|
|
Browse by Tags
All Tags » Restaurants
Sorry, but there are no more tags available to filter with.
-
 Despite being around for a while now, Morrocan eatery Marrakech is holding its grand opening tonight. The details we were given were rather brief, but apparently visitors will be able to sample the food and drink between 6pm and 9pm.
The place is well worth a visit, if not for the tasty (if somewhat small-portioned) fare on offer, then for the after-dinner Afro-beat sessions and belly dancing to be had in the bongo room, complete with shisha pipes. The labyrinthine interior is spot on (though watch out for the odd randomly placed step here and there) and, as you'll find out if taken on a tour by the wonderfully enthusiastic owner, the place is spreading its tendrils further through the French concession block in which it's housed.
Marrakech Morrocan Restaurant
133 Fuxing Xi Lu near Yongfu Lu
复兴西路133号近永福路
Phone: 64334261
|
-
At 7:00pm on a Sunday night all three floors of this sleek looking restaurant were packed. The modern industrial steel and granite motif works nicely in the space, and the bright lights and high ceilings mean smoke isn't a problem. The place was alive with conversation and wait staff hurriedly shuffled between tables bringing out food and drinks. If loud dining isn't your thing try to book a private room.
The soup pot arrived in good time and the rest of the food arrived promptly after. We recommend the split bowl with spicy soup on one side and regular on the other, the spicy side can be a bit much at times. The actual food was extremely fresh, in fact some of it was still taking their last breaths on the table (one of the perils of eating with locals we guess). Iced tofu (冻豆腐) is one of our favorites dishes, the lamb was likewise tasty, the winter melon and potatoes served as nice fresh vegetables for the night. We really could have done without the pig brains though, at least portions were large and varied.
Out of all the hot pot places in Shanghai, this one stands out. It's clean, has a nice modern atmosphere, it's crowded so the food is always fresh, and the waiters and waitresses are plentiful and responsive. If you are in the ZhongShan Park area it is a must-try, and at just about 50rmb per person, what more could one ask?
Cross-posted at Kungfueats
Nan Hua Hotpot (南华火锅).
858 LouShanGuan Rd (娄山关路858号)
Tel: 5206-2777
|
-
 This rather unassuming restaurant sits near the corner of Changde Road and Xinzha Road. It looks far too kitschy to be any good so we were skeptical when a Chinese pal suggested we eat there, but he seemed to recognize it as being somewhat well known.
The decorations inside are about what you’d expect from a place with lanterns hanging outside, but frankly we didn’t go to the restaurant for the atmosphere, we went for the food, which we must confess was very tasty.
For three people we ordered two cold dishes, two hot dishes, and a fish. The fish is a definite must as that is what the restaurant is famous for.
Garlic soaked cucumbers (蒜泥黄瓜) was better than average as it was sufficiently salty for our American tongue. The mushrooms and tripe (蘑菇牛百页) was our final appetizer of the meal and similarly to the cucumbers it was a little salty but not overpowering. Not generally a fan of internal organs we found the tripe decently edible.
Next the waiters brought out our vegetable dish which seemed a bit out of order, but anyway they brought it in a bamboo steamer covered in tin foil and then placed inside a bowl, odd especially as it wasn’t a steamed dish at all. The mixture of dried tofu and celery (豆腐干芹菜) won’t win awards but was nice and healthy.
The next dish almost made me lose my appetite, a nice big bowl of spicy blood and tripe (毛血旺). One dish of cow stomach per meal is enough for me, but really it was the blood that we just don’t do. We nibbled at it, but basically it’s a dish for the truly adventurous or the British.
Finally a rather large barbecued catfish (烤鲶鱼) weighing in at nearly 3jin was brought to the table still cooking. Blessedly catfish isn’t laden with hundreds of tiny bones so we were able to enjoy our time eating loads of fish meat rather than coughing up fish bones. Uniquely the fish was flavored differently on each side, though in the end each side tasted almost identical.
The food was good, the atmosphere/decorations were amusing, the beer was cold, all in all pretty good for a kitschy Chinese restaurant. Total cost set us back 186rmb.
Fish Door Restaurant Inn (棧客門鱼）
460 Changde Lu, by Xinzha Lu (常德路460号，靠近新闸路)
Tel: 6289-5106 (Reservations probably aren't taken, and aren't really needed)
|
-
 Xingfu Lu is the cozy little street off to the side of busy Huashan Lu that is home to both Pirates, Logo Bar, and now the best cooked fish we've had in Shanghai, thanks to Chongqing eatery Xingfu 131.
 Shanghaiist loves indulging in roof-tingling food followed by cold Tsingtao at many a Sichuan restaurant. But it's 131's delectable roast fish, which comes in a handful of spiced flavors and ranges between 68 to 128 RMB depending on what type of fish you want, that makes us fiending to go back every couple of weeks.
Simmered in herbs, peppers, and oil, the fish comes already carved for simple access. Within minutes, almost all the meat was gone, and I found myself scavenging for scraps while my dinner companions were already calling out to the waitress for another order of what one of them had named "opium fish."
Xingfu 131 also has a great assortment of other selections, including little bamboo baskets of glutinous rich with chicken or pork, but everything serves as a lead-in for the real star of the meal.
Xingfu 131 - 131 Xing Fu Lu, close to Fahuazhen Lu (幸福131 - 幸福路131号, 靠近法华镇路), Tel: 5254 0505, 1:30am-2pm, 5:30pm-1am. Average per person: 75 RMB
Eric Hu is Shanghaiist's Food Editor. Email tips, recommendations, and news and gossip about Shanghai's food scene to food at shanghaiist.com.
|
-
 Shanghaiist had an interesting challenge: do a restaurant recommendation for a restaurant that doesn't really have a name. Well, at least one that we recognize. We got a business card but the Chinese name is simply "烧肉" (grilled meat) and we didn't know how to read the Japanese characters.
On a tip from a friend of a friend who had spent most of his life growing up in Japan, we decided to check out the aforementioned nameless Japanese grill-joint that specialized in serving Wagyu beef, otherwise known as Kobe-style beef.
Starting off, there were a couple of strikes against making it out there for dinner. First, it's in Hongqiao. Second, it's damn expensive, with one order of beef clocking in at 65 RMB for about 7-8 bite-sized pieces.
But after that first bite of tender, glorious flavor, we were sold. Like most teppanyaki restaurants this one was self-service, with the grills placed in the middle of the table for easy access. Quickly enough, the meat had been cooked and devoured, and orders for more portions were being called out to the wait-staff. We also had a fabulous turnip salad with huge chunks of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers to ease the guilt of chomping down on beef known for its high percentage of oleaginous unsaturated fat (thanks Wikipedia).
From the looks of it, the restaurant caters mostly to Japanese customers, as most of the dining parties were speaking Japanese from what we could tell. The place was packed on a Friday night, and like us it seems the diners were here mainly for the beef.
After some quick online research, we learned that real Wagyu beef, of which Kobe is a sub-set, can't really be called Wagyu unless the cattle was bred in Japan. We asked and learned that the beef at this place is from Australia, so we guess the appropriate name would be "Wagyu-style" beef. Regardless, the hefty price and sometimes flippant service justify it as an occasional treat for beef-lovers. Total bill came out to be about 180-200 RMB per person, including drinks (Asahi draft for 20 RMB).
Nameless Japanese restaurant has two locations. Puxi: 382 Shui Cheng Lu, Bldg. No. 2, 2nd Floor (close to Xian Xia Lu). 水城路382弄2号2层。Pudong: Pudong Da Dao 908-912. 浦东大道 908-912号。Apologies for the crappy quality of the cell-phone pic.
|
-
 Imagethief recounts his "scorchingly bad experience" at Bubba's in his latest post BBQ-less 4th of July and the naughty waiter of Hongqiao. Here's a very short sampling of the very long post:
The first sign of trouble came when it took half an hour to get a waiter to take drink orders. To leave a party of twenty-one hanging dry for half an hour is a restaurateuring felony on the order of cockroach croutons. In fact, the actual wait was longer for some people who had arrived considerably before Mrs. Imagethief and I did. If nothing else, get the beer flowing. After some badgering we managed to get the waiter round to take orders. Apparently intimidated by the idea of keeping twenty-one drink orders straight (an admittedly tall task, but one I've seen managed elsewhere), he worked hard to encourage us to stay away from individual orders and simply take pitchers of beer. Most of us were willing to be persuaded on this front, despite some early enthusiasm for the heavily promoted craft beers served at the restaurant.
The next problem was getting menus, although that too was eventually managed with a combination of hand-waving and flailing from most of us and initiative from Mrs. Imagethief who went in search of menus and also cutlery for several members of our party who did not have place settings. As it would turn out, we could have left the cutlery. Most of it would never be used.
We had plenty of time to peruse the menu. About an hour by my reckoning before we managed to strong-arm the waiter into taking our order. The restaurant was obviously running a skeleton crew on the worst of all possible nights, and the waiter was under pressure. Unfortunately he did almost nothing to help himself...
To cut the long story short, Imagethief and his party posse eventually walked out of Bubba's after waiting for three hours, starving and frustrated (except for two of the 21 of them who got their food). Bubba's hasn't responded to Imagethief yet (do busy restaurateurs have time to monitor blogs?), but we think we will hear from them very soon. Keep watching this space.
Related links
Texas BBQ in Shanghai? Where do we sign up?
Bubba's Texas BBQ: Mmmmm ... Mmmmm ... Good
Image from Shanghai Diaries.
|
-
Back in January, we told you how much we loved the food at Southern Barbarian, the great Yunnan restaurant that some people complained was too far away because it was north of Beijing Lu. Well, we are happy to report Southern Barbarian has moved farther south, and now resides amongst a cluster of art galleries and shops near the intersection of Maoming Lu and Jinxian Lu (just one subway stop from Shanghaiist headquarters). The grand reopening party, with requisite amounts of free food and booze (and live music from The Cardinals), was last night, and some photos can be found above.
We had a sneak preview meal with Feng (the owner) and Adam and Knut (part of the band) on Thursday night and can assure you that the menu emerged from the move intact — and there are some interesting additions ... like fried bees. Like the bees, the entire kitchen staff has been imported from Yunnan. Also, Feng still has perhaps the best beer selection of any Chinese restaurant in the city, and he is keen to add to his stash (take note you and you). Starting soon (whenever the framer gets things right) Southern Barbarian will also be home to an exhibit of photos form Shanghai-based photojournalist Ariana Lindquist, and works from more artists will occupy the walls in the future.
Southern Barbarian, Second Floor, Area E, Ju'Roshine Life Art Space, 56 Maoming Nan Lu (near Jinxian Lu). Tel: 5157-5510. Maoming entrance is right next to Di Shui Dong, a short walk from the Shaanxi Nan Lu metro stop on Line 1. After 9 pm, use the entrance on Jinxian Lu.
|
-
Never unhappy to hear about new pizza joints opening in the city, Shanghaiist is excited to find out that one of the most controversial pizza chains in the world might be coming to China; Hell Pizza. We say might because Shanghaiist isn’t sure at this point and we are waiting for official word from the franchise, but we did stumble upon this site, which may or may not be associated with the official Hell Pizza chain (same logo though). Also of note, this site mentions that Hell Pizza is interested in the China market:
Hell co-founder Callum Davies, who started out as a pizza shop owner in Wainuiomata, plans to use the proceeds to build the Hell brand in Britain, Australia and China, while leaving the rapid expansion of Hell in New Zealand to its new owners.
So far, Hell Pizza has a total of sixty-six stores (is that number on purpose?) in London and New Zealand only, but they are apparently looking to expand according to the above story. If they do decide to come to China, Shanghaiist is curious to see how a pizza franchise that names its pizzas after the seven deadly sins would fair here. More info on Hell Pizza here and here.
Photo of Hell Pizza's menu from Kennysia.com
|
-
We have whined before about the dearth of decent restaurants in Shanghai's airports. Pudong travelers are still better off brown-bagging it, but it seems relief will soon be on the way for domestic travelers: Element Fresh is opening up shop at Hongqiao Read More...
|
-
The China Daily recently reported that we are soon to see the opening of The Absolut Icebar , billed as Asia's first ice bar. The concept is that there's a lot of ice and ice sculptures, and it's really cold inside. Absolut says that the ice being used Read More...
|
|
|
|