shanghai | Sugared & Spiced

2016/03/252019/06/29

[Shanghai] Daliah Vienna

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Daliah

Add: 408 Shanxi Bei Lu, near Beijing Xi Lu / 陕西北路408号, 近北京西路
Tel: 6288 8773
Hours: 11am-9pm
Price: 100 RMB+
Visited: Mar 2016

Dropped by Daliah for lunch last week and it still felt like Chinese New Year there with these giant red lanterns hanging down for the ceiling. Since its opening last summer, this Austrian restaurant has been known for its quirky design – a few prominent features are the swings and that metallic slide twirling down from the second floor. I’ve been here once for lunch and once for breakfast, the food was ok on both visits – nothing impressive, nothing atrocious – but perhaps I shouldn’t judge until I’ve tried its dinner, when the more Austrian dishes like the spatzel are served.

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2016/03/202019/06/29

[Shanghai 上海] Maison Asano 淺野府 (2)

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Maison Asano 淺野府

Add: 318-2 Julu Lu, near Maoming Nan Lu / 巨鹿路318-2, 近茂名南路
Tel: 6216 2019 / 18019363910
Hours: [Tue-Sun] 5:30-10:30pm (closed on Mon)
Price: 888~1980 RMB/set
Visited: Mar 2016

Please note that this was an invited tasting.

It’s been over a year since I last visited to Maison Asano, and during the past few months, this high-end Japanese restaurant has gone through some significant changes. The original open space has been sectioned off into various private rooms, and even the bar feels more intimate now. The chef in charge has also changed from Liam to Simon, a young Taiwanese chef in his early thirties, but we will talk about him a bit later.

請注意本次為餐廳邀請試吃。

記得 2010 年 Sushi Oyama 開幕時，曾是上海唯一一家高級壽司店，讓我非常著迷。在離開上海的幾年，陸續聽說多了不少類似級別的壽司店，而其中一家開幕時備受矚目的是巨鹿路上的淺野府。後來通過朋友介紹認識了老板Judy，上周受她邀請去用了晚餐，除了好奇這家餐廳的現況，也想了解下這位臉蛋精致的像洋娃娃的台灣日本混血女孩，怎麽會想要跑來上海開一家日本料理。

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What’s left unchanged is the price – Maison Asano still offers set of 888 and 1380 RMB, but they can also go up to 1980RMB for those who really want to splurge – but they do request an one-week advance notice to prepare this special menu. For me, dinner commenced with a bowl of Japanese yellowtail soup – a perfect start for this chilly Spring evening.

淺野府自 2013 年開幕後有了不少變化。本來開放的空間改成了包房的設計，吧台的位子多了不少私密感，料理長也在最近換了人－這點，稍後再細說。淺野府有888元和1380元的套餐，也可以根據客人的要求做1680和1980的極致套餐（需一周前預訂）。我當天的晚膳，由一碗熱騰騰的鰤魚蒜味前湯開始。

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Appetizers: sesame spinach, red conch, tuna withmountain yam, and tomato poached in red wine.

前菜：胡麻菠菜、紅螺、山藥金槍魚、紅酒番茄。

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Japanese sea bream with orange vinegar.

鲷魚，佐橙醋。

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2016/03/142019/06/29

[Shanghai 上海] Fumi Coffee

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Fumi Coffee

Add: 215 Fumin Road, near Julu Road
Tel: 5466 6021
Hours: 8am-9pm
Price: [coffee] 20-65 RMB [pastry] 8-42 RMB
Visited: Mar 2016

Brought to you by the owner of Flask (and designed by the same Italian designer Alberto Caiola), Fumi Coffee is a most stylish addition to Shanghai’s booming cafe scene. The eye-catcher of this space is no doubt the wall of Bialetti Moka light fixtures, but everything else – including the black waves hovering up on the ceiling, the sleek metallic tables, stools, counter, and the front window that folds up completely on warm days – has me (and the rest of Shanghai, it seems) falling head over heels.

