What a Miserable Night!
 

So last night I was taken to the famous seafood buffet Xi Duo Wu at the Super Brand Mall. 250 rmb and all you can eat (seemingly) fresh seafood, with wonderful Bund views. I was really impressed with the place, and was going to recommend it on here...but

Flash forward 5 hours and I'm extremely sick. So sick, that I've lost around 10 kg, and also lost all of last night's sleep. This is my worst experience by far with Chinese food reacting with my stomach, and is extremely frustrating. I think the only time I've had a bad experience like this was when I was in Qinhuangdao.

Anyways, just ranting on. I'm still running to the bathroom every 20 minutes or so. I think this can go into my street food discussion about quality of food, proving that nothing is good quality here.

Sorry to hear about your situation. Hope you will feel better soon.

You may want to see if your hotel is able to refer you to a doctor. Assuming that you have travel insurance, you can also call your travel insurer to refer you to one of their "approved" doctors. There are lots of expat in Shanghai and there should be many English speaking ones.

Trust your vaccinations are up-to-date. It's a good reminder that we should always visit the travel clinic before any overseas trip.

IMO, China + seafood buffets = not a good idea and especially any cold dishes. Sorry you are experiencing why food poisoning from seafood can be one of the worst. Likely you've lost a lot of water and electrolytes--if you (or have a friend or hotel staff) can get to a pharmacy, try getting some of those Oral Rehydration Salts (口服补液盐) to mix with clean water and sip away. Sports drink like gatorade or similar a less ideal 2nd choice. Get too weak and you may need to head for a clinic to get an IV rehydration. Hope you get to feeling better soon.

Probably from the shellfish - Vibrio parahaemolyticus.
With a weight loss of 10 KG, best to head to an ER for saline chloride IV bolus.

Hope you feel better. Being sick is no fun. I've been really lucky in China...

You've lost 10Kg in one night? No exaggeration? :eek:

Hmm. Do you need a reservation for this place? ;):D

Yep, you absolutely need a reservation for this place. I guess the food is average quality, but the view is top notch. Direct view across the Huangpu towards the Bund. There must've been 500 people eating there, including several laowai.

I managed to pass out for much of the day, and woke up feeling a little bit better. I'm optimistic that I'll wake up tomorrow fully healed, so I can go to the restaurant and complain for my money back. I took a nice picture of my vomit containing a lot of salmon roe which should do the trick....

Headed to Shanghai next week so will make sure I avoid that restaurant. Feel better soon.

I feel your pain and hope you get better soon.

To echo jiejie's comment, China + buffet should not be in the same sentence. The one time I was so sick I wanted to die was the night after I went to a "five" star hotel buffet and ate the shellfish.

Pepto Bismol will help soak up the toxins. Good luck.

Snake wine "shéjiǔ" with its medicinal qualities and high alcohol content
is good to drink when having seafood in China. It compliments the taste
of shellfish and will mitigate affects of bacteria or toxins in the food.

Plus you get a good buzz:D

1) Portman, Shanghai
2) Shangri-La, Makati
3) Japanese place in BJ on NE corner of Guomao Bridge
4) Sheraton, HK
5) Westin, Shanghai
6) Legal Seafoods, Boston
7) Salty's, Portland

All seven of the aforementioned places have caused me pain similar to that described in the OP. Because #6 has an exceptional record on the QC front, I'm inclined to conclude that I'm simply allergic to raw shellfish.

While I still do brunches, I steer clear of oysters these days. BTW, #1 was especially nice to me. They paid for my medical bills and invited me back to brunch for free!

hope you feel better soon!

IME, food poisoning typically runs its course within 24 hours, so I'm guessing he is back in the game by now.

Sorry, but if you'd have lost 10kg in 5 hours you'd not be writing coherent sentences on FT. Nothing of good quality in Shanghai or the mall?