Michelle Erickson

On September 21, 2016, the inaugural awards for the Michelin Guide to Shanghai were announced. Stars were bestowed on 26 restaurants, with another 25 places receiving the Bib Gourmand award, denoting good food at a reasonable price. After the initial highs of the ceremony and the media storm that followed, what happened after the dust settled?

T’ang Court, China’s only three-star Michelin restaurant, experienced a surge of reservations following the announcement (the branch in Hong Kong also ...

There's no shortage of boutique stays in Shanghai from hypermodern skyscrapers to historic shikumen buildings that recall Old Shanghai. We've rounded up the city's best, no matter which style you prefer.

From underground malls in metro stations and late-night shopping in Dongdaemun (open until 5 a.m.!) to more novelty socks than you can shake a stick at, Seoul has no shortage of retail therapy. Give your credit card a workout at these standouts.

[Source: ShanghaiWOW!]

The newest, hardest-to-get table in town is a fine dining experience and botany lesson rolled into one.

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THE CONCEPT

Utilizing Shanghai's flora and fauna

The idea of “farm to table” is still a bit fuzzy in Shanghai. Menus at fine dining restaurants in other parts of the world routinely include a long list of all the farms that their ingredients are sourced from. At high-end restaurants in Shanghai, we just assume that much of what is on our plate was flown across the world from some faraway ...

The best of the ocean's bounty in ol' Big Shoulders

No ocean? No problem! Chicago is packed to the gills with seafood restaurants. Whether you're a sushi newbie or you've been shucking oysters since birth, there's a local spot for everyone.

A rundown of EWG's annual study on organic fruits and vegetables, including an explanation of how the study is conducted and how to clean produce properly.

In conjunction with a one month vegan challenge organized by a local vegan group, FIELDS released an article about how to follow a vegan diet. It was a popular article that was shared through various vegan and healthy eating groups.

[Source: Shanghai Hunter]

We’re experiencing the last chilly days of the season!

Before we shed our puffy coats and start having al fresco brunches while drinking gallons of ice-cold rosé, host one last cozy get-together at home.

Gather a group of friends for a rustic raclette party. This hearty meal gives us serious Alpine vibes - think ski lodges, roaring fireplaces and mulled wine.

What is raclette?

Not familiar with raclette? This semi-hard cow’s milk cheese gets its name from the French word “racler” which means ...

Papp's Tea is a homegrown brand from Beijing. When FIELDS started carrying these bottled kombuchas, they did a launch post to introduce the brand and to educate their customers about what kombucha is and how it's made.

[Source: TimeOut Shanghai]

Eating responsibly

These days, there are so many different choices when it comes to buying salmon – and with so many options, it’s hard to know which type of salmon is the best for your needs.

There are so many questions to be asked: Fresh or frozen? Wild-caught or farmed? Atlantic or Pacific? We hear lots of people throwing around the word ‘sustainability’, but do you really know what that means when it comes to selecting fish?

Trusted resources

One valuable resource is the Monterey Bay Aqua...

El Luchito has risen like a Quetzalcoatl from the ashes of the Yongkang Lu cleanup of 2016. The reincarnation of the now-shuttered YKL fixture, El Luchador, is bringing Mexican classics back to Yongkang Lu.

[Source: ShanghaiWOW!]

Brunch in this town really runs the gamut. You can wander down the street while eating a freshly made jianbing out of a plastic bag for just a few kuai. Or you can drop several hundred yuan to get sophisticatedly soused while sipping bottomless champagne in the finest hotels in the city.

Most of the time, we fall somewhere in the middle. Bleary-eyed and perhaps a little hungover, we roll out of bed looking for a satisfying breakfast and maybe a little hair of the dog. Well, here are some plac...

[Source: ShanghaiWOW!]

Old seafood lore says that you should only eat oysters during months containing the letter “R”. We rebel against these antiquated notions and have created our own rules - we eat oysters on any day ending in “Y”.

It’s easy to shell out several hundred clams for a platter of oysters in Shanghai, but, there are also great deals to be had for a fraction of the price. From white tablecloth venues to laidback seafood shacks, take a look at these shucking great places to slurp down a few oysters.

Sp...

[Source: ShanghaiWOW!]

Ok, so…you like queso. Well, you more than like it. Some might even say you are obsessed with it. There’s just something magical about letting milk curdle and mold so it can transform into delicious food. Nature is truly amazing.

If you like food and you live in Shanghai, you're a lucky one. Almost anything you crave can be found somewhere in this metropolis of gastronomy, but our cheese selection is woefully limited due to some very lactose intolerant customs restrictions. (Who could forget ...

FIELDS regularly posts seasonal recipes. They took advantage of the current cold brew trend with an easy recipe so that their customers could skip the coffee shop and make their own cold brew at home.