Lynn restaurant

(OMG The Blogger firewall has been turned off! Woohoo!)

"Lynn", a brand new landmark in Shanghai's restaurant industry. To enjoy delicacies in a modern atmosphere will certainly make you relaxed and happy.

Lynn Restaurant, located in the intersection of Nanjing Road West and XiKang Road. The six feet high ceiling gives extensive vision to the restaurant, the two rows of floor-type wine cabinet at the entrance collect not only vintage wines from all over the world, but also Lynn's home-made top-grade wine. The huge tangerine fresco transmits warmth to every guest. Elegant pieces of antiquity furniture and beautiful ikebana set off low profile but luxurious atmosphere. The semi-closed separate rooms ensure you to enjoy the elegant environment of the restaurant as well as adequate
privacy.

Lynn restaurant tries to create new Shanghai Cuisines. Here, Chinese cuisines are prepared in a western way and western foods are enjoyed in a Chinese way. It's wine flavored French goose liver, Italy jellyfish with vinegar and red wine, Heilongjiang smoked egg with roe, golden pomfret, Belgium chicory and arugula salad, eight treasure hot sauce mixed with butter bean curd, smoked pomfret with jasmine flower and salad juice, all these dishes are perfect integration of both Chinese and Western foods whether in terms of ingredients or in preparation. The "Five Flavor" cold dish integrates all tastes in one dish and the seafood crispy rice with abalone juice treated in Korea-type stone wok makes you intoxicated till the last bite.

The lunch dishes are custom-made for the white collars, healthy and tasteful. Varieties of fresh fruit juices with delicate cold dishes and Shanghai and Hong Kong snacks are not only healthy but value added.

...

Lynn is busy and big and a comforting din all but drowns the contemporary lounge music. There's a film set, New York slickness to the overall effect.

As prospective diners enter and climb some cool marble steps, a decent wine selection lining the walls, greeters welcome at the top of the short flight.

Guided round a partition wall diners are presented with a grand dining hall that looks somehow familiar and immediately aesthetically gratifying. Perhaps it's the dimensions, deep and with a high ceiling. The coloring is dramatic black and white with bold reds and light woods. There's a mixture of stand-alone tables and booths all classically set and during both of Shanghai Daily's lunchtime visits it has been packed.

Lynn is the Shanghainese-style restaurant that the busy Shanghai Center's environ deserves and, with hindsight, is long overdue. Let's face it going to Italy and eating Chinese food would just be plain daft.

The menu comprises many of those favorite dishes found in the earlier mentioned establishments, various dumplings, duck, minced chicken with pine nuts, soups and the usual suspects of seasonally-priced seafood. Lunchtime has set menus on offer with the 70 yuan (US$9.05) deal being the one to go for.

It affords four courses with the likes of a mixed platter: Smoked egg and caviar, fried fish, cold chicken; soup, double-boiled meatballs with freshwater crab; vegetables; fried rice and fruit. The Lynn drink, a stimulating combination of apple, grapefruit, grape and celery, is well worth the 20 yuan. Service is effortlessly accomplished.

On arriving in this fair city I was bemused, no startled, by the notion of re nao - bustling with noise and excitement - and how the Chinese valued this, above all else, in their restaurants. I bemoaned the lack of ambience but now I stand converted.

For the full effect of Lynn get there not long after midday but book ahead. Certainly don't leave it till 1.30pm when lunch is virtually over. After all, this is China.

Link

It all started on 7 August last year when we saw this place. We didn't end up going (went to TMSK in Plaza 66 instead) but went back on 24 September when the inlaws were visiting. It cost about 490 for the 4 of us, including drinks. We were all blown away by the food. It was really tasty and amazing. My photos don't do it justice though!



Kiwifruit juice



Something I can't remember...



Thai-style fish with pinenuts





On Saturday I met up with a bunch of lovely ladies (I met through Facebook) for a all-you-can-eat dimsum (that's yumcha for you Aussies) brunch at a bargain price of 78 RMB per head. There were about 50 different dishes to choose from and it felt like we had all of them at one point! The quality and selection was really good. Unfortunately we spent so long chit-chatting and getting to know one another that before we knew it it was already 3pm and they were packing up the food and practically ushering us out the door, so the dessert was really really rushed. Still, I have no hesitation in recommending Lynn to anyone! especially if you are not used to the typical Shanghainese style of Chinese cooking. This is almost but not quite the more common and westernized Hong Kong style.




