*Lunch sets that'll get you out of the office

Urbanites are increasingly ditching packed lunches and taking to the streets. Though frequently tied to our desks, the lunchtime expedition exerts a powerful pull. The choices are numerous, the trek past your boss's office when you're 30 minutes late, hazardous, but if you know where to go, the rewards are certain to silence all grumblings–stomach or otherwise. We've scoured some of Shanghai's busiest business districts in search of midday meals that are sure to satisfy–enjoy!

Note: Prices and availability subject to change. See the Dining section on the CW website for listings information and more lunch set options

Former French Concession

Tapas in style

Epicvre | ¥58-138 | With friends, colleagues, clients
No slouch itself when it comes to wine or affordability. A cheese platter, patés and other samplers make for a delicate lunch conducive to a few stolen moments of bliss away from the office crush.

Enoteca | ¥50-78 | With friends
Salivate over the multi-course Mediterranean lunch menu that this sleek winery has to offer. If you're willing to open that wallet a little farther, some amazing wines can be had at prices that will make you seem like a highway robber.

Indalo | ¥68-118 | With colleagues
Secretaries and CEOs alike should jump at the chance to sample the mouthwatering selection of tapas and mains usually restricted to the well-moneyed. Choose two or three courses with an optional glass of Sangria.

Haiku by Hatsune | ¥68 | With friends
This comprehensive set lunch includes miso soup, tempura and tasty morsels of fresh sushi. If really hungry, go for the above plus a chawanmushi (steamed egg cup).

Southern Barbarian | ¥160 for three people | With friends
Coax two lucky colleagues into sharing a Yunnan lunch set. Choose either four types of kebabs, a three dish Yunnan noodle set, or a three dish fried rice set. The Belgian fruit beers and American microbrews are great, but stick to the "one beer at lunch" rule.

People's Square

Beat the crowd

T Sens | ¥138 | With clients
Every two weeks, the Mediterranean lunch menu changes to give a certain mystery to the three courses you’ll end up treating yourself to, offering a fresh perspective for diners who will inevitably pay a return visit.

Moonsha | ¥128-268 | With clients
Partake in a plentiful ¥128 lunch set of cold vegetables, soup, bread, salad, seafood and pork at this teppanyaki restaurant. The more expensive sets go from there. The lounge's partial buffet consists of unlimited appetizers plus a selected main for ¥96. Either way, delicious Japanese food awaits.

Epicure on 45 | ¥98 net | With clients
This rotating restaurant offers a choice of a Japanese, Indian or Western four-course lunch. Meet your boy-toy, your mistress or even your kids for an exciting break from the monotony of the office.

The Bund Brewery | ¥68 | With friends
This is The Bund Brewery's niche: you find yourself on the Bund and need to fill up that hollow arm and leg with some food. Get a soup, salad and mains encompassing choices like spaghetti, roasted chicken and beef tenderloin well below normal Bund prices.

Figaro Coffee | ¥65 | With friends
It may not induce you to sing opera, but you'll get a little bit of all the staples here. Half a sandwich and half a serving of pasta brings a tasty balance to this potentially one-dimensional meal slot. Soup is included.

Nanjing Xi Lu

Take a break in Jing'an

Masala Art | ¥48, ¥68 | With friends
This smorgasbord of Indian spices is up to its usual standard at lunchtime, at prices that Indian food in this city doesn't normally come down to. The set menu of soup, dry meat and curry is changed every day.

Cantine | ¥68, ¥88 | With colleagues
A modest, unintimidating French restaurant where you won't mind sneaking in a quick lunch while keeping one eye on the clock. The set lunch offers a two or three course menu consisting of your choice of appetizer, main and dessert if you're going all out, plus a drink. Choices change daily.

Neo Café | ¥40, ¥58 | With friends
A tuna sandwich and a salad can be had for ¥40, making it a tempting and simple option for healthy eaters on the run. Substitute the sandwich for lamb for an extra ¥18.

Always Café | ¥20-35 | With friends
Who says sallying out of your office has to be a big deal? Grab different French and Chinese mains for cheap here. Free-flow coffee or tea is provided to keep you sharp when it's back to the grind.

