1 Feb 2010
Shanghai is an enormous metropolis made up of tiny neighbourhoods, with twenty million people- none of whom look where they’re going.
Any guide can only give one glimpse of the whole, so what the hell- here’s mine.
Food
OK here’s the thing with eating in Shanghai. Everywhere is aimed at someone- from big business banquets to ditzy shopping princesses with more eyeliner than sense, to lonely Japanese businessmen.
If you’re an expat then you probably want certain things (waiters that don’t ignore you, menus with pictures and/or english, no flourescent strip lighting, service after 8:30pm). Well stop trying to find that elusive little authentic place and go where someone is set up to give that to you.
Here are four styles of Chinese food at four different restaurants- there’ll be plenty of foreign faces at all of them, but you’re just going to have to suck it up.
Sichuan food with the spice flame turned up to about a 4, but all of the flavour. I’m told PinChuan is the most authentic place in town, but the citizen has a better drinks list, (a lot) less attitude from the staff, and the pork and potato stew that I sometimes daydream about
2. Southern Barbarian (Yunnan food)
It’s buried away at the back of a shopping mall, and yet everyone knows about how good the fried Goat’s cheese, Chicken wings, potato pancakes and Aubergine is here.
I think the mashed Broadbean with ham is the best thing on the menu- Dingle thinks it smells like wet dog. We’re both right.
3. Guyi (Hunan style)
Great ribs, great pickled stuff, flashy interior to take guests too. The branch on Fumin Lu is packed- the tables outside are for the people waiting, the branch in a Jing-An shopping mall is a lot quieter with the same food.
4. Lynn (Shanghainese)
Fancy Shanghainese place for fancy Shanghainese locals. They’ll bring you a little stool to put your LV bag on- so make sure it at least looks real.
Everything tastes good here- the dimsum, the Shanghai duck, the vegetables, the soup. You have to order with a little care- one wrong step onto the Abalone & Shark’s Fin page will cost a few Maos, but this place is as good a representation of modern Shanghai as any backstreet noodle shop.
Booze
I’m not really built for drinking in Shanghai- too much of it assumes that a great night involves air kisses, fighting your way to the bar, shouting your order over bland music, then handing over the price of my first car for the bill.
F. That.
Here are some cheap places.
Bargains / Dives
A classy place that just happens to be cheap. Below 100RMB for a bottle of wine and with good food and music too.
Two locations: French Concession and Xintiandi
I think after you live in Shanghai for about 8 months you have to sign a piece of paper swearing that you hate this place- it’s between 80 and 150 RMB to get in, which isn’t bad since you get some of the best DJs in the world until 6am, and a back room playing pretty decent hip-hop, often with a live MC. But it’s free drinks all night, so unless you’re new in town you have to pretend it’s just awful- (extra cool points for claiming you simply can’t drink the spirits because they’re not premium brands).
At the top of Hengshan Road
Bonbon closed a few months back. RIP.
The Bund is where all of the most expensive restaurants and clubs are- after all you have to pay for the great view right?
Wrong. The terrace at this backpackers hostel is as good as 3 on the Bund and better than Glamour Bar, Laris, D&G Bar, Aquarium, the Peace Hotel etc. etc.
Reasonable drinks prices, and you’ll feel like you’ve found a secret.
A small bar that looks like it’s closed from the outside- except for the 10 French guys opposite smoking and trying on each others hats. It’s rough around the edges, has Tiger for 30RMB and on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays is a great place to hear ace leftfield music and talk to sound people from all over the place.
The street its on used to be a wasteland, but now there are Dada and Anar with similar music and bar prices to keep you busy.
A dive bar that’s 10 RMB a drink which means no pretension; people are here to get drunk and dance around like a tit (to hip-hop at the weekend and anything goes mid-week).
Fun, especially towards the end of the night cos they only close when the last person gives up.
Since Windows Too closed (no loss to me, it was always way to packed and way too shady) there are now two Windows in town. Windows Scoreboard (closed Jan 2010), and Windows Underground.
They’re all linked by cheap booze: beers for 10-25RMB, 10RMB for B52 shots, 20RMB for spirits, very cheap food, and some unbelievable all-you-can-drink offers mid-week. Windows Underground sounded like it was going to be very cool at one point, it was going to have live music and suchlike. Well they scrapped that idea, and now it’s a hang out for local Shanghainese to dance to hip-hop.
Still the drinks are a bargain and you can get loaded here before you go onto somewhere where the sinks aren’t full of puke.
I hesitate to recommend this because it looks like it might not be around forever, but you know what? It’s Shanghai- we could all wake up tomorrow and find that KFC has closed it’s doors and moved out overnight.
The owner of Exit has made a place he’d want to get drunk in- well, in fact he does. Good music that you don’t have to yell over, friendly atmosphere, realistic drinks prices, a Long Island Ice Tea that makes you want to smash up a doll’s house with a kettle.
