About This Site

Background

I feel a great responsibility to ensure that vistors to Shanghai do not leave disappointed. It's entirely possible to come here and visit very mediorcre places and leave feeling very underwhelmed. But that's only because you did not know where to find some of the good places to eat, drink and enjoy what Shanghai has to offer. It's not your fault - you didn't have time to do the research before you arrived. Or perhaps you did some research but some of the best places aren't talked about on the internet. Perhaps they've only just opened or just not on the radar of the popular travel sites.

I had a friend visit Shanghai recently and to help him, or her, I can't actually remember which friend it was, I put together a short list of places worth checking out in a PDF document. Then another friend came for a visit and I just sent them a copy of the PDF file with apologies for some recommendations that were probably suited to the original friend, but might not be suitable for him. Everyone is different.

But then the number of friends visiting Shanghai seemed to explode as the horrors of the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to fade from everyone's memory. The humble PDF file wasn't going to be sufficient. And so I decided to convert the PDF file into a webpage. As I was in the process of transferring the PDF file contents to the webpage, I kept thinking of new things that could be added. What if someone breaks a tooth at The Cheesecake Factory and needs to see a dentist urgently? I should probably include details of a good one. And so the list kept growing. New sections were added and existing sections were further expanded. Shanghai changes fast - new restaurants and bars pop up all the time and entire shopping malls seem to appear overnight. This site will likely never be finished, but that's part of the fun.

So here we are, an ever-evolving to the places I feel are worth checking out, whether you're visiting or perhaps newly settled in Shanghai. I hope you find it helpful. If your time here is made better by discovering something through this site, then my mission is accomplished. And if you stumble upon a hidden gem yourself, I’d love to hear about it.

How To Use This Site

The site is divided into sections for things like food, drink, places to shop, grocery shopping, medical etc. These are recommendations for places I have encountered over the years. There is also a blog section which is more of a diary of places I encounter from day to day. Some places will be mentioned in the blog but might not be listed in the main site, either because I didn't feel they were good enough, or because I intend to include it but haven't got round to it yet. But hopefully, you can tell just from the blog post if it's somewhere you might like to try.

Should I Sign Up?

Well, signing up is free and you can unsibscribe at any time. If you do sign up, you will get an email notification whenever there's a new blog post so you won't miss anything. You will also be the first to hear of any exciting news I decide to share with members, including special events or promotions. And by signing up, you will have access to all content on this site, some of which will not be available to the general public. You will be sent an email to confirm your subscription before your subscription is actviated so please check your spam folder if you do not receive a confirmation email and make sure you confirm.