Shanghai food blog | Sugared & Spiced

2011/02/092015/10/09

[Shanghai] Mon Chou Chou

Mon Chou Chou

Add: B1 Shanghai World Financial Center, 100 Century Avenue 世纪大道100号环球金融中心B1楼
Tel: 3872 1163
Website: www.mon-chouchou.com
Price: 15~33 RMB/dessert
Visited: Feb 2011

A sharp contrast from Chez Shibata‘s extravagant creations, the treats at Mon Chou Chou are simple pleasures. Originally from Osaka, Mon Chou Chou makes a signature Dojima Roll consisting of a special blend of Hokkaido cream rolled with a fluffy sponge cake. This simple but divine treat is wildly popular in Japan – the only time that there’s no queue in front of the store is when the Dojima Roll is sold out. Fortunately for us Shanghai folks, Mon Chou Chou recently opened two branches in town, and as of now, there’s no queue at either location.

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2011/02/052015/09/27

[Shanghai] Table No. 1

restaurant

Table No. 1

Add: 1-3 Maojiayuan Lu, near Zhongshan Nan Lu / 毛家園路1-3號1樓, 近中山南路
Tel: 6080 2918
Price: [lunch] 158 RMB+15%/person [dinner]300~400 RMB/person
Website: www.tableno-1.com
Visited: Feb 2011 (visit 2, 3)

I had an instant good feeling as soon as I stepped into The Waterhouse. It’s chic in the unusual way of broken tiles, exposed bricks, and rough edges, charming especially during the evening with elusive candle lights adorning the tables. Its contemporary European restaurant, Table No. 1, is ran by Jason Atherton, one of Gordon Ramsay’s protégés, and offers some very interesting dishes. Yes, it’s got one of those menus that have you perusing for twenty minutes before deciding what to order.

While the dinner a la carte menu is difficult to choose from because there are so many good-looking items, the lunch menu is much more succinct: 2 appetizers, 3 mains, and 2 desserts, priced at 178 RMB (+15%) for three courses.

The first appetizer, a rabbit rillette, was topped with a satisfying layer of duck fat and encircled by a beautiful mix of pickled vegetables, gelée, and toasted walnuts. Served with two pieces of bread, drizzled with olive oil and grilled to perfection.

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2011/02/022015/08/31

[Shanghai] Il Nascondiglio

restaurant

Il Nascondiglio

Add: 311 Xiangyang nan Lu, near Yongjia Lu / 襄阳南路311号，近永嘉路
Tel: 3461 2036 or 13166014282
Hours: 7:00pm onwards
Price: 100 RMB/person (guinea pig price), 250 RMB/person (regular price)
Visited: Feb 2011

I received an e-mail last week about a “Venetian private dinner” trial run at a new Italian restaurant, which instantly piqued my interest. When we arrived outside the “restaurant”, note the quotation marks, I knew I was in for an adventure. There was no sign, no lights, just an ominous-looking doorway beyond which nothing but darkness ensues. Dare we walk in? Oh, why not.

After climbing two flights of stairs in the pitch dark with nothing to guide us other than dim cell phone backlights, we managed to arrive at Il Nascondiglio. The name, “the hideout” in Italian, is really quite appropriate for the hidden venue. Fabrizio and Ting, the chef and hostess, greeted us at the door and ushered us into a cozy old Shanghainese home decorated with antique pieces here and there (including a piano from the 1920s).

We soon found out that Fabrizio is actually not a professional chef. This Italian man has a PhD in developmental cognitive psychology and is currently doing his post-doc in London, but his passion for cooking and sharing good food resulted in this private dining venture. Apparently Fabrizio and Ting have been doing this in London for a while, and decided to continue with the same concept in Shanghai after Ting moved here for work.

The first appetizer, Bruschette Classiche, chunks of sauteed tomatoes on top of crispy baguette, was simple but delicious, as was the second appetizer, Rotolini di Melanzane Ripieni, a slim piece of sauteed aubergine wrapping halved tomato and Italian ham.

Farfalle ai Funghi al Gin, floppy pieces of butterfly pasta intertwined with an abundance of plump and juicy porcini mushrooms. A slight hint of gin and generous shavings of fresh sheep cheese made the pasta all the more enticing.

By this point I knew that this dinner would take hours. Fabrizio was managing the cooking all by himself, and there was a good 20-minute wait in between each dish. We really didn’t mind though, since we were in good company and having a great time sipping on the complimentary Italian wine Ting generously poured for us.

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2011/02/022015/10/07

[Shanghai] Chez Shibata (2)

shanghai

Chez Shibata

Add: 24 Ziyun Lu, near Zunyi Lu / 紫云路24号, 近遵义路
Tel: 5206 5671
Website: www.chez-shibata.cn
Price: [pastries] 20~45 RMB [drinks] 23~38 RMB
Visited: Feb 2011

Chez Shibata lured me back with their irresistibly beautiful cakes. Since my previous post, I have tried a few more of their creations:

A specialty of the Chez Shibata Shanghai branch, La Venus (46 RMB), is Araguani 72% chocolate mousse enveloping vanilla bavarois, crispy chocolate pearls, and marinated cherries. The whole thing is then sprayed with red finishing.

The specialty dessert from Chez Shibata Nagoya branch, the Éclair au Caramel Beurre Salé (28 RMB), is an elongated puff pastry filled with caramel cream, brushed with a glistening caramel glaze, and topped with three pieces of Philippe Olivier butter and a sprinkle of Maldon sea salt.

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2011/01/292015/08/31

[Shanghai] Spark Soup Curry

restaurant

Spark Soup Curry

Add: E7 2F Peace Plaza, Shuicheng Lu 18 / 水城路18号和平广场2楼 E7
Tel: 6295 6523
Hours: 11:00am-01:00am
Price: 70RMB/person
Visited: Jan 2011

Soup curry specialty restaurant opened by a Sapporo (Hokkaido, Japan) native, who won ten million yen in a national competition which helped him open his first non-Japan branch in Shanghai. It was a full house when I went on a Saturday, filled with mostly Japanese patrons.

The menu is self-explanatory. Pick the curry, choose the spiciness level, the amount of rice, and any additional toppings you’d like. I picked level 3 for spiciness and it was barely (if at all) spicy. There’s also a jug of chili oil on the table for those needing a heavier dose.

Typical Japanese curry is fairly thick as it uses a roux base that includes fried flour, but soup curry is thin and accented with heavy spices. We tried the chicken vegetable soup curry (68 RMB), which had a little bit of everything in it – lotus root, pumpkin, broccoli, onions, bell peppers, etc., plus a chicken leg. The chicken itself was rather bland, but the soup – stewed for 8 hours with 32 different spices – was excellent. It was thin, light, but very flavorful, perfect with a bowl of rice.

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2011/01/292015/08/31

[Shanghai] Naam Thai

restaurant

Naam Thai

Add: 1/F, The Loft, 283 Jianguo Xi Lu, near Jiashan Lu / 建国西路283号尚街X楼, 近嘉善路
Tel: 5465 6005
Hours: 11am-10pm
Website: www.naamthai.com
Price: ~150 RMB/person
Visited: Jan 2011

Naam Thai, a personal project of T8‘s manager Walter Zahner, is a modern and stylish Thai restaurant in the Jianguo Lu Loft. The decor is sleek, the service is pleasant enough, and the food, while not super memorable, is decent and on par with Coconut Paradise and other popular Thai restaurants around town.

The space was quite empty when we went on a Saturday evening, but the restaurant seemed to be getting a lot of take-out orders.

Pomelo salad with prawns and coconut (58 RMB).

Spring rolls.

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2011/01/162015/09/01

[Shanghai] Pho Real

restaurant

Pho Real

Add: 166 Fumin Lu, near Changle Lu 富民路166号, 近长乐路
Tel: 5403 8110
Hours: 10- 2am (kitchen closes at 10pm)
Price: 30~36 RMB/appetizer, 42~68 RMB/pho or cold vermicelli
Visited: Jan 2011

You can’t miss Pho Real when you walk down Fumin Lu. This small Vietnamese eatery shines bright in the dark night, its catchy name and hip decor – all those wicker baskets filling the ceiling – easily attract passerby. On a cold and extremely windy Thursday evening, I decided to give the food a try. Unfortunately, I did not make a reservation and even though there were empty seats inside the restaurant, the waitstaff insisted that I must wait OUTDOOR until my fellow diner arrives, even after I assured them that he’ll be here in 5 minutes. The manager/owner was there too, and did not try to remedy the situation. Not a good start.

When I was eventually granted a seat, I decided to brush aside the ridiculous service for now and focus on the food. Our appetizer, summer rolls with roasted duck and foie gras (42 RMB), wasn’t too bad. It was mostly lettuce, and the slivers of duck meat and foie gras almost got lost between the greens, but the whole thing was still quite enjoyable after being dipped in the accompanying fish sauce.

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2011/01/152015/10/07

[Shanghai] Godiva Cafe

shanghai

Godiva Cafe

Add: Shop 106 No. 5 Alley 123 Xingye Lu, Xintiandi / 新天地兴业路123弄5号106号店
Tel: 5382 0715
Hours: 11am-midnight
Price: 55-65 RMB/cake, 45-55 RMB/drink
Visited: Jan 2011

Whisk and Hof dominated the chocolate dessert scene in Shanghai for a long while before Godiva came in with its first ever chocolate cafe concept store in the world. It seems like the cafe is already quite popular, as the spacious 2nd floor cafe area was completed filled up when I visited. Is this because of the prestige, the convenient location, or the actual offerings of the cafe?

The interior is nothing too impressive, but comfortable enough to sit through an afternoon.

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2011/01/142015/09/28

[Shanghai] NY Style Steak & Burger

restaurant

NY Style Steak & Burger

Add: No. 22, Lane 155 Jianguo Lu, near Ruijin Er Lu 建国路155弄22号, 近瑞金二路
Tel: 5465 1676
Hours: [Sun-Thu] 11:30am-11pm [Fri-Sat] 11am-10:30pm
Price: 48-65 RMB/burger
Visited: Jan 2011

For an artery-clogging but truly satisfying meal, go to NY Style Steak & Burger and order The Manhattan Monster. The beef patty itself is made with not much else other than good meat, and is accompanied by crisp bacon, cheddar cheese, fried egg, firehouse chili, onions rings (a little mountain of ’em), lettuce, pickles, and tomato. Served with a side of fries, this burger will fill you up no matter how hungry you are.

The restaurant is slightly hard to find. If you know where Q’s Coffee is, just walk down the small alley to the right of it and you’ll arrive at NY Style Steak & Burger.

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2010/12/162015/09/01

[Shanghai] Napa Wine Bar & Kitchen (2)

restaurant

NAPA Wine Bar & Kitchen

Add: 2F South Bund 22, 22 Zhongshan Dong Er Lu / 上海市中山東二路22號2樓近新永安路
Tel: 6318 0057
Hours: [lunch] Tue-Fri 12-2:30pm, Sat-Sun 12-4pm [dinner] 6-11pm
Price: [brunch] 238 RMB + 15%/person, drinks extra [dinner] 500 RMB/person
Website: www.napawinebarandkitchen.com
Visited: Dec 2010

Venue has now moved to Bund 22. This review refers to the original Jiangyin Lu location.

I was absolutely enchanted with Napa Wine Bar & Kitchen when I first visited in October 2009. The combination of delicious food, warm service, and elegant setting still occupies a corner of my memory till this day. With high expectations, I went back again this past Sunday. The dining room was lovely as always, and the service still attentive. However, a new chef was in throne, bringing with him a new style of cooking that is home-styled and rustic, as opposed to the more sophisticated, meticulously-plated dishes that wowed me during my first visit.

The interior was bright and comfortable, with warm Christmas music in the air.

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