Free drinks with overpriced DVD's at Taikang Rd Oscar Club

I went over to Taikang Rd over the weekend and friends tipped me off to the old Ka De's reincarnation:  Oscar Club.  Ka De Club was the original mega underground DVD shop on JinXian Rd a few years back.  They had stores on Zhenning Rd and DaGu Rd also but after some kind of crack down, they changed their name.  I haven't been to this one at all, since I was pretty happy w/ my Dagu Rd shop.  The first thing we noticed was that the shop offered FREE cokes, bottled water, AND beer (ok, just some Sapporo light), no purchase necessary.  The funny thing is that not a lot of people seemed to have noticed the sign or the frig, which was standing right at the entrance.  I guess people were in a rush to go to the inner room to check out the new DVD's. 

Oscar's selection is still pretty extensive, but with so many other look-alike shops, it's no longer that impressive to me.  More over, it's by far the most expensive expat-oriented shop I've seen -- $8 for DVD and $16 for DVD-9.  Darn!  I'd give them that if they categorize by some scheme or had on-line ordering and free delivery service or something.  I guess it goes to pay for the free drinks we had at the door...

For cheaper DVD's, find a reliable shop near where you live (so you could return your defective discs) or try my favorite shops.

Knock-offs, fakes, copies - where do you buy them post-Xiang Yang Market

When the famous (infamous) Xiang Yang market shut its door back in June, 2006, local and tourists alike lost their must-visit shopping mecca that had been around since 2000.  What remains are the streetside peddlers holding worn-out catalog cards who promise nice fake LV's, Gucci's, and Rolexes.

So where do you find the stuff you still want to buy now (ok, no moral judgements here)?  The vendors are now much more discreet and don't flaunt the really good AAA stuff in plain sight.  For top brand bags, try the little shops along ChangLe Rd and XinLe Rd, between XiangYang Rd and Shannxi Rd.  Befriend the shop owners by buying a few pieces first, and then they might bring out the really nice ones.  They don't come cheap considering they're fakes -- prices range in the thousand(s) of kuai-- but the materials they use are much better than what you'd see on the street.  I prefer bags without blatant logos that can stand on its design and materials.  You can also pick up "brandname" shoes, sun glasses, and clothing that make you wonder whether they are leaks from the real factories.

For electronics, luggages, and more casual fashion items, head for Taobao Mall (580 Nanjing West Rd near ChengDu NorthRd).  The clean and modern mall is a much more pleasant place to shop than Xiang Yang market.  Ironically, all the shops have a sign out front that says that everything they sell are authentic...  Here, you tend to find 2nd tier/niche brands whose legal powers are not as strong as the top brands.

Another bunch of shops migrated to the underground shopping mall at PuDong's Science and Tech Musuem (Subway Line 2).  I find the items, both clothing and souvenirs, very attractive here and if you go on the weekdays when there's less traffic, you might be able to bargain harder (although some people also told me that if you go on the weekdays, you'd be the target for ALL shop owners).  There's also a row of restaurants next to the shopping mall for you to grab a bite after you're done.

You can also check out QiPu Rd Wholesale Clothing Market, which is near Subway line 8's QuFu Rd station.  You can find trendy styles here and for cheaper, but the quality tends to be lower than the two places above.  Inspect items carefully before you buy.

A word on bargaining -- the old rule of thumb is to counter offer at 70% off and make the deal around 50% off, but the vendors can outsmart you by opening at even higher prices.  To gain upperhand is to be walk away from things when the price isn't what you want.  Remember, these items are sold at more than one shop!!

Quality Movie DVD shopping in Pudong

The other day, my friend who can speak Shanghainese took me to the shop where he usually picks up his stash of DVDs. I have always heard about DVD's being cheaper in Pudong but was always too lazy to go over the water and stuck with my Dagu Rd shop.

