Expense It
Three on the Bund (3 the Bund; 3 Zhong Shan Dong Yi Rd.; +86-21-6323-3355; threeonthebund.com) is a Michael Graves!-designed space atop a 100-year-old former insurance building, offering innovative Continental cuisine and jaw-dropping views of the Bund, river, and playful neon signs in Pudong. Two private cupolas sit atop this stunning deco building, and you can choose to eat at any of the four restaurants within the complex.
Unique Opportunities
At the Four Seasons, you can experience the unique tastes of Shanghainese cuisine at Si Ji Xuan (500 Weihai Rd.; +86-21-6256-8888; FourSeasons.com; fixed price menu $36+). Try pan-fried king prawn, duck soup, roasted goose, or braised bird's nest noodles, and finish off the feast with baked milk tarts and sweetened walnut cream. If you want to try everything on the menu, target the esteemed Si Ji Xuan's dim sum.
Your Dime
For Cantonese specialties in a Chinese-style space that's anything but minimalist, Xinya (also known as Sun Ya, 719 Nanjing Dong Lu; +86-21-6322-4393; $2+) serves up dim sum all day.
Gay Plates
For increasingly gay-popular see-and-be-seen dining, head to the Bund. M on the Bund (5 the Bund; M-RestaurantGroup.com; +86-21-6350-9988; $17-37) is upstairs from celebrity haven Glamour Bar . They're both thrilling places to lounge over killer martinis and watch Shanghai's fattest cats and sultriest citizens pout and prey. On the dining menu you'll find modern classics from prosciutto-wrapped ballottine of chicken to crispy suckling pig to chocolate cake gilded with golf leaf and served with roasted plums and Chantilly cream.
