Great atmosphere and nice outdoor deck with fantastic view. The food was beautiful, but to be honest not the best. The arugula salad was fine. The salt crusted lamb leg looked fantastic, I was the envy of the table when it arrived and just melted with a touch of my fork, but ended up being pretty dry and tasteless. Same with the raspberry souffle - great presentation, totally too sweet, tasted like chunks of sugar. Might be worth another try since I have heard good things, but there are many better restaurants in Shanghai as well.
7/F, No 5 The Bund (corner of Guangdong Lu)
(86 21) 6350 9988
http://www.m-onthebund.com/
Showing posts with label outdoor seating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label outdoor seating. Show all posts
Friday, June 4, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
Cantina Agave Taqueria & Tequila Bar
Pretty decent Mexican place with good selection of traditional grub and lots of drinks. I liked the outdoor space, though beware the gnats if you sit by the trees (I have never had a saran wrapped margarita with straw stuck through).
260rmb for two drinks each and nachos, so not cheap.
A Mansion, 291 Fumin Lu, near Changle Lu
富民路291号，近长乐路
http://www.smartshanghai.com/venue/4153/Cantina_Agave_shanghai
260rmb for two drinks each and nachos, so not cheap.
A Mansion, 291 Fumin Lu, near Changle Lu
富民路291号，近长乐路
http://www.smartshanghai.com/venue/4153/Cantina_Agave_shanghai
Southern Belle
A homey Southern style bar with a great outdoor patio and happy hour, it was a great Sunday afternoon booze spot on a beautiful May day. It's an expat bar, not so much local presence. Budweiser on tap and for happy hour, but decent bottle list also.
433 Changle Lu, near Xiangyang Lu
长乐路433号，近襄阳路
http://www.smartshanghai.com/venue/4466/Southern_Belle_shanghai
433 Changle Lu, near Xiangyang Lu
长乐路433号，近襄阳路
http://www.smartshanghai.com/venue/4466/Southern_Belle_shanghai
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Vue
The bar at the top of the Hyatt on the Bund. Has a fantastic view of the Pudong side and Bund, though I think there is a cover to sit a the tables by the window. There is a rooftop area with beds to lounge on and a jacuzzi outside.
I had the worst viognier ever and a good virgin mary (weird drink mood...) Pretty crowded for a lounge and they had good house playing.
www.shanghai.bund.hyatt.com
199 Huangpu Road, Shanghai
+86 21 6393 1234
I had the worst viognier ever and a good virgin mary (weird drink mood...) Pretty crowded for a lounge and they had good house playing.
www.shanghai.bund.hyatt.com
199 Huangpu Road, Shanghai
+86 21 6393 1234
Friday, May 7, 2010
Mesa
I went for rooftop drinks, but Mesa also has dinner.
Drinks were very fun, great crowd inside with pop-music dancing and outdoors.
The Thailander was interesting Absolut Peppar drink with a huge kick. It was good for one drink, not for the night.
Muombie is a ridiculous (secret) concoction of alcohol and some kind of Malibu rum or coconut juice that goes for 98 rmb. It says two per person, but you really shouldn't need more than that.
www.mesa-manifesto.com
748 julu road (east of fumin rd), shanghai china 200040
(86) 21 6289 9108
Drinks were very fun, great crowd inside with pop-music dancing and outdoors.
The Thailander was interesting Absolut Peppar drink with a huge kick. It was good for one drink, not for the night.
Muombie is a ridiculous (secret) concoction of alcohol and some kind of Malibu rum or coconut juice that goes for 98 rmb. It says two per person, but you really shouldn't need more than that.
www.mesa-manifesto.com
748 julu road (east of fumin rd), shanghai china 200040
(86) 21 6289 9108
Kathleen's 5
On the 5th floor of the Shanghai Art Museum across the street from the JW Marriott, Kathleen's 5 is a lovely space with good western cuisine for reasonable price. Went for a lunch on pleasant Friday afternoon, and sat outside on their covered patio.They have a two course or three course prix fixe menu for lunch. I had the Caesar salad and split main -- sea bass and swordfish (I think I liked sea bass with potatoes better). Their site of potatoes was crispy fried and salty (which I guess can make even cardboard taste good...) and it came with a good aioli.
www.kathleens5.com
325 Nanjing Xi Lu, Shanghai 200003
6327 2221
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Samy's Curry House
Samy's is my favoriate Indian food in the world. I have only been to Bangalore for one week so perhaps I need another India visit to try more food, but Samy's is damn good.Samy's is located on Dempsey Road way on the end of one of the forks at Block 25. I have sat at their covered outdoor tables each time I go (more of a sidewalk) though alot of room inside as well.