Exit closed Dec 2009, Sergio says he’ll open up somewhere else more central. After a long rest.
A dive bar with loads of dartboards, cheeky staff (who’ll call and order you a pizza since they don’t really do food), 25RMB Tigers and snake Baijiu hidden in a green bag on the bar
(which they’ll only let you drink if there aren’t many people in, cos it’s illegal and takes the skin off the roof of your mouth. Also they put the price of it up every time I go in there. In fact I think there’s only me that ever drinks the stuff)
I heart Harley’s!
Tucked away down an alleyway at the junction of Huashan Lu and Fuxing Lu, I don’t get to this place as often as I should. It’s cool, beer is 20RMB, they have a band on sometimes, and an old Iraqi banknote with Saddam Hussein on it behind the bar.
Classy places
Not as good as it once was (it’s crap on a Saturday night when you talk to your friends over the noise of the band) but I’ve spent more time in this place than my own bathroom.
Then again, my bathroom doesn’t have good boozing food, solid table service (other than the time they brought me two main courses) and a happy hour from 4-8pm.
It’s good at changing from a comfortable local type place during the week, to a smart venue to take people at the weekend maybe they turn the lights down or something, I don’t know, I’m not a professor.
@Tongren Lu (the good end).
Horrendously expensive (well, I think 65 for a cocktail is dear anyway) but with great drinks and the best location in town.
The Bund is more famous, but nothing’s more chilled out than on an island in the middle of a lake in People’s Park. Only worth it for one or two at the start of the night, but a real breath of fresh air in the middle of the city.
People’s Park- in the middle of a lake.
Cocktails called things like “Spring Water” and “Girls In Japan, spotlights picking out each individual table, a door that requires some kind of secret code (or someone leaving through it) to open.
The first time I went, someone explained to me why the toilets were so bizarre:
To fuck with your head man! To fuck with your head!
Which, you know, is fun sometimes. There’s a People’s 6 too which is as mad as the other one.
Somewhere inbetween
The Beaver (AKA The Eager Beaver)
The friendliest bar in Shanghai / the world- I would happily drink on my own there, as anyone sat around the big horseshoe bar is fair game for conversation.
When you’ve made new mates play on the Championship quality Table Football. Loads of different beers too, and the manager generally end up as drunk as you.
Other stuff
If you don’t enjoy ferries then I don’t know what’s wrong with you . I mean seriously, are you one of those people who thinks the Red Hot Chilli Peppers version of “Higher Ground” was better than the original? One of those people who buys Vanilla Ice-Cream because you read that Haagen Dazs use slightly better quality ingredients in it since there’s no other flavouring to mask the cream so you think you’re getting a better deal? One of those wankers who put their seat all of the way back for an entire 8 hour flight- even when the cabin crew SPECIFICALLY TELL YOU that we’re landing so you’ll have to stop crushing my knees for 10 minutes.
You need to have a word with yourself my friend, because people like you will be first up against the wall come the revolution. Am I making myself clear?
[Oh, the ferry is at the Southern end of the Bund-it's 2RMB and the view's dead good]
And here are another six tips for Shanghai
Dear sir, please note that the beer in Harleys Bar has now increased to 25RMB, scandalous if you ask me
What about Excalibur as well?
Excalibur-
A whore bar where one of the girls used to be fit. Worst table football in the East, beer tastes slightly metallic, great artwork behind the bar. Two thumbs up.
Jacking up the prices at Harleys eh? Must be saving up for a refurb of the gents’ toilets
Why did I never hook up with that cute french manager of Logo
*sighs*
first thing I step in to the club he gave me a warm welcome because he has seen my blog
I’m so lovelorn
it must be great to be so famous
how about G+SH?
I like that place, when some of the best DJs in the World play there.
Am coming to Shanghai from Sydney for the first time on Wednesday with a good girl friend. Just for shopping and holiday for 5 days. Where’s the best website to get addresses for these places? Thanks! Love a good blog.
For shopping places?
Well if I don’t mention http://siyansblog.blogspot.com then she’ll cry- but I think superfuture.com has a decent map of the shopping areas in Shanghai http://superfuture.com/city/city/city.cfm?city=108
. It depends on what you’re after really- fake stuff: Pudong Science & Technology metro station, fashionable stuff, Changle Lu, High End- Nanjing Xi Lu.
Good luck!
Thanks Swiss James! Very kind of you. Amazing hairy crabs by the way!!
We’re very excited.
Manda
Just remember folks that by supporting the Chinese economy you are effectively supporting the regime in North Korea. Something to ponder the next time you purchase something that was made in China.
in the same way as singing “Happy Birthday” is effectively killing Iraqi civilians.
It’s a global economy – there’s not much that isn’t made in China now – even BMW and Mercedes are making cars here, Nokia making phones and Swiss James making airports. Anyway what’s wrong with supporting North Korea – after paying for their nuclear weapons they need a bit of cash to help feed the people!