Vegetarian dish - my ayi has made this and it's one of my faves even though it's not much to look at (bean curd, bamboo and 'wood ear fungus')



Egg



Not sure since I didn't get around to tasting this - oops!



Chicken's feet and dimsums



Dim sims



Tiny little parcels wrapped in a tofu kind of skin. Nice.






Chinese-style green onion pancakes


BBQ pork buns




Lynn
99-1 Xikang Lu (near Nanjing Xi Lu, next to Plaza 66)
Phone: 6247 0101
Daily 11.30am - 2.30pm and 6.00pm - 10.00pm

Massages and Genji Japanese restaurant

Sunday 16 March - Genji Restaurant

A week ago we had our fortnightly massage at the place we always go to. Once again we have very interesting conversations with our masseuses (that word looks funny typed out). Hubby's Mandarin is getting better and can have a decent conversation with them too although I still need to translate a few things for him, and also I don't understand everything they say myself!

They are interested to learn about our lives back in Australia and we are interested in learning about theirs.

We pay 60 RMB for a 1 hour massage (either full body or foot (which also includes a back massage done sitting up)). From this they are paid a measley 16 RMB per hour (that's around $2.50) but they get an extra 5 RMB if we specifically ask for their number. Ones that we like are 8,16,17,27,37. Every time our list of numbers just grows because often we can't ge the one we want, then we realise we are pretty happy with the new person/people we get! Maybe it's because I'm not so fussy but maybe it's because I realise that back home in Australia it costs more like $60-90/hour for a massage and they aren't nearly as good.

I also learn that they work 12 hours, every day of the year. They are allowed to take time off (most will take a couple of days off during Chinese New Year only though) but choose not to because they are so hard-working and intent on making more money. However, they don't actually work for all of those 12 hours. (they work in shifts either 10am-10pm, 12noon-12midnight or 2pm-2am). Usually they only work 5-6 hours but they still have to be there in case they are called upon. During their time off they hang out in a little room next door where they either watch tv, play mahjong or sleep. The guy I spoke to (no. 27) says it's really quite boring and he doesn't like it because he's sitting there and not getting paid.

Most people have horrible calluses and protrusions growing on their knuckles from using their knuckles so much. They say it doesn't hurt anymore once it gets to a certain stage.

While they were telling us their 'stories' I almost felt like crying. Well, I was crying on the inside. That they work so hard, and make so little money, and they still seem so happy, cheerful and cooperative.

Hubby got a lady, no. 37 last week. We hadn't seen her before but she's seen hubby plenty of times. Mostly because he is tall and fair-haired and stands out easily amongst the sea of black-haired people! (most customers are Japanese). At 30, she would be one of the older staff members although she is still younger than me! She has a 4 year old son, who lives with her inlaws (as is the case with all traditional Chinese families). She says she misses him heaps but what can you do?

All of the staff members come from poor country towns and different provinces, noone is actually from Shanghai. The scary thing is that although the pay seems so low to us, the pay in Shanghai is actually the highest in the whole country! (Shanghai also has the highest cost of living, even moreso than Beijing). No. 27 - the guy I've had 3 times now says he is 25 and already feels a bit 'old' because he's not married yet and most of his friends are. Most of these country people marry in their late teens or early 20's and have had at least one kid by the age of 25 or by 29 at least. Also, in the country they can get away with having more than one child, especially if the first is a girl.

If only all of us Western brats (and yes I admit I am one) could learn something from these poor hardworking people who have hardly anything...


Congen Massage Healthcare Club

兴义店 - 兴义路48号新世纪广场1F

XinYi Branch - 1F, New World/Hong Kong Plaza, 48 XinYi Road

(they also have branches in Gubei, Jing'an, Pudong, etc..)

Ph: (021) 6209 3813 / 6209 6615




OK onto dinner!

Instead of going to our usual place we tried a new one. This place is usually very full but we never went in because it was usually full of lots of smoking Japanese men. Erk. I HATE SMOKERS! Anyway for some strange reason it was kind of empty so we decided to give it a try.

The waitress asked us if we wanted ala carte or buffet. We weren't sure but decided to go for the buffet. Of course the Chinese/accountant side of me took over and I had to calculate if we were getting our money's worth. The Japanese buffet offered here (and at many other places) isn't like Sizzler's or your typical buffet. It's still ala carte (in that you have to order off a menu) but you can get as much as you like!

