Shanghai Dining
 

My favorites (off the top of my head, at least) are 1221, Azul, and Bam-Bou.

Have you got any recommendations? :)

Don't live or spend much time in SH since I'm usually there for work (ie. lots of hotel meals, short stays), though Ali Baba Xinjiang restaurant (930 Renmin Lu) was quite nice, though I have not been to any other Xinjiang restaurants in SH.

Snack street or 小吃街 is quite nice...

My favorites are Crystal Jade for Cantonese, Yuan Yuan for Shanghainese, Lasboa for Hong Kong/Macau. Bellagio for Taiwanese. All are good and cheap

Suntory (HSBC building)

and

The Toro and Crab place (forget its name; there's one in BJ now too, I think).

Lu Lu, simply is the best Shanghainess food.

If anyone stay in Hilton Shanghai (there is only one there), leave the front door, turn left, walk across the bridge, it only takes less than 10 minutes to walk there.

Nanxiang steamed bun in Yu yuan Bazaar
Dong Bei Ren ( which is very close to 1221, btw, 1221 is one of my favorite too:-)

So you have checked the other 1.2 million restaurants in Shanghai have you ?

Are you talking about the small joint on the 2nd floor? There is a small bar on the 1st floor but is not related to the restaurant?

If so, yes this place is awesome!!! It barely fits 30 people (if even) and I sat at the bar when I ate there.

Thanks! that's the one...thoroughly enjoyed the dinner course

At the risk of sounding pathetic, I really liked the Shanghainese crab at the Din Tai Fung in Xintiandi. Much better than at other places where it is claimed to be the "specialty". I like Din Tai Fung in general, although picking the best Xiao Long Bao place is a bit of a bun fight, so to speak.

Which reminds me - I absolutely adore Haiku :)

Sadly, I think we have to agree to disagree on this topic. I've actually met Handle Lee on a number of occasions (even went to a fabulous party at his Huairou house in 02) and think he is a really nice guy. That having been said, in light of the plethora of quality Japanese dining options in BJ and SH, I don't feel that his restaurants warrant the hype. When I eat Japanese food, the two things I care most about are freshness and quality. With respect to these benchmarks, there are much better options; aside from the restaurants I mentioned upthread, the place in the Ruijin Office Building in SH and Yotosuba in BJ are both superior IMO (and I don't doubt there are others).

It depends on what ou want
 

Shanghai has so many great restaurants to offer, it just depends on what you are looking for, and of course your wallet.

for chinese with a view you can go to South Beauty in the Super Brand Mall, but if it's just about the sichuan food I prefer to go to Tony's.

for the BEST fusion in Shanghai and a fantastic view go to Jade on 36 in the Shangri La

for a good and authentic Italian dinner go to Casanova on JuLu Rd.

for real Fench food and a great atmosphere go to le Bouchon in Wuding Xi Lu

and then there's the food streets with all their hidden gems and surprises.
Xiao Yangs Shenjianbao for example are very tasty fried dumplings.

Keep exploring

ShanghighX

Now there are also Tenya (Tianjia in Putonghua) restaurants in 1) the Gubei area near the Honqiao Airport area in a housing complex called Mandarine City, at the south end of Shuicheng Rd., and 2) in Pudong near a hotel (Equatorial??) so you can get your fix on the way out to either airport before you leave Shanghai!

At the moment, maybe Blu Sushi

http://www.blusushi.com.cn/en/about.asp

The owner is Taiwanese and has brought in an excellent maitre with serious Hongkong resrautant and hotel experience.

Other than that, several good Korean places in Hongqiao. The best might be a smallish seafood restaurant inside a gated Korean residential area.

I am not a fan of Shanghai cooking but have been taken to a few very nice Cantonese seafood palaces.

As for hotels, the Hyland Sofitel has a great French style bar with small dishes to accompany wine and other drinks.

If your into trying some weird stuff

ala Travel Channel "Bizarre Foods" with Andrew Zimmerman

Have found cooked to order live snake and Guizhou donkey in Pudong.

Never seen available cat or rat as found in Guangdong or dog and silk worm larva as found in north China.:D

Not sure when my next trip to PVG will be but will definitely go back to Tian Jia! Thanks for the tip!

Anyone have an opinion on Three on the Bund? Thinking of doing a special dinner there with someone in the Copula -- is it worth it? and what are the chances of having a "haze" obscured view?

3OTB is great, with Laris being one of my favorites in town. Unless you really want the privacy of the Cupola, i would just reserve a table in one of their restaurants, Laris, Jean Georges, New Heights, or Whampoa Club (my preference in that order though i've never been to Whampoa Club). When you reserve a table just ask for one by the window. Reserve early. You'll get pretty much the same view and save quite a few RMBs. You shouldn't have too much of an issue with the haze, at least i've never had any...
The lights of Lujiazui are nice to see, and as they turn them off at different times depending on the day, you may want to get there no later than 7-8.

edit: and for other western dining on the bund, i used to be fan of M on the Bund, but that's all changed over the past year. Glamour bar for drinks is still ok.

I would put the Whampoa Club above New Heights, and depending on the day, JG above Laris, but it is all debatable.

All the places are from decent to very good, but don't expect Robuchon a Galera (now, that's something). NH has a nice outdoor terrace, if the weather is nice (even if cold, they have some heaters).