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Shanghai Restaurant Recommendations


Buddha_Belly

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Thanks for the suggestions.

We are going to Jean George at 3 on the Bund. We ate at the one in Hong Kong a couple of years ago and it was one of the most memorable meals I've had. Though I heard that the Shanghai outpost is leaning towards a style of foams and deconstructed soups ala Jose Andrea. Is it true?

She came, she saw. She ate, she blogged.

www.maryeats.com

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I just had lunch today at M on the Bund - the set lunch was RMB118 for two courses (138 for three) and it was excellent! I had the Moroccan spiced salad and the lamb burger. Both were very nice and were surprisingly large. My SO pronounced the lamb burger as one of the best that he has ever had. His ginger cake was also very good, though the icing was a touch too sweet. He also had the duck terrine (very firm and meaty) and the linguine with clams (rather too buttery and oily but with good flavour).

The comfortable surroundings were very welcome after a rather sticky walk along the Bund and it was great to do everything in English for a change (the staff are excellently fluent) after two weeks of solid translating while touring about China! :biggrin:

I will try and post some more about eating in China (found a very very good jiaozi place in Xi'an - a hot tip from my neighbour on the Beijing to Xi'an flight) as soon as I get my act together and have time to catch my breath a bit!

PS we went to Shanghai Renjia (I presume it's a chain) near Tianlin lu yesterday (was brought there by the organizers of the wine competition we were judging) and had a gorgeous steamed egg custard topped with Chinese Foie Gras. Gosh! That was lovely. I've only had the Pidan and Xaindan versions of that. The Foie went really well and the fat from it flavoured the eggs very nicely. According to the Shanghai-based people there, Chinese Foie Gras is easier and easier to get and remarkably cheap as well (though apparently it's best to have a contact within the foreign restauranteurs).

Anyway, that was the best dish for certain :smile:

<a href='http://www.longfengwines.com' target='_blank'>Wine Tasting in the Big Beige of Beijing</a>

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Well, I am back from Shanghai and I am stuffed. Thanks for all your suggestions.

I am happy to report that Shanghai boasts a slew of eating options, from chili packed street food to fine dining, and those soup dumplings!

Singapore and Hong Kong may have a new rival for the crown of best Asia eats.

M on the Bund is delightful for weekend brunch, Jean George stunning at any time of day. The Nanxiang Steamed Bun restaurant in the Yuan Garden is worth the wait. And the "snack street" off Nanjing road is a tempting walk with dumplings, crayfish, and noodles galore.

Here are some photos of my eating adventure.

http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11525997...3121_185015.jpg Street breakfast

http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11525997..._3121_19799.jpg The big dumpling at The Nanxiang Steamed Bun restaurant

http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11525997..._3121_35769.jpg Beef noodle soup on the snack food street

http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11525997..._3121_46971.jpg Braised pork ribs at Luna in the Xintiandi

http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11525997..._3121_79293.jpg Brunch at M on the Bund

http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11525997..._3121_89598.jpg King fish sashimi with grapefruit sorbet at Jean George

http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11525997...3121_180808.jpg Spicy Green Beans

http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11525997...3121_187931.jpg Crayfish

She came, she saw. She ate, she blogged.

www.maryeats.com

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  • 2 weeks later...

Wondering if anyone can help me out (give advice):

Top two fine dining restos in Shanghai... I hope one of them is J-G because I really want to visit.

Bonus points if you can provide the price (either in $ or RMB) for their tasting menus (or equivalent fare).

Thanks!

u.e.

“Watermelon - it’s a good fruit. You eat, you drink, you wash your face.”

Italian tenor Enrico Caruso (1873-1921)

ulteriorepicure.com

My flickr account

ulteriorepicure@gmail.com

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Top two fine dining restos in Shanghai... I hope one of them is J-G because I really want to visit.

Thanks!

I think JG is the best western restaurant in Shanghai at the moment. Great "modern" food like you would eat in the top NY restaurants. The chef likes to be challenged, don't hesitate to throw a monkey's wrench here and there...

