1) Mexican food in Shanghai is set to get hot! New restaurant Mi Tierra is entering its soft opening phase and it is a truly opulent Mexican retreat - as well as being the lucky eatery slated to hold court in the Mexican pavilion. Starting out in deliveries and frozen foods, the owners are moving up up up and have rented and renovated a villa that is simply gorgeous. We'll have the full scoop in our review next week.
2) M1NT...[read more]
1) Stray animals will follow you home if you so much as wave at them. Not just strays either - I was almost at my door before I realized a woman was chasing me down the street, yelling "Stop! Stop!" Or some such equivalent. Turning, I saw that an adorable little puppy had trotted happily along behind me. Brave little mite, I resisted the urge to pick him up and make a dash for it.
2) Women killing chickens on the...[read more]
“Watch, looka, bagga lady! Watch looka bagga! Ok, DVD? DVD!”
“But I don’t want a watch, or a bag, or a DVD. I’m ok thanks, I’m just trying to cross the road without being hassled.”
“But looka lady, Gucci! Gucci! Bag!”
“But my Ayi already has that bag, I think she might be offended if I bought the same one as her. And I’m just trying to cross the road, I don’t want to buy...[read more]Posted: Thursday, January 21, 2010 under General | 3 comments
There we sat in the "living room" of Boxing Cat Brewery with beers in hand during the wee hours Monday morning. Only American football playoff season can entice me to wake up at 1am, hail a taxi, and then sit in front of a TV in a room full of testosterone. While I sat trying to wake up the normal boisterous barks of boys bragging about their Boys and Vikings began.
I meanwhile savored my micro-brewed beer and ordered some...[read more]
1) Christmas dinner doesn't have to involve turkey - I've now had two pre-Christmas dinners in Shanghai, one involving a mix of pastries from a local Chinese bakery, chicken from Brasa and homemade salad with a deliciously simple balsamic vinaigrette; the other consisting of wasabi potatoes, garlic aubergine Chinese style, chicken from a corner-shop rotisserie and killer martinis.
2) They definitely do use better quality meat if you're not all-you-can-eat dining - perhaps obvious to some but confirmed...[read more]
Oh dear, after the first Christmas bash of the season with Mrs. Cotton on Xinhua Lu I arrived safe and snug and warmed by mulled wine. After the water man came with the weekly delivery, I forgot to check the door lock and an hour later: “Mei yo mao, mao”; “sans chat!” Oooops. How am I going to explain this one to my friend who lent me her cat to keep me company? I spent the half of...[read more]Posted: Thursday, December 17, 2009 under General | 1 comment
1) Karaoke devotees are not to be trusted - they will inevitably get horribly drunk, alternatively vomiting and spitting the remnants of their vomit onto your face, as they babble excitedly about what they're going to sing next. Try to leave for the bathroom and get partially molested. Get to the bathroom and be confronted by either more vomiting or someone performing unspeakable acts on someone else.
2) Spicy food is delicious - I've spent years avoiding all things resembling chili...[read more]
Some superstitions are the same across the globe, for instance the Polish and English both believe a black cat crossing your path is a sign of bad luck and a shattered mirror means an unlucky seven years. Others are unique from place to place. In Poland, if after leaving the house you've forgotten something, when you go back you shouldn't just pick up the item and go, first sit down for a moment and then leave again.
A Russian explained to...[read more]
The students contact the local media however they're not interested in publicising their story. Learning from the experience of others, the girls decide that more drastic action needed to be taken.
Making sure they're not seen, the small group of 17 year olds go into an empty classroom during break. From an untraceable number, one girl calls the Department of Education in Beijing and explains their situation to the administrator: even though it's the summer holiday, they spend eight hour days,...[read more]
What is it exactly about cycling in Shanghai? Is it as dangerous China-wide or is it just our metropolis? The rules of cycling in Shanghai:
Rule No. 1: ALWAYS cycle into oncoming traffic.