Another cafe?! 嗯，上海的咖啡店一間接著一間開，不過富民路上這個新成員Fumi Coffee，閃亮的讓你不得不注意它。整個空間的設計－包括牆上大大小小的 Bialetti 摩卡壺、天花板的巨型黑浪、銀色鏡面桌椅和工作台、還有可以完全往上收起的大片玻璃－都令人驚豔。偷偷告訴你，Fumi Coffee 和陝西南路上的 Flask 是同一位老板，設計師也延用了之前打造 Flask 的意大利事務所 Alberto Caiola。做出來的效果，極酷炫。

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2016/03/072019/06/30

[Shanghai 上海] Grooow Juice 果簍

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Grooow Juice 果簍

Add: 124 Wuyuan Road, near Wulumuqi Road
Tel: 54365667
Hours: 10am-8pm
Price: 22-32RMB/cup
Visited: Mar 2016

After visiting a Sunday market on Anfu Road, I was looking for a place to sit and chill but didn’t want coffee or tea (yes these days actually exist). Remembering that there’s a juice shop on Wuyuan Road, I wandered in that general direction and arrived at “Grooow Juice” (果簍 in Chinese). Cute shop front! Let’s drink.

周日在安福路逛完市集後想找個地方坐下，卻又不想喝咖啡（咦，Sugared & Spiced也有不想喝咖啡的時候），想到五原路上有家賣果汁的小店，便一路逛了過來。店的名字叫做果簍，光看門面就知道不是一般的果汁店，風格文藝的很，還寫著 ”大樹底下好乘涼” 幾個字樣。二話不說，進去瞧瞧。

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2016/03/012019/06/29

[Shanghai 上海] Chez Maurice

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Chez Maurice

Add: 2F, 50 Tai’an Road, near Xingguo Road
Tel: 62299668
Hours: 5:30-10:30pm (closed on Tue)
Price: 350-400RMB/person
Visited: Feb 2016

It’s been 5 months since I moved back from Paris, and it’s about time that I start missing sipping wine and snacking on charcuterie boards. It just so happens that Chez Maurice opened last month, and rumor has it that it’s a casual French bistro with excellent charcuterie – just what I have in mind – so I gathered a few friends for a taste of it.

去年 10 月從巴黎回上海後，都還沒吃過幾次法國菜。可能是離開亞洲一陣子了吧？滿腦子都是中餐、日料、泰國菜等等，雖然上海法式餐館也不少，就沒想到要去。不過一晃眼五個月過去了，最近開始懷念起在巴黎小館子裏和三兩好友喝酒吃 charcuterie 的日子，正好上個月 Chez Maurice 開幕了，聽說風格就是輕松的法式小餐館，便和朋友相約去嚐了嚐。

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The location is a 4-story house on Tai’an Road, right above Heyday the jazz bar. Chez Maurice The Grill is on the second floor, and there’s also a Chez Maurice Wine Bar on the third floor plus a Japanese sake bar on the fourth, all by the same owner.

Chez Maurice 位于泰安路 50 號的四層樓洋房裏，我去的是二樓的 Chez Maurice The Grill，老板還在三樓開了 Chez Maurice Wine Bar & Charcuterie，以及四樓的 Revive 日式酒吧。三樓四樓還沒試過，Chez Maurice The Grill 倒是前後去了兩次，今天先分享下在這裏的晚餐。

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The menu is short and succinct – just one page. The charcuterie craft here was taught by Monsieur Maurice, a French grandpa whose family has been in the meat business for generations, and apparently he’s in Shanghai every few months to check up on the bistro named after himself. I first tried Le Foie Gras au Torchon (78 RMB), duck liver with Port wine blackberry sauce and country bread. Excellent, just like what you would get in Paris.

菜單，不啰嗦的只有一頁－是我喜歡的長短。聽說這裏的 charcuterie（餐廳很直接很貼切的翻譯爲 “殺豬菜”）是由一位法國老先生 Maurice 手把手教出來的。首先點了份 Le Foie Gras au Torchon（78元）鴨肝、搭配波特酒黑莓果醬和鄉村面包，是巴黎餐館的水准，非常令人滿意。順便一提，”torchon” 是廚房裏用的布，這道菜的做法是將鵝或鴨肝用布包好放入水中煮，所以成品是圓柱狀切出的圓片。

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2016/02/252019/06/29

[Shanghai 上海] Boom Boom Bagels / Sumerian Cafe

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Boom Boom Bagels

Add: 39 Anfu Lu, near Changshu Lu
Tel: 150 2140 8818
Hours: 7:30am-10pm
Price: [coffee] 24-48 RMB [bagels] 12-65 RMB
Visited: Feb 2016

Sumerian Cafe

Add: 415 Shanxi Bei Lu, near Beijing Xi Lu
Tel: 135 6475 5689
Hours: 7:30am-7pm
Website: www.sumeriancoffee.com
Price: [coffee] 24-48 RMB [bagels] 12-65 RMB
Visited: Feb 2016

Upon returning to Shanghai, I was delighted to discover a few new (well, new for me) spots for bagels. The first I tried was Boom Boom Bagels on Anfu Road, with its an attractive purple shopfront and a pretty industrial-grey interior. Only after chatting with the waitstaff did I find out that it’s actually by the same owner of the famed Sumerian Cafe on North Shanxi Road. Aha.

