Support These Shanghai-Born Restaurants Today

We like to rag a lot on Shanghai from time to time, but seeing as the big city down south isn’t doing so hot right now, it’s better to put aside any differences and show support.

Seeing as Shanghai’s pride and joy is it’s massive food and beverage choices, and seeing as how a number of these Shanghai-born F&B brands have made their way to the capital over the years, this little list provides a few places you can eat at -- sure, it’s only a meal, but a little bit goes a long way.

Saigon Mama

Having first opened its doors in Shanghai Centre in 2015, this Vietnamese eatery has grown to a number of locations across the city and Beijing as well. Head here for classics like pho, banhi mi sandwiches, egg rolls and a few other surprises like Vietnamese curry and dry noodle dishes. They’ve also got bomb Vietnamese-style coffee available for delivery.

Seesaw Coffee

Seesaw just turned ten this past week, and to celebrate they’ve got a bunch of deals going on right now, including special packs of instant coffee, limited-edition espresso cups and thermoses, and even 500g packs of their signature blend Zebra coffee.

Wagas/Baker & Spice

Almost everywhere you turn in Beijing (and in Shanghai), you’ll probably come across one of these spots. Along with coffee, Wagas offers up a nice variety of wraps, salads (and sets of sandwiches and salads), curries and more, not to mention avacado toasts with eggs and a variety of other toppings.

Baker & Spice (an offshoot of the Wagas brand), offers the same but with the added benefit of slices and whole loaves of bread.

Blue Frog

These burger slingers are a regular staple of our Burger Fests and always rank high up on the list in our Burger Cup results. The answer to their rankings is in the burgers: big beef patties with classic toppings and a bunch of other fun offerings, piled so high it’s hard to fit it all in in one bite.

Shanghai Min

Shanghai cuisine is known for its use of seafood and the sweetness of it’s dishes, and to get a taste of Shanghai fare in the capital there’s probably no better place than Shanghai Min. They’ve got nice set meals like Shanghai-style Hongshao Rou with dry noodles, braised duck and more.

Manner Coffee

Manner isn’t just good, but they’ve got unbeatable prices for their coffees, especially their RMB 15 Americano.

M Stand

This relative newcomer to Beijing’s coffee scene turned heads for it’s notable wanghong offerings, including it’s Cookie Latte and Sea Salt Cream Cheese Americano. They’re regular Americano isn’t all that bad, and they’ve got some pretty bomb snacks like cheesecake as well.

READ: Capital Caff: Seesaw Turns Ten, Wagyukami Drops Coffee and Sando Sets, a Few Coffee Recommendations

Images: Unsplash, Dianping, Vincent R. Vinci, Ana Fornieles