So I recently moved down here and heard several good things from expat coworkers about this place... so I decided to order lunch. The shake I ordered was really bad. I don't think there was any ice cream in it. The hamburger was pretty greasy. I mean, some things are complicated to make but come on... nothing says diner like a hamburger, french fries and a shake but they couldn't even get it right. I thought the owner was American. Before this I tried their cake and was disappointed. It appeared to be real American sugar-filled and coated cake with thick thick icing but when I bit into it I realized the seemingly chocolate cake was actually disguised sawdust. The sugar from the icing helped disguise it but even the icing didn't taste half as good as it looked. I wasn't going to let the cake turn me off completely but after ordering lunch... I give up. If expats so quickly forget what real cake tastes like or what a thick milkshake is made of, maybe I should start my own bakery/restaurant to remind them... or maybe not.

I like to visit this place once in a while as it's an assurance that I will get my fill with a good hearty American meal. My first thoughts on my mind as I walked along the laneway filled with deserted restaurants and bars were the huge icy Malt Shakes (35rmb), and the first few gulps left me convince that I have come to the right place to cool down. My usual visits are normally on the Sunday for "all day breakfast" (from 40rmb), a perfect place to recover from the Saturday night鈥檚 hangovers, and normally the place is filled inside and out with all walks of life. The menu is large and varied enough to cater for all from breakfast to dinner, everything from Pot Roast (65rmb) to Roast Turkey Club Sandwiches (50rmb). If only I were a kid again just so I could order myself the 25rmb Fish Fingers. Moon River Diner is a place to go back to again and again. With another branch soon to open in Pudong, those from across the river wouldn't need to travel so far to enjoy the food of Moon River Diner. If only they were to open one downtown.

Try the apple pie with ice cream. Almost as good as your Great Aunt Betty's (if you had a Great Aunt Betty).