It was 145 RMB per person and we ended up eating about 450-500 RMB's worth. So a total bargain! We totally stuffed ourself with as much as we could take. It also included as much tea, coffee, juice, water or beer as we wanted. Anyway enough about the rave, on with the details!












源氏

新红桥开发区兴义路48号新世纪广场

Genji

48 Xinyi Road, Hongqiao (next to the massage parlour)

(also at 1414 Huaihai Middle Road)

Ph: (021) 6208 7910

Tetsuya's lookalike in Taipei

Link

This post is not related to Shanghai

Tetsuya's is a French-Japanese fusion restaurant in Sydney, owned by Tetsuya Wakuda. I first heard about this restaurant sometime in 2000. I read about it in the SMH Good Food Guide book. I thought it sounded really good. Never got a a chance to go there though because:
1) the price for their degustation menu is something ridiculous like $180/head
2) it is so popular with yuppies you have to book at least 3 months in advance
3) I realised that the menu is mostly seafood and I don't even like seafood that much. Unlike most people I don't go gaga over prawns or raw fish!

But, you can get your Tetsuya fix in Taiwan for only $50/head! Amazing!

Taiwan is a foodie's dream come true. You can get all sorts of different Asian cuisines and European ones, catering for all price ranges. The foreign food there is cheaper than here in Shanghai! As well as that most restaurants are smoke-free and the staff are super friendly and polite. And despite me being paranoid about eating street food, I ate at Taiwan's famous night markets and didn't get sick. It is so cheap (approx. $1 a meal) and quick and tasty! How can I not promote Taiwan as an eating destination? ;)

Shortly before a recent trip to Taiwan, I was given a red-hot tip for a restaurant just outside the capital, Taipei. A colleague's friend had dined there last year and reckoned it was in the same league as Sydney's Tetsuya's but one-third of the price. It sounded like an ambitious claim. Last year Tetsuya's was named as the fifth best restaurant in the world by London's Restaurant Magazine, and was awarded the top accolade of three chefs hats by The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide. It would be fair to say I was curious but sceptical.

Armed with a name - Da Shan Wu Jia - and an address, a group of us took the plunge and headed away from the bright lights and scuffle of Taipei. We hit the foothills that surround the city and followed a narrow, winding road to the restaurant. We were greeted by an elegant waitress dressed in black and ushered to a long wooden Japanese-style table.

It was one of only six such tables, each cordoned off by bamboo screens. The decoration was simple but striking. Japanese prints and mandolins on the walls; plants and decorative ornaments placed sparingly around the room. Candles and Chinese lanterns provided a flickering, intimate light while traditional Chinese music played softly in the background.

The staff spoke very little English and although we were accompanied by a Mandarin-speaking guide, it wasn't a necessity. There are no menus to labour over and only one option available to order: a 10-course set menu.

Ten minutes later a platter of beautifully sculpted white dishes arrived on an engraved wooden serving board. Each dish contained a cube of red wine jelly which, after exchanging quizzical glances, we slurped like an oyster. It was a deliciously sweet but potent palate cleanser.

Next up was a creamy square of tofu studded with wasabi and goji (a berry often used in Chinese medicine), together with a spoonful of succulent lobster garnished with white Japanese seaweed powder.

By now my initial scepticism had been replaced with bewildered astonishment. Each course that arrived set a fresh benchmark in terms of presentation and flavour.

Over the course of three hours we sampled 10 intricately prepared culinary treats. Highlights included a citrus salad topped with juicy chunks of tuna and salmon sashimi, whole shrimps with roasted pumpkin and eggplant and a steamed egg topped with grapefruit foam served with mountain potato and crabmeat.

Some courses were better than others, but they were never less than beautifully presented in an elaborate array of ceramic, stone and glass dishes.

With regard to the comparison with Tetsuya's, two of our group had dined there recently and said that Da Shan Wu Jia was definitely in the same league. In fact, the only area in which it let itself down was the bill, which came to a very un-Tetsuya's-like $50 a head, including wine.

The chef and owner of the restaurant, Mr Yo, joined us briefly at the end of the meal and through our guide we learned that despite the Japanese influences in his cooking, he's never been to Japan. The menu changes seasonally and he often experiments with new dishes to keep his regular clientele happy. He has no website, never advertises and relies purely on word of mouth for business.