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I used your guide and checked out Logo last friday night. Was worried about being a girl on my own in Shanghai but no probs here. Great spot and very nice casual vibe. Unfortunately didn’t see the guys with the hats. Maybe next time. Cheers for the guide!
Melb Girl- glad you enjoyed it! Everyone in Shanghai was new just a few years ago so most people are pretty friendly. I found that I’d go out on my own to somewhere like Logo and then just ask if it was OK to follow them around for the rest of the night.
By the way- if the people at The Spot are reading this- it’s another reason why you lot should give me one of your VIP cards!
Thanks for sharing
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Why does everyone hate babyface? I still think it’s funny to go there, allways loads of people and often met cool chinese people there. Ok, hardly any foreigners and a lot of drunk people, but still a good party their and drinks are cheap, too.
Thanks for your cool guide, actually never saw you at The Spot before…I should start using my eyes
Bye
babyface: Horror
And the mentality of “pretending bonbon is just AWFUL” certainly applies to Windows, simply because…wait for it…i just seem to end up there alte into the night
i mean you’re drunk, have blown a chock of cash at bar rouge, met some good people at Muse, which doesnt have much after 3 am, and then seem to want a place packed, with ok music (good with the white dj from the bay area—if u like old school/underground like myself), and cheap beers to “power down” if you will.
so, i guess my brain will never truly finish the mental battle of whether or not Windows is a shady colombian coke hub or a late night, whatever goes good place to end up with a cold heiny.
but i probably wont go for a while…on second thought, maybe. ahh fuck it, lets go
Cheers,
Henry
Unless you haven’t experienced it yet, I think ‘The Shelter’ should be up there on your list. I had a great saturday night there—actually was there till about 430 am with 10 people!!!They all enjoyed a bit of a change from the bump and jump of bonbon and the thin wallets after a night at Rouge.
I wanted to express how pleased I am with your selection of Logo to be on your list. Great place last SUNDAY! Who said you can’t party on a night before work? (and the 100 RMB free flow wednesday at Muse2 was pretty fantastic as well; check it out lads!)…
Hope to be checking out the Digital Garden event tonight at Rouge- not for the booze, of course; otherwise i have to go hunt for another job. And probably end up at the Shelter again—once again, probably my 2nd favorite shanghai club…with Attica being first (come on, 1 drink with the 100 RMB cover is fine with me, combined with a beautiful view of the bund on the outdoor patio).
Cheers to the weekend!
Henry
I think you’re right about Shelter- it’s my favourite club by a good distance these days. Dark and sweaty, cheap drinks, all the money goes on getting good DJs in.
The hip-hop thing that’s on tonight looks good, maybe I’ll see you there!
Quality Control
Alcohol is not healthyhello,
love your blog. most organized, user friendly, and informative that i’ve found thus far.
i was wondering if YOU were a chinese american lady traveling to Shanghai for a five days, would you feel safe enough to travel to divey bars alone?
oh and you are a chinese american lady who does not speak mandarin.
thanks!
jen
Jen- no problem, you might get guys trying to pick you up, but no more than you would in the states. The dive bars are friendly than the posh ones anyway.
Jen – If James was a Chinese American lady, I’d probably find him even more attractive than he already is. It’s probably safer to go to the bars with a trio of British bloggers to protect you from letchy middle aged expats who might mistake you for a local girl.
that would be lovely, but i don’t want to trouble anyone. If at any time a trio of british bloggers are out and about having beverages between January 16 to the 20th, let me know and i will try to make it out.
y there is no “the shelter”on the list?
I loved this post. It got me around town when I first arrived alone. James, you=the best.
Blimey, I really should update this list…
Yes, surely The Beaver should be in the “classy places” category!
what about tong ren lu?
its got heaps of friendly bars. the other patrons are extremely welcoming when you walk in and you can take your pint from one bar to the next and no one bats an eyelid. It’s open till 10 am and you can buy pizza from the stand outside Woodstock.
AND its full of prostitutes.
deserves a mention that’s all im saying.
bon bon is now permanently closed.
Exit didn’t last forever, but it did last a couple years past this post… Exit’s finally saying farewell this week. RIP.
TOngren Lu is now closed due to the expo and all the before metioned prostitutes. The drinks weren’t that cheap anyways. So what do you think of the bulldog? 50 rmb for a pint and usually 2 for 1.
Moe- the drinks were expensive on TRL, except for at the restaurant on the 3rd floor of Judy’s.
The Bulldog (after the refurb) started off well with the whole 2-4-1 thing, but the last time I went they were just charging 2x the price of anywhere else, and then giving you a ‘free’ one.
No bargains to be had there.
Exit Bar is up and running on a new location now: 98 Chang Shu Rd. close to Chang Le Rd on the 4th floor with amazing balcony and is called Belvedere by EXIT, fyi