Spicy Xinjiang food is on offer downstairs. Upstairs is the more expensive Arabic experience - including herbs and olive oil, not much in evidence in Shanghai cuisine, not to mention cheese-filled falafels, which will have your taste buds dancing.

An added twist to the menu for the evening is exotic dancing.

Around 9:00pm every night except Monday, a belly dancer struts her stuff around the small circular polished upstairs floor. But before you get too excited, it's no slow, hypnotic performance of this ancient Mediterranean art. No rippling folds of belly either - the dancer is a tall, slim (beautiful) Russian woman from a Russian dance troupe.

So maybe, just maybe, it occurred to me, the Arabic theme is a good excuse to get a fit woman to get her kit off...? (not in Shanghai, surely).

Decor makes you feel like you have just stepped into "The Thousand and One Nights." Small and dark, the room is lit with a seductive red glow that bounces off the gold tablecloths. Each table has its own cosy little alcove with Islamic arch - an upmarket version of the discreet, dark benches used by necking couples in karaoke clubs.

The centuries-old stories in "The Thousand and One Nights" are rich with Arabic food - pomegranates and sweetmeats, sesame breads, sherbets, lamb stuffed with walnuts, almonds, pistachios and roasted camel...

Unfortunately the last time I tried Arabic food was in a Soho dive in London, fronting as an Egyptian restaurant; a huge-bellied man with dirty fingernails brought us stringy mutton, pitas and something that looked suspiciously like a beefburger.

So I'm no expert on Arabic food, but I thought the Ali Y.Y's set meal - though steep at 200 yuan ($24) - was great. For starters, a selection of dips: bulghur (a type of grain from the Middle East) parsley, tomato and onion, Baba Ganash (aubergine and tahini), Labane (yoghurt, olive oil and mint) and Kubbence (potatoes and bulghur). Also lentil soup and pita bread. Afters include rice pudding (more like semolina and too school-lunch-like for me), creme caramel, and a cup of tea or coffee.

Drinks are not included in the price, but a glass of very drinkable French red wine is 25 yuan ($3), a bottle of beer is 30 yuan ($3.60) and a coke will set you back 25 yuan. If the set menu exceeds your budget (you must book a table in advance for food) but you still want to savour the dancing - you can just stick with a drink.

Despite the darkness and the dancing, it's no den of vice. But if you're partial to a suck on a hookah, or water pipe, you can hire one by the half hour at 50 yuan ($6) with a choice of ordinary, apple or strawberry tobacco. No need for anything stronger, just lay back on the green floor cushions and buzz off the Arabian Nights atmosphere.

Address: 9B Dongping Road

Tel: 6415-9448