Where do you go for the best local Shanghai style food? In our Best of Shanghai feature, this is one area we wanted to investigate. There are lots of good choices. In the category of Best Chinese Fast Food, we think the best is the foodcourt at the Carrefour in Gubei

I know a few seasoned expats will get a chuckle out of this. Not all Carrefours have such a great foodcourt. On the first floor, there is a large public dining area with about 20 vendors. No burgers, no french fries. Lots of rice, noodles, and dozens and dozens of different Chinese dishes. If you are not up to speed on your Chinese, the nice thing here is that you can see what you are getting and point at it. You can throw in an "yi ge" (pronounced "ee guh," means this one) if you want to try a new word. It is also very inexpensive. When my mom came for a visit 4 of us went there for lunch, had more food than we could finish, and it only cost about 75 RMB. My wife always gets this interesting version of fried rice with sliced pork, green vegetables, soy beans and other goodies. I get this green onion filled flat bread, thick rice noodles with bok choy and beef in oyster sauce, and stuffed mushrooms. Everything comes with soup. If you do not live near Gubei, like we now do, there is always something a few blocks away. Of course, you take your chances. But a bowl of spicy noodles for 2 RMB cannot be all bad. Just walk out your door and turn left.. or turn right.. or walk around the corner... some street vendor is selling something if you dare.