I got an email from a reader who’s visiting Shanghai and asked for recommendations of gluten-free restaurants.
I am currently visiting Shanghai and wonder if you can give me any recommendations for restaurants where I can safely eat gluten free. I am finding it very challenging here. I am here for another week and a half then go elsewhere in China. I would appreciate any help you can offer.
There are no gluten-free restaurants in Shanghai, at least none that I know of. Eating gluten-free/wheat-free in China is not easy, especially if you are traveling! It would be too sad if I said the only places you can eat gluten-free is anywhere that serves food raw — like salads (without dressing), Japanese sashimi (raw fish), etc…
My husband and I don’t eat out at all. We’ve had bad experiences eating out and had to learn things the hard way (my husband has been hospitalized several times). You’ll find that almost every Chinese dish uses soy sauce, wheat starch, thickener, MSG (derived from wheat), vinegar (some contain wheat), and/or wine (some contains wheat). There’s also problems with cross contamination.
If you’re severely allergic to wheat/gluten, I suggest buying and preparing your own simple meals from raw ingredients. You could also look for high-end restaurants where the wait staff speaks really good English.
Here are a few suggestions for travelers visiting Shanghai:
- Carrefour supermarkets have import sections where you can find a small selection of gluten-free products.
- Import supermarkets like City Shop and Pines have more gluten-free selections. There’s a CityShop near Ritz-Carlton in Shanghai Centre (near Jing An subway). There’s also another City Shop near Shan Xi subway (across from Parkson, in the basement next to Watson). Check the City Shop website for other locations.
- The bakery in Hilton Hotel (near Jing An district) carries gluten-free bread.
- 5-star hotel buffets like Hyatt, Westin, Intercontinental, Le Meridian, and Shangri-la are good options, but they are a bit pricey.
- Go to the City Weekend website and find recommendations for higher-end restaurants that cater to foreigners. These restaurants are more likely to have wait staff that speaks decent English.
I was recently in the U.S. and acquired most of the missing ingredients for my favorite gluten-free bread recipe. Now the only thing I need to perfect this bread recipe is a sourdough starter. I searched online for various gluten-free sourdough starters. Most of them use just flour and water to get the starter going, [...]
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Few months ago, I saw that Carrefour started selling gluten-free products in the import section! I took a picture but never got around to posting it on the blog until now. Even though there are only three items (brownie mix, vanilla cake, and all purpose baking mix), it’s still a huge milestone for those living [...]
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Yes, we’ve turned over to the light side. We’re eating organic now and right here in Shanghai! No, we’re not eating completely all organic since it’s almost impossible in China, but we’re going to try to eat as much organic food as we can.
There’s no Whole Foods or Trader Joes in China, so we thought [...]
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Soy nuts are basically roasted whole soybeans that make a great and healthy snack! Soy nuts contain lots of protein and omega 3 fatty acids, and the best part is, they are very easy to make!
What you need: 1 bag of dry soy beans
Directions:
Soak [...]
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I found this peanut butter biscotti recipe from The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods. I had most of the ingredients except for Egg Replacer, unflavored gelatin, and vanilla chips. I tried the recipe anyway and the biscotti turned out really good! They were delicious!! Actually, the first time I made them, I didn’t watch [...]
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I joined the Shanghai Food Allergies Support Group to connect with other people in Shanghai who have or have family members with food allergies.
Recent discussions have been about the ingredients used in McDonald’s french fries! Apparently, one of the ingredients, natural beef flavor, contains wheat and milk! The message came as a surprise to [...]
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I’ve finally found a decent gluten-free bread recipe that I can find most of the ingredients at the local Carrefour supermarket here in Shanghai, China. One of the most difficult things about eating gluten-free, as I’ve mentioned in the previous post, is finding all the ingredients for gluten-free recipes.
I created a page of information [...]
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