Since I typically don't know the names of anything, I go inside first and point at all of the dishes that I want. Typically I get the dried mutton, mas
ala chicken, and sometimes fish (they have fish head curry, yummmm) and then ask for some naan. They lay a banana leaf on the table in front of you, spoon a huge mountain of biryani rice, the yummy chips that I don't know the name of, and then the food comes. I also like the lime juice, it's a bit sweet but so good in the Singapore heat eating Indian food.http://www.samyscurry.com/
Friday, July 18, 2008
Tomales Bay Oyster Company
July 2008
Picnic with Take, Carolyn and James
Wonderful trip to Tomales Bay up Route 1 about an hour north of San Francisco. There is a parking lot, picnic tables and a counter to buy oysters, but you can make a fantastic day of it if you bring up the right stuff. Mainly several bottles of champagne and white wine (we brought 5 and ended up taking a trip to get a few more), tons of picnic food, and good company.
Bring shucking tools if you have them (gloves and knife), though they will sell them to you for $15.
The oysters come by dozen in different sizes. To be honest, the "large" oysters were a bit too much. We settled on the medium size ones, and then the special which was these "doubles", two of them stuck together. I think like $10-$15 per dozen, great deal.
I love raw oysters (bring cocktail sauce, highly recommend lots of horseradish and lem
on), but they do have little grills that you can use, if you bring your own charcoal and brickettes. Some other tables were kind enough to let us use theirs and the grilled oysters are pretty phenomenal.
They don't take reservations, so go early, particularly on nice weekend days in the summer. Closes at 5pm, and they will kick you out, so make sure someone can drive home by then.
http://www.tomalesbayoysters.com/
15479 Highway 1, Marshall, CA 94940
(415) 663-1242
Picnic with Take, Carolyn and James
Wonderful trip to Tomales Bay up Route 1 about an hour north of San Francisco. There is a parking lot, picnic tables and a counter to buy oysters, but you can make a fantastic day of it if you bring up the right stuff. Mainly several bottles of champagne and white wine (we brought 5 and ended up taking a trip to get a few more), tons of picnic food, and good company.
Bring shucking tools if you have them (gloves and knife), though they will sell them to you for $15.
The oysters come by dozen in different sizes. To be honest, the "large" oysters were a bit too much. We settled on the medium size ones, and then the special which was these "doubles", two of them stuck together. I think like $10-$15 per dozen, great deal.
I love raw oysters (bring cocktail sauce, highly recommend lots of horseradish and lem
on), but they do have little grills that you can use, if you bring your own charcoal and brickettes. Some other tables were kind enough to let us use theirs and the grilled oysters are pretty phenomenal.They don't take reservations, so go early, particularly on nice weekend days in the summer. Closes at 5pm, and they will kick you out, so make sure someone can drive home by then.
http://www.tomalesbayoysters.com/
15479 Highway 1, Marshall, CA 94940
(415) 663-1242
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Cafe Bastille
Dinner
June 2008
We discovered Belden Lane because it was a block from our hotel and we were famished. Alley is stuffed with tourists at evening time, though I think Plouf and B44 are supposed to be good. Cafe Bastille was the first place that could take a group of five, and we sat downstairs. Not going to lie, we were hungry and cranky, but the service was very slow, food mediocre, and atmosphere downstairs not great. I liked their occassional live music and might be fun (though tight) outdoors.
22 Belden Place, San Francisco, CA 94104
(415) 986-5673
June 2008
We discovered Belden Lane because it was a block from our hotel and we were famished. Alley is stuffed with tourists at evening time, though I think Plouf and B44 are supposed to be good. Cafe Bastille was the first place that could take a group of five, and we sat downstairs. Not going to lie, we were hungry and cranky, but the service was very slow, food mediocre, and atmosphere downstairs not great. I liked their occassional live music and might be fun (though tight) outdoors.
22 Belden Place, San Francisco, CA 94104
(415) 986-5673
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Manta
April 2008Dinner with Tristen
Manta is on the Woolloomooloo wharf, good seafood with fresh local fare and great wine. Had the pleasure to try the Leeuwin Estate "Art Series" 2006 Chardonnay. Had a great frito misto with john dorry, calamari, and prawns, and a yellow-belly flounder special.
02 9332 3822
Cafe Sydney
April 2008Dinner with Tristen
Cafe Sydney is a lovely place in Circular Quay with a patio that overlooks both the Harbor Bridge and Opera House. Food was wonderful, as was the flight of white Australian wines. Had "bugs", which were super oversized crustaceans, and a lamb rack.
Fifth Floor, Customs House, 31 Alfred St, Sydney, Australia
9251-8683
Hog Island Oyster Company
March 2008Picnic with Eric, Sandy and Shane
Amazing place -- reserve a picnic table, bring wine and food, and shuck your own oysters! They provide grills for the oysters and smaller food items. Oysters are very reasonable, I think we had four dozen for $50.
Make a reservation, they fill up at least a week in advance! Information at http://www.hogislandoysters.com/
Amazing place -- reserve a picnic table, bring wine and food, and shuck your own oysters! They provide grills for the oysters and smaller food items. Oysters are very reasonable, I think we had four dozen for $50.
Make a reservation, they fill up at least a week in advance! Information at http://www.hogislandoysters.com/
(415) 663-9218
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Judy's Cafe
December 2007
Brunch with GSBers
Judy's is a popular Marina brunch spot that always has lines in front of it on weekend mornings. We waited over half an hour to get a table for 7 (worked out well since most of the party was late). There is outside seating, and then two floors upstairs, but still pretty cramped. The food was good, though not phenomenal -- we were wondering what all of those long waits were for. Bechelli's two blocks down is about the same food for less wait and money I think.
2268 Chestnut Street (between Scott and Pierce), San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 922-4588
Brunch with GSBers
Judy's is a popular Marina brunch spot that always has lines in front of it on weekend mornings. We waited over half an hour to get a table for 7 (worked out well since most of the party was late). There is outside seating, and then two floors upstairs, but still pretty cramped. The food was good, though not phenomenal -- we were wondering what all of those long waits were for. Bechelli's two blocks down is about the same food for less wait and money I think.
2268 Chestnut Street (between Scott and Pierce), San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 922-4588
Thursday, July 19, 2007
El Giraldillo
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Dinner with Lowell
El Giraldillo has the prime real estate on Plaza del Triunfo facing Sevilla's beautiful Catedral. It seems totally touristy (and is) but it was worth splurging one night for a romantic last dinner in Andalucia.
The menu is traditional Andalucian, and they have English also. We had a huge selection of Iberian ham for starters and vino de la casa. My sole was ok, but Lowell didn't stop talking about his shoulder of lamb for the rest of the trip--I think it was his favorite dish of the trip.
El Giraldillo is pricey, was about €100 and we discovered on the bill that they up the prices when you sit outside. But it was a beautiful night and we dallied at our table as long as we could.
Plaza Virgen de los Reyes, 2, Barrio de Santa Cruz, Sevilla, Spain 41004
+34-95-421-45-25
Dinner with Lowell
El Giraldillo has the prime real estate on Plaza del Triunfo facing Sevilla's beautiful Catedral. It seems totally touristy (and is) but it was worth splurging one night for a romantic last dinner in Andalucia.
The menu is traditional Andalucian, and they have English also. We had a huge selection of Iberian ham for starters and vino de la casa. My sole was ok, but Lowell didn't stop talking about his shoulder of lamb for the rest of the trip--I think it was his favorite dish of the trip.
El Giraldillo is pricey, was about €100 and we discovered on the bill that they up the prices when you sit outside. But it was a beautiful night and we dallied at our table as long as we could.
Plaza Virgen de los Reyes, 2, Barrio de Santa Cruz, Sevilla, Spain 41004
+34-95-421-45-25
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Angele Restaurant & Bar
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Napa with my family
Angele is a great Napa restaurant in downtown by the water. They have an amazing French menu (see site) and a nice outdoor patio to enjoy a sumptuous dinner after a long day of winetasting.
The French onion soup was good as was the gazpacho. I had a housemade fettucine with spring vegetables, which was pleasantly light. Aggressively had the macaroni gratin also that put me over normal eating volumes I think. Very good though. The lamb in my dad's stew was incredibly soft, just melted.
Angele has a corkage fee of $20, which they will waive with each bottle of theirs that you buy. Totally worth opening one of your own from the day I think.
540 Main Street, Napa, CA 94559
(707) 252-8115
Napa with my family
Angele is a great Napa restaurant in downtown by the water. They have an amazing French menu (see site) and a nice outdoor patio to enjoy a sumptuous dinner after a long day of winetasting.
The French onion soup was good as was the gazpacho. I had a housemade fettucine with spring vegetables, which was pleasantly light. Aggressively had the macaroni gratin also that put me over normal eating volumes I think. Very good though. The lamb in my dad's stew was incredibly soft, just melted.Angele has a corkage fee of $20, which they will waive with each bottle of theirs that you buy. Totally worth opening one of your own from the day I think.
540 Main Street, Napa, CA 94559
(707) 252-8115
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Pier 23 Cafe
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Drinks for Raf and Jenny
Lowell and I stopped by at Pier 23 for a beer with Raf and Jenny who get married tomorrow. I thought it was just a bar from my GSB pre-term scavenger hunt experience, but it turns out there is outdoor seating in the back and a pretty good bar menu. About $5 beers, and they have Blue Moon on tap, yum.
Pier 23 on the Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 362-5125
Drinks for Raf and Jenny
Lowell and I stopped by at Pier 23 for a beer with Raf and Jenny who get married tomorrow. I thought it was just a bar from my GSB pre-term scavenger hunt experience, but it turns out there is outdoor seating in the back and a pretty good bar menu. About $5 beers, and they have Blue Moon on tap, yum.
Pier 23 on the Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 362-5125
The Counter
Friday, May 25, 2007
Lunch with Masashi
The Counter is one of my favorite casual eats in Palo Alto, and my favorite burger place out here along with In-n-Out. They are a "custom burger" joint, where you get to build your own burger from a 5-step menu where you check the kind of meat, how much of it (1/3 lb is the smallest and still pretty hefty), up to four toppings, sauce, and bun. You can specify how your meat is cooked too.
I go for the "burger in a bowl," another option on the checklist. Shown in the picture, it is basically a open-faced burger on top of a salad. The one here is 1/3 lb beef, medium rare, on greens with black bean and corn salsa, grilled onions, jalapenos, guacamole, and southwest caesar dressing. The guac is a +$1 topping so this is $8.99.
Also a must-have is their fries (regular and sweet potato) and onion strings. I happen to not eat fries, but my friends rave about them. The onion strings are amazing, super light and yummy. If you can't decide between the great options, you can get a "fifty-fifty" (shown left) with two of them. Comes with BBQ sauce, ranch and southwest caesar sauce.
Per their site-- "Anti-Established in 2003, The Counter® is the 21st century’s bold answer to the classic burger joint. " Started in Santa Monica, the feel of the place is southern California diner-ish. They have another one open in San Jose, and it looks like there are plans for a ton more, which I am looking forward to!
369 California Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 321-3900
Lunch with Masashi
The Counter is one of my favorite casual eats in Palo Alto, and my favorite burger place out here along with In-n-Out. They are a "custom burger" joint, where you get to build your own burger from a 5-step menu where you check the kind of meat, how much of it (1/3 lb is the smallest and still pretty hefty), up to four toppings, sauce, and bun. You can specify how your meat is cooked too.
I go for the "burger in a bowl," another option on the checklist. Shown in the picture, it is basically a open-faced burger on top of a salad. The one here is 1/3 lb beef, medium rare, on greens with black bean and corn salsa, grilled onions, jalapenos, guacamole, and southwest caesar dressing. The guac is a +$1 topping so this is $8.99.Also a must-have is their fries (regular and sweet potato) and onion strings. I happen to not eat fries, but my friends rave about them. The onion strings are amazing, super light and yummy. If you can't decide between the great options, you can get a "fifty-fifty" (shown left) with two of them. Comes with BBQ sauce, ranch and southwest caesar sauce.
Per their site-- "Anti-Established in 2003, The Counter® is the 21st century’s bold answer to the classic burger joint. " Started in Santa Monica, the feel of the place is southern California diner-ish. They have another one open in San Jose, and it looks like there are plans for a ton more, which I am looking forward to!
369 California Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 321-3900
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Three Seasons
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Dinner with Tayo
Three Seasons is a trendy Vietnamese place tucked in between Bryant and Ramona off of University Ave. There is outdoor seating and a nice bar, as well as tables upstairs that overlook the bar area.
The food is on the more expensive side, but very good. They have a huge selection of fresh spring rolls and satays to start. We had the Summer Rolls, with Dungeness crab, avocado, cucumber and a ginger soy dipping sauce, quite good. It was cut up into six pieces (probably two bites per piece, so decent size). Their menu also has small and large plates -- we had the Happy Buns, which were four small buns with Peking Duck, cucmber and hoisin sauce, really good.
We were probably aggressive with dinner and got the "Shaking Beef", catfish, and rice. The Shaking Beef is cubes of sauteed (I think) beef with green onions and pepper on a bed of watercress. Catfish comes in a clay pot and is deeply marinated. It's good but pretty strong tasting, I needed some rice with that. Loved the Shaking Beef. Didn't finish it all though. Two appetizers and two large plates with rice was too much.
Three Seasons has a pretty extensive drink and wine list also, glasses in $8-$12 range I think. Dessert menu too, didn't have any but they had Inniskillin ice wine on it which is one of my favorites.
Trendier than your average Palo Alto joint, I think this is a nice date or parent spot.
518 Bryant Street, Palo Alto, CA 93401
(650) 838-0358
Dinner with Tayo
Three Seasons is a trendy Vietnamese place tucked in between Bryant and Ramona off of University Ave. There is outdoor seating and a nice bar, as well as tables upstairs that overlook the bar area.
The food is on the more expensive side, but very good. They have a huge selection of fresh spring rolls and satays to start. We had the Summer Rolls, with