Jean-Georges

April 2010

I was sooo excited to hear that my co-workers got reservations at Jean-Georges at Three on the Bund... Of his restaurants, I had only been to Mercer Kitchen in NY a few years ago and that was wonderful. So his namesake in Shanghai, yay.

3rd floor of Three on the Bund - very elegant, quite dark actually, with plush booths in the rich dining room. We had a late dinner and watched the staff spray the tableclothes to iron press them to the right shape.

Yuzu Drop - might be the best cocktail I've ever had. It was simply wonderful. I thought it might just be me, and I made two of my dinner companions try it, and their reactions were similar to mine. Really yummy.

The menu has several prix fixe options. Tempting to do the Jean-Georges set for about 1000rmb, but held back and did the standard 3-dishes and dessert for about 600rmb. First was a foie gras brulee. Wow. Melts in your mouth with the perfect amount of grilled smokiness. Second I had scallops with roasted cauliflower. Not as impressed with this one, just ok. Main was lamb chops, with a ton of flavor and great rich juicy fat (though it was also rich juicy fat).

We did have desserts, and the almond tofu with apricot ice cream was not the best choice -- my dinnermates' chocolate cake was amazing.

http://www.jean-georges.com/

New Heights

New Heights is the bar/restaurant on the 7th floor of Three on the Bund, the high end contemporary shopping and dining establishment central to the Bund. We had a brunch on a unusually pleasant Sunday, so we sat outside on the patio overlooking the Bund walkways and Pudong side. Fantastic view, I don't think there is anything better.

There is a two course brunch for 148rmb - I had a salmon terrine and sea bass with gnocchi and mushroom sauce, which were quite good. We split the three crepes, pretty good.

Service is pretty miserable. Expect to take a long time for your meal and service.

Almost all foreigners there, but I think most of Three on the Bund is.

Lou Wai Lou

Lou Wai Lou is a famous Hangzhou restaurant serving local cuisine like fresh fish and vegetables. It's on West Lake with quite large capacity -- there were two wedding banquets simultaneously on the first floor while the second floor and outsides patios were still open for dinner. The hotel had suggested we arrive by 5 or 5:30 to avoid a wait, as they don't take reservations. We walked in at 5:30 pm and the restaurant was already packed. We couldn't get a table in the front patio that overlooks the lake, but got one of the last in the back courtyard.

There were three of us so we got to order a fair number of dishes, including a local vegetable dish with minced greens and pine nuts, jelly fish, marinated duck, grilled duck liver, and fresh white fish with vinegar-based sauce.

Total 123rmb per person

No 30 Gu Shan Road, Hangzhou, China 310007
0571-87969023

Jade Beauty

Jade Beauty is a chain with Shanghainese food. They have good dumplings and just about anything else Chinese that you could want. Nice decor, large groups, many foreigners, located in the 2F of the new mall in Xintiandi

Zen Chinese Cuisine

Great filling lunch at Zen, a chain with good Shanghainese and other food at Raffles Plaza.

411/412, Raffles Plaza, No 268, Tibet Road (Middle), Shanghai PRC
+86 21 6340 4333

Bar Rouge

Great bar in Bund, with (I think) a 6th floor balcony patio that has panoramic views of the Bund lights and skyline across the river. We were some of the first guests at their grand 're-opening' we were told.

Very expat, very little Asian faces, lots of champagne accompanied by sparklers. Wow.

http://www.bar-rouge-shanghai.com /

7F, BUND 18, 1 ZHONGSHAN DONG YI RD

Barbarossa

We did a work dinner at the Moroccan fusion restaurant about a 3 minute walk from the JW Marriott Tomorrow Square, located right by Shanghai Art Museum and Kathleen 5 in a small park in a cute house in the middle of a lake. It was nice to see some green space in Shanghai.

There's a second story lounge as well as bar and dining space on the first floor. Good mojitos, plenty of Western alcoholic options, and pretty good food. Appetizer plates are nice, and Moroccan lamb shank was pretty good

Went back a second time, and loved the wagyu burger.

http://www.barbarossa.com.cn/

231 Nanjing Road West, People's Park, Shanghai
+86 21 6318 0220

South Beauty

We had a large group dinner for the World Expo team at one of the South Beauty outposts in the French Concession. We filled the back room, and it was a great space for a group our size (80 pax perhaps). We had a pre-set menu that came at a decent pace. There were about ten to a round table to the food was shared on a lazy susan and usually gone in one round.

Ye Shanghai Xintiandi

Nice, classy Shanghainese restaurant in the row of old-style houses on Huang Pi Nan (South) Road in Xintiandi. I was there with a group of 20 of so loud and fun colleagues, and we completely ruined the ambiance for all around us. Otherwise, it would be a sweet date spot.

We had family style with over a dozen dishes, pretty good, though not spetacular.

338 Huang Pi Nan Road, Xintiandi, Shanghai

sasha's

Sasha's is a lovely restaurant and bar located in a historic house on the corner of Dongping Lu and Hengshan Lu. Nice couch seating. Great bloody mary's and tea, that comes in clear pot and kept warm over candles. Yummy tomato, mozzarella and basil salad, and rest of menu looked quite good.

http://www.smartshanghai.com/venue/1316/Sashas_shanghai

M1NT

Clubbing in Shanghai. Fun stuff. 17 meters long shark tank.

http://www.m1ntglobal.com/what-is-m1nt/shanghai
M1NT • 24 Floor 318 Fuzhou Lu • Shanghai • China • 200001

Dintaifung

Dintaifung is a great Shanghainese and dim sum-like restaurant in Xintiandi. Ironically, it's a Taiwanese chain with locations across China and Asia (and one in LA), but some say Dintaifung has some of the best shaolongbao in the city (my favorite for now).

For the shaolongbao, they come in sets of 5 dumplings. I would recommend the standard pork, pork with hairy crab, and the chicken. All delicious and quite different. Drip out the sauce and then slurp the whole thing (and be careful not to burn your tongue if you decide not to let out some of the hot soup first).

I have brought vegetarians who were quite happy as well. Many veg/tofu dishes if you want and all quite good. Raw cucumbers with sesame oil and hot peppers. A bean curd and mushroom dish, quite some heat. Veg dumplings. Veg and pork and veg pork buns. Mushrooms with oyster sauce. Noodles with peanut sauce. Fried rice with egg and scallion. My favorite of the green dishes is the morning glory with ginger.

http://www.dintaifungsh.com.cn/

Located on second floor of the mall-like complex in Xintiandi.

2/F, South Block Plaza, Lane 123 Xingye Lu, near Madang Lu
新天地南里广场5楼, 兴业路123 弄， 近马当路
Phone: 6385 8378