After only a few days in town I can see that the health and wellness trend has not only reached Shanghai, but exploded here. There seem to be endless options of gyms, fitness studios, juice bars and healthy eateries everywhere. I’m pretty excited about this as I try to maintain a somewhat healthy lifestyle, and now I’m on a quest to find awesome food spots with healthy, safe, quality food that makes your mind and body happy.
First up is Sproutworks, a cafe/restaurant that seems to be a big favorite in town, loved by both locals and expats. The concept is simple – they offer fresh, high quality varieties of tossed salads, healthy sides, soups, paninis, smoothies, juices, homemade iced teas and lots more.
I visited Sproutworks for lunch yesterday for the first time. I ordered half a salad with two healthy sides plus chicken breast for extra protein, and a homemade iced tea to drink. This cost me about CNY 110, and the portion was enormous. Half would have been enough for me, so next time I’ll probably leave out the extra protein or one of the sides. But it was delicious, you can tell by both the taste and look of the food that they focus a lot on quality and freshness. I can’t wait to go back and try other options on the menu! I also absolutely loved the iced tea – it had a bit of sugar but was definitely not too sweet. Very refreshing in the 35 degree heat.
The restaurant itself was clean, bright, cozy and no-nonsense, matching the food concept well. You order the food at the counter where many of the available options are displayed. The staff assembles your food, you pay and you’re off with your meal on a tray. The Xintiandi location offers both an indoor and outdoor seating area for enjoying all the goodness. The restaurant was pretty quiet with plenty of empty tables when I arrived right before noon, but 15-20 minutes later the place was packed with downtown Shanghai’s health conscious lunchers.
All in all, a great lunch experience and I will definitely be going back very soon. Awesome, healthy lunch spot #1 discovered!
I visited Sproutworks in Xintiadi on 185 Madang Lu, but they have four other locations across Shanghai as well. It’s also super quick and easy for take-out, and all five restaurants offer delivery for orders over CNY 100.
Got any tips on healthy, good restaurants in Shanghai? Please do share in the comments below!
Shanghaista 