restaurant | Sugared & Spiced

2011/09/012015/09/29

[Shanghai] Cafe Sambal

Cafe Sambal

Add: Jiashan Market, 37A, Lane 550 Shanxi Nan Lu, near Shaoxing Lu / 陕西南路550弄37号, 近绍兴路
Tel: 3368 9529
Hours: 12pm-12am
Website: www.cafesambal.com
Price: 150~200 RMB/person
Visited: Sep 2011

Please note that this is an arranged tasting.

Lofted ceiling, exposed concrete, wooden furnitures, warm lighting. Authentic Malaysian cuisine with a modern touch? I was ready to be inspired.

At Cafe Sambal, always start with a minty Mojito (55 RMB) – highly recommended especially on a day like this when the air is thick as jam.

For a light start, Fresh Mango Rolls (38 RMB) with lemon sauce was an ideal choice.

Chicken Satay (60 RMB) was not instantly recognizable. Filets of grilled chicken, loaded with Malay peanut sauce, were held together vertically by toothpicks rather than the traditional long skewers. The reason behind this alternative presentation? Better cuts of meat (very tender and succulent indeed) that can be devoured elegantly in one bite.

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2011/08/282015/09/28

[Shanghai] Brunch at Madison

restaurant

Madison

Add: 3/F, 18 Dongping Lu, near Hengshan Lu / 东平路18号, 近衡山路
Tel: 6437 0136
Hours: [daily] 6pm-10:30pm, [Sat-Sun Brunch] 12-3pm
Price: [dinner] 300 RMB/person [brunch] ~100 RMB/person
Visited: Aug 2011

Madison is the hotspot for brunch in Shanghai. Take a look at some usual favorites at this contemporary American restaurant and you’ll want to make a reservation right away (which is highly recommended because this place is now always packed on the weekends).

Please note that Madison has reopened in another location.

I like to start my brunch at Madison with Spiced Hot Chocolate (52 RMB), a cup of Cacao Barry hot chocolate sparked with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, chili.

Poached Eggs (48 RMB) is a favorite among Madison advocates. Two perfectly poached eggs sit atop pig trotter croquette and house made English muffin, complete with a generous pouring of xo hollandaise sauce. Slice it open and out oozes the runny yolk.

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2011/08/072015/08/31

[Shanghai] Old Jesse 吉士酒家

restaurant

Old Jesse 吉士酒家

Add: 41 Tianping Lu, near Huaihai Xi Lu 天平路41号, 近淮海西路
Tel: 6282 9260
Hours: 11-12am
Price: 100~150 RMB/person
Visited: Aug 2011

Old Jesse needs no introduction. This cramped little place is widely recognized as the best Shanghainese restaurant in Shanghai, and is my usual go to place when out-of-town guests ask for some local flavors. Reservations absolutely necessary.

Old Jesse has a page of “recommended dishes”, and it’s pretty safe to order anything from this page. For appetizers, we tried mixed mushroom with bean curd sheet 腐竹熗蘑菇 (38 RMB) and Jishi’s salted chicken 吉士鹹雞 (38 RMB), both excellent choices. Dates stuffed with glutinous rice 心太軟 (18 RMB) is another Shanghai classic not to be missed.

Jishi’s salted chicken 吉士鹹雞 (38 RMB).

Dates stuffed with glutinous rice 心太軟 (18 RMB).

Old Jesse is especially famous for its braised pork in brown sauce 外婆紅燒肉 (58 RMB), and though tonight’s pot seemed overly sweet, they usually do an excellent job. The key is that satisfying layer of fat, perfectly braised to a chewy and gelatinous consistency. Bowls of rice can be easily polished off with a few pieces of these hongshaorou.

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2011/07/182015/08/31

[Shanghai] New Heights

restaurant

New Heights

Add: Three on the Bund, 7/F, 17 Guangdong Lu 广东路17号, 外滩三号7楼
Tel: 6321 0909
Hours: [afternoon tea] 2-5pm
Website: www.threeonthebund.com
Price: [afternoon tea] 128 RMB + 10%
Visited: Jul 2011

A new afternoon tea service at New Heights? Let’s give it a try.

The afternoon tea set (128 RMB), served in a glass house adjacent to the main dining room, includes two plates of sweet and savory bites, with a cup of coffee or tea.

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2011/07/172015/08/31

[Shanghai] Kappo Yu 割烹雄

restaurant

Kappo Yu 割烹雄

Add: 33 Wuxing Lu, near Huaihai Lu 吴兴路33号，近淮海路
Tel: 6466 7855
Hours: 6-11pm (closed Sunday)
Price: 690 RMB/person, drinks extra
Visited: Jun 2011

I can’t say enough good things about Sushi Oyama, so naturally I had high expectations for its sister restaurant Kappo Yu. Unfortunately I went to Kappo Yu right before my Euro trip and wasn’t able to get the post up before I left, so a lot of details are lost in time….but let’s take a look at what’s still resonating in my head.

What does “sister restaurant” mean, anyway? From what I heard that evening, the two restaurants are under the same management. Oyama-san oversees/advises the menu at Kappo Yu, and the food is prepared by Yohei Terada, a young chef who was previously at Tokyo’s Nobu.

While Sushi Oyama serves – you’ve guessed it – sushi, Kappo Yu is more kaiseki-style. The 10-course seasonal menu (690 RMB/set) changes monthly, but if you visit Kappo Yu more than once in a month, the chef would be happy to modify the menu for you.

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2011/07/162015/08/31

[Shanghai] Organ (3)

restaurant

Organ

Add: 66 Ziyunxi Lu, near Loushanguan Lu 紫云西路66号, 近娄山关路
Tel: 5206 5937
Hours: 11:30am-10pm
Website: blog.goo.ne.jp/organ0417
Price: [lunch] 40~50 RMB [cakes] 25~35 RMB
Visited: Jul 2011

NOTE: Organ has closed and reopened here.

You can tell from my first and second posts on Organ that this discreet little Japanese cafe is one of my favorite lunch spots near my office, so I was very sad to hear that they are moving to Hongmei Lu area in August. Where will I go for lunch from now on?

As the new location is too far from my office, I know I need to seize my last chances to lunch at Organ before they move. So here I am!

The tofu burger (48 RMB), one of my favorite dishes at Organ, was a delight as always. The patty was soft and tender, perfect with the scoop of chewy mixed-grain rice served on the side. What made the dish spark was a mound of shiso leaves and a bit of grated turnips topping the tofu burger, each adding a refreshing layer of flavor.

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2011/06/282015/08/31

[Shanghai] Colabo

restaurant

Colabo

Add: 3/F, Wanke Plaza, 37 Shuicheng Nan Lu, near Yan’an Xi Lu 水城南路37号万科广场3楼, 近延安西路
Tel: 6295 2172
Hours: 11am-11pm
Website: colabo.cn
Price: [lunch] 60~130 RMB/person [dinner] 150~250 RMB/person
Visited: Jun 2011

I can’t believe I haven’t already blogged about Colabo. This Japanese-run Italian restaurant (Gubei branch) serves one of my favorite lunch sets in Shanghai, and is my natural go-to place when I don’t have a particular restaurant in mind. It’s typically filled with Japanese families (this is Gubei, after all) and can get a bit rowdy with the kids, but overall the space is light-hearted and delightful. They don’t take reservations for lunch on weekends, so come before noon or expect to wait outside.

The lunch set at Colabo is either 60 RMB (appetizers + pizza/pasta) or 80 RMB (appetizers + pizza/past + desserts). Drinks are 15 RMB with the set, and a few specialty items (e.g. spaghetti with crab in tomato cream sauce and quattro fromage pizza) require additional RMB. In total, the price should be somewhere between 60~130 RMB, unless you order a la carte dishes from the dinner menu.

The daily changing appetizers are usually very well put together. Today’s selection consisted of duck meat pate with mustard sauce, marinated bell papers with anchovies, and broccoli calamari salad. Delicious stuff.

My favorite pasta at Colabo is spaghetti with crab in tomato cream sauce (+30 RMB), and most people would agree. Order it and you will not be disappointed.

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2011/06/282015/09/24

[Shanghai] Jean Georges (2)

restaurant

Jean Georges

Add: 4/F, Three on the Bund, 17 Guangdong Lu 广东路17号, 外滩三号4楼
Tel: 6321 7733
Hours: [Lunch] 11:30am~2:30pm [Dinner] 6pm~11pm
Website: www.threeonthebund.com
Price: [lunch] 218 RMB + 10% [dinner] 500~700 RMB/person
Visited: Jun 2011 (visit 1, 3)

Please note that this was an arranged tasting.

With a menu featuring Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s classic lineup and a spectacular vista of the illuminated Lujiazui right outside the window, it’s no wonder that Jean Georges remains one of the most highly regarded restaurants in Shanghai after so many years of opening. But…

…but I really shouldn’t have eaten so much that evening. 15 dishes, that’s how many dishes I tasted that evening, and that doesn’t even include the amuse bouche and complimentary chocolates and marshmallows at the end. It’s not so much the quantity that troubled me – I’m quite proud of my stomach space – but the thought of having to describe so many dishes in one post became so daunting that in retrospect, I wish I hadn’t stole food off each and every one of my companions’ plates.

But what is done is done. Let’s take a look what flowed through our table. The 7-course Jean Georges Menu (998 RMB + 10%) began elegantly with Egg Caviar, a signature dish that graces the cover of Jean-Georges’ “Simple to Spectacular” cookbook. A fluffy, lightly scrambled egg topped with whipped cream and a generous dollop of caviar, this was one of my top three favorite dishes of the evening.

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2011/06/242015/08/31

[Shanghai] Café Dan (2)

restaurant

Café Dan

Add: No. 41, Lane 248 Taikang Lu (near Sinan Lu) / 泰康路248弄田子坊41号后门 (近思南路)
Tel: 6466 1042
Hours: 10:30am-10pm
Price: 100~150 RMB/person
Website: www.idancoffee.com
Visited: Jun 2011

Last weekend I took some out-of-town friends to Café Dan, one of my natural go-to spots in Shanghai. This unpretentious little cafe serves up luxurious iced latte and Japanese comfort food that rarely disappoint. See my previous post for detailed introduction and more pictures.

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2011/06/222015/09/24

[Shanghai] Sushi Oyama 大山鮨 (2)

restaurant

Sushi Oyama 大山鮨

Add: 2/F, 20 Donghu Lu, near Huaihai Lu 東湖路20號2樓, 近淮海路
Tel: 5404 7705
Hours: 6:30pm-10:30pm (closed Sunday)
Price: 800 RMB/person, drinks extra
Visited: Jun 2011

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.