Where to eat

A really good resource for Shanghai in general is www.smartshanghai.com. On here you'll find maps, reviews and more importantly Chinese Taxi instructions to print. Most drivers don't understand English (look for the 'stars' on their ID sign) and pinyin (the romanization of Mandarin) isn't pronounced the way most English speakers would pronounce it :)

If you don't believe me, pinyin 'xie' (xie xie being thank you) is pronounced something like 'sheer', rather than, well, whatever you think it might be pronounced as. Ever wondered why Chinese spell Ping Pong as Ping Pang? Don't get me started on tones...

For foreigners who don't want to eat Chinese cuisine (a gross over simplification since Shanghainese food is very different from that of Sichuan or Tibet) go to Hengshan Rd. Just go there...

On Hengshan itself are hotels (like the Regal) or pretty good TexMex (Zapatas) or reasonably authentic Italian (Pasta Fresca da Salvatore - nice traditional pizzas). Be careful with some of the bars as you may be expected to buy the wait-people a drink or more. Just say no if it gets uncomfortable...

Off Hengshan are some gems IMHO. Vedas on Jianguo Xi Lu is the best Indian Restaurant on the planet. Going to Vedas is one of the highlights of going to Shanghai for me. I would go to Shanghai just to get a good Indian meal at Vedas... so long as someone else is paying for the airline ticket.

The ambience is understated, yet the large window to the kitchen lets you watch your Naan get needed and stretched. The food is good too of course, a perfect balance of spices... try the Samosas and the Shahi Paneer and the Malai Kofta.

North of Hengshan, just off Huahai is Arch. A little pretentious in some peoples' opinions, now a little quieter as they have another outlet. I like Arch as the food it varied, reliable, good staff and they have a good cocktail menu :)

In XuJiaHui (Metro City, the domed thingy - Meilo Cheng, pronounced May-low-chung) you'll also find Starbucks and L'arbre de Provence (varied vegetarian).

A taxi ride from Hengshan is XianTianDi, a tourist hangout and has good Thai food, French and Cantonese. Shanghai Center (Portman-Ritz) has California Pizza Kitchen and Element Fresh.