“You’d think Mister Tsuri would’ve tasted the food before he opened his stadium,” slurred a jovial member of our dinner party, as we spilled sake down our throats in a red-shag-carpeted cube.

“There is no Mister Tsuri,” I explained. “It’s called Matsuri – it’s a name, not a person.”

“Shut up and drink,” he shouted, toasting over a table scattered with half-eaten dishes.

That pretty much summed up our experience at ‘Matsuri 123 Japanese Food Stadium’, Shanghai’s wackiest all-you-can-eat-and-drink establishment, located in the bowels of Hongqiao. It’s a massive collection of all things edible and Japanese (and a few, sad-looking foreign offerings) under one roof. There are a dozen stations specializing in a certain style of cooking: grilled yakitori, crispy kushiage (little breaded fried things on sticks), sushi, sashimi, stews, oily tempura of all shapes and sizes, okonomiyaki (a sort of squid-studded pancake), salads, desserts and much more I can’t seem to remember. This is probably because the best stuff we consumed came from the Hamilton Bar, the final stop on the foraging circuit before you return to your padded room.

The food is not exceptional, though it will probably satisfy fans of open-ended, Japanese eating. The sashimi was not terribly fresh, the sushi was passable, and the yakitori wasn't cooked with the precision you get at places that specialize in it. But there's a lot of stuff to try, and some of it is good: particularly the crunchy fried eel bones (don't knock it till you try it) and the deep fried balls of bacon-wrapped mushrooms. Mmmm. Deep fried bacon.

Matsuri is surely one of Shanghai’s quirkiest dining rooms, which makes eating here considerably more fun than at your average Japanese joint. There are huge booths molded in the shape of peaches that appear to float on water, those dozen cooking stations which are done up in colorful Japanese kitsch, and a kids area where Ultraman keeps an eye on the little ones. Opposite the bar, a giant brass Buddha watches over this tacky gastronomic orgy with a wide smile. It’s hard to keep a straight face in these surrounds.

Matsuri 123 Japanese Food Stadium is located at 2789 Yan’an Xi Lu near Hongxu Lu. Call ahead at 6262 7123 to reserve your very own shag-carpeted room.