Shanghai’s Reél Kitchen is a giant collection of food stalls situated above a metro station on Nanjing Xi Lu. The space is brightly lit and surprisingly clean, with the servers wearing hygienic masks and gloves. The sterile yet cutesy vibe reminds me of the food courts inside Japanese train stations.
As you walk in, the first stand on the right is called Blink. The freezer case is filled with colorful ice cream pops with fun names like Strawberry Gaga and Nana Banana. The mint chocolate cookie and the chocolate-dipped blueberry pops are my favorites!
Directly across the aisle is Claire’s sweet shop, whose confections are sinfully good. The customer service is also stellar. I bought two items and they threw in a cheesecake square for free! The moist dark chocolate cupcake topped with peanut butter cream cheese frosting and a peanut butter cup is in the top five of the best cupcakes I’ve ever eaten. The chocolate brownie topped with ganache is so dense it feels like a brick but was worth every fudgy calorie. The cheesecake was nice and tangy, but was a little plain next to its more spectacular cousins.*
Further down on the left you’ll come across Fries My Life. This genius little place lets you customize your order of fries by selecting the shape (curly, waffle, regular) and topping (ketchup, cheese, mayo, blueberry sauce, etc). The fries are cooked to order and come out perfectly crispy. They are great with mayo but I don’t know about that blueberry sauce.*
Keep going and on your left you’ll find a stand selling all sorts of waffle creations. I haven’t tried the ice cream sandwiches yet, but the chocolate-coated triangles are tasty little snacks. The chocolate is good quality and the waffle is crispy and chewy.
Several big chains are also represented in case you want something a little more familiar. On the other side of the cavernous space is a cafeteria with even more food outlets represented. They serve up Asian classics like Korean bbq, pho and fried rice. The plethora of options make this food court a great (read: crowded) lunchtime destination for people working in the neighborhood. But for an afternoon snack, this place can’t be beat!
Reél Kitchen
Address: 1601 Nanjing Xi Lu, Level B2, Shanghai, China
* Inexplicably, Claire’s and Fries My Life have since closed, though fabulous new stalls have taken over their space.
Looks just like Japan! Is this near your place?
Yep, it’s a few blocks away. Dangerously close 🙂
I loved this place. Next time we’re each getting our own order of fries (no sharing). They were so good. I also liked it because I could get my beloved diet coke from McDonalds. The blueberry pop was also my favorite from Blink. I could go there every day. Mom
The blueberry pop was my favorite until I tried their new mint one. It’s amazing! You know how much I like mint and chocolate together 🙂
I could maybe be tempted to try something new, since I’m sure we’ll go back more than once. Mom
Canada has poutine (fries with cheese). China has fries with blueberry sauce… You HAVE to try it and let the rest of us know what it’s like! Sigh. What we do for our blogs…
You’re right, I know I must, my readers want to know! Just trying to work up to it… 🙂