Shanghai: where to shop and live

[Kent Wang]

My girlfriend Larisa and I are planning on moving to Shanghai in the summer of 2010. I will be visiting for two weeks 20 September - 3 October (just a few days away!) to get a feel for the city and get a start on deciding where to live.

Larisa will be teaching English. The program she's going to apply for doesn't start accepting applications until February but we think it's likely that she'll be assigned to Shanghai High School which is in Xuhui (Google Map).

I work from home so I don't commute anywhere. Having been working from home for the last five years in Austin I find that the various shops and markets I go to are my "commute". For example, I go grocery shopping about three times a week. So I would like to find a place that's near Xuhui and near good shops.

I was born in Shanghai and moved to America when I was six but have been back twice, once in 2002 and again in 2006, each time for about a month, so I have a bit of a feel for the city already. My impression is that there are neighborhood markets in just about every neighborhood, so I'll be able to get a lot of my groceries this way.

The places I want to seek out are specialty Western shops. I've been to Carrefour in 2006 and thought their selection good but not as expansive as I'm used to. Which shops do you recommend for:

Liquor - Not just the big names like Hennessy and Bacardi but smaller producers like Flor de Cana rum, Rittenhouse rye, St. Germain liqueur.

Beer - Belgian ales. If I can get Carolus I'll be happy. If not, at least Maredsous.

Wine - I'm not as passionate about wine as I am about liquor and beer but would like a good selection of old world wines.

Charcuterie - Especially imported Italian and Spanish cured meats. House-made charcuterie would be great too.

Cheese - Imported European cheeses. Is fresh milk cheese legal here, unlike the US?

To a lesser extent, living close to good bars and restaurants would be nice, too, but I don't think I'll be going to those as often as I would shops, as I prefer to cook at home. We can keep the restaurant recommendations in their own thread.

[Fengyi]

Xintiandi's Wine and Cheese will happily keep you in very good cheeses (fresh milk) - though your wallet won't like it. Always, always, keep an eye on hotel events and sign up for as many as these lists as possible. For gluttons like me, there are good chances like the upcoming wine and cheese party at the JW Marriott where it's a free-for all cheese and wine fest (with excellent cheese) for only 200RMB a head. Also, many of the 5 star F and B are Belgiums and they ALWAYS know where to score good beer!!

Wine shops are not difficult in SH, but you don't need to go to them in person - delivery's the way to go. But I do recommend: Globus, Ruby Red and Pudao - all of which are well run and trustworthy. And you should make one trip to see the cool Ruby Red nuclear bunker shop....

Now, I hear from all my SH friends that SH has a City SUPER!!!!!!!!! But I think it's in Lujiazhui. Not so convenient for Xuhui!

Carrefour, Walmart, Tescos et al are all aiming for the Chinese market - so it's better to hit a properly 'Western-target' store for your special shops.

Here in Beijing we have an amazing fresh market for restaurants where I get all fresh herbs, Thai stuff, cheese and cream, stuff like avocados, etc.. but I haven't heard of one of these in SH.

Interestingly enough (because here in the big Beige, the ex-pat scene is not as 'powerful' as the SH one), I was meeting with a specialist in food products here who's been in China dealing with Western foods distribution for about ten years and he said that BJ was far better for fresh Western products (like sour cream and fresh herbs) rather than Shanghai, despite the fact that SH ex-pats are wealthier and more numerous.... I never thought of it like that, but he was in the pizza industry and pointed out that BJ has several cheese factories (because of the nearby cattle industries) whereas SH has none. It made me value my BJ mozzarella and plain yoghurt!

Also, one thing I do recommend - if you do a lot of Indian cooking, do bring spices in your luggage. I still can't find stuff like Kalonji for love or money...

Mind you, I reckon that you can probably find ANYTHING in City Super (at a price!). . .

[nakji]

Shanghai HAS A CITY SUPER???!!! /sound of running feet and a door slamming/

I've been to one ex-pat market in Shanghai - just under the Sheraton on Nanking road, I think. Lots of muesli, a spotty Thai section, reasonable Japanese selection (meaning more than just one kind of miso)but a selection of your average Belgian beers - Leffe blond/brun, a couple of Chimays, and Stella, of course. I was impressed because they actually stocked a couple of Japanese microbrews - Ginga Kogen is the one I remember seeing. If I recall correctly, the booze section here was as big as the food section.

As for cheese and charcuterie...uh, not so much. Some imported Australian dairy, though . No plain yogurt.

As for Indian spices, I have an e-mail address given to me by one of my co-workers. There's a supplier who deals with the local Indian community in SH who will deliver. Another good strategy is to go find a mosque, and see what the shops around there sell. That's what I did in Seoul.

[Kent Wang]

Are you sure there's a City Super in Shanghai? There website says only HK and Taiwan, and there's nothing on Google about a Shanghai store.

I'm in Shanghai now and scoping things out.

There's a thread on Shanghai in the Beer Advocate forums which lead me to Kaiba. Their website has a bottle of Rochefort 10 on it, so that's good enough for me.

Now my number one priority is finding a good liquor store. I went to a supermarket (Century Mart or something) and while they only had big names like Cointreau, at least everything seemed to be about 20% cheaper than the US.

[prasantrin]

Don't live in Shanghai, nor have I ever been there, but when I was looking up CS, I found this and this. I guess City Super is called "City Shop" in Shanghai?

This is old, but you can also try to find these places.

[nakji]

I've been to two City Shops in Shanghai now; one in West Nanjing and the other in Times Square Mall on Huai Hai lu. I don't whether they're officially affiliated with City Super in Hong Kong, but I can say they're not really comparable in terms of selection. The dried good selection was decent, but there was no where near the range of deli, produce, or meat selection as the Hong Kong shops.