We went to a non-descript building near the Yaohan 八佰伴 at 1271 Pudong Nan Lu called "Rong Fu Deparment Store" 融富百货商场. The entire building is full of little shop/stalls peddling all kinds of wares. We went straight to the 3rd floor, stall B15, where Lady Pan's shop is. It's dinky shop, much like an old record shop, with rows and rows and DVD's not organized in any particular order. Everyone there was intently flipping through the DVD jackets, looking for those hidden treasures to bring home.

My friend claims that he goes through 20 movies per week, so always picks out a ton of stuff and is a favorite customer there. He's also a walking IMDB and served as a movie title translator for Lady Pan. I found Qatsi Trilogy, Baraka/Chronos, and an Ang Lee collection, which even contains "Xiao Yu" 少女小渔, a movie he co-produced but not directed. Most of the discs were DVD 9 format, the higher quality one, and it worked to be around $7-8RMB/movie.

Paul Bakery Cafe at the Shanghai Centre

Located right next to the Element Fresh in the Shanghai Centre- Portman complex, this is one of a series of Paul Bakeries that have opened around Shanghai in rapid fire in the last 6 months. Hailed from France, Paul's key selling point is that they even import the flour from France. I'd have to agree that basic ingredients matter a lot in baked goods; for some reason, the local flour just does not produce very aromatic breads and cakes (or I'm just prejudiced?) That said, I still think Paul is too expensive to make it an everyday affair. The Centre location has a pretty sizable sit-down area -- atmosphere is great with large windows looking out to a terrace, which will make excellent outdoor seating in the summertime.

We ordered a croque monsieur, a croque madam, and another kind of sandwich, along with some coffee drinks. The sandwiches range in the high $20's to $40', and drinks are Starbucks prices. The food is decent, but I think it's the location that's really worth the bucks. Didn't try their desserts yet, and think I'll go back for afternoon tea next time. They offer a $45RMB set where you can choose a drink + dessert during the weekdays.

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Laifu Hotpot at Fuxing Rd/ Huaihai Rd

In the dead of winter, what's better than rounding up a group of friends and heading for a delicious hotpot dinner? Laifu is a reliable place in the French Concession that is not outrageously expensive. We spent about $80RMB/person, including a couple beers. The decor is more elegant than your typical hotpot restaurant and the atmosphere is pretty cozy and relatively quiet. You can order the usual "Yuan Yang" 鸳鸯锅 with with the pot divided into 2 halves, holding 2 kinds of soup base. I like the light bone-stewed broth + spicy oil soup base combo, but you can also order a variety of other types of soup base, such as Chinese-style sauerkraut fish. There are also a dozen or so DIY dip sauces that you can mix to your liking -- this is definitely something you can't really prepare at home. For the more adventurous ones, try the curdled duck blood - it tastes perfect in the spicy oil! Other noted dishes include small egg dumplings with fish paste filling 婆婆蛋角, "bai ye"百叶包 tofu packages, and special beef 秘制牛肉. There's another location near Hengshan Rd.

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Moganshan 莫干山 mountain retreat for a long weekend

I'm parking the info I found so far on Moganshan here.  The mountain area is only 3-4 hours away from Shanghai (one hour from HangZhou) and supposed to be the perfect getaway for people who are trapped in Shanghai with no beach, no mountain, etc.  I've wanting to check it out all last year and friends were waiting for me to organize the trip...  Well, it's gonna happen this year!

Where to stop for fresh coffee and authentic Brit meals:  The Moganshan Lodge 

Historic guest house that looks beautiful:  Yiyuan 颐园 and Priest Villa

Buying a local mobile cell phone SIM card

Getting a local SIM card makes sense if you expect to make and receive frequent calls and text messages during your travel.  The most common network in China is the GSM system, which runs on frequencies of both 900 and 1800.  Unfortunately, the US GSM system runs on 1900 (yes, they did this on purpose to sell more phones), so your safest bet is to bring a tri-band phone.  Worst case is you can buy a cheap 900/1800 phone in China for $300RMB (I've seen a pretty decent mini-Motorola at that price).  I also have one available for rent for my guests ;-)  China Unicom, the other mobile company, runs on CDMA, but I'm not too familiar with it. 

The most popular prepaid GSM SIM card that you can buy from street vendors is China Mobile's 神州行畅听卡16元版（Shen2Zhou1Xing2), $16RMB/month, unlimited call receiving edition.  The packet and card look like this:

 

Getting the SIM card 

You can usually find shops that sell them near the subway stations.  You can also find shops that sell cell phones inside shopping centers.  The prepaid card comes with $50RMB credit, but sells for anywhere from $55-100RMB per card.  The vendors will try to sell at the higher prices, claiming the phone numbers are better -- no 4's (same sound as death in Chinese) and more 8's or 9's (same sound as prosperity in Chinese).  You'll also see a card with a scratch-off PIN, which you can use as the password to log on to the China Mobile's Shanghai site to check your phone number account (only in Chinese).

Rates 

With this type of card, local calls are $0.13RMB/min, and receiving calls from anywhere is free.  China domestic text messages are $0.10RMB/msg, and international texts are $1RMB/msg whether you're roaming or not, so most people end up texting a lot.  Receiving text messages is also free.

Making internationl calls 

I'm sure you can probably get a cheaper rate by using a calling card, but make sure you figure out how much those cards really cost (can be bought at a steep discount) and what the calling rates are.  Recently, China Mobile is promoting its "12593" access number for international calls.  For an additional $1RMB/month, you can dial 12593 in front of international numbers and get $0.4RMB/min calling US, Canada, HK, and Singapore, $0.7RMB/min to Taiwan and Macau, $1RMB/min to Japan and Korea, and $1.5RMB/min to most of European countries.  This is by far the cheapest rate you can get on the mobile phone without using a calling card, and in some cases it's even cheaper than dialing from a land line.  To activate this service, you can send a text message of "KTXGX" to 10086.  You'll receive a Chinese message back to confirm.  Just don't forget to put 12593 in front the numbers when you dial!  Dial like this: 12593+00+COUNTRY CODE+phone number.

Roaming outside of China - Not recommended.  It's pretty expensive to use a China number while roaming outside of China, and you'd need to put down a hefty deposit to even turn on the international roaming option. 

Making domestic long distance calls from Shanghai Basically, calling anywhere in China outside the city you're in is considered long distance.  The best rate I can find is to subscribe to the "17951" plan, where you pay another $1RMB/month to receive a $0.20RMB/min long distance rate.  Send a text message of "IPYH" to 10086 and begin adding 17951 to all your Beijing or other inter-city calls when in Shanghai.  Calling while roaming outside of ShanghaiIf you plan to travel to multiple cities within China, you can pay another $1RMB/month to activate the trusty 12593 code to get discount rates when roaming domestically.  This is the same code as the international long distance but you have to pay again... but you need to send a different text, "KTMYB", to 10086 to activate this one (are you confused yet??).  Under this plan, you pay $0.49/min when roaming and calling and $0.30RMB/min when you receive calls.  If you don't do this, receiving calls under the original plan would cost you $0.6RMB/min PLUS $0.07RMB/6 seconds.  These can rack up pretty quickly and drain your prepaid credits.

Refill and checking credit balance 

For refill cards, you can also buy them at those same shops I mentioned above, or at tables set up on the curbside selling these and calling cards -- just make sure you complete the refill process successfully before leaving the vendor.  To refill, call 13800138000 and enter "2" for English.  To check the amount remaining on your phone, send a text message "YECX" to 10086 and it'll come back with a Chinese text message containing a number in it -- that would be the amount you're looking for.