So, if you ever find yourself in Taipei and fancy both a culinary and a cultural adventure, I know this great little restaurant you simply must try.

Da Shan Wu Jia (meaning Priceless Big Mountain) is an hour from the centre of Taipei:
No. 62 Sec. 3, Beiyi Road, Xiandian City, Taipei County.
Phone (+886) (0)2 2217 8891

(I think they have a typo in the address and it's supposed to be Xindian, not Xindan! I was staying in Xindian for some of my time in Taipei too!)

Hello Kitty Cafe - Taipei, Taiwan

I have to admit, I like Hello Kitty. I know I'm a bit too old but I don't care. Heck if Hello Kitty was a real person (er cat?) she'd be the same age as me! I don't buy a great deal of HK things (in fact I have hardly any) but I really enjoy looking at HK things in stores and when I heard a new cafe had just opened in Taipei I had to go there! What were the chances that I was in Taipei at the same time? Of course I couldn't miss this opportunity!

First of all, let me backtrack a bit. When I went to Taiwan in Feb '05, my cousin (10 years older, on my mother's side) took us to Danshui and we ate at a HK cafe. It was really nice and cosy, and the food/tea there was delicious. I was dying to get back there. This time, I took my other cousin (6 years younger, on my father's side) back to Danshui and show her this great cafe. Well, we got there and were sorely disappointed to discover it does not exist anymore! Boohoo. Downstairs there is still a HK gift store, the upstairs cafe has now turned into a Japanese toy store. Hmm..

Anyway, here is a pic of the cute house-shaped cake we had at the cafe back in 2005.



And here is a selection of pics I took of the NEW Taipei HK cafe. More can be found in my Flickr photos (click any of the photos in the right hand column on this page).













This cafe opened on 18th January, 2008. I was giddy with excitement when I finally arrived there. I was so proud of myself I had just come from the Core Pacific City Living Mall and managed to read lots and lots bus signs (all with traditional Chinese characters) and figure out which bus I could take to get me there. There was only one bus that could get me there and luckily I didn't have to wait long for it.

I was very disappointed when told I'd have to wait at least 1.5 hours for a seat! There were already lots of people waiting and apparently you should book. I was so disappointed, I left empty handed and didn't even buy anything to take away :(

I did spend a while in there taking photos though (LOL). I absolutely loved the decor. My sister will tell you that growing up I was obsessed with pink and everything in my bedroom had to be pink or white so this interior was like my dream bedroom... (sigh).

Please book before you go otherwise you will have to wait hours. This cafe is very popular!


Hello Kitty Sweets

台北市大安路一段90號

90 Da'An Road, Taipei, Taiwan

(Da'An Road is across the road and perpendicular to the big Sogo department store on 45 Zhongxiao East Road (Sec. 4)).

Ph: (02) 2711-1132

Dain Ti Hill dinner and Electronic Translator

The reason why I haven't uploaded any pics for ages to my blog is because I've been having computer problems. Well not really problems as such but it's just running extremely slowly, it's driving me mad. I should get it checked out but have heard that people that deal with Macs in Shanghai aren't very knowledgeable. Ugh. Anyway despite this I'll do a post with a few pics.

Last night we had dinner in Dain Ti Hill in Metro City. We've been there a few times, but always at the one in Grand Gateway. They are on both the 4th and 5th floors in that building. We had a seat right next to the window, that look out of the huge glass/metal 'globe'.

We ordered a couple of dishes.




Tuna Salad



Chinese-style sushi with prawn, mango, and special sauce



Chicken with pine nuts (except we think they forgot the nuts!)



Fried fish



After that we went to the basement to look for an electronic dictionary/translator for the hubby. He's been going on about getting one for ages and we finally got one. We were there till after 10pm, when the stores were all closing! The one he got is a Besta CD-900. It cost 1300 RMB. It has a full colour screen. The one with a black and white (green and black?) screen cost 850. It is quite a big difference in price but we figure the colour one was better for a few reasons: the colour screen, the much brighter screen, the pen/stylus is stored inside so it won't accidently fall out, it has the ability to add SD cards later which translate between Chinese and European languages, the battery is like a mobile phone battery and fully rechargeable (the B&W one uses AAA batteries).

