Category: Dinning

The Cheesecake Factory has actually been “in” Shanghai since June 2016, but you had to endure Shanghai Disney Resort to eat there. As avid readers of this blog (are there any?) may recall, we went to Shanghai Disney Resort a few years back but only stayed a few hours there. It was hot, crowded, and the in-laws didn’t have a lot of stamina. But somehow, without my knowledge, they managed to open another restaurant just this past June 2021 and right next door to Shanghai Starbucks Reserve Roastery. I really don’t know how they snuck under my ever-watchful eye for Continue Reading →

Not to be outdone by Popeyes, and eager to cash in on their success, Five Guys Burgers came to Shanghai the first week of May, 2021. The response was even bigger than Popeyes (IMO). The above photo was taken on May 5th, 2021 @ 14:05 (2 in the afternoon) and the line still extended way out the door with an even longer line inside. Needless to say, I didn’t stick around to get a bite. The crazy part is this restaurant, their first in China, is one of the most expensive sections of the city, on the first floor of Continue Reading →

You have to want it.I mean you REALLY have to WANT IT. This is not your daddy’s Hershey’s Chocolate bar. It’s the Dark Side, and I Love it! Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t just chuck a piece of 100% Unsweetened Cacao in my mouth and go ‘Oooh! Yummy!’ It was more like getting caned and then shouting “Thank you sir! Can I have another?!” But if you want to taste real Chocolate (Cacao) and not binders, fillers, sugars and artificial flavors, you must try 100% Cacao Chocolate. You’ll thank me later. It’s strong. It’s bitter. It BITES BACK. But, Continue Reading →

Whisky or Whiskey? I don’t care. Just as long as I have it on hand. I was already well hooked on Buffalo Trace when we moved to Shanghai. Unfortunately its influence had not made it here back then. So what I had is what I could bring with each trip, 2 liters/person, and so I treated it like gold and drank very sparingly. Then a few years back, Buffalo Trace started showing up on various online stores, some reputable, others not so much. But it was nearly twice the price as sold in the US and it was different. Only Continue Reading →

Coffee, the kind you get in the break room at work, the fast-food joint, even decent restaurants – its crap. It’s an insult to our taste buds and to the bean itself. I hate coffee. I LOVE Expresso. I didn’t know ‘coffee’ could actually taste great until I tried espresso. In the states, I would drink Quick-Trip instant Cappuccino. OMG! WTF was I doing? That’s just pure raw sewage with sugar. Once I moved to Shanghai, I stopped all that and got off the Sugar-shit wagon almost completely. Soda was yuck. Fruit juice is nasty. Tea lost its appeal. My Continue Reading →