在巴黎三年後回到上海，驚喜的發現這裏居然多了不少吃貝果的好去處。我第一家去試的，是安福路上的Boom Boom Bagels。被亮眼的紫色門面吸進去後，發現室內的簡潔工業風格也很漂亮，看得出是花了心思設計的。和店員聊過才知道它原來和陝西北路上的咖啡名店Sumerian Cafe是同一個老板。哎呀，原來如此。

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2016/02/142019/06/29

[Shanghai 上海] Egg

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Egg

Add: 12 South Xiangyang Road, near Julu Road
Tel: N/A
Hours: 8am-6:30pm
Price: 100-150 RMB/person
Visited: Jan 2016

Bright, instagram-friendly cafe on South Xiangyang Road by cutiepie Camden Hauge of the Shanghai Supperclub. It serves all day breakfast, and as the name suggests, this place is quite egg-centric…even if the dish doesn’t already involve eggs, you have the option to “put an egg on it!” for 8RMB in addition. They also do a 10-seat chef’s table every Thursday evening which sounds like a fun and intimate experience.

襄陽北路上這家 Egg，我還在巴黎時就聽住在上海的外國朋友說了。老板是美國女孩 Camden Hauge，她的溫馨小店全天供應早餐，每道菜不是已經有了雞蛋，就是可以 “put an egg on it!”。Egg每周四還有僅限 10 人座的 chef’s table，每周的主廚不一樣，這個月會有 Madison 的 Austin Hu 和 Elefante 的 Carlos Sotomayor 來客串，聽起來會是兩個相當美味的聚餐。

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2016/02/062019/06/29

[Shanghai 上海] Moon Coffee 月球咖啡

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Moon Coffee

Add: 9-B, Alley 275 Anfu Road
Tel: 13310169107
Hours: 11am-7pm
Price: [coffee] 22-75 RMB [pastry] 29-33 RMB
Visited: Jan 2016

I dropped by Moon Coffee on a quiet Monday. There were only two other guests this afternoon, and as they soon departed after my arrival, I had the luxury of enjoying the cafe – tiny as it is – all to myself. It’s tugged deeply inside an alley on Anfu Road, definitely not somewhere you’d stumble upon, and that in itself is a charm. Upon entering, there was Erik Satie and the smell of freshly ground coffee floating in air, with mild sunshine seeping in through the windows…a perfect winter afternoon moment.

我在一個安靜的周一去了月球。這家咖啡店深深的藏在安福路的小弄堂裏，隱秘的相當迷人。一進門，空氣裏除了有新鮮研磨的咖啡香氣，還飄著 Erik Satie 略帶惆怅的鋼琴曲調，以及透過窗戶滲入，微弱溫柔的冬日陽光。店裏本來有兩個客人，而他們離開了後整個下午就我一人獨享這美好的空間。

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Moon Cafe has two tables and a few stools. Standing at the bar on the day of my visit was A-Tang, a soft-spoken coffee barista from Hainan. We had a lovely chat, mostly about coffee and a little bit about music, after which he kindly shared with me his playlist of that afternoon, consisting of Erik Satie and piano pieces in similar style. I’m listening to the playlist as I write, all that’s missing is a good cup of coffee.

月球只有兩張桌子和一些板凳。我到訪的那天站在吧台的是阿堂，一個說話輕輕柔柔的海南男孩。我們聊著咖啡的事，也說了一些音樂，最後他把那個下午 Erik Satie 風格的 playlist 推給了我。我現在邊寫著邊聽著，就差一杯好咖啡了。

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2016/01/272019/06/29

[Shanghai 上海] TASTE Shop

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TASTE Shop

Add: 105, Building 3, Lane 210 Taikang Road
Tel: 18221041418
Hours: 12:30-8:30pm (closed on Mon)
Website: www.taste-shop.com
Price: [coffee] 12-99RMB
Visited: Jan 2016

When I was wandering the tiny alleys of Tianzifang a few weeks ago, my attention was caught by this quietly stylish shop near the entrance of lane 210. “TASTE Shop”, it says. I went in for a quick round and was impressed by its selection of homeware, accessories, fragrance, tools, and other pretty knickknacks, mostly imported from Europe and Japan. I had no idea at the time that I would soon be introduced to the owners of this place via a mutual friend. “They are opening a cafe right upstairs and need pastries,” explained the friend, “You guys should talk.”

某次在田子坊閒逛時發現了一家很漂亮的店，叫做 TASTE Shop。不大的空間裏陳列了各式各樣有型的雜貨，大部分好像都是從歐洲和日本挑選來的。心裏想著這家店主品味真好，沒想到兩周後就通過朋友介紹認識了。“他們樓上要開咖啡店，想跟你討論下甜點，” 朋友是這麽跟我說的，“你們聊聊吧。”

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So I came back on a sunny day to meet shop owner Yutaka, a fashion designer-turn-visual merchandiser, originally from Tokyo but has lived in Shanghai for over 10 years. Together him and his Chinese Canadian wife Viko (photographer by profession) started TASTE Shop back in 2013. Since then, the space has evolved to what it is now – a select shop, an exhibition space, and most recently, a cafe.

所以我挑了個陽光明媚的日子回到 TASTE Shop，和店主之一的 Yutaka 碰了面。他是東京人，不過在上海住了10年，加上母親是上海人，中文說起來極順（順到我一度以爲他是個取了日本名字的中國人）。做視覺設計的他和攝影師太太 Viko 兩人一起在 2013 年開了 TASTE Shop，本來是家選品店＋展覽空間，然後就在這個月，又多了個咖啡館的角色。

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The newly-opened cafe has so many chic details to notice. The menu, for example, is handmade – and by handmade, I mean even the paper itself is made by their staff.

這裏有太多漂亮的細節。比如說菜單是手工做的，而且真的是連紙本身都是店員自己做的，非常用心。

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Manning the cafe counter is Yutaka and his colleague Patrick. Both trained with Mr. A of Shinzan Mono (a coffee shop in the French Concession), but Yutaka specializes in hand drip coffee while Patrick does the espresso-based variations.

在吧台煮咖啡的有 Yutaka 和 Patrick，兩人都是從 “新參者” 咖啡店主理人小A那裏學的，不過 Yutaka 做手沖，Patrick做意式，一人一台機器玩的很開心。“新參者” 這家咖啡店我倒是第一次聽說，下次有機會去看看。

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2016/01/262019/06/29

[Shanghai] Chikalicious

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Chikalicious

Add: Shop 205a, Xintiandi, No.5, 123 Xingye Lu, near Madang Lu
Tel: 6333 9233
Hours: 11am-11pm (closed on Monday)
Price: [cake] 68 RMB [dessert set] 188 RMB (+10% service fee)
Visited: Jan 2016

Please note that this was an invited tasting.

My first time trying Chika’s desserts was 8 years ago in New York. I wasn’t a pastry chef back then but already had a serious sweet tooth, and I took the time to visit Chikalicious’ first (and only, at the time) shop at East Village just so I can try the famed 3-course dessert menu. When I heard that Chikalicious opened in Shanghai, I got curious – what would Chikalicious be like without Chika?

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Running the kitchen of Chikalicious Shanghai are two young pastry chefs of only 28 years old – Mauro from Argentina and Maya from Thailand (grew up in the U.S.) They both worked at Chikalicious New York before coming to Shanghai, but got there via very different paths. Mauro started in the kitchen during his teens, and made his way through quite a few Michelin-starred restaurants such as L’Arpège in Paris, Gordon Ramsay in London, and Nobu 57 in New York, as well as famed pastry shops like Gerard Mulot. Maya was originally an industrial designer, and it has been only a year since she officially started working in the kitchen, but her confidence and practiced gestures are not at all like a newbie. Before joining Chikalicious, she was previously at three Michelin starred Eleven Madison Park, where she spent some time both front of the house and in the kitchen.

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On another note, Maya personally wrote these “reserve” cards. Very pretty!

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