Rule No. 2: NEVER under any circumstance whilst obeying rule number one look into the eyes of the cyclist travelling in the right traffic direction.
Rule No. 3: PEEP your parp or HONK your horn excessively even if there is only one other cyclist on...[read more]
Join us at Manifesto tonight for our weekly Enjoy Happy Hour from 6PM! We had a massive turnout last week, and this time we'll have the resident manifesto DJ spinning, 3 bars in operation, and some complementary tapas for all! Enjoy card holders get their first drink for free, but everyone is invited for some complimentary tapas and drink specials from 6-9PM. If nothing else, this is a good chance to meet someone new and wonder,...[read more]
A big thank you to everyone who came down to Manifesto for the launch of our Enjoy Happy Hour last Wednesday. It was fantastic to see so many familiar faces, as well as lots of new ones. We were completely overwhelmed by the enthusiastic turn-out - quite literally! Apologies to everyone that had to wait a long time for their drinks, you have our promise that next Wednesday we'll be ready for you! Despite the hiccups, it's great to hear...[read more]
EnjoyClassifieds magazine is now a Friday publication and focuses on event coverage for the current weekend. Distribution starts Thursday afternoon, and will be delivered to all of the nearly 500 locations before Friday evening. Grab a copy now and find something to do this weekend. If you have trouble finding a copy at your favorite venue after Saturday or Sunday let us know here: [distribution AT enjoyclassifieds DOT com ]. The deadline for event or classified ad submission is...[read more]
Frankly, that last post about the visa scammer depressed me. To those of you who wrote us directly to notify us, thanks for your assistance, and hopefully you've helped many others from falling for the same scam. But I'm still depressed. Here at Enjoy, we're all about Enjoyment. I'm hoping you'll help me out and share something positive about your experience using our classifieds either online, or in the print weekly. I once received feedback from a man who said...[read more]
If you are looking for a visa service company DO NOT trust the person who has been posting ads in our job section offering visa services. He is not legal, and we have had mulitple reports that he is running a scam. Our Jobs section is for jobs, period. If you see any service other than a job posting there, assume it's illegitimate. Thanks to those of you who reported this - we do our best to keep these listings...[read more]
I've just finished Mark Kitto's book, China Cuckoo - How I lost a fortune and found a life in China. If you're new to Shanghai, Mark Kitto was the founder and owner of that's Shanghai before a pair of his senior Shanghainese managers decided otherwise. A little disclaimer - I've known Mark since 1997 when I first arrived in Guangzhou and later worked with him at that's Shanghai until the coup in 2004. So I had been looking forward to...[read more]
If Seinfield had been able to order delivery from the soup Nazi, the episode just wouldn't have been funny. But soup is serious business and today, I thought we would put the Urban Soup Kitchen to the test. I skimmed through to the last page for the lunch sets as I'm kind of a combo guy and was pleasantly surprised with 3 pretty good value options for different sets. I thought I would spoil myself since it was Friday...[read more]
The latest issue (#123) of EnjoyClassifieds is out. Get your copy at the usual locations. This week's reviews include two Italian restaurants, Bella Napoli and Luna Bianca Trattoria. Maria finds peace of mind at the Mindfulness Workshop at Community Center Shanghai, the Gourmet Girls let champagne go to their heads, and resident Barfly Janus raves about her new YogaAlive! suit.