There are so many features it's mind boggling. It even has this cute picture dictionary. But the main feature of it that's one of the best is the ability to write characters. So if you see a character and you don't know what it is you just write it in and it tells you on screen what it is, the definition, translation, and how to pronounce it. There is audio accompanying all the thousands of words stored in there. It is also an MP3 player and more.

It's pretty cool. I wouldn't mind one for myself except I wanted traditional characters as well, and that model cost more than 3000! Such a huge price difference. Besides, I found myself getting distracted by cameras (as I'm a camera nut). When hubby was looking I wandered to the Canon camera stand next door and asked if I could have a look at their SLR cameras. It's such a difference to hold one of those instead of a small point & shoot camera! I tried the EOS 400d and EOS 40d and there is a huge difference between those two as well. I asked hubby which one I should 'get' (hypothetically speaking) and he said the smaller one. He said, quote, "The bigger one is a big man camera. It's just a big penis extension." Hahaha. Erm. As you can tell he is not into cameras at all. He is happy with his Kodak p&s camera that he got free from work!







In other news, the weather is getting warmer. It's still sunny almost every day which is great, and I can't complain about that. However, it's still as dry as heck. Almost every morning my right nostril is bleeding. Not a lot, not running, but it's still kinda scary to see. :( It's a light watery red, the colour of tomato sauce. And I'm still getting itchy eczema lumps on my face and neck every day. ARGH!

Last few days in Taipei / A couple of hours in Hong Kong ...

What did I do? Random stuff in no particular order...

* With Chinese New Year coming up (tomorrow actually) I got some red packets. Woohoo! I felt bad about taking them but I couldn't not take them so...

* I went to Guanghua market on Bade Lu and near the Technology University and Nova across the road from Taipei Main station to get me a graphics tablet. My dad took me and we traipsed around in the rain to compare prices. Unlike China they have set prices (price tags) and you can't really bargain much at all which makes it easier to compare prices. I didn't know which size I wanted/needed nor which type. In the end I went for a cheaper, smaller one as I figure I'm not gonna be drawing masterpieces or anything so I didn't really need the high end Intuous model (which cost double the price!). I got the Bamboo Fun model (from Wacom) which has a 'Fun' name (LOL) and from reviews I read online it seems to be pretty good. Yes, this research-aholic actually bought something without researching it beforehand! It cost 3420 NT, which we 'bargained' down from 3490 (other stores were selling it for 3600 and 3700). (and no, it would not be cheaper in China and comparing prices is a nightmare here). I was actually after the Hello Kitty model but they didn't sell it. The Graphire line is being phased out and replaced with the Bamboo/Bamboo Fun line.



* I went to the new Hello Kitty Cafe only to be told there was a minimum 1.5 hour wait (it was that popular) and that next time I should pre-book beforehand!

90 Da'An Road
(very close to Sogo Zhongxiao Fuxing / Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT station).

* Got my Swatch (Menthol Tone - HKD$480) only to realise it was cheaper in Taiwan (2050 NT). ARGH!

* Met up with a friend in Hong Kong (at Times Square, Causeway Bay) for one hour. She is from Taiwan originally, met her in Sydney and now living in Hong Kong.

* Nearly missed my flight in HK after telling myself I wouldn't let that happen again. Of course my plane had to be literally right at the very end of the long terminal in the very huge airport (again!) I don't know how this happened. I checked the board and it didn't say anything. It did not say "Boarding". A few minutes later I looked at it again and it said "Final Call". WTF? Needless to say I ran like crazy but I was surprisingly not even the last person to go on board. You don't want to know what it is like to travel with Mainland Chinese people (roll eyes). They think catching a plane is like catching a bus or a train!

* Can't get the Chinese New Year song out of my head. I am sure there is only one song? They play the same song in stores in China and in Taiwan. There is an English version too. OMG. It is so annoying yet so funny, I can't get that crazy song and wacky lyrics out of my head. "Gong Xi Gong Xi Gong Xi Ni..."

* I went to Core Pacific Living Mall - A 19 storeys and open 24 hours a day mall in Taipei

* I left my video camera at my grandparent's place! :(

* When I came home last night I thought "Wow, our place looks so big and so clean and tidy!" (the joys of having an ayi who cleaned our place and washed and dried and put back on all our bedding and stuff was pretty nice, as was having a chauffeur-driven taxi take me home from the airport at around midnight!)

