When I wrote my essay "10 1/2 Things I Hate About Starbucks" a few weeks ago, I promised I would follow up with a series highlighting independent coffeeshops in Shanghai and other cities I visit. Since then, I've had time to frequent a number of such establishments but I haven't gotten around to posting any photos or reviews. So today I would like to kick off the series with a short description of LP Cafe, at 1399 Huashan Road. LP Cafe is across from a park in between Huaihai Road to the south and Yan'an Road to the north. It is very close to Shanghai Jiaotong University and about a 15 minute walk north of the Xujiahui metro station on Line 1.
The LP Cafe is a small place but I found the atmosphere there to be homey and pleasant. You can view the wall decorations in the photos for this post. Some of the coffee prices are a bit on the high side (20 rmb for a single espresso, 48 rmb for an Irish coffee); others are priced about average (30 rmb for a mocha). Of the two drinks I ordered, I preferred the mocha (just right) to the cappuccino (too milky). My girlfriend went for a lemonade black tea. The reading material on hand in the coffeeshop was a mixture of architecture books and glossy magazines. I read the current issue of Yunnan Magazine, which is hands down the best English-language magazine I have a come across in China, both for its stellar photography and for its in-depth hard-to-obtain information. I don't subscribe to magazines anymore, but if there was a China-based magazine I felt was worth a paid subscription, this would be it. A few pictures of the coffeeshop are provided below.
Comments