São Paulo: Food, Fun & Souvenirs—This Guide Has It All✨

Food: A Feast for the Taste Buds 🌲 Figueira Rubaiyat (Big Banyan Tree Restaurant) Finally checked out the super popular Figueira Rubaiyat from Xiaohongshu! The restaurant is packed with locals, full of lively vibes～ It specializes in seafood, and you can’t go wrong with any order—just go for it! Highly recommend the warm seafood salad, which is fresh and refreshing; the grilled shrimp are plump and bursting with the taste of the sea; the crispy pork belly is incredible—crunchy on the outside, tender and not greasy on the inside, every bite is pure happiness! Oh, and their pre-meal bread deserves a shoutout too—soft and chewy, you’ll want to eat extra with the sauce 😋 🍣 Huto (1-Michelin-Star Japanese Restaurant) Brazil has a huge Japanese immigrant community, so if you’re a Japanese food lover in São Paulo, you must try omakase! This is one of the more reputable 1-Michelin-star Japanese restaurants in the city, but personally, I think it’s just average～ South American Japanese food has a bold style—the fish is sliced super thick, even too thick to take a bite! Also, it’s not traditional omakase; it’s more like North American-style Japanese food, using a lot of Western sauces for seasoning, and most ingredients aren’t from Japanese waters. It’s a different flavor, though! Souvenirs: No-Regret Picks 🩴 Havaianas The famous Brazilian national flip-flops are everywhere in São Paulo—supermarkets, roadside shops, brand stores, street stalls! The prices are similar; small supermarkets have the cheapest ones but limited styles; flagship stores have the most colors and even offer DIY accessories for that personal touch; airport prices are a bit higher, but you might find styles not available in flagship stores (probably out-of-season). No matter the skin color, many tourists are “bulk buying” 10 pairs at a time—no wonder it’s a national souvenir! 🍫 Dengo A well-known high-end chocolate brand focused on sustainability—using cocoa beans from small Brazilian farms, it’s all natural with no preservatives or excessive sugar, so you can eat it with confidence! There are also various tropical flavors like mango and passion fruit, very Brazilian～ The packaging is exquisite and beautiful, perfect for gifting friends and family—great for those who love nice aesthetics! 💄 Natura Brazil’s largest cosmetics/personal care brand, known for natural ingredients and eco-friendly concepts, with a wide range of beauty and skincare products! For gifting, the Ekos series is a must—raw materials are from Amazon rainforest plants, natural and gentle, even suitable for sensitive skin. It’s thoughtful and decent for gifting! Fun: Local-Favorite Activities 🐒 São Paulo Zoo It’s about an hour’s drive from the city center, with lots of protected animals from South America and Africa—animal lovers will have a blast! But go early—we arrived at 12 noon, and all the big cats were sleeping, so we only saw “sleeping beauties,” a little disappointing😴 ⚽️ Museu do Futebol (Football Museum) Brazilians’ madness for football is fully shown in this museum! It vividly tells the history of football and has many fun interactive games to immerse yourself in the passion of football～ The downside is that the explanations are mainly in Portuguese, with very little English, so it feels like missing out on a lot of details. Also, don’t wear sandals—you’ll hurt your toes when playing the football interactive games! 🍔 1000th McDonald’s in the World A must-visit for “McDonald’s fans”! The 1000th McDonald’s in the world is here, with cute decor and a prominent “1000th store” sign—great for photos. Since you’re here, you have to leave a memory for McDonald’s! #SouthAmerica #Brazil #TravelBits #WorldPlan #EarthVillageFoodCriticContest #AmericasCarnivalCorner #TipsyGuide #TravelGuide