what to do in shanghai

We love food and Shanghai is certainly known for its famous Cantonese cuisine. We won't bother you with a long list of must tries such as the 1000 year old eggs. Here are our personal favorites.

You should definitely have Xiao Long Bao soup dumplings with pork filling. They are utterly delicious and a local eat. You will want to have more but be careful, as the soup inside is quite hot! We can recommend the Taiwanese chain Din Tai Fung, which offers sort of a high end version at various locations in Shanghai and that is very popular with locals, too.
 
Apart from the Xiao Long Bao dumplings you should also try the braised pork that is often called Grandma’s Pork or red-cooked pork. It might look slightly disgusting to you as it comes with the skin and fat still on and the skin turned red due to caramelized pork fat. But trust us: you should give it a try. The meat is very soft and tender and the skin tastes sweet. You can have it for instance at Jíshì Jiŭlóu in Xintiandi, which is very popular for its Shanghainese home cooking. An insider told us that Ivanka Trump enjoyed their fried rice very much. So you might want to check it out.
 
Besides typical Shanghainese dishes we would also recommend having dinner at Quan Ju De, the famous restaurant chain for Peking duck. Although not a local delicacy you should try it - especially if this is your first time in China. It might be not the fanciest place for Beijing duck but their roast duck is supposed to be the original Peking duck and we always enjoyed our dinners at Quan Ju De.

If you are into wellness and spa treatments you should definitely take time to enjoy a massage at one of the many spas in Shanghai. Please find below a list with spas that we have visited personally and that are based on our personal impressions all worth a try based on my humble opinion.
 
DRAGONFLY
At Dragonfly you will get most value for your money although the ambiance is less posh than at the more expensive spas and the treatment rooms are tiny. Thus, you will not enjoy the luxury of a private bathroom but treatments are excellent and the staff is very friendly and attentive. Both the acupressure massage and the foot massage that we have enjoyed there where very relaxing though sometimes painful. Surprisingly enough, you enter a state of deep relaxation irrespective of the pain you might occasionally experience and it’s really hard not to fall asleep – maybe a result of the pajamas you wear at Dragonfly? Anyway, we very much enjoyed it and would always go back.
 
GREEN MASSAGE  
Another chain of spas is the Green Massage spa, which is slightly more upscale than Dragonfly. It offers more spacious treatment rooms (also for couples) and a slightly more luxurious ambiance but Green Massage treatments are twice the costs at Dragonfly. The quality of the Aromatherapy massage was good, too but considering the tiny changing room that lacks comfort (no bench) and the fact that we liked the massages at Dragonfly better we would opt for Dragonfly as you get more value for money.
 
CHI SPA at the Shangri La Hotel Pudong
The Chi Spa at the Shangri La Hotel in Pudong is the luxury version if you opt for a day full of relaxation and pampering. It is the ideal spot to enjoy some great treatment in an exclusive ambiance. The moment you enter your spa suite you feel carried away and you could almost believe to be at a resort on some remote island – absolute tranquility, spacious rooms, beautiful décor and furnishings as well as a huge private bathroom – nothing else to be wished for. But, it comes at a price as treatments are easily up to 4 times more expensive than at Dragonfly or Green Massage. It all depends on what you are looking for and what you value most. The quality of the treatments is comparable to the other locations we have tried.
 
I enjoyed all treatments at the three locations mentioned above but the Aromatherapy oil massage and foot massage at the Green Massage did not quite live up to my expectations and was not as good as the treatments at Dragonfly (Acupressure massage and foot massage) and the Acupressure massage at the Chi Spa at the Shangri-La Hotel Pudong. But things were very busy at Green Massage late Friday night, which might have been the reason.  
 
Funny enough, the Acupressure massages are given with clothes on (at Dragonfly you are handled pajamas, whereas you will be massaged through a towel at Shangri-La Pudong). The result is deep relaxation although it can be quite painful from time to time but it is well worth a try and you can always ask them to apply less pressure. I occasionaly asked myself: is the massage too strong or am I too weak but weird enough I enjoyed the deep relaxation that the treatment is followed by. Give it a try!

But go and see for yourself. Enjoy!

Your might also like to read our entries on:

share this: