Shanghai Food Blogs
What to do when you get too full for another chopstick-ful of the city’s finest foods? Read about them, of course! Here’s the city’s most mouthwatering food blogs on a platter.
The Semi-Pro: Sugared & Spiced
When she’s not flitting around the globe on one of her ‘escapades’, Cindy scours the city for the best in brunch, afternoon tea and fine dining. The blogger has only been online since August 2009, but her musings on Shanghai’s dining scene have garnered more than 4,000 Weibo followers and scored her invitations to tastings at some of the city’s best restaurants. Careful to always divulge when she’s sampling food at the behest of the owner, the blog is an honest and refreshing look at the city’s more delicious side. For a sweet sample of Cindy's expertise, check out her Shanghai Brunch Guide – a no-nonsense guide to mid-day weekend meals.
The Locavore: Wok With Me Baby
Mary Anne Oxendale invites diners to “watch me try to cook non-Chinese food in China”. Tired of relying on overpriced products from imported grocery stores, she hopes to inspire her friends stranded in second- and third-tier cities around the country by making improbable dishes from scratch, like her ‘Ricotta Ravioli with Chinese Characteristics’. Not content to buy creamy, pre-made ricotta from the local grocer, Oxendale makes her own in just a couple hours. Then she cements her overachiever reputation by making her own ravioli wrappers.
Miss Congeniality: Life on Nanchang Lu
No one walks away from Fiona Reilly uncharmed. The author of the blog about ‘Shanghai Life, Food and Adventures’ was an ER doctor in her previous life in Australia, and now she’s studying Chinese, raising two girls and eating everything in sight. Part-recipe book, part-travelogue, Life on Nanchang Lu doesn’t stick to its street address; Reilly takes the blog to far-flung places and eats her way into kitchens where she makes fast friends through the language of food. Reilly participated in a Foodbuzz’s Project Food Blog competition, ranking in the top 100 out of more than 2,500 food blogs around the world. She credits the competition with getting her out of her comfort zone and doing projects she wouldn’t normally try, like learning to debone a whole duck, then deep-frying it.
The Glutton: The Thirsty Pig
The pig started looking for a drink in December 2008 in Los Angeles before migrating to China. Billing his blog as “Snapshots of the Wet, Savory, & Delectable”, Jimmy Chang ranks his dining conquests on a pig scale – zero pigs means don’t believe the hype, but few restaurants have earned his highest ranking of three pigs. On his website, he describes a ‘three pig’ restaurant as a ‘National Gastronomic Treasure’, or as he explains, “It’s a place where you are willing to stand in line, to drive through traffic or through rain, snow, sleet – whatever it takes to get there.” On his list? Pane e Vino, Jing’an and Goga. Read his ‘Good Grubbing Noodle’ post to find out where to chow down on the best bowl of RMB 10 noodles in town.
The Budding Restaurateurs: Artisan Foods Inc
Jesse and Stephanie, the couple behind Artisan Foods Inc, both come from families that own restaurants, and they have aspirations to open their eatery in Shanghai within the next year. The recipe-based blog started in August of this year as a way to build buzz for their brick and mortar project, then took on a virtual life of its own. With western food you can’t find anywhere else in the city (avocado fries, anyone?), they whip up some of the more interesting dishes on the web. Dig into their ‘Lobster with Shiitake and Chive Oil’ post. It extends beyond their typical recipes, taking readers to the Tongchuan Seafood Market and offering a few handy tips on how to shop at local wet markets.
Web: www.artisanfoodsinc.wordpress.com
The Street Foodie: Shanghai Foodist
To limit Jake DeLois’ repertoire to street food seems unfair; he’s the Renaissance man of Shanghai’s food blogging scene, with picture-heavy posts covering the entire spectrum from fine dining reviews to wet market commentaries. But what he does best is street food – and gorgeous photography. For a savoury sampling go to ‘The Perfect Dumpling’ category. DeLois is always on a quest for the city’s best jiaozi, whether it’s making it himself or heading up to the Muslim Market for an order of lamb guotie. With mouth-watering pictures and strong editorial content, it’s no wonder SH Foodist gets 60,000 hits a month.