So is it any wonder that China Mobile is raking it in?  With complicated rate plans like these, callers can easily make mistakes and spend a fortune.  To summarize, you basically should spend an extra $3RMB/month to cover your basis.  A word on how long these SIM cards are good for -- basically if you don't return to China for more than 3 months, you're better off getting a new card next time you're back, because they'll continue to charge the monthly fees even when you're not using it until all the money in there runs out.

If you're staying longer

One good news is that you can convert to other calling plans without changing your phone number, should you decide to stay in Shanghai long-term.  The plan I currently use is the China Mobile's GoTone $50RMB/month plan, where you get 450 free local minutes included (but you'd still need to pay addtional subscriptions here and there to get those discounts).  I wonder if I can make money by becoming a calling plan optimization consultant?

Hairy crab 大闸蟹 season is here!

I've never been a fan of crabs-- the labor that goes into digging and cracking is usually much more than the satisfaction I get out of chewing on the small chunks and thin threads of crab meat. This year, however, I've finally begun to appreciate what so many Shanghainese and Hongkies have taken for granted, the exquisite taste of hairy crabs.

I began this season of crab eating at my generous friend Jimmy's house. We each had a pair of male and female crabs. You don't really have to get crabs from YangCheng Lake 阳澄湖, since they are more expensive and you can never be sure they're the authentic ones. Crabs from Tai Lake 太湖 and KunShan 昆山 will do just fine, as long as you pick the alive and kicking ones. Fall and early winter are the perfect time to eat crabs, and it's recommended that you eat the male ones earlier on in the season and move on to the female ones as they grow fuller in size and flavor later in the season. The major difference is the yellow/orange stuff under the crab shell 膏黄 - the male ones are more gooey and the female ones are solid (uh, sperm and eggs?? just eat it! these are the best parts of hairy crabs, albeit super-rich in cholesterol...). The simplest way to cook the crabs is to steam or boil them. Before cooking them, you should put the crabs in fresh water for awhile to get any dirty stuff out of them.

Crab eating tests both your skill and patience. Jimmy, whose ex-girlfriend was Shanghainese, taught us some tips on eating the crabs. For example, you should take out the crab heart, a tiny white hexagonal thing from the crab chest because that's the "coldest" part of the crab. Crabs are considered "cold" in Chinese medicine, and you should drink some yellow rice wine like Shaoxing 绍兴酒 or HuaDiao 花雕酒 while eating the crabs. You can also dip crab meat in a vinegar and ginger mixture to both disinfect the meat and counter the meat's "coldness."

A week after the feast at Jimmy's, my local friend Diego took me to a crab restaurant on Julu Rd near Ruijing Rd called JingYuanXieWang 金缘蟹王. We got a table on the curb side because all the tables inside were reserved already. The crabs are from Tai Lake, but tasted just as nice. We had warm coke with ginger after the meal to warm our stomachs.

Now I'm pretty obsessed about eating crabs, so I'm thinking about throwing my own crab cook-out party in the few next week... yum~

   

Frangipani Nail Bar

Frangipani stands out as a nail shop that gives you a feel of being at home.  The interior is decorated with colors are mostly pleasant pastels and whites, and the IKEA-esque furnitures keep things casual and light.  The staff wear cute looking t-shirt/black apron uniforms that change with seasons.  The treatments are not cheap (pedi + mani is over $200RMB something), but the quality is pretty good.  You can get a $1000RMB card for $800RMB.  Earlier this year, there had been an exodus of more experienced staff to a new salon Balsamine nearby.  I've followed my manicurist to the new place but decided that Frangi still upholds a quality standard that gives me a reason to come back.  There's also an iNail spa right downstairs from me, but I've never used their services, because it doesn't quite have that warm, welcoming feel that you'd expect from a spa.  Hopefully, more and more places like Frangi will crop up but at even better prices so we can all afford to go more often ;-)  Frangipani have locations on Fuxing W Rd, XiangYang Rd (next to Awfully Chocolate), and HongMei Rd.

