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Habibi means love and shisha on Yongkang Lu.

A small storefront bar, Habibi serves a great selection of internationally imported shisha tobacco and standard drinks. Low-key and unassuming, it's basically the only place in town with this exact combination. Owned by Shawn and his wife, it started out as a Lebanese restaurant and has since evolved to a complications-free shisha hangout exclusively.

SmSh: Okay, just to start, maybe you could introduce yourself say your name and where you're from. What's your name? Where are you from?

Shawn: My Arabic name is a very, very long name, so I'm not going to bother...

But my English name is Shawn.. Originally, I'm from Oman but emigrated to Canada. And then to Shanghai. And I've been here for 18 years....

SmSh: What brought you here originally? Was it always the dream to open Shanghai's most authentic shisha cafe?

Shawn: You know the name of the bar, "Habibi" means my love, so that's what brought me here. So I say, I love three things: "I love Shanghai; I love China; I love my wife." My wife is here so...

I'm a chef, actually, and I started here in a big restaurant doing Arabic food on West Nanjing Road, and even here we had Arabic food, but we stopped and just concentrate on the shisha now. Shisha and drinks, no complications.

SmSh: You've got a lot of shisha though. This must be the only place in town with this many on the menu?

Shawn: Before, there were copy ones available but now they're gone and we're still here. There are a few other places in town but this is the only place that knows how to make it right. There is a technique to make it right that no one in Shanghai knows about. And yes we have from all over the world — the Middle East and the States... I have my own connections. My suppliers. Usually, I would travel every three months to get supplies. But still I have my supply here from 2020.

Running out actually, I have to place another order.

SmSh: How does it work? I see on the menu here, you choose your base and then you choose your flavor? I guess with so many variations, there's lots of options...

Shawn: Yes, and we have different price points for different varieties, we have the 200, the 250, and 300rmb. We have different kinds of bases, add the ice hose, and then you choose your flavor. We ask the client what flavors they like — some people want something cold, some people want something fruity. We ask the client and then prepare for them...

We got more too that we haven't even written on the menu.

SmSh: What's the apple for?

Shawn: The apple smooths it out so you don't get throat pain if you smoke too much. It also helps you sleep after at night, and not get too dizzy. The nicotine in shisha is 0.1 percent and the apple reduces that even more.

SmSh: Oh, it's like a filter?

Shawn: Yeah, that's right.

SmSh: How long have you been smoking shisha? Are you a pro? Can you do tricks?

Shawn: Me, I've already been smoking 24 years now... but I can't do too many tricks because I'm old now. [Laughs.]

SmSh: Habibi is a small place too. Is it tough to get a table?

Shawn: Maybe on Friday or Saturday, it's a bit difficult to get a spot but other days you can walk in and it's fine. We don't really do big parties. Just a small place for people to come smoke and relax. But yeah, I know my clients — my regulars — are very friendly. Very nice. We have a lot of people we see all the time. And they bring their friends.

SmSh: How about the drinks?

Shawn: Just the regular ones. Gin and tonic but with real gin. A real amount. I hate going to places and trying the drink, and it's "where is the gin?" So we make them properly.

SmSh: What can you tell me about the decoration?

Shawn: The decorations is very simple! What decoration? There is no decorations. [Laughs.] Well, we cleaned the walls. [Laughs.]

SmSh: How do you like Yongkang Lu? It's a pretty well-known street...

Shawn: When I first opened, this place was very, very famous. Around 2014 — I mean a lot of bars were on this street. And we were also doing food at the time too — Lebanese food and some other things — and we were serving more food than the shisha. Lots of foreigners know Lebanese food. But now with the times changing... I think maybe people don't really know about Arabic food. Maybe they think it's too minty or too sour.

SmSh: How did you find this place?

Shawn: Oh, thats a lovely story. I came from Canada here on vacation and also to visit my wife, who lives here taking care of her parents now. And my wife said, "Don't leave, don't leave, stay in Shanghai."

I said, "Okay if you want me to stay, you have to find me a spot to open."

And she found this on the very second day...

So. I gave up Canada and moved here. But the small place is good and now it's just me and my wife working here — just two people. And we're the only ones who know the secret of how to prepare the shisha.

Lots of people come and watch and it looks easy but when they try they cannot do it right.

SmSh: What is your favorite thing about living in Shanghai?

Shawn: Oh, I'm here for my wife, of course. I love China. I love Shanghai. I love my wife... when you have a Shanghainese wife, you have to say. [Laughs.] Otherwise, I can't go home.

SmSh: You must have seen lots of changes in 18 years in Shanghai.

Shawn: Yes, but most from 2020 to 2022. These two years feel completely different. And we are just waiting to see what will happen next. Even last year, my plan was to start my food menu again. A new food menu and maybe delivery as well. But I'm waiting to see what the situation is.. maybe in the future. Everything depends on the China situation. Maybe next year?

But also I want to keep the relaxed life. Because at my age... before, when I was younger I had to hurry. I had one foot everyone — like one foot in Shanghai, one foot in Canada, one foot in the UK — but for me now, I don't want to leave.

Shisha and drinks! No complications!