T8 Restaurant & Bar
Add: Xintiandi North Block, Lane 181 Taicang Lu / 太仓路181号，新天地北里
Tel: 6355 8999
Hours: [brunch] 11:30am-3pm [lunch] 11:30am-2:30pm [dinner] 6:30pm-11:30pm
Website: www.t8shanghai.com
Price: [brunch] 258-498 RMB/person [dinner] 500 RMB/person
Visited: Dec 2010
Brunch at T8: 258 RMB for two courses, 328 RMB for three courses, and 498 RMB for four courses, all inclusive of a glass Perrier-Jouet champagne and illy coffee or tea (extra 198 RMB for free flow of champagne). Worth the money? Maybe.
We were exhausted after a morning of non-stop Christmas shopping, and were glad to be led upstairs to the tranquil and spacious lounge where brunch is served. The space is delightful – huge windows let in an abundance of natural light, fresh cherries adorning the tables, and Christmas music floating in the air. We sank into the plush sofa at the innermost corner as the waiter brought two glasses of Perrier-Jouet to our table. A most agreeable start.
Our first entrée, the crispy skin suckling pig with mojo sauce and cauliflower puree, was excellent. The skin was roasted crispy while the meat remained supremely tender and juicy. The mojo sauce, with its strong curry flavor, worked quite well with the pork.
The other entrée, mushroom and Gruyere tart with cauliflower puree and asparagus, was equally appetizing. The buttery flaky crust was stuffed with a hearty Gruyere and mushroom filling and topped with juicy mushroom halves.
Main courses were less memorable. The pan roasted salmon with steamed mussels and clams was tender but nothing extraordinary. The wagyu striploin grade 5+, braised eschallots, string mushrooms, edamame, pan juices was a real let down. I ordered it medium rare, but it came out almost well done. The waiter insisted that it was “medium rare” even after I pointed out the fact that there was almost no red left in the meat. The waiter agreed to redo the dish (while still asserting that it was medium rare) but later brought us a more inferior cut that was very sloppily plated.
Our first dessert was ricotta cheesecake with passion fruit purée, lemon curd ice cream, and ginger bread sablé. The presentation was pretty, though the light ricotta cheesecake was somewhat overwhelmed by the zesty lemon curd ice cream and passion fruit purée.
The second dessert – banana cake with chocolate mousse, caramelized banana, and banana ice cream – wasn’t my favorite. The crumbled banana cake presentation was interesting, but the texture was unpleasantly doughy. The banana ice cream tasted artificial and the chocolate mousse too firm.
Deserves a second chance? Perhaps.
hey Cindy!
Great recommendation and you have quite a good taste in finding the coolest restaurants =)
i laughed a little at the part with the waiter insisting that the meat was still medium rare…and i would probably do the same thing if not asking to see the manager :p service in china could definitely be improved, but i think this might just be one of the places that i would like to go for a quaint brunch :D!!
His attitude was alright but what was with the stubborn assertion that the meat was medium rare?! Obviously it wasn’t. Anyway, T8 is still a nice place for brunch, you can give it a try when you are back in SH :)
Very nice pictures. I like the pictures of the desserts – especially the ricotta cheese cake.
What kind of camera do you use?
Thank you for the comments :) I use a Ricoh R10, it works very nicely for the most part but doesn’t do well in low light settings..still, a fine point-and-shoot so I’ll most likely stick with Ricoh after this one as well!