The restaurant in the London Case Pavilion prides itself on being carbon neutral. Photos by Yong Kai / China Daily

Plates and chopsticks in the restaurant are edible.

Still hungry - then eat the cutlery, as Wu Yiyao discovered at the London Case Pavilion.

People with beers in hand, chatting above the not-so-loud music - this may be a typical scene from a corner pub in London, but in this case, it is happening at the pub and restaurant on the first floor of the London Case Pavilion in Urban Best Practices Area at Expo 2010 Shanghai.

And that is not the only difference. The pavilion, including the restaurant, prides itself on being carbon neutral.

The pavilion is modeled on BedZED, the world's first zero-carbon community in Beddington, London, which has become the standard for energy-efficient buildings.

The London Case Pavilion achieves zero-carbon emissions by using renewable energy. Along with the pub-restaurant, visitors are also exposed to a zero-carbon auditorium, exhibition room and six different styles of zero-carbon show houses.

It seems everything in the pub-restaurant is recyclable. The ceilings are made of used plastic bottles, which create maverick patterns when sun's rays are diffused through them.

The chairs of the pub-restaurant, made from used piping, may not be too comfortable, but you get used to them or, after a while, the beer eases the discomfort. The tables are made from used car tires, which, strangely, add to the appeal of the place.

"It's cool," said Yang Jun, 17. "The chairs remind me of the angry rock 'n' roll singers for some reason."

"The beauty of being uncomfortable is that it makes you think more about protecting nature," he said.

Even the cutlery is a novel. Plates, chopsticks, and knifes and forks are made from biscuits and are edible. They taste plain, but to eat them is to save on the creation of extra garbage and water used for washing up.

"Finish the meal, the plate, and the chopsticks," a mother tells her little daughter. "We don't want to waste food, right?"

But diners don't need to feel guilty if they can't finish everything on the plate, including the plate. Leftovers from unfinished meals are scraped into a device that converts them to energy that, in turn, generates the restaurant's electricity. The less food wasted, the darker the pub.

"Well, I think a pub has more atmosphere when it is dark," joked Paul Noberg from Queensland, Australia.

Meals include products that can be microwaved. Waiters just heat them in a microwave and - ding - a minute or two later, lunch has arrived.

To drive away the summer heat, try a pumpkin sorbet for dessert. Fancy a chilled pint on a scorching hot day? Grab a Tsingtao beer served in any icy-cold glass, literally, as the pub's glasses are made from molded ice.

Raise your glasses to low-carbon lifestyle.

If you go

1F, London Case Pavilion, Area E, Expo Garden. Lunch from 30 yuan; beers from 20 yuan; sorbet 20 yuan.

Information

Apollo Business Center

The serviced office provider, Apollo Business Center, has expanded its network of offices to four locations in Shanghai. These are:

Jing'an Center, 1440 Yan'an Road M

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Central location

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French treat

With its two restaurants nestled on the tree-lined Wulumuqi Road and in the Gubei area, Caf Montmartre offers a variety of authentic French cuisine. Its focus on rich and classic dishes ranges from the simple cream of mushroom soup to the robust balance of grilled lamb chops, with business lunch set as a steal. The restaurants are open for lunch and dinner with a weekend brunch at the Hongmei Road location.

Gubei branch: 3911 Hongmei Road, 021-6261-8089

Changle branch: 66-68 Wulumuqi Road M, 021-5158-9377