Shanghai food blog | Sugared & Spiced

Ming Court 明閣 at The Langham Xintiandi

Address: Langham Xintiandi, 5/F, 99 Madang Lu, near Taicang Lu 马当路99号5楼, 近太仓路
Tel: 2330 2428
Hours: [lunch] 11:30am-2:30pm [dinner] 5:30-10:30pm
Website: intiandi.langhamhotels.com/restaurants/ming_court.htm
Price: [weekend brunch] 128 RMB/person [lunch] 250~300 RMB/person, [dinner] 300~500 RMB/person
Visited: Jan 2012

With its 2 Michelin star standing in Hong Kong, Ming Court at The Langham Xintiandi raises expectations. To test it out, I gathered a group of 5 hungry dim sum lovers to try their 128 RMB/person all-you-can-eat dim sum brunch. The verdict? It’s not 2 Michelin stars, but it’s an excellent deal.

We were seated in one of the nine private dining rooms, a pleasant space complemented with smooth and considerate service.

The 128 RMB price tag covers everything on the menu except drinks, and tea comes at 25~35 RMB per person. Among everything we ordered (all are of satisfying quality), my favorites were 鮮蝦炸腸粉 (deep-fried rice rolls with shrimps), 明閣四喜餃 (steamed dumplings with shrimps, fish roe, crab meat, and dried scallops), and 鮮蝦雲呑湯 (shrimp and vegetable wonton soup).

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2011/12/182015/10/07

[Shanghai] Song Fang Maison de Thé 宋芳茶館

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Song Fang Maison de Thé 宋芳茶館

Add: 227 Yongjia Lu, near Shanxi Nan Lu /永嘉路277号, 近陝西南路
Tel: 6433 8283
Price: [tea] 40~70 RMB/pot, [cake] ~40 RMB
Website: www.songfangtea.com
Visited: Dec 2011

Song Fang Maison de Thé is an enchanting tea salon located in a converted former French Concession lane house. From the 1st floor retail space, climb up the winding wooden staircase to arrive at its bright and airy tea salon adorned with vintage tin cans, wicker chairs, and nostalgic floral red prints from Northern China – you probably wouldn’t have guessed that this place is opened by a French lady, would you? With light jazz floating in the background, this is a truly stylish retreat.

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2011/12/182015/08/31

[Shanghai] Stiller’s Cooking School – Foie Gras

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Here’s the recipe for Foie Gras Mousse & Seared Foie Gras with Apple Chutney, the first dish we made at Stiller’s “Autumn Set Menu” cooking class. For details on the cooking class itself, click here.

Foie Gras Mousse & Seared Foie Gras with Apple Chutney

For the mousse:

150g foie gras
0.2l cream
4cl Cognac
4cl Port wine
2 pc gelatin
100g whipped cream
salt, pepper

Take the slices of foie gras and pan sear in a dry non-stick pan until golden brown from both sides.

Boil the cream. Add the liver with the excess fat to the cream and keep in the cream for about 5 to 10 minutes. Keep the temperature of the cream just below the boiling point but don’t let it cook.

Put the liver cream mix in a kitchen blender and mix until you have a smooth texture. Strain through a fine sieve. Season with alcohol, salt, and pepper.

Soak the gelatin in cold water and after the leaves are soft, press out the excess water.

Add the gelatin to the still hot liquid and stir well until it’s fully melted. Chill down and once it starts to set, add carefully the whipped cream.

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2011/12/172015/08/31

[Shanghai] Stiller’s Cooking School

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Stiller’s Restaurant & Cooking School

Add: Bldg 13, 6-7/F, The Cool Docks, 505 Zhongshan Nan Lu 老码头, 中山南路505号6-7楼
Tel: 6152 6501
Hours: email cookingschool@stillers-restaurant.cn for course schedule and time
Price: 420~650 RMB/class
Website: www.stillers-restaurant.cn
Visited: Nov 2011

I have known about Stiller’s Cooking School since the first time I dined at his restaurant, but it wasn’t until two weeks ago that I eventually signed up for a class. So how does haute cuisine actually work? Let’s find out.

Stiller’s cooking class is held on the 6th floor in an open kitchen gorgeous enough to make any housewife jealous. I arrived at 10:50am, greeted the chef, put on my apron (ours to keep), and carefully perused the recipes while waiting for my fellow classmates to trickle in. What’s on the menu? The theme of the class was “Stiller’s Autumn Set Menu” (650 RMB), and the recipes read foie gras, turbot, venison, and chocolate cake…looking good, looking very good.

The cookware and utensils, all glistening.

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2011/12/112015/10/10

[Shanghai] Afternoon Tea at The PuLi

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The PuLi Hotel & Spa

Add: 1 Changde Lu, near Yan’an Zhong Lu / 常德路1号，近延安中路
Tel: 3203 9999
Hours: [afternoon tea] 2:30-5:30pm
Website: www.thepuli.com
Price: [afternoon tea] 240 + 15% RMB/set, +100 RMB for Moet & Chandon Brut NV
Visited: Dec 2011

Please note that this is an arranged tasting.

In this cold weather, there’s not much better than spending a warm and delicious afternoon at The PuLi Hotel & Spa. The sun-filled lobby, an elegant space that feels a world away from the dizzying Shanghai city center, is a most ideal place to enjoy the hotel’s newly launched afternoon tea service.

For a even more secluded experience, head upstairs to Jing’An Restaurant, an understated yet stylish dining room overlooking Jing’An Park. You can also choose to take the tea service out on the terrace, but let’s save that for a warmer day…

Instead of the typical three tier tea stand, we were presented with a gorgeous wooden lacquer box, and instantly I knew PuLi’s afternoon tea would be quite different from anything else I’ve tried in this city. The price: 240 +15% RMB for a set (enough to feed two), or 340 +15% RMB with a glass of champagne.

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2011/12/052015/08/31

[Shanghai] Kota’s Kitchen

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Kota’s Kitchen

Add: 2905 Xietu Lu, near Lingling Lu 斜土路2905号，近零陵路
Tel: 6481 2005
Hours: 6pm-1am
Website: www.kotaskitchen.com
Price: 150~200 RMB/person
Visited: Dec 2011

There’s a warm buzz at Kota’s Kitchen that makes you feel you’ve come to the right place. This intimate, perpetually packed Japanese yakitori shochu bar has all the right elements – skewered items grilled to perfection over Japanese charcoal, supremely gratifying fried chicken, fried potatoes, fried anything, and Beatles posters all over its walls and classic tunes of “Love Me Do” and “Yellow Submarine” in the background. My favorite yakitori place in town, hands down.

A meal at Kota’s always starts with a plate of freshly sliced carrots, cucumbers, and daikons with accompanying mayonnaise and a mildly spicy sauce. This is probably going to be the healthiest plate you’ll see all evening.

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2011/12/042015/08/31

[Shanghai] M & S Cafe

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M & S Cafe

Add: 4F Marks & Spencer, 863 Nanjing West Rd, near Shimen 1 Rd 南京西路863号玛莎百货4楼，近石门一路
Tel: 6218 2558
Hours: 10am-10pm
Price: [lunch] 30~60 RMB
Visited: Nov 2011

For those of you working near the Nanjing West Road subway station, here’s another lunch idea for you: M & S Cafe, up on the 4th floor of Marks & Spencer. I’m not a fan of this retailer in particular, but its cafe is not a bad place to rest your feet or to grab a quick lunch.

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2011/12/042015/08/31

[Shanghai] Mo-Mo Paradise

restaurant

Mo-Mo Paradise

Address: Hong Fang Zi, 2/F, 35 Shanxi Nan Lu, near Changle Lu 红房子, 陕西南路35号2楼, 近长乐路
Tel: 5236 6038
Hours: [Mon-Fri] 11:30am-3pm, 5-10pm [Sat-Sun] 11:30am-10pm
Website: www.mo-mo-sh.com
Price: [lunch] 118~128 RMB/person, drinks extra [dinner] 138~150 RMB/person, drinks extra
Visited: Nov 2011

Last year, Sugared & Spiced kicked off the hot pot season with Qimin Organic Hot Pot (still a lovely spot to visit), and this year, it all started with Mo-Mo Paradise. Originally from Tokyo, this hot pot chain now has around 100 branches in Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, and its Shanghai branch just opened earlier this year. For 118~128 RMB (lunch) and 138~150 RMB (dinner), they offer all-you-can-eat selections of quality meats and organic vegetables. Clean interior, excellent service, no fuss.

The appetizer plate.

Mo-Mo Paradise offers four broth choices: sukiyaki, shabu shabu, spicy miso, and curry. The most popular choice is the sukiyaki broth, a sweet and savory combination of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin (a rice wine with a 40~50% sugar content).

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2011/12/042015/09/27

[Shanghai] Downstairs (2)

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Downstairs

Add: 1/F, Urbn Hotel, 183 Jiaozhou Lu, near Beijing Xi Lu 膠州路183號, 近北京西路
Tel: 5172 1300
Website: www.urbnhotels.com
Price: [lunch] 89~138 RMB
Visited: Nov 2011

Had a quick lunch at Urbn Hotel‘s Downstairs last week and was not impressed. Here are some snapshots.

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2011/12/012015/08/31

[Shanghai] Jean Georges Cooking Demo & Luncheon (2)

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Jean Georges Cooking Demonstration & Luncheon

Add: 4/F, Three on the Bund, 17 Guangdong Lu 广东路17号, 外滩三号4楼
Tel: 6321 7733
Website: www.threeonthebund.com
Price: 428 RMB + 10%/person
Visited: Nov 2011

…and he’s back! Those of you who have read this post know that Jean-Georges Vongerichten was in Shanghai 7 months ago and demo’ed three dishes to an eager audience. This time, he has returned with his latest cookbook, “Home Cooking with Jean Georges: My Favorite Simple Recipes” and showcased yet another 4 of his delicious creations. What I loved most about this particular cooking class – the dishes are actually simple enough to be recreated at home. Gasp.