I’m a firm believer of always having room for dessert. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of options in Shanghai. Your sweet tooth can be satisfied at any price or place – ranging from unexpected fast food chains to classic French cafes for the finest post-meal confections. 1. Nana’s Green Tea Under 50 RMB

Nana’s Green Tea offers a variety of Japanese food, but its standout dishes are the green tea desserts (after all, it’s in the name!). You can choose from an assortment of lattes, parfaits, ice cream, soft serve, cream puffs and cakes – prepare for a matcha-induced coma. Most desserts have an Asian twist to them, whether it is a sweet rice cake-ball topping or accompanying black sesame soft serve. They rotate some items in and out every few months, so the green tea possibilities are endless. This definitely hits the spot when matcha flavored Pocky from the convenience store doesn’t do the trick.

1018 Changning Road 长宁路1018号 Metro: Line 2/3/4 中山公园 Zhongshan Park 上海市第一食品商店 Shanghai First Food Hall 720 East Nanjing Road 南京东路720号 Metro: Line 1/2/8 人民广场 People’s Square 2. Nom Nom Dessert Bar 50 – 100 RMB

Strictly Cookies is no stranger to NYU Shanghai students, but Nom Nom Dessert Bar, their storefront, takes it to the next level. The dessert bar offers more than their delivery service, including different cookie combinations such as cookie skillets, ice cream sandwiches, and shakes. Whether you pick chocolate chip, skinny chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, double chocolate chip, peanut butter, sugar, snack pack, or the flavor of the month – you can’t go wrong (especially if you buy the sampler box!). All are perfectly chewy, buttery, and dense at the same time. If you come in early enough in the day, you can even have a fresh pack of cookies baked for you on the spot.

Metrobank Plaza 1/F, 1160 Yan'an Xi Road 延安西路1160号1楼105室 Metro: Line 3/4 延安西路 West Yan’an Road

3. La Creperie 50 – 100 RMB

Nestled in the French Concession, aka expat central, La Creperie will certainly convince you that you are indeed eating in France. A variety of sweet and savory crepes are available, so it is possible to have a full meal here. Their sweeter confections range from a simple butter and sugar crepe to their most popular, a decadent confection consisting of caramel ice cream, banana, and salted butter caramel. Their crepes have the optimal balance of being satisfyingly crispy, yet still soft in the right places. The batter is neutral enough to balance out the sweeter toppings so they don’t become overpowering. An average crepe with two or three toppings will set you back at about 60 RMB. It may seem pricey for just one dish, but the portions are enough to share. That is, if you plan on sharing…

1 Taojiang Road 桃江路1号 Metro: Line 1 衡山路 Hengshan Road 4. KFC Under 50 RMB

Getting dessert at a fast food chain may not sound like the most glamorous thing, but KFC knows how to make a good egg tart. I was skeptical at first, but after trying the competitors, KFC still comes out on top especially considering the price. For only 6 RMB, you get a creamy egg custard surrounded by flaky, crumbly, and buttery crust. And if you’re in the mood to indulge (or share, I guess) they are also sold in packs of six.

Locations all over Shanghai Nearest KFC to the new Pudong campus: KFC Weifang Branch 137 Weifang Road (near Laoshan Road) 潍坊路137号，近崂山路 Metro: Line 2/4/6/9 Century Avenue 5. Honeymoon Dessert Under 50 RMB

This Hong Kong chain offers over 160 cold and hot Asian desserts in an unpretentious, strictly desserts setting. Asian desserts typically stray away from the heavy and buttery flour-based sweets more common in Western cuisine, and Honeymoon Dessert’s offerings are no exception, focusing more on shaved ice, sticky rice, sweet soups, beans, jellies, coconut milk, and fruit. Honeymoon Dessert is ideal for any post-meal sweet craving as most items are not overwhelmingly sugary and will not leave you with a sick, food-baby-induced fullness. The menu is bilingual, but the English translations do not do the desserts proper justice. Pick a treat that is accompanied on the menu by a picture, as it looks much better than how they make it sound with the rough translation. A safe bet would be any item marked on the menu as popular – a personal favorite of mine is the blueberry ice cream with shaved ice and condensed milk. The shaved ice provides a nice crunchy texture difference against the smooth ice cream and the blueberry adds a complimentary tart-sweetness to the dairy.

Locations all over Shanghai Nearest Honeymoon Dessert to the new Pudong campus: Honeymoon Dessert, Xiangcheng Branch Room J-08, 17 Xiangcheng Road 向城路17号J-08 Metro: Line 4/6 Pudian Road