Name:
Andrés Díaz Bedolla
Age:
30, Mexican
I was born in Mexico City, lived and studied in the US, Ireland and France before moving to China. I’m an International Business major with a postgraduate degree in Economics from Shanghai’s Fudan University. I currently run my own company, Beacon Abroad, founded the Mexican expat community in Shanghai: MexPats and I’m a Shanghai dinner tour guide for UnTour’s night markets tour.
What’s your ‘other job’ and what do you love about leading food tours?
My other job is creating and promoting short-term higher education programs for international students in China. The thing I love most about leading the Shanghai dinner tour as a guide is the opportunity to share my love for food, Chinese language and culture with people who are just as interested as I was when I first arrived to Shanghai. Food is such an important part of a country’s culture, I love helping people discover that and I also just simply enjoy having delicious food and awesome conversations.
What is the one restaurant that you recommend to every visitor?
I really love the food at Lotus Eatery and it’s my go to restaurant for visitors. When they loved Lele I also recommend the 东方亚克西餐厅， the Xinjiang Restaurant on Xikang lu, Wuding lu. My office used to be next to that place and I could go there every day. 西康路379号，近武定路。
Where do you go when you want to escape/travel outside of SH/BJ?
Our group of friends tries to organize a Moganshan escape whenever we can go to the Prodigy cabin. We rent the place out and get a bus for the whole group, love it. My wife and I like Wuxi a lot, so we sometimes airbnb our apt and head there for the weekend.
Any areas of the city you find yourself going back to all the time, and why?
Before it got cold we would spend a lot of time down at the South Bund Xuhui Riverside Park area where the climbing wall is. Just really relaxing and it feels like you are out of the city for a while. Ed. Note: If you have extra time on your trip, this is a nice place for a long stroll or run by the river and good people watching. There’s about 5km of connected paths that are road traffic-free.
What’s the best thing someone can do/read/buy to plan their trip here?
Get a VPN, download Pleco [a Chinese dictionary app] and the Explore Shanghai metro map app. I’ve always thought Shanghai is one of those cities where you just have to live it to fully enjoy it so I guess I tell people not to over think it and just get lost in the streets of the Former French Concession.
What’s the first thing you eat when you’ve been away for a while?.
There’s this place next to my house called 多福苑。It’s on Shimen Er Lu, near Xinzha lu. 石门二路221号，近新闸路。Whenever we go on holidays we go straight there and get our Chinese food fix.
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