Shanghai: Cafe Dan & Rockbund Art Museum

Shanghai: Cafe Dan

moffles cafe dan shanghai china

I’ve always been curious to try a moffle – aka a slab of mochi pressed in a waffle iron. We were having a delicious lunch at Cafe Dan at Taikang Lu and luckily, they offered them on their extensive menu. Verdict: unimpressed. They taste like stale rice cakes.. which, if you think about it, is technically what the are. I like the soft and chewy version of mochi much better.

If you’ve never been to Cafe Dan, you must make time to go. A set of nearly vertical stairs lead up to Dan’s lofted Japanese coffeeshop/restaurant. Snag a cozy seat and enjoy the house-roasted, ground, and brewed coffee beans. A coffee will cost you upwards of $60RMB here, but its not your average cuppa joe. The proprietor takes special pride in selecting and preparing his beans, resulting in a damn fine brew. Cafe Dan also makes an amazing hot chocolate – complete with a gigantic homemade marshmallow.
hot chocolate homemade marshamallow cafe dan shanghai

In addition to coffee and gateau, Cafe Dan offers food – lots of it. Their menu is mouthwatering and so long that it’s nearly a novel. One thing that you have to try is the “steamed chicken,” which is a deboned chicken thigh cooked in a pressure-cooker. It’s served piping hot with a superbly crispy skin. Be careful cutting into it – its that juicy.

Enjoy!

Cafe Dan 咖啡丹
No. 41, Lane 248 Taikang Lu at Sinan Lu
泰康路248弄41号 近思南路
+86 21 6466-1042

Cai Guo Qiang at the Rockbund Art Museum

Last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting the Cai Guo Qiang exhibit at the newly-opened Rockbund Art Museum (RAM). I saw his retrospective at the Guggenheim in NYC, and his work definitely left an impression on me. The RAM is a great addition to Shanghai’s art spaces. It’s in a beautiful historic art-deco building just a block over from the Bund.

Cai Guo Qiang Rockbund Peasant Da Vincis Shanghai
The RAM has a nice little cafe on the top floor for drinks and a great view of the Pearl Tower. They’ve got an outdoor patio on the roof and if you save your ticket stub, you get $10 off your coffee.

Cai Guo Qiang Rockbund Peasant Da Vincis Shanghai
Peasant Da Vincis is one of the most interesting exhibitions I’ve seen in awhile. It is comprised of a selection of works by China’s farmer-inventors curated by Cai. I first came across the inventions of Chinese famers when reading about bikes in China. These guys are really inspiring; some of them live in remote areas in China and are driven purely by passion and the urge to create technology unseen by the West – they come up with some crazy stuff. You’ll have to take my word for it an check out the exhibit for yourself.

Enjoy!

Rockbund Art Museum
20 Huqiu Road at Beijing Lu
虎丘路20号近北京东路
Entrance: $15RMB
+86 21 3310-9985

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