Just because it's summer, it doesn't mean that we have to miss out on our favorite soup. We caught up with Urban Soup Kitchen’s Rick Teh to find out more about soup in Shanghai.

What’s Urban Soup Kitchen about?
We’re about bringing affordable, healthy comfort food to urban dwellers. Beside soups, we also offer sandwiches, wraps, salads, pastas and a soon-to-be-expanded pastry section.

And how’s the local response been?
Most locals are still quite confused about our concept, mainly because of differences in soup culture. Chinese people generally see soup as a side dish or something to whet your appetite, while Western soup can easily be a full meal. Chinese soup culture focuses more on nutrition and medicinal benefits. However, we encourage everybody to try all our soups and find ones that suit their taste.

But isn’t soup a winter food?
Soup can indeed be summer food. In some parts of the world, people have been consuming chilled soup to help beat the heat for hundreds of years. Every summer, USK offers gazpacho (RMB28 for the small), a chilled Spanish soup. We use the classic recipe, topped with fresh basil oil and served with croutons. It’s a liquid salad that will help cool you off and leave you feeling refreshed and healthy.

DETAILS

What: Urban Soup Kitchen

Where: 280 Madang Lu 马当路280号

Tel: 3331-1861