* I'm feeling quite sad and missing my family :(

* I'm feeling quite hungry and cold so must go out now to buy food and another heater!!

Things to do in Shanghai...

After having guests stay with us recently I have made some mental notes of what they like to do.

Some are obvious like shop and eat, and shop some more, and eat some more... go to or just look at the Orient Pearl Tower. :)

Others which may not be so obvious but seem popular are:

1. Go to the fabric market. Get something made. If you want a suit you'll need at the very least a full week though. Simple things can be done in about 4 days. Bargain at least 10% if not 20% off! Start with 70% of the price they quote you. Addresses are listed in one of my older posts.

2. Get a massage. Massage places are EVERYWHERE and compared to almost any other country, are dirt cheap. The place we go to we pay 60 RMB for 1 hour for either a full body massage or foot massage. It is located in the Hongqiao/Gubei/Changning area known as "Little Japan" on Xianxia Lu and Zunyi Lu. It is always busy and they do a pretty good job!

When that's done, shop some more and eat some more ;)

Some places I can recommend are:

1. Xujiahui - where you can get anything under the sun, where there are 6? department stores, and the big Grand Gateway mall. Where the geeks can go crazy at Best Buy (or Metro City or Pacific Digital Plaza), and the foodies can go crazy at the top of Grand Gateway and Novel Place, and the shoe-aholics and clothes-aholics can go crazy at any store. My favourites are Pacific and No.6 department store. I can usually find clothes and shoes in there that I like at reasonable prices. The brands at Grand Gateway are generally way too expensive for me (since they are mostly foreign, mostly European brands). For basic staples (plain coloured tops, pants) Uniqlo (in GG) is great. Lots of easy-to-wear, mix-and-match stuff at great prices.

2. Huaihai Lu - previously known as Avenue Joffre, or the "Champs Elysee of the Orient" this road is about 15km long. Yep, mega long. It's divided up into three parts - West, Central and East. Most of the 'action' can be found in the Central part (which is also the longest). I have pretty much walked along the entire street. It is tiring but the most benefit can be gained (for a shopaholic) by walking across most of length of this street (not in the one go!). There is no point to take a taxi and you can take a bus or the subway but you miss a lot doing that since the stops can be far apart. If you are just randomly browsing it's much better to walk, and walk and... walk. Near Shaanxi Nan Lu, Maoming Nang Lu, Huangpi Nan Lu (and in between) there are lots of department stores and boutiques. This street is also the home of wedding dresses and bridal photography stores. One after another, big glass windows with glittering displays of fancy sequinned, frilled, coloured, embroidered, wedding dresses. Billions and billions of different kinds. They must do a good business because day or night, they are filled with customers looking at their large sample albums. I like to take the 911 bus along this street because it's a double decker one and you can feel like a real tourist sitting at the top and looking out the windows. At 2 RMB a trip it's fun just to ride the bus along the whole length of this road to get a feel of what it has to offer you! :) Once you have pinpointed the places that interest you (I actually marked on a map where my favourite stores were), then you can get out and start pounding the pavement.

3. Dain Ti Hill/Neo Tang Dynasty - crazy Chinese modern fushion cuisine. Really tasty. There are chains everywhere but seeing as I just talked about XJH there is one on the 5th floor of Grand Gateway. Usually it's so popular you have to queue for an hour or so but sometimes you can get lucky and only have to wait 5-10 minutes. There is also one in an expat type mall on Huahai Lu near the Hong Kong Plaza. The one with Delifrance out the front.

4. Lynn - modern Shanghainese cuisine. Now I don't normally like Chinese food much but this place was out of this world. It would have gotten a 10/10 if it weren't for the fact that they allowed smoking. The fish with pinenuts was absolutely delicious. It looks like an expensive type of place too (being right near the Ritz Carlton hotel and Nanjing Xi Lu) but for 4 people we paid 490 RMB including drinks.
99-1 Xikang Lu near Nanjing Xi Lu 西康路99-1号近南京西路

5. Wagas - the good ol' staple. My husband is addicted to this place. Opened by an Australian there are now restaurants all over Shanghai. It serves simple, healthy stuff - sandwiches, wraps, salads, pasta for a reasonable price, and great smoothies and freshly squeezed juices. Everything is really fresh! If you go after 6pm they have specials on the pasta. The one on Huaihai Lu near Huangpi Nan Lu is always busy and easily accessible.