[Hai Lights] 7 Foodie-Themed Gifts for This Holiday Season

Hai Lights is your shortcut through the chaos. Shanghai's PACKED with choices – restaurants, bars, galleries, bike routes, football clubs, hot pot joints, pizza spots, pasta dens, weird little shops selling weirder little things. We cut through the noise to curate only the best. Each list hits a theme – Spanish restaurants that don't suck, places to pretend you're into cycling, clubs where people actually play football (not just wear the jerseys), and whatever else makes this city tick.

No fluff, no filler. Just the places that matter, the ones worth your time – and ours.

Holiday season is fast approaching, which means it's almost time to start seeking out the most thoughtful gifts for your friends and family. Since everyone's got that one foodie in their lives – the one always up to date on the latest restaurant openings, spending hours perfecting signature recipes, or fan-girling chefs like it's a full-time job – this one is for them! Aside from commonplace restaurant gift cards, takeaway desserts, or to-the-point bottles of wine and booze, we've rounded up the best gift ideas around town for that special foodie someone in your life.

Lost Plate Food Tours' Food-Lovers T-Shirts (150 yuan/US$21)

Lost Plate Food Tours provides authentic, "off-the-beaten-path" culinary tours in China and Southeast Asia, focusing on local, family-run eateries and street stalls that are not typically found in guidebooks. These tours, led by local guides, offer small-group experiences where participants can see food being made, learn about the cultural significance of the dishes, and enjoy unlimited food and drinks in a fun, immersive environment.

Aside from being able to purchase gift cards for tours to give to friends and loved ones, Lost Plate Food Tours recently launched city-specific, food-themed t-shirts. From xiaolongbao in Shanghai to panda's eating hotpot in Chengdu, there's a food-lovers T-shirt for everyone. T-shirts are 150 yuan each, available in size small to XL.

To purchase, scan the QR code below:

The Nectar Foundry's Breakfast Print on Trays, Mugs, Tea Towels, and Napkins (158-528 yuan)

Launched in the fall of 2022, The Nectar Foundry is an independent lifestyle brand offering gifts with intention. Built around the principles of sustainability and mindfulness, founder Itee Soni creates products featuring her original art and collaborates with heritage craftspeople in Asia to curate a line of inimitable offerings that rejuvenate the soul and elevate one's spatial experience.

Breakfast, the most important meal of the day, is such a ritual that it needs no words. "Even though I rarely eat a streetside brekkie (my slow ritual at home is too precious to me), just the sight of the morning baos all lined up with the steam wafting onto the streets lets me know I'm home. My sketch for this line of products captures this feeling," says Soni. The Nectar Foundry's original breakfast print is available as an enamel mug and tray and as a hemp and organic cotton tea towel and napkin. Folks can also find The Nectar Foundry prints as original framed or unframed wall art and greeting cards.

Prices are as follows:

Tea Towel (55% organic cotton/45% hemp): 188 yuan

Enamel Mug: 158 yuan

Enamel Tray: 158 yuan

Celebration Table Napkins (set of 4): 528 yuan

To purchase, scan the QR code below:

Pinyin Press Dumpling Salt & Pepper Shakers (268 yuan)

Pinyin Press creates home accessories, lifestyle products and gifts inspired by everyday life in China. Founded in Shanghai, Pinyin Press celebrates Asian culture through hand drawn illustrations and quality craftsmanship.

Winner of a Hong Kong Smart Gifts Design Award, the Dumpling Salt & Pepper Shakers (268 yuan) make for an elegant souvenir of Asia and a great cross-cultural gift to friends and family.

And if that wasn't enough, Pinyin Press also has other dumpling (and more specifically, baozi) themed gifts this year, like the Baozi Velvet Purse (158 yuan/small, 188 yuan/large) made with 100-percent cotton velvet detailed with opulent embroidery.

The same baozi print is also available as a quick-dry Sports Towel (110 yuan), with a reversible design, made from sustainable fabric of 100-percent recyclable plastic bottles in one size of 53cm x 101cm.

To purchase, scan the QR code below:

Studio NooSH Embroidered Tea Towels, Placemats and Napkins (150-228 yuan)

Studio NooSH is a French-founded, Shanghai-based linen brand that celebrates the art of living well, blending the timeless elegance of French art de vivre with the warmth, color, and richness of Chinese culture. Founded by Stéphanie Sallette, Studio NooSH creates sustainable, high-quality linen pieces designed to elevate daily life and meaningful gatherings.

Studio NooSH's food-inspired embroidery collection is a playful and heartfelt tribute to China's culinary heritage, a way to bring joy to the table while building bridges between cultures. From xiaolongbao and Puer tea to jiaozi and handmade dumplings, each motif tells a story of tradition, togetherness and flavor. Studio Nosh linens are perfect for gifting, hosting, or simply celebrating the universal language of food.