Kevin's Thai Food Station

Tucked deep in a narrow alleyway on ChangLe Rd near Urumuqi Rd across from the Center, you'd miss this restaurant if it isn't for the big light box at the alleyway entrance. I can't help but also notice there's a condom dispenser next to the sign...hmm. The restaurant is in one of the old houses with a nice yard. The food is decent but not remarkable. At night it does make a quiet dinner date place. They also do take out delivery, so if you want some Thai in the area, it's a pretty good choice.

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Diage restaurant/lounge/boutique - hidden Spanish villa with haute design

I stumbled upon this beautiful house last year at night when walking on DongHu Rd. The place is tucked in an alleyway next to the hairsalon, so they lit candles along the cracks in the wall, creating a glowing trail into the house and front garden. Just inside the house, there's a cigar lounge area with comfy black leather sofa. Further in, there 2 dining areas with a bar that's converted from the original fireplace. Upstairs there's a small gallery and a boutique shop with cutting edge designer fashion from Japan and Europe. The Japanese owner took great care to restore the house with period antiques and decorative elements. There never seems to be many people there so I worry about their survival. They have good-value lunch and afternoon set deals, starting at $30 something. The food is delicate but I'd go there just for the ambiance. Behind Diage toward the back of the house, a little shop called Ushigokoro has opened up. This peculiar shop is also Japanese owned (same owner as Diage?) and offer little cubicles for rent to anyone who wants the space for display. Many of the cubicles are occupied already, which a range of handmade jewelry, bags, art pieces, clothing, etc. They have recently held a flea market also.

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Guyi Hunan Restaurant

The first time I went to Guyi was with my American ex-boss and his Chinese girlfriend. Because I have relatively low tolerance for spicy food, they were nice enough to order some non-spicy dishes. I especially liked their pumpkin and baihe cold appetizer, and the steamed frog legs in bamboo casing. Then there's my boss' favorite salt'n pepper ribs, which were tasty but on the salty side. They are also decent on the spicy chicken dry pot. This place is wildly popular with foreigners because the food is pretty good and more importantly they have the menu in English and Japanese with pictures of delicious-looking dishes. If you're planning to go, make sure you call ahead and get your reservation. Otherwise, long line awaits.  A cheaper alternative  to Guyi is DiShuiDong on Maoming Rd near ChangLe Rd.

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Charmant 小城故事 - better Taiwanese restaurant than Bellagio

I just went there 3 times within the same week recently, because one of my friends visiting was vegetarian. Charmant is not a vegetarian place but does a wonderful job cooking up not only leafy veggies, but also tomato-tofu-egg soup, vegetarian 3-cup chicken (which is actually a bean curd variation), and vegetarian vermicelli. They also do a great job on the meat dishes, such as the popular kung pao chicken, hui-guo-rou (bacon with leeks), shi-zi-tou (lion's head). For those who have lived in Taiwan, you can also get your dose of pearl milk iced tea (pearls are thoroughly cooked and chewy), lu-rou-fan (minced pork sauce over rice), bitter mellon with salty egg.  They do leave out the MSG and put in less oil upon request.  For dessert, my favorite is the old fashion black sugar shaved ice, which has a bit of pearls, another type of chewy jello, mung beans, and other yummy toppings.  Their shaved ice beats Bellagio's hands down.

Another pleasant thing about Charmant is that they really spend time on putting in beautiful flowers and plants. Their own staff go out the Caojiadu flower market daily to pick up fresh flowers and arrange them themselves. Their service and staff training is also very good, thanks to the Taiwanese management ;-) Charmant has a 2nd location in Zhang Jiang Hi-Tech park in PuDong.

