From an online poll of Shanghai Expat members.

A couple months ago, we set out to find out what Shanghai Expat members think is "BEST" in Shanghai. In this non-scientific effort, registered Shanghai Expat members (who post in the forum) uncovered some true gems in the Shanghai cityscape.

The members had to first nominate the categories, and then nominate the entrants into those categories. Realizing that we would no doubt leave someone or some deserving effort out, we allowed members to write-in their favorites in each category, and if the write-in garnered support, we have mentioned them in the results here. The purpose of the “Best of Shanghai” poll was to uncover and recognize some of what our active forum members thought was important enough to talk about online, to nominate, and comment on in the voting process.

The current results are still in the Best of Shanghai forum. The polls are closed, but we maintain the forum so that the members can continue updating the BESTs in Shanghai as new ones pop up. Shanghai has a continually improving and changing landscape. It seems that, in a city changing as fast as ours, online spot checks are the most effective way to keep track of what’s out there, while allowing for constant updates.

Food and Drink were the big categories recommended by Shanghai Expat members. Also, quality and budget stuck out as factors that went into their decisions. F&B wasn't the only thing, though. It was just the largest overall category. There were opinions about where to workout, where enjoy a spa treatment, and where to bank. From dozens of ideas about what categories to offer, we only setup the categories for which there were at least 3 nominations from the members. We will comment on a few of the highlights of the polls, with the full list of results at the end.

The OTHER THAN FOODIES HIGHLIGHTS

In the categories where food and drink was not a factor, The BEST NEIGHBORHOOD to live in was hands down the favorite. Not only did the French Concession get chosen by name with 36% of the votes, but second with 23% was the descriptive but non-specific "Some Tree Lined Street in Puxi not mentioned here" which sound a lot like most of the French Concession. Of course, who wouldn’t like to live in the French Concession, if money was no object?

At least a good percentage of Shanghai expat member get a healthy massage or spa treatment. The neighborhood Blind Man massage place got the votes for the BEST MASSAGE with 46%. They are all over, so there was not a particular location mentioned. Aroma Garden was a close second. In the last year or so there has been a proliferation of new businesses opening and advertising. We wonder how this poll would replay if done now.

Where to stay is always a source of interest. Even members who have their own places often have to recommend a decent room to visiting friend or colleague. Of course, the options vary with budget. For a low cost room, Shanghai Expats preferred Captains Hostel near the Bund (38%), with Motel 168 following closely with 30% in the BEST BUDGET HOTEL category. At the other end of the spectrum, we have the 5 star hotels. Over the past couple years, the buzz has been that high-end places have been booked solid at peak trade show and conference time, so which hotel is best may be a moot point. If you come to Shanghai in certain seasons, you may be lucky to get a room at all. However, Shanghai expat members said that for the BEST 5 STAR stay, the Portman Ritz Carlton took top preference with 37% of people who voted tagging this one. The Westin was a close send with 31%, Shangri-la, JW Marriott, and the St Regis all got write-in mentions.

Kick off your shoes and catch the international DJ circuit. Club business has exploded in Shanghai. One party organizer told us that over 11 new clubs were expected to open this fall. The dancing and nightlife crowd have a lot more options than even just a year ago, and apparently have more coming. For the moment in time that this poll was offered, the BEST DANCING CLUB category pulled in BonBon, Mint, and Fabrique all tied for first with 26%. Certainly some great choices.

Being an expat website, we cater to foreigners who are looking for information and usually need it in English. There is a bundle of print publications out there so our members thought it deserved a look and a vote. If you are lucky enough, you might even find a free one. For information in print and in English, That’s Shanghai ran away with the title prize (37%) for BEST ENGLISH LANGUAGE PUBLICATION, followed by ShanghaiTalk (25%). Congrats to That’s.

Leading into the Food and Drink categories, we asked members to tell us about the BEST SUPERMARKET in town. Getting comfort food and favorites from home sometimes make good days great, and bad days bearable. City Shop (35%) edged out Carrefour (31%) in our poll. Maybe it’s the home delivery! While you are at it – pick up your City Shop coupon in this site! THE BEST BAKERY, however, had its own category. “BREAD! Where did you get your BREAD?” In an upset of expectations, Yamazaki took top place with 33%. Love the walnut bread there! Marco Polo and Bastiann Bakery showed a respectable following, too. Bastiann also had solid comments which hinted that if they were not only all the way out in HongQiao, they might have done even better.

The FOODIE HIGHLIGHTS

Expats drink coffee. Well, maybe not everyone, but certainly enough to warrant a coffee house of some kind open on seemingly every corner downtown. For the BEST COFFEE SHOP, it is natural that chains with the most locations would show up in the vote. Coffee Bean and Starbucks shared top honors in this category with 28% of the vote each. Jamaica Blue has its following with 17%. The top picks outraged a few coffee purists who insisted that either Vienna Café or Kommune was a much truer choice for the bean aficionado. Mr. Coffee on WuJiang (where the first Shanghaiexpat coffee meeting was held – way back when) got a mention.