Studio NooSH is currently selling the following designed patterns: Wabi Sabi Ruffles Napkins (45x45cm) in European linen for 150 yuan, Wabi Sabi Ruffles Placemats (35x45cm) in European linen at 150 yuan each, and Grapes Tea Towels (65x45cm) in European linen for 228 yuan each.

Scan the QR below to be directed to the Studio NooSH mini-program on WeChat to see the full list of offerings and to place an order.

Union Trading Co's Three-Liter Barrel-Aged Cocktails (2,180-8,888 yuan)

A Shanghai institution, Union Trading Co was one of the first bars in China to experiment with barrel-aged cocktails. Instead of large casks, the team uses 3-liter Limousin oak barrels – the same type of oak traditionally used to age Cognac. As the liquid interacts with the wood, the cocktail takes on rich vanilla and nutty notes, becoming smoother and rounder with time.

Now, barrel-aged cocktails lovers can enjoy them in the comfort of their own home without the hassle of purchasing a massive barrel! Union Trading Co has designed a flavor pairing chart divided into two sections: base spirits and flavor profiles. Choose your base spirit – cognac, whiskey, rum or gin – the soul of the cocktail. Based on your choice, the team will recommend complementary flavor categories, such as citrus, fruit, floral, tea, herbal, spice or nutty.

Each category offers six to 13 specific ingredients. For example, the fruit category includes passion fruit, raspberry and pineapple, while nutty flavors range from almond to coffee to cacao. The possibilities are nearly endless, with countless combinations waiting to surprise your palate.

Once you've chosen your ingredients, they'll be mixed together and poured into a 3-liter Limousin barrel. Each barrel comes with a metal nameplate that can be engraved with your name or any text you like. UTC will then store the barrel for one to two weeks. When the cocktail reaches peak flavor, they will stop the aging, bottle the cocktail, and send it to you along with the empty barrel, so you can enjoy your handcrafted barrel-aged cocktail in the comfort of your own home.

To order your own customized barrel-aged cocktails, simply inquire with staff at The Union Trading Company's Shanghai or Suzhou locations to place an order. Or, send a private message with the keyword "Private Customization" via the Union Trading Co official WeChat account (ID: UnionTradingCo) or Xiaohongshu (ID: Union Trading Co) to receive ordering contact details.

When Baba's Cooking's Homemade Scallion Oil Sauce (58 yuan for one set)

When Baba's Cooking (尹爸烧饭) is a family business in downtown Shanghai. The father-daughter duo opens up their home to host weekly supper clubs where the father (lovingly nicknamed Baba) cooks, and the daughter (Cherie) handles everything else. They also regularly host chef and cafe pop-ups.

Baba is now making homemade scallion oil, his nod to a Shanghainese classic. It can be added to your noodles, rice or even bread. It also serves as a great base for seafood and meat dishes. In Chinese culture, sharing food is the purest way of expressing love and Baba ants to share his food and Shanghainese familial love to everyone who comes through his door.

For the scallion oil, Baba uses scallion stalks, spring onions, fresh onion and dried shallots. Then he adds soy sauce, salt, and sugar to the extracted base to complete the scallion sauce. The sauce and oil come in two separate jars (180ml each) as one complete set so you can combine them when you're ready to enjoy. (Add one to two spoons of scallion oil and two to three spoons of scallion sauce to any base.) Everything is done by hand, with love and the utmost care; no preservatives or MSG is added in the process (so refrigeration is recommended to best preserve the taste.)

You really can't find hand-made scallion oil that is a healthy and tasty complement to your dishes elsewhere in the city. To check their latest pop-up and chef's table schedule, and order yours, follow the official WeChat (ID: whenbabascooking) or Instagram (@whenbabascooking), or on Xiaohongshu.

Zestea Kombucha Brewing Kit (384 yuan)

Zestea is China's only raw kombucha brand, dedicated to crafting authentic, healthy, alcohol-free fermented tea experiences. Founded by Sharon Lee and Cindy Chen, Zestea has grown over the last five years from a home-brewing kombucha hobby into a business that now delivers this health-centric, effervescent drink across China.

With Zestea's Kombucha Brewing Kit (384 yuan), making kombucha at home has never been so easy! Inside this kit, you'll find all the essentials, including the Zestea SCOBY, needed to start brewing.

The set includes:

• 1 Gallon Glass Brew Jar

• Kombucha SCOBY & 200ml Liquid

• Sustainable Cane Sugar

• Sustainable Black Tea

• Reusable Cotton Tea Bag

• Cotton Cover & Rubber Band

• pH Test Strips

• Pipette

• Wet Erase Marker

• Step-by-Step Brewing Instructions

To purchase a Zestea Kombucha kit, click here.