CITTA
Popular Italian café and bistro comes up trumps with a super-thick, tasty hot chocolate for ¥30. Best drunk on an empty stomach. Prepare for a sugar rush.
835 Huaihai Lu, near Maoming Lu, 5466 1765
淮海路835号, 近茂名路
KAKAW
Kakaw’s gorgeous offering is a mix of three Belgian chocolates. At ¥21, it’s one of the city’s best deals. Closed on Sundays.
Sweeter than coffee, smoother than tea and tastier than boring old shui, hot chocolate occupies a place all of its own in the hot beverage pantheon. Luckily Shanghai has plenty of ho-cho options. Here are 10 of the best:
1. Rosa Gallica
This attractive florist shop in the Ferguson Lane complex sells fresh blooms as well as house plants and floral paraphernalia.
Ferguson Lane, 376 Wukang Lu, near Tai'an Lu
2. Caojiadu Flower Market
Tucked away between high rises, this sprawling flower market stocks every imaginable flower, bouquet and receptacle.
1148 Changshou Lu, near Wanhangdu Lu
3. Au Nom de la Rose
This French Concession flower shop is a go-to for scented blooms.
A bouquet of flowers adds an instant hit of summer to your living room (and helps disguise those not-so-pleasant Shanghai smells wafting around at this time of year). There are plenty of florists and flower markets selling fresh blooms around the city, from chic boutiques to cheap-as-chips flower markets. Here are 10 we love.
1. See Shanghai in Miniature @ Urban Planning Exhibition Hall
If you still haven’t made it to this museum, set aside your next rainy day for a trip. It’s located inside the weird white up-ended spaceship in People’s Park, and is most famous for its amazing scale model of Shanghai that you can walk around on a series of raised platforms. The archive photos of Shanghai through the ages are also worth a look, and we particularly enjoyed steering a ship up the Huangpu on the special simulator.
With the advent of summer, Shanghai turns into an outdoor paradise of terraces and patios. But what about when the plum rains come? Here are six things to do indoors when the xiayu starts.
1. Chung Hwa Pencils: Every kid who has sat the gaokao knows about these pencils. Green and sleek, with a 2B lead for best performance, they are a snip at 1 RMB each. The pencils are made by the China First Pencil Company Ltd., which was indeed China’s first pencil company when it was started by Wu Gengmei in 1935.
China gets plenty of flak for ripping off foreign brands, but it has a history of classic names all of its own. Here are five of the most iconic, all of which hail from Shanghai.
1. Yao Chen
Find out what happens in the daily life of a Chinese actress. Yao Chen might not be the most famous, but Weibo loves her. She was the first user to top 1 million followers in February 2010.
2. Wang Jiayun
China’s answer to Twitter is getting bigger and bigger. Just like its forerunner, Sina Weibo is attracting celebrities, politicians, businesspeople and… attention seekers. Here’s a round-up of the best and weirdest (including a couple of names you will definitely recognize).
Every city has a set of bars that define its scene. For us, these are the bars that have defined Shanghai nightlife. If you have never been to them, get on it.
Bar Rouge Shanghai
You mean you haven't been here yet?
1. Anna Maya
This cute cafe on Taojiang Lu serves a great selection of vegetarian and vegan food in a retro setting.
2. Kush
The newest kid on the block, Kush is a tiny space with a strong sustainable focus, serving tasty Western and Asian dishes.
It's not easy being a vegetarian in Shanghai, but the good news is that the city now has a decent array of veggie and vegan restaurants, from Western-style cafes to Buddhist havens serving Chinese fare. Here are the five vegetarian restaurants we like best.
Mr Pancake House's pancakes
For a city so devoted to jian bing, Shanghai is suprisingly blessed when it comes to Western pancakes of the sweet variety. Here are five of our favorites restaurants in Shanghai to get western breakfast staple, pancakes.
Sushi Abuse
This new sushi place on Yanping Lu serves sustainably sourced fish inside imaginative maki rolls.
Kush
This summer has brought a raft of great new restaurants and bars to Shanghai. Here are 10 of our favorites.
What is it: Three parts vodka, one part lemon juice and six parts tomato juice (plus all the tangy Tabasco, horseradish and pepper you can handle).
Where is it from: The Bloody Mary's origins are blurry (kinda like last night). The cocktail could be named after England's Queen Mary 1st, a Chicago barmaid, or the actress Mary Pickford.
Famous Bloody Mary fans: Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and anyone who's ever had a hangover.