Maneo | ¥118, 138 | With clients
Match one of Shanghai's best champagne selections with a two or three course lunch and the fusion stylings of Chef Brad Turley. A choice of appetizer or dessert comes with inventive main courses like Seabass and Veal Stroganoff. Add the splendid interior of the art deco building and that impending conference call will be the last thing on your mind.

Lujiazui

Lunch on the East Side

Intercontinental Pudong Shanghai | ¥78 net | With clients
For an all-you-can-eat buffet at a world class hotel, this is a bargain. Reward your fiscal cunning by gorging on the different kinds of dim sum, noodles and rice dishes at Oriental House.

Kobachi | ¥200 | With clients
Are you trying to win that sought-after contract? Take your client to the sushi and sashimi buffet on the 56th floor of the Jin Mao Tower and they won't soon forget you. May their wallets open as easily as their belt buckles.

La Verbena | ¥98-148 | With clients
For a power lunch, you can't do much better than alternating your distant gaze between the Huangpu and the pristine selection of traditional Spanish tapas dishes awaiting you.

Yogo | ¥28, ¥32 | With friends
For prices not generally seen on this side of the Jiangsu border, you get a wrap with either a smoothie or fresh juice. The smoothies, packed with protein and vitamins, are styled after the designer smoothies so popular in health-conscious areas of the western world.

Xujiahui

No shopping on lunch breaks

Cameo | ¥68, ¥88, ¥155 | With colleagues
The patio overlooking Xujiahui Park provides a respite from the crush of the nearby shopping area, excellent for calmly hammering out the big venture. Two and three course sets include coffee or tea along with antipasti and mains.

Tian Jia | ¥200, ¥250 | With clients
Because you've earned your lunch. The fixed-price lunch at this restaurant comes with or without a drink and offers only toro (fatty tuna), crab and hot pot. The pinnacle of Japanese cuisine with prices to match ... though it is all you can eat.

BRIX 12 | ¥38 | With friends
The tantalizing, low-sugar, fruit-inspired desserts BRIX 12 is famous for won't plump you up, as long as you can resist eating more than one set per sitting. Mains and a side dish round out the meal.

Gino's Café | ¥36 | With friends
For a quick carbohydrate fix that's light on the wallet, this café is ready to serve. A simple pasta and drink combination will only set you back ¥36.

Ditching the Brown Bag: For and Against

The gloves are out, the lines are drawn—eat in or eat out?

With an almost deafening silence, the digital clock in the bottom right corner of the Windows operating system strikes noon. Driven by equal parts biology and greed, Shanghai's professionals set their MSN statuses to a brusque "brb" and turn their thoughts to food. And what different types of lunch-faring species reside within this urban jungle? Put simply, there are those who go out for lunch, and those who don't.

One specimen of the genus eatus outum, Norwegian Vidar Anderson, explains that going out for lunch is a pleasure. "There are too many choices in Shanghai, and I am probably too lazy to pack a lunch." He cites fresh food and social opportunities as motivation for his frequent midday forays into Xintiandi and its surrounding area. Contrasting Anderson's adventurous hunter-gatherer lifestyle is Geneviève Poiré, a Canadian case analyst of the genus comedus packae. Poiré packs a lunch and enjoys a solitary lunch hour in the midst of her busy day. "Lunch time is quite strict at my office," she says. "If I bring my lunch to work then I don't have to run to a restaurant, quickly order, stress before the meal arrives, eat fast, stress while waiting for the check and then rush back to the office to be back on time."

Graham Folkema of Scholastic Shanghai disagrees, stating, "Lunch leaves me in a state of surreal bliss, so I don't notice the time pass by." Would Folkema be willing to save time by bringing a lunch? "Bringing a lunch bag to work is not cool, plus it's very laborious, so I save face by going out." Them's fightin' words. Poiré points out that packing a lunch is healthier, cheaper, and leaves more time to relax or perhaps even take a walk. Freelance journalist and English teacher Calvin Wallace enthusiastically agrees. By cobbling together a lunch of milk tea and shui jiao, he saves huge tracks of time and money. But does such a life bring piece of mind? "It's kindergarten all over again," remarks Folkema as he sees a coworker pulling out the regular packed lunch, "[going out,] you never know what you're going to get."

After extensive research, it would indeed seem that these two divisive groups really are different species. Poiré admits that to habitually eat in, one must be able to create "good and diversified lunches." Her secret to success? "Tupperware!"

–Cameron Willard