I would really appreciate any suggestions you have for shanghai- i go for work and we stay at the ritz carlton, so within a short cab ride and an english menu (i know i know but seriously anything is better than just eating at the hotel!) probably just dinner, we’re working long crazy days.
I don’t know the city at all…!
Is that the Pudong Ritz-Carlton or the Portman Ritz-Carlton?
I don’t know a lot about places with English menus, because I’m usually chasing down local-oriented holes-in-the-walls (and restaurants with English menus are generally beyond the the pay grade of a retiree). I’d suggest asking your hotel concierge or using expat-oriented resources and apps, of which there are many.
Sorry I can’t be of more help.
Pudong. We asked the concierge last trip and did go for a fantastic (expensive) meal, if there’s an app you recommend for Shanghai that would be appreciated- i don’t really trust trip advisor to find me something yummy and local…!
That’s Shanghai and Smart Shanghai are two websites I was thinking of. The latter also has an app for off-line use of its data bases. There’s also a Michelin Guide for Shanghai, available as an app as well as a book.
Fantastic, thank you!! The off line use will be really helpful- internet connection in china is crazy slow even in our posh hotel
It’s the Great China Internet Firewall at work!!!
Ugh! I had no idea that even in the flipping Ritz trying to access China approved websites that it would be so difficult to use the internet…! And even the best xerox we could find was still a serious piece of work from like 1996. Really opened my eyes to the realities of how we communicate with our overseas factories (who are most certainly using very very slow internet in smaller towns and cities)
That said we met some really wonderful people and i loved having my congee with chinese mushrooms and pickled greens for breakfast! (I also smuggled back about every condiment i could from the little market i stopped in one night)
I do not use fax machines, so can’t comment about them in China.
All internet traffic going into and leaving China goes through their firewall which screen out all objectionable web sites as well as screen the content unless the data is encrypted. This slows down data that leaves and goes into China. If you are in China and your sites are within China, they are blazing fast. Not sure how many people outside China knows this, China has almost completed connecting all homes in Tier 1 cities with 1.5G optical links. Here in the US, most of us are happy with 50 or 100M cable internet using Coxial cables.
They are much further along with high speed data, both via mobile networks as well as fiber and cable.
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I use a VPN on my laptop and am getting about 15 Mbps on a home connection. Not blazing fast, but fast enough to live stream CNN smoothly. I also find that my cell phone data plan (Google’s Project Fi), which has no data roaming charges, doesn’t require a VPN to avoid the Great Firewall. I can upload to Instagram from almost anywhere in Shanghai with a better success rate than in San Francisco,
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Well that sounds promising!! Unfortunately a lot of our communication is web based using a US site, but after experiencing difficulties ourselves we are now using more email pdfs with smaller file sizes and printing /xeroxing what we can before traveling.
It’s interesting that i can access this site without problems as well as several other boards yet so many social media sites (that i don’t even use) are blocked.
I usually wake up stupid early there so I’m hoping to find some breakfast dumplings this trip!
Too bad your hotel doesn’t have restaurants that serve Shanghainese, Jiangnan food.
If they put you up in a posh hotel like Ritz, I’d assume they also give you a pretty nice per diem / expense limit. You should take advantage of it! Perhaps a group dinner/ lunch at Yong Yi Ting 雍颐庭 at Mandarin Oriental for Jiangnan cuisine? Pretty close to you.
If you have the time, how about the vegetarian Fu He Hui 福和慧?
Jia Jia Tang Bao for XLB. and then stroll across to Yang’s for some excellent Sheng Jian Bao. This will complete any dumpling goals you have for the trip.
90 Huanghe Lu, near Fengyang Lu
Shanghai, China
021-63276878
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Thanks!! Any chance they have vegetarian dumplings…? I’m veg and XLB always seem to be made with pork broth 
Now you’re getting beyond my area of expertise, but try your Google translate luck with dainping.com’s listing for Tang Yuan Tong Vegetarian restaurant at the Times Square mall in Pudong (500 Zhangyang Lu). There’s over 3,000 user pics to look at.
Tang Yuan Tong
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I am SO upset i didn’t realize this on our last trip- there is Din Tai Fung literally two doors down from us!! I think- that’s the dumpling restaurant everyone seems to rave about…?
We arrived early this afternoon and had to work thru dinner tonight (decent enough room service, ugh) but it looks like we can get a proper meal tomorrow pm.
Is it actually a good spot? Or just was at one point and gets a lot of press but actually isn’t good like balthazar in nyc…
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I have anly been to DTF once (the original Shanghai branch in Xintiandi) and only to check out the xiao long bao, which I found as good as Jia Jia Tang Bao’s, though several tomes as expensive. It’s a chain operation with well over 100 branches (including 10 in the US) and I’ve read reports of varying quality. I also have no idea what they have to offer vegetarians.
Aha. Yes i have heard the US locations are disappointing compared to china’s but i am not an XLB eater since i have yet to find a meat free version. I’ll update here if we go, the menu listed some mushroom buns and a greens vegetarian steamed dumpling which sounded promising.
The location I went to in Shanghai was near yu Gardens, and some of the vegetarian dishes we ate were excellent renditions. The four happiness gluten, (gluten cubes, peanuts, and, er… two other happiness, probably black mushrooms) and some of their preparations with greens. The menu has photos, so you should be golden.
Ooh thanks for the advice! I love any dishes with mushrooms and or peanuts. There’s a good sized group of us so we can try a bunch of stuff :))
I found my old notes. Here’s what was vegetarian (or seemed vegetarian). Starred items were favorites:
morning glory w/ garlic*; kau fu (gluten) w/ edamame, shitake, and wood ear mushroom*; red bean xlb; red bean and chestnut xlb
