Real, original coffee without the fuss

The homey cafe was made for long, leisurely chats. Travel enthusiasts will revel in its bookshelf full of books and magazines on strange and exciting lands. There are also photos taken by the owners during their travels. Tables are covered with striped cloths with a Yunnan style, where Huang lived before moving to Beijing.

Mediterranean hideaway

Yaoyang and Li recommend the Traditional Spanish Paella (160 yuan for one to two persons; 290 yuan for three to four; and 490 yuan for six to eight). Diners have a choice between seafood and black ink. The rice is bursting with flavor, but the best part is the steamed scallop garnish.

Hong Kong cafe and culture center

Old and simple wooden tables and chairs from Shanghai make up most of the furniture. There are black-and-white photos hanging on the walls, shot by one of the owners’ friends. An old electric fan sits on the shelf in front of the counter. The place was purposely made to look like an old Hong Kong restaurant, aid Afa Zheng, one of the four owners and a graphic designer.

Diner’s Guide

By Wang Yu
Cozy hutong life cannot exist without mouthwatering food and satisfying drinks.
Like most shop owners in Wudaoying Hutong, the owners of the restaurants and cafes are in the business because of their love of food. Some of the establishments evolved from places where the owners and their friends gathered to dine.
Besides the excellent menu, [...]

Inexpensive Western food near Gulou

East Gulou Avenue seems to be getting more and more popular every day. Thou shopping this mostly Chinese street can try the Connections Bar & Grill for a Western restaurant.

BreadTalk’s newest location and recipes

BreadTalk also has a reputation for its more experimental baked goods, and recently has developed four new kinds, available at all locations, including the new Raffles branch.

Afforable home style Shanghainese cuisine

For a city with such a diversity of cuisines, good Shanghainese restaurants continue to be scarce. However, the opening of Yangjia Sifangcai at Gongti West Street marks a welcome addition to a neighborhood graced with such outstanding places such as Hotel-G and the gay bar- Destination.

1,000 year-old Chinese cuisine

Moyu’er restaurant deserves a lot credit for the novel gesture of its devotion – serving food based on recipes which date back to the Song Dynasty (960 -1279).Xiao and his cooks prepare food from five recipes written during the Song Dynasty. Four of them were from Southern Song, a period after the Song lost control of northern China to the Jin Dynasty. There are quite a few highly recommended dishes. Lianfang yubao (steamed fish mash and lotus seeds in lotus seedpod) is a must, as it is only available from now to the mid August while lotus is in season.

Latvian covvee is indeed for connoisseurs

In addition to what the other chains offer, Double Coffee has bar counters and cocktails. It has a restaurant-style menu, from coffee, salad, pasta, main courses to desserts. Things are not cheap, however. For example, claiming to be the pinnacle of coffee, a cup costs from 25 to 38 yuan. The English Web site of Double Coffee said they serve 50 kinds of coffee, but that does not seem to be the case here.

Fresh soft-serve ice cream at Cherry House

It does not end with the ice cream. The shop offers eighteen kinds of toppings such as smashed cookies, dried fruit, and candy to help you creating your own personalized dish. The frozen yogurt in Cherry House is light and fat free, but its creamy texture and rich flavors definitely leave you guessing. The price of the soft-serve in Cherry House is based according to weight at a rate of 9.9 yuan for every 100 grams.