DRINKS! Starting the BEST STREET FOR NIGHTLIFE, our members chose a tie between Xintiandi and the collection of establishments around Fuxing Park with 21%. Tongren Lu and Hengshan Lu were close behind. For those who need to quench a thirst and are just looking for THE BEST PLACE TO HAVE A GLASS OF GOOD WINE - members hands down pointed to Senses on Jianguo Lu near Wulumuqi Lu. 82% of voters on this poll agreed that this is the best place to go. For those with a taste for the Brew – here is what the members thought was THE BEST BEER PLACE. Long time fixture in the pub scene, O’Malleys took tops with 27% edging out Malones and Senses with 22%.Votes were spread across several good choices for this one.

A lot of aspects go into a good bar. Not just the drinks, but the environment, the food, the crowd that frequents – all create a mix that add up to Best Bar experience. BEST BAR OVERALL honors went to Senses (40%) with FACE and Malone's coming in tied for 2nd. Of course, this tells us something we already knew. Users dropped hints that quite a few Shanghai Expat members can frequently be found clustered around the altar of the grape at Senses.

FOOD! Everyone has an opinion about food and Shanghai Expat members have some interesting recommendations. The BEST FINE DINING category raised some questions - the concept of what “Fine Dining” seems to have a different meaning for different people. Laris ran away with the vote with 56%. However, there was a lot of dissent on the member nominated choices. As one member put it, “There are some glaring omissions here (Jean Georges?).” Jade on 36, Jean Georges, Sashas, and Zin all had write-in comments in this category. One comment noted, “How about Sashas and Zin - love both; great service and not as hard on the pocket as Laris or Jean Georges”.

The BEST BREAKFAST pulled out some choices that made us want to check them out. The western breakfast landscape is changing in Shanghai. There are so many choices. Element Fresh took top honors in this close race with 21%. Close behind, with 17% each was Rendevous, Arch, and A Future Perfect. Moon River Diner had a lot of support from write-ins to tie it in the second place spot with the other 3 nominees. There are so many better choices now than even a couple years ago.

The discussion of pizza in Shanghai has long been a heavily tread path on the Shanghai expat forum. We look at the winners for the BEST PIZZA category. Even before the BEST OF polls, this thread was a resource on the lay of the Pizza land. We only needed to make it official. From the way the voting went, taste was the prime factor followed by value. Papa Johns and NY Style Pizza tied with 25% each, followed by Jimix Seve. We had an honorable mention went to Hello Pizza and DeMarco for their pizza effort.

In a category that had far too many possibilities to mention, the BEST CHINESE FOOD votes went to Jade Garden. This was giant category that included styles as diverse as Sichuan, Shanghainese, and Dim Sum. In future polls, this could easily be broken into another six or so categories. And keep in the mind that the nominations came from the members. After Jade Garden, other winners were Din Tai Feng, South Beauty, and 1221, in that order. All are good choices for expats, but still do not represent the range of tastes and styles available.

Flipping over to Italian, Shanghai has grown some great Italian options in the past couple years. For BEST ITALIAN, Cassanova got 60% for first spot while DeMarco took 2nd with 30%. Va Bene and Trattoria Isabelle got write-ins. BEST HEALTHY EATING category – Element Fresh again showed it’s stuff with 40% which was tied with “Make it myself at Home” for first. Zentral was a second place with 15%. Since the polls, there are even more choices.

Burgers are one of those things, at least for some people from North America, which provides a comfort food experience. Some expats here have been on quest for the BEST BURGER in Shanghai for years. It’s a much harder choice now than ever before with so many quality options. Malone's took top burger with 39% of the votes. It seemed each voter backed their choice by experience. Blue Frog came in 2nd, followed by Eager Beaver and Moon River. In the category the BEST FOOD BANG FOR THE BUCK was snapped up by the non-descript – “Shanghai Street Food” with 35%. You know - Jiaozi, Baozi, Guotie… When a hungry guy can get full on 2 RMB and like it, it’s a winner. 2nd place was taken by “Make it at home” with 32%. Arch, Taco Popo, and Rendezvous were restaurants mentioned. Thankfully, nominations did NOT get into the fast food chain realm in either of these categories. Maybe there is hope.

In statistics, the Law of Large numbers talks about how the average of a randomly selected sample from a large population is likely to be close to the average of the whole population. While our sample was not large in number, it did generate a closer look at good choices in each category and provided our site visitors with another list of choices. And that was the whole point of the effort: to bring out a BEST OF based on true Shanghai Expat member feedback.

Here are the results in a list.

The OTHER_THAN_ FOODIES

The FOODIES