In our FYI Shanghai review of Grace Hair & Aesthetics we incorrectly listed the...[read more]
The latest issue (Monday, March 23) just came off the press and is being distributed now to one of these locations. City Shop is usually the first place we get to on Fridays, so you might try there first. Jules Kwan of URBN Hotels is on the cover of the latest issue. Why? Why not. They're recruiting lots of people, including a Sales Manager, and our designer thought he was good looking. Also in this...[read more]
The new EnjoyClassifieds is out and it looks a little different. We've gone to a glossy cover with a redesign that better reflects what we've been all about for more than a year now. With more information, entertainment and services, packed into a well organized, easy to browse weekly publication, it's everything you need to enjoy Shanghai. EnjoyClassifieds is now Shanghai's only weekly events, listings AND classifieds publication. You can find a copy of EnjoyClassifieds at one of these...[read more]Posted: Monday, March 09, 2009 under General
I have two tickets to give-away to ChopSchticks, the improvisation comedy show by the Chicago Improv All-Stars for TONIGHT. These guys are very funny, very good at what they do. These two tickets, worth 290RMB each, are yours if you write me and ask for them. But there's a catch. I want you to write a 300 word review afterwards that we may reprint in an upcoming issue of EnjoyClassifieds. There's not much time left - show starts tonight at...[read more]
Picture this: a man is standing in the hallway of your office building while you wait for the elevator. He farts. A heavy cloud of noxious blue gas rises up enveloping the man in a thick haze. Startled, you step back a bit, to avoid the expanding blue cloud. He farts again. You retreat further but there's no escaping this cloud. He farts again. The man's odor has wafted throughout the hallway, you're smelling it, so you know you're breathing...[read more]
We've just been notified that our data center will be performing network maintainance of the extraordinarly disruptive kind during the middle of the day, Thursday, between around 11am and 2pm. Apparently, they reason, this is a good time as people are eating lunch. I'm looking for the 99.9% uptime guarantee in our contract, and I'm having a little trouble finding it just now. I've got a free Enjoy 2009 kit for the first wag to correctly identify my state of...[read more]
Hi Folks! We're back. Thanks for your patience and understanding. If you have no idea what I'm thanking you for, then you can read yesterday's blog, or carry on as though nothing happened. Actually, nothing happened. Carry on.
To all of you who turned up to our Enjoy Client Appreciation Night at Mesa last night (Tue, Jan 13) I'd like to say thank you. It was a great turnout, and a great night all around. Special thanks to Charlie and Steve who really know how to cater an event. The canapes were superb, the free flow flowed freely until well after 11, and the space was perfectly suited for an intimate gathering of about 250 people....[read more]
Here at EnjoyClassifieds, we like to celebrate the New Year with shiny new web servers. We made the move on New Year's day, and today the site seems to be working just fine, only faster. If you notice something wrong please use the contact form (down at the very bottom of this page) to send a bug report. Thanks, and happy new year!
With all the dire economic indicators pouring in these days warning that we are entering the sort of deep financial crisis that very few people living today have ever experienced, I am beginning to feel a tad pessimistic. And not for the reasons you might think.
If you believe, as I do that global warming is the start of an ecological disaster that is going to make our current problems seem quaint to our grandchildren, then you'll understand my pessimism. Where...[read more]
To all of you Americans out there who participated in the political process, through your votes, donations or time volunteered, to end Republican rule and put Obama in the White House, thank you. And congratulations. Not only do you have a President-elect who can articulate himself in clear, coherent, and thoughtful language, he may very well be someone you'd want to have a beer with.
Are you happy with the result of the election? Please use the comments below to...[read more]
The latest results of our super accurate EnjoyClassifieds Election Poll has the Obama/Biden ticket comfortably ahead of McCain and his winking sidekick by 60 points. Of course with a margin for error of at least 30 points we can't entirely rule out the Mac coming back to tie this one and sending it to the lawyers to decide once again. Nonetheless, we're going to bravely climb out on a limb and call this one for Barack Obama, the next President...[read more]
The news oozing out of the US of A these days is not encouraging. After the dramatic collapse of major American financial institutions exposed the soft underbelly of capitalism; with credit markets still largely frozen and governments scrambling to restore confidence in the free market with massive government intervention, you might be forgiven for expecting the U.S. presidential election campaign to take a turn towards serious, sober, possibly even intelligent discussion. You'd be absolutely wrong of course.
At the risk of...[read more]
