of antique furniture we’ve ever seen. Sifting through the Oriental screens and Buddha statues that dot the landscape is no easy task, but with prices almost offensively low, you won’t find a better deal on antiques in Shanghai.

San Lin Jiyang Lu, near Shanghai Pusan Weixiu Station, Jiyang Lu Metro Stop (Line 8). Tel: 5841 7001

Restaurants

Jaw-Dropping Dinner Show – Hai Di Hot Pot

Hai Di Hot Pot employs the Harlem Globetrotters of la mian and rejects from the Olympic rhythmic gymnastics team to ensure their pasta deserves its reputation of “kung fu” noodles. The culinary martial artists start with a small ball of dough, flinging out the noodle into one thin, flat piece, then whipping it through the air in an impressive edible ribbon dance. By the time the noodle has reached the length of a jump rope, they slam dunk it into the hot pot. And the crowd goes wild!

1868 Tongchuan Lu, near Zhenguang Lu. Tel: 5276 5363. 4F, 468 Changshou Lu, near Changde Lu. Tel: 6277 0701. 2F, 263 Haining Lu, near Wusong Lu. Tel: 6309 7329

Chicken Soup for the Soul – Bai Jia Qian Wei

Perhaps it was all those free samples of questionable teriyaki, but there’s something about mall eateries that made our stomachs turn – until we tried Bai Jia Qian Wei. The restaurant has us returning to the well-lit hallways of commerce for cuisine from the wildly under-appreciated region of Anhui. Order the Bai Jia Ruyi Ji specialty, a soup covering a free-range chicken so tender that it makes a butter knife work like a samurai sword. Organic rice sops up the golden broth for a bite which is guaranteed to change your world.

5F, 818 Nanjing Xi Lu, near Shimen Yi Lu. Tel: 5696 4800

Little Shop of Noodles – Wei Xiang Zhai

Expat foot traffic down the oddly cobblestoned Yandang Lu tends to pass the rundown Wei Xiang Zhai by, but this tiny sesame noodle shop is worth dropping into. No English is spoken, but miming your order is a cinch. Simply point to the bowl of sesame noodles that every diner in the place is enjoying with abandon. You may have to fight for seats, but it’s the best damn noodle shop in town and you have to fight for your right to slurp.

14 Yandang Lu, near Huaihai Zhong Lu. Tel: 5383 9032

Cafe with Character – GZ Cafe

While we’re solidly on the southern side of the Shanghai-Beijing rivalry, we admit the capital has a few winners, mainly art, live music and coffee shops. But with its tchotkes, furniture hodgepodge and global selection of beans, GZ Caf®¶ feels like it was plucked right out of Wudaokou. The homey atmosphere is more like your best friend’s living room than a coffee shop. It’s the perfect alternative to Starbucks – if you can find it in the maze of lanehouses.

No. 162, Lane 1025 Nanjing Xi Lu, near Jiangning Lu. Tel: 5213 2139

Late Night Munchies – Fukuchan Yakitori

Behind Fukuchan Yakitori’s sliding door on Changle Lu, you’ll find one of the city’s most authentic (and smallest) Japanese restaurants. The long-time favourite serves up some of the best yakitori and kushiyaki this side of the East China Sea. Be sure to sample their wide range of charcoal grilled chicken skewers and bacon wrapped asparagus rolls, paired with a delicious bowl of ramen and washed down with an icy cold Asahi. Even better for night owls, Fukuchan is open until 2am.

223 Changle Lu, near Shaanxi Nan Lu. Tel: 5403 6270

WIN!

Know a secret we didn’t divulge? Show us how well you know Shanghai by sending in your favourite hidden gem to be in with a chance to win one of these fabulous prizes: