Shanghai food blog | Sugared & Spiced

Cafe des Stagiaires

Add: 54 Yongkang Lu, near Xiangyang Nan Lu / 永康路54号, 近襄阳南路
Tel: 3425 0210
Hours: [Tue-Sun] 10:00am~midnight
Price: 20~30 RMB/coffee
Visited on: Feb 2012 (visits 1, 3)

If you’ve read my last post on Cafe des Stagiaires, you already knew that I was quite charmed by its cozy atmosphere and quirky decor on my first visit. I went back again this weekend to try the food, and fell even more in love with this enchanting little space.

The food menu is short and simple – charcuterie from their boucherie Les Garcons, pizza from their neighboring pizzeria Pizza Peppone, and pastry from their bakery La Boulangerie.

We started with a 1/2 order of pate (80 RMB), which came with a bag of fresh baguettes.

We wanted to try both the Pepperoni (85 RMB) and Nicoise (75 RMB) pizzas, so the kitchen agreed to let us do half and half. They ended up giving us a Pepperoni / Lawaiianne mix instead of the Pepperoni / Nicoise mix we requested, but we quite enjoyed it anyway. Thin curst, with just the right amount of toppings.

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2012/02/192015/10/09

[Shanghai] The Public

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The Public

Add: Sinan Mansions, Block 2, 4/F, Lane 507 Fuxing Zhong Lu / 复兴中路507弄2号楼4楼
Tel: 3368 9419
Hours: [Wed-Sun] 6:00pm~late
Price: 65~80 RMB/cocktail
Visited: Feb 2012

The Public, recently rebranded from The Apothecary, is a cocktail lounge in the Sinan Mansions neighborhood. It’s my preferred type of place where the music isn’t so loud – you can actually have a conversation. The drinks menu features fine cocktails that are hand-crafted from house-infused spirits and bitters, fresh juices, fruits and syrups, while the food menu lists an appealing selection of some all-time favorite comfort foods (think charcuterie and sweet potato fries)…and all held together by smooth and efficient service.

For those who are overwhelmed by the extensive drinks menu, take a look at their list of “Auspicious Eight”, an abridged collection of eight of The Public’s most popular cocktails.

Here are a few we sampled, starting with my favorite for the evening – The Kind (70 RMB): Ketel One vodka, grapefruit and lime juice, a tad of black pepper, cinnamon and lime syrups, house-made ginger beer, soda. “This Tiki-style Moscow Mule variation takes the too-easy original and pumps up the spice and fruit variables for a pungent, dry drink that’ll tickle your taste buds.”

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2012/02/192012/02/19

Sugared & Spiced on 微博 Weibo

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Sugared & Spiced’s number of 微博 Weibo followers has reached 6000! Hip hip hooray! Click HERE to become my 微博 fan, HERE to follow me on Twitter, and HERE to like my Facebook page :)

2012/02/182015/09/29

[Shanghai] Media Dinner at Greenology 大蔬無界

restaurant

Greenology 大蔬無界

Add: 392 Tianping Lu, near Zhaojiabang Lu / 天平路392号, 近肇嘉浜路
Tel: 3469 2857
Hours: [lunch] 11am-2pm [tea] 2-5pm [dinner] 5-10pm
Price: 150 RMB/person for a la carte, 268~688 RMB/person for prie fixe menu
Visited: Feb 2012

Please note that this was an arranged tasting.

Greenology (大蔬無界), literally “boundless options of a vegetarian lifestyle”, offers a refined selection of Chinese fusion dishes using innovative combinations of fresh, organic, and origin-conscious produce. Last week, I had the pleasure of tasting a 10-course dinner orchestrated by guest chef Tony Chang, who was invited as part of the restaurant’s International Vegetarian Culinary Exchange. It was, to say the least, a mesmerizing evening.

The interior of Greenology’s 6-story building, designed by a Buddhist monk, corresponds to the five elements of Chinese philosophy: water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. The tasting event was held up on the 5th floor, a contemporary space complete with dark wood furnitures, floor-to-ceiling windows, a picturesque park view, and a show kitchen.

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2012/02/122015/09/28

[Shanghai] Bikini

restaurant

Bikini

Add: 47 Yongfu Lu, near Fuxing Lu / 永福路47號，近復興路
Tel: 6433 6511
Hours: 6pm~2am
Price: 45~65 RMB/hot dog, 38~310 RMB/”snacky”
Visited: Feb 2012

For some sexy and “very hot dogs”, visit Bikini. Named after a famous Spanish disco from the 1970s, El Willy’s adult film-themed sandwich/hot dog joint is small (only four tables) and simple. Choose from the selection of “very hot dogs”, “hot and pressed”, and “snackies”, which don’t really make a satisfying meal, but for a mid-afternoon or late-night snack, they might be just right.

Soft-core porn posters on the wall, on the table, on the door.

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2012/02/112015/09/24

[Shanghai] Inagiku at Marriott Hotel City Centre

restaurant

Inagiku 稻菊

Add: Shanghai Marriott Hotel City Centre, 2/F, 555 Xizang Zhong Lu, near Fengyang Lu / 西藏中路555号2楼, 近凤阳路
Tel: 2312 9888
Hours: [lunch] 11:30am-2:30pm [dinner] 5:30pm-10:30pm
Website: www.shanghaimarriott.com/dining
Price: [lunch] 130~580 RMB [dinner] 600 RMB+
Visited: Nov 2012

Please note that this is an arranged tasting.

The recently opened Shanghai Marriott Hotel City Centre houses a few high potential restaurants, one of them being Inagiku. The restaurant originally began as a small tempura joint in Hamamachi back in 1866, and as its popularity grew, Inagiku opened its first international branch at the Wardorf Astoria in New York, and it can now be found some very fine hotels like Four Seasons Hong Kong, Shangri-la Manila, and Park Hyatt Beijing. Overseeing the Shanghai branch is veteran Inagiku chef Shinji Morihara, who puts together an extensive offering of premium sushi, teppanyaki, and the famous Inagiku tempura.

The interior is fresh and contemporary with navy blue and blonde wood. The main dining room, featuring separate sushi and tenppanyaki bar, overlooks the Winter Garden. The space also includes five private dining suites, seating up to 10 guests.

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2012/02/092012/02/16

Favorite Meals of 2011 – Shanghai

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In no particular order, here are Sugared & Spiced’s favorite meals in the year of 2011, Shanghai edition:

Kota’s Kitchen

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, artery-clogging but 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. Click here for details.

Sushi Oyama

Once in a while I eat a meal so perfect that I can’t help but grin from ear to ear until long after the meal has finished. Such was the case after my dinner at Sushi Oyama, an omakase Japanese restaurant with menu that changes nightly. It’s a small but elegant place. The decor is simple, the air is filled with light-hearted jazz, and the focal point of the room is an open sushi bar where Oyama-san and a couple of helpers slice, scorch, press, fold, and roll with determined confidence. I’m charmed by Sushi Oyama beyond remedy. Click here for details.

Cuivre

It’s hard to not notice the warm glow exuding from Cuivre’s windows if you pass by its storefront. This upscale French bistro, adorned with copper coils (very approrpiate given the name Cuivre, “copper” in French), leather chairs, woven wood/bamboo light fixtures, is a welcoming and slightly quirky place. But what attracts patrons most is Cuivre’s straight-forward and delicious Southern French fare created by Michael Wendling, former Executive Chef at Allure of Le Meridien Hotel. Click here for details.

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2012/02/082015/09/28

[Shanghai] M1NT Restaurant

restaurant

M1NT Restaurant

Add: 24 Floor 318 Fuzhou Lu near Shandong Lu / 福州路318号24楼, 近山东路
Tel: 6391 2811
Hours: 6:00pm~late
Website: www.m1ntglobal.com
Price: 400+ RMB/person
Visited: Jan 2012

Please note that this was an arranged tasting.

Dinner at M1NT Restaurant to try some of Chef Grant Brunsden’s specialties.

Tones of red and gold, funky music on high, open theater kitchen, and the Bund view. The menu is modern European with very heavy Asian accents – lots of yuzu, miso, wasabi, shiso, and the likes.

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2012/02/082015/09/23

[Shanghai] Jin Xuan 金軒 at Ritz-Carlton Pudong (2)

restaurant

Jin Xuan 金軒

Add: The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, 8 Century Avenue / 浦东陆家嘴世纪大道8号上海国金中心
Tel: 2020 1717
Hours: 11:30am-2pm, 5:30pm-1am
Website: www.ritzcarlton.com/shanghaipudong
Price: [lunch] 168~300 RMB/person [dinner] 480~880 RMP/person
Visited on: Jan 2012

Please note that this was an arranged tasting.

Jin Xuan has been on the back of my mind ever since I had a delightful dim sum lunch there a while ago, and a friend’s birthday dinner brought us back to this opulent restaurant.

The gold, the wine red, and the purple – all looked sumptuous and sparkling in the evening.

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2012/01/092015/10/07

[Shanghai] Manne et Sante’ [2]

restaurant

Manne et Sante’

Add: 96 Shaoxing Lu, near Shanxi Nan Lu / 绍兴路96号, 近陕西南路
Tel: 5465 6297
Hours: 8am~10pm
Price: [afternoon tea] minimum spend 50 RMB/person, [lunch/dinner] approx. 100 RMB/person
Visited: Mar 2012

It’s been a long while since I last visited Manne et Sante’, and I’m feeling very fortunate to have rediscovered this hidden gem. Take a look at this post, which will hopefully convince you to venture up its shabby and twisting staircase (be careful not to hit your head on the way up). Comfortable leather sofas, natural light streaming in from large window panes, Ella Fitzgerald in the air, and most impressively – affordable and delicious dishes! I wasn’t expecting much given the tiny size of the cafe and the presumably small kitchen, but I was very pleasantly surprised.