Shanghai’s FEAST Fest Draws a Curious Crowd

While many of Shanghai’s young hipsters flocked to Beidaihe for a weekend of rowdy revelry at the Zhao Dai Music Festival, the city’s foodies descended on Jing’an Kerry Center for the seventh edition of FEAST.

Organized by the creative minds at Social Supply, FEAST introduced new platforms this year with FEAST WEEK — a string of food-related events that kicked off on May 22nd — and FEAST CON — a series of masterclasses and talks by top chefs and culinary experts that ran alongside the food festival. As the event’s media sponsor, RADII captured the excitement first-hand, participating in both the food festival and FEAST CON.

Karen Chung of J.Boroski Shanghai showing us her “qizhi” (气质).

Local and international brands put their best feet forward with innovative takes on classic Chinese dishes and beverages. The master mixologists at J. Boroski Shanghai kept visitors cool and boozy with ice cream topped with cocktail syrups. Jamie Pea also brought chill vibes with her fruity spin on soupy bingfen. Zrou’s casual take on nachos delighted less daring snackers, while the crew from Wuyuan Road’s BIRD stayed true to their more experimental impulses, inventing a pork neck “burrito” with Peking duck dressings complete with spring onions and floury thin wraps. It was all delicious.

DJ Tom Yeti with friend Vivianna Yin

During her talk “What’s on Young China’s Plate,” RADII Brand Strategy Director Elaine Chow shared data-driven insights into the curious appetites of Gen Z consumers who have adapted TCM remedies into a new hedonistic trend known as “Punk Health.” Michael Zee and Jamie Pea unpacked identity as it relates to food and the Chinese diaspora in “Old Ducks and Fresh Blood.” Additionally, Julie Tu moderated a panel highlighting the endeavors of Shanghai’s new generation of bartenders.

For those interested in hearing more from the full list of talks and forums, FEAST CON will live on through videos hosted on feastfestivals.com, launching in the coming weeks.

RADII Brand Strategy Director Elaine Chow shares “What’s on Young China’s Plate”.

Founding Partner of Social Supply Camden Hauge states, “Even as the 7th edition of FEAST, we’re thrilled that this weekend’s festival was the best so far, not only showcasing the brightest young stars in the Shanghai scene, but also allowing us to broaden FEAST as a platform with our very first forum on food and beverage culture happening in parallel.” Social Supply’s social calendar doesn’t stop with their signature event, FEAST. Hauge also hinted at more food related events coming soon in the summer.

Friends of RADII at the march table

To check out more of RADII’s coverage of the event, head to our social media pages on Instagram or WeChat. You can also get one step closer to carb heaven with the new line of merchandise RADII launched at FEAST. Fans of our noodle explainers and illustrations will be happy to hear that the series has been translated into a set of highly collectible stickers, posters, and t-shirts. Domestic and international shipping options are available.

Cover image via Unsplash