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Velvet Lounge and Casanova

This stylish, ambient pair of lounge and Italian restaurant is located in a little house on Julu Rd, around the corner from HuaShan Rd.  Unlike the row of seedy bars next door targeting traveling business men, Velvet and Casanova are frequented by local residents.  Velvet is a relaxing hideout with great music and reasonably priced cocktails, perfect for an intimate week-night date.  Upstairs at Casanova,  you can get a nice multi-course Italian meal.  A lot of people like their thin-crust pizzas, which you can also order from Velvet.  I also like their Caesar salad and breads.  This place is definitely not one of those big productions on the Bund, but it's nice to have some place like this in the neighborhood.

Annual QiangTang Tidal Wave Observation Festival in YanGuan/ HaiNing, Zhejiang

Last Thursday (9/27) my new friend Max called and asked me if I wanted to go see the tidal wave of QiangTang River 钱塘江, which is the biggest every year around August 18 of the lunar calendar.  This tidal phenomenon is something so famous that ordinary people and emperors alike from different dynasties have come to watch in the last 200o years.  In the ancient times, the waves can get as tall as 10 meters; these tall waves are created when water rushes into the narrow, shallow QianTang River from the sea during high tide while water from the river is trying to flow out.  There a 2 cycles everyday, so you can see a day tide and a night tide.  In the Song Dynasty, expert swimmers, or "surfers" used to swim in the high tides while carrying bright colored flags, and whoever can keep his flag dry is the winner of the competition.  In the modern days, the tides are smaller at around 1-2 meters, due to the construction along the river.  There are only 2 places in the world where you can see such big tidal waves -- the other one is at the Amazon River. 

Back to our trip -- we took the 4:25pm train, which turned out to be a slow "express" train that took almost 3 hours to get to HaiNing 海宁.  We sat in the hard seat section and chatted with people who live in HaiNing to find out more about the tide.  Max brought his sleeping bag as he was planning to sleep on the river banks, while me and my 2 other guests decided to stay at the hotel in HaiNing because we're too old to hack it.  We stayed at the 3-star hotel (~$200) right next to the train station, only to find out that there's a brand new GreenTree Hotel one block up for only slightly more.  Haining is a well-known area for buying leather and fur, but we had to pass on that given the summer-like weather.  We went around HaiNing looking for a place to eat in tricycles, and ended up eating at a claypot place.  Also bought some famous JiaXing "WuFangZhai" zongzi 五芳斋粽子 (steamed sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves with meat or sweet filling).  After dinner, we waited until almost 11pm and headed out to YanGuan 盐官, where you can see/hear the night tide.  The taxi ride was about $60 going but $90 coming back because of the late night trip premium.  The admission for the night tide was $20, while the day tide was $50.  There were some outdoor teashops with tables lining the river bank.  We walked further down to where it's darker and more quiet.  We waited for almost 2 hours, enjoying the moist breeze.  The full moon hung alone in the clear sky.  At around 12:30, the tide finally came.  For a few minutes, all you can hear is the noise that the tide was making.  Then under the moonlight, we saw the thin white line of waves rushing before us.  The waves were nearly lined up but didn't look very tall because the river bank was much higher up.  Still, everyone was very excited and tried to videotape or take pictures.  Right after the waves passed, people started leaving the area.  We lingered a bit, bidded Max goodbye and headed back to HaiNing.  The next day, me and my 2 guests hung out in HaiNing until almost noon before heading back to YanGuan (it was getting really hot).  When we got there, the road to the observation area was blocked further up so we had to walk a bit.  Within 20 minutes of us getting, the waves came.  This time we were able to see the waves more clearly.  It seemed smaller than the night tide.  We all thought that the night tide was way better.  We then took a taxi back to HaiNing where we boarded the real express train that brought us back to Shanghai in less than an hour.  We were gone for almost exactly 24 hours -- what a trip!

Diagram showing the tide track

     

2 studs dancing in tandem while working the Mongolian BBQ grill

Wake of the tides passing by - still pretty strong

Arugula Cafe - sunny old house cafe with comfy couches

Arugula is one of the dependable "brunch circuit" cafes that we go to frequently. The simple menu is nothing spectacular but the food has a consistent quality. The best thing about the 3-story cafe is the comfy couches on the 2nd floor. It's great for a weekend afternoon hangout or reading. They do have this one bad habit of telling you that fa piao has run out. One time I was so upset that I made them give me a $1000 fa piao to make up for all those times they "ran out."

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Feidan - tiny shop that's got all the imported groceries you need

The owner of Feidan (it means a "flying egg" in Chinese) is a master at selecting his merchandise.  With a shop that's less than 20 sq meters (the Dagu Rd store is bigger), he managed to stock the shelves with desirable products from all over the world.  From jars of jams, pickles, and olives, to cans of illy coffee, pates, to boxes of cereals, pastas, and cake mixes, to bottles of branded mineral waters, you can find pretty much everything you need last-minute to gather ingredients for your exotic recipe.  They also added a fresh produce section, so you can also get a small selection of veggies, dairy, cheeses, and meat.  They also carry baguette sticks and croissants, and pita breads, in addition to regular toast breads.  The prices are comparable to those at City Super (they have opened a similar concept satellite shop on ChangDe Rd near Beijing Rd but don't have as nice a selection of products), considering it saves a trip for people living around the area.  I think it takes a foodie to open a shop like this and a foodie to appreciate the value of having such a shop around.

Amokka - another old house style cafe

I found Amokka on the way to the traditional market. It sits on the quiet stretch of Anfu Rd between Urumuqi and Wukang Rd near Shanghai Dramatic Center. It's a 2-story house with a big open space on the 2nd floor. The furnitures have a modern designer look. The menu is a standard fare of sandwiches, pastas, burgers, etc. The pricing is average for western meals, with business lunch sets around $50 and higher for meat dishes. The breakfast/brunch goes for $28 but doesn't include a drink. I like the baguette sandwich with bacon and eggs, with a small side of salad (although I made an equally yummy sandwich myself with baguette I bought down the street at Feidan the next day). The cafe is not yet that popular so you can enjoy a bit of peace and quiet. While I feel grateful that so many nice looking old houses are getting converted into cafes, something is amiss -- maybe it's personality??

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Enoteca Wine Bar - sensational wine, food and crowd

When new shops started cropping up behind the Center, I was a bit doubtful of their qualities. And wine bar definitely sounded a bit snooty, knowing the wines are typically marked by quite a bit. Enoteca turned out to be a star -- people hang around until late in the evening because the atmosphere is so inviting. Last time we went on a Wed, and the place was packed at 10pm. The shop has a bar area, a dining area, and a tasting room, which can also serve as a auxiliary dining area. The wines are ordered by the bottles (as opposed to the expected by-the-glass arrangement in wine bars) because you can get a bottle for as low as $89RMB. I'm not an expert in wines, but I liked what I tasted (tried the Rose Chardonnay, and Bordeaux). They also have some of the best meat and cheese selections I've tried in Shanghai (much better than Franck's and less expensive). Since they don't serve real dinner type dishes, we pretty much ordered every tapas on the menu. Have to say every one of them was yummy. They also have a brunch menu, and I want to try it out soon.

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Jamaica Blue coffee - alternative to Starbucks

This Australian chain is among the many foreign contenders for the espresso market. Since I'm always in favor of the minority shops, I try to go here and Coffee Beans over Starbucks. Their drinks are made better than Starbucks in my opinion. They use the "green label" type of milk that ordinary consumers cannot get their hands on. One time I asked the barista if I could buy their milk, and instead, he taught me how to make perfect frothing with your regular Bright Light milk (blue carton kind which tends to puff up too much when you try to froth). The trick is to heat up the milk a bit (but not burning it), put it in the frig for a couple minutes to cool down, and then froth it. I tried it and was happy with the results.

Anyhow, my point is that Jamaica Blue is holding its own in this competitive markets, and they just need to have more locations to compete with the bigger guys...

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