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Wondering if anyone can help me out (give advice):

Top two fine dining restos in Shanghai... I hope one of them is J-G because I really want to visit.

Bonus points if you can provide the price (either in $ or RMB) for their tasting menus (or equivalent fare).

Thanks!

u.e.

I just ate at JG at the beginning of July. The tasting menus were about 100US per person. But it is a lot of food! My husband and I ordered appetizers, mains, and a dessert and we were stuffed. I think the bill came to around 200 US.

I highly recommend the duck.

Dinner starts with a complimentary amuse boushe, and ends with complimentary chocolates.

It is a stunning stunning restaurant.

Also, M on the Bund is nice for brunch. Very affordable, around 35US for a three course meal.

She came, she saw. She ate, she blogged.

www.maryeats.com

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Shalmanse: Why would you want to go to JG in Shanghai when you can go to the one in NY?

coz when you live in China it can be a nice thing to eat once in a while a roasted chicken with fork and knife.

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Shalmanse: Why would you want to go to JG in Shanghai when you can go to the one in NY?

coz when you live in China it can be a nice thing to eat once in a while a roasted chicken with fork and knife.

Sure, when your living in China for a while, it can be nice to experience a piece of home. But presumably ulterior epicure is not going to be there long enough to get homesick. It strikes me as the upscale version of taking a taxi from the airport to the Holiday Inn to McDonalds and then back and calling it a holiday.

PS: I am a guy.

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Couple of Reviews that may help (both expensive by Chinese standards but bargains by western values):

Jean-Georges Shanghai – overall assessment – skip this if you like Jean-Georges in New York! Very patchy meal. Servers have been trained ‘mechanically’ and cannot answer questions, merely recite what they have been told (frequently incorrect). However, their English is far better than my Mandarin.

The following is really two separate menus, served to Myself and AmuseGirl. I’ve combined the two for ease of following the flow.

Coconut ball filled with celery juice (we were told), surrounded with carrot/orange juice: – but tasted entirely of ginger (not mentioned as ingredient).

Caviar Egg (described as scrambled egg, vodka cream and Osetra caviar): Ingredients somewhat accurate, but presentation was with a coddled yolk (no white) and the albumin was folded into the vodka crème. Several pieces of eggshell were scattered through the dish.

Kingfish Sashimi with Mango & Kumquat Ice - the ice was more accurately described as a slurry. Overpowering flavour (again) was ginger.

Sea Scallops with Caramelized Cauliflour with Raisin & Caper Emulsion. Excellent flavours, but could have used some colour for visual effect.

Foie Gras with Dried Cherries and Candied Pistachios. Can’t read all my notes or the full description on this dish. I think they say “Pain Espice not mentioned; gelee was pure vinegar!”

Roasted Young Garlic Soup with Crispy Frogs Legs. Soup was lukewarm but otherwise excellent.

Turbot in a White Wine sauce. Although simply described, an excellent dish. Tasted to me like a Vin Jaune sauce which is definitely more upscale than implied by “white wine”.

Crispy Crabcake on a Bed of Avocado & Cucumber. OK. Here comes that ginger feeling again!

Lobster (On toast) with Pea Shoots (and Peapods) in a Spicy Lobster Broth (bracketed items included but not promised). Sounds excellent, but unfortunately both the peas and especially the lobster were overcooked.

Sea Bass with pureed Parsnip, a puree of Chili/Coconut/Mint and Coconut Broth. I liked this dish. Ingredients worked well together.

Squab with squab foie, Corn fritter, Squab gravy & Arugula. Squab was served on a bed of Onion Compote – but I seem to have given up on comments by this point, so rest of description will just be the items.

Short Ribs with Apple & Cinnamon and Celery puree.

Desserts were themed – you choose a theme and get several variations

Chocolate:

Vietnamese Coffee Liégeois

Salted Milk Chocolate with caramel and szechuan peppercorn

Cacao sorbet with Cassis & Coconut

Jean-Georges Chocolate cake with Vanilla Ice Cream

Tropic:

Pineapple-Maple Snow

Strawberry-Lime melba with lemongrass & Thai basil

Passion fruit tart with Coconut & Mint

Flambéed Banana with Milk Chocolate and Kalamanzi

The meal at Whampoa Club was ultimately more satisfying although far less formal. The lighting is far brighter here (very subdued at Jean-Georges). Also the clientele was more Asian (European at J-G) and probably mainly tourists. There was a procession of people taking photographs out onto the Bund and many families had brought children. The wine list was more sparse and they didn’t have the wine I ordered. The more expensive substitute was, however, charged at the same price as my original selection.

Because I didn’t make detailed tasting notes (the dishes were served banquet style although somewhat sequentially), I will mostly just list the dishes (some comments in brackets). However, when I started asking about ingredients the hostess/manager was assigned to visit our table as each dish came out as her English was fairly good (better than the servers). There were no set menus so we ordered from all over the menu. That way you can control costs as some items were extremely pricy, but overall the meal was fairly priced for what we had (but again note the starting comment for perspective).

Steamed Agar with Shrimp Mousse and Bitter Melon

Almond & Cocoa Fried Spare Ribs (absolutely my favourite dish)

Stir Fried Minced Pigeon with Fragrant Pear in Crispy wrappers

Glutinous Red Dates with Cinnamon Apple & Seared Goose Liver

Crispy Eel Strips

Chilled Drunken Chicken (this was just plain weird, the cold chicken served in a martini glass on a bed of alcoholic shaved ice)

Honey Roasted Pork & Pineapple Tart

Deep Fried King Prawn Coated with Wasabi Dressing and Crispy Prawn Flakes (a visually spectacular dish – huge prawns in a vivid green sauce, but wasabi NOT Horseradish flavour).

Poached Tianjin Pea Starch Noodles with Scallops in a Sour and Spicy Sauce. (Yes, noodles that tasted (and were) entirely made from peas).

Crispy Onions Pancake with Chinese Pork Floss.

I’d go back to Whampoa in a heartbeat – the menu is huge. But I’d skip J-G Shanghai (but J-G New York is in my top 5 restaurants).

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Thanks estufarian.

That's too bad about J-G. The one in NYC is one of my top 5 as well - so the one in Shanghai's not worth it because of the poor quality - or because it's too similar to the one in NYC?

Has anyone been to M on the Bund?

u.e.

“Watermelon - it’s a good fruit. You eat, you drink, you wash your face.”

Italian tenor Enrico Caruso (1873-1921)

ulteriorepicure.com

My flickr account

ulteriorepicure@gmail.com

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- so the one in Shanghai's not worth it because of the poor quality - or because it's too similar to the one in NYC?

It's certainly not as good (but few places are). But I wouldn't go as far as "poor quality" more "lacking in execution".

And some dishes are very similar (e.g. the vin jaune dish seems a copy) but, equally, some I wasn't familiar with. So it is different - but not completely so.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I recently returned from my trip to China. Alas, I had one meal in Shanghai to myself - and so I went to the gilded storey that is 3 on the Bund to pay visit to one of my favorite chefs - Jean Georges.

First, let me say that the interior design is drop-dead get-out sexy. It's very very very dark inside - like almost goth - with black hard wood-paneled floors and sumptuously thick dark velvet curtains. The design is a very modern take on early century Shanghai - a sleek mix between European and Chinese aesthetics.

The staff is very friendly and accommodating. Helen, the manager is terribly hospitable and kind - and very good at what she does. She moves about, on the fringes keeping a studied watch over diners and their every need.

The food: is almost exactly like JG Shanghai. In fact, the JG Tasting is identical to the NYC offering. The other tasting, the "Seasonal Tasting" is more individual to this location.

What surprised me about the menu the most is that it hasn't changed - for nearly two years. I know this only because I dug up an article I had bookmarked in the February 2005 issue of Gourmet. There is a feature section all about the new restaurants in Shanghai - including the then-recently opened 3 on the Bund complex. In his article, published months after he had dined there, the writer mentions at least two dishes that are still on the menu today - the frog legs with spring garlic soup and also the scallops, from Dalian, which are still on the menu.

I would think that JG would have changed the menu within these two years. I guess you don't fix what ain't broken.

My two guests had the JG tasting (7-courses), and because I had already had that in New York, I went for the Seasonal Tasting (6-courses) and supplemented the Egg Caviar to stay on pace. Also, as I'm not a huge fan of warm preparations of foie, I asked to exchange the foie for the scallops.

Everything was up to par, although personally, I though some of the plating and table-side saucing got a little sloppy. My only complaint on my dinner were my scallops, where were slightly more cooked than I would have liked - but certainly acceptable. I'm very finicky about scallops - I'll be the first to admit my obsession. I especially like the raisin-caper emulsion that the two ivory-coloured gems came with.

My favorite course from the Seasonal Tasting was the the lump crab salad (which is also on the a la carte menu. A generous mound of lump crab topped with shaved asparagus sat in a shallow pool of slightly sweet melon broth kicked up ten notches with a bang of mustard. When I asked Chef Johnson what kind of mustard he used, he laughed and said, "Coleman's yellow." Hey, don't knock what works. It worked.

Another highlight was my sea bass - perfectly crisped skin - elevated on a row of confit'ed golden squash sections nestled in a pool of spring garlic puree (if Chef Johnson's lurking on this site - I'd appreciate knowing what else, if anything, was in this puree). Basil broth was poured, at the table, round the fish to make a magnificent dark emerald-green moat. The fish was delicate, the sauce, saucy - the garlic and the basil broth playing together like a pestos of all pestos. This was great.

For desserts: I had had the chocolate tasting, so I let one of my guests, who adores chocolate have at it. My other guest chose the "Summer" tasting, which left me with "Passionfruit." None of us were disappointed... least of which me, as my dining companions had gorged themselves full and I got half of each of their desserts. I loved every single iced treat that came - and interesting ones too: Sichuan pepper ice cream, white peach sorbet, cacao bean ice cream, and my favorite - a white pepper sorbet shocked with fragrant orange blossom. (But nothing beats my tried-true prune armanac ice cream at JG NYC).

From my passionfruit tasting, my favorite was an unlikely banana flambe tart - I'm not a huge banana fan, unless, of course you pair it with chocolate and drizzle it with passionfruit. :raz: I also had no trouble helping my guest finish her Vietnamese coffee Liegeois - think Vientmanese coffee (essentially espresso with sweetened condensed milk) with chocolate cream hit with a shot of liquor (was that vodka? Borghetti? Ricardi? Kahlua?). Who needs a straw... let's do shots!

I got a chance to chat with Chef Johnson before I left. He's a very humble man - and helpful too! He gave excellent suggestions (though I had no time to put them to good use) for local eats. He's trained all over the world at some of the finest kitchens - lucky guy. I hope him continued success at JG Shanghai, and wherever he might go in the future! :wink:

The view was spectacular. SPECTACULAR. Diners who are lucky enough to get a window table have a breathtaking view overlooking the Bund out onto Pudong - the "pearl" tower and the Hyatt towering off to its right. The brighltly lit shoreline - agog with flashing neon billboards and larger-than-life adverts is just electrifying (no pun intended).

I left walking on cloud nine. It was a far cry from some of the more rural meals I had on this trip - where, under oppressive heat and humidity, I was literally sweating into my food.

One note: there is a large square oil painting of two elderly people sitting with rice bowls at the entrance of the Jean Georges Shanghai. One faces it when leaving or walking down the avenue-wide hallway between the bar and the lounge. I would appreciate knowing the artist, if anyone has a clue. What I would give for that painting!!

You can see all of my food photos and read my commentary here on my flickr account. Click on the individual photos for a larger view and to see notes/comments.

I will also be posting these pictures later when I get to the Shanghai portion of my trip on my thread about my trip to China, found here.

u.e.

“Watermelon - it’s a good fruit. You eat, you drink, you wash your face.”

Italian tenor Enrico Caruso (1873-1921)

ulteriorepicure.com

My flickr account

ulteriorepicure@gmail.com

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  • 3 months later...

sens & the bund website

http://www.resto18.com/sb/menus.html

had the lunch menu wif family

for

Entrees -

foie gras ravioli wif porcini & parmesan cheese artichoke puree with truffle emulsion.

Neutral.. average tasting and quite heavy on the palate.

Mains - Slowly oven baked sea bass

Not Good - fish tasted very bland , not as decribed in the menu itself.

-Scallops,porcini,zuchinni risotto.

very creamy and heavy even thou the description sounded very light. didnt quite like this dish.

- Spiced Roast Duck breast.

The best of all the dishes, skin was roasted to crispy perfection .. overall a very tasty dish , the most well executed dish.

Desserts - Pastilla cooked with honey with pistachio icecream

on recommendations by the waiter, i decided to try this desert. very light tasting , but ordinary. nothing special. could have tried the tangerine cream tart or the choclate flavor baba..

229rmb(29 usd) for 3 dishes

188rmb for 2 dishes

Price -

Overpriced for the quality of the food as compared to singapore high end french/italian restaurants. over here its abt 19usd(3 dishes) for lunch menus..

Edited by Lucil (log)
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For Chinese / Shanghainese food, I love 老夜上海 (Shanghai Moon) at Hotel Jinjiang and Guyi. I wrote some reviews here...pictures are available.

http://www.rasamalaysia.com/2006/08/eating...restaurant.html

http://www.rasamalaysia.com/2006/08/eating...n-shanghai.html

Both are exquisite.

Asian food and cooking recipes: http://www.rasamalaysia.com
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  • 1 year later...

Grateful for any recommendations for dining/drink destinations in the Pudong area of Shanghai. More specifically, I'll be staying at the St. Regis - I understand there may not be much there, but that's where I am being put for 10 days next week. While I'm familiar with Hong Kong and Beijing, this is my first visit to Shanghai and I've always gotten good recs. here. Many thanks in advance, Cheers!

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  • 1 year later...

I'm going to be in Shanghai for two weeks in late-September.

Whampoa Club looks to be the most interesting Western-ish restaurant because it has a lot of Asian influences. Is it still good? How expensive is it? I believe the prices people have posted are pretty reasonable considering there's no tax and tip like in the US.

I went to Nanxiang in City God Temple (Chéng Huáng Miào) which is connected to Yuyuan Garden back in 2006. This is the one place everybody has been posting about above.

151439690_b1c9c1099d.jpg

These xiao long bao were some of the worst I've had. They were way too small, the skin was too thick and lacked any transparency whatsoever and most importantly the meat was way too dry with no soup in them! That's not a xiao long bao, that's just a steamed dumpling.

Tour buses dump a hundred tourists off at a time to line up at this place. It's a real travesty that they are passing off these terrible dumplings to millions of tourists who now think this is the epitome of xiao long bao. They bring shame to themselves, the city of Shanghai, our illustrious cuisine, and the glorious soup dumpling. The government cultural ministry should shut this place down and make the proprietors denounce themselves.

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How timely! I'll be in Shanghai over the full moon festival the first week of October, and I'm looking for a xiao long bao place recommendation - as well as any other must-eats. I was in Shanghai for a work seminar two weekends ago, but only ate at my hotel and, uh, MacDonalds. Actually, I had a Starbucks, too.

I'm looking for traditional Shanghai-style dishes (that is to say, no French or German fusion), no hotel restaurants, location isn't important, in the 100-200 RMB a person neighbourhood for dinner, less than 100 RMB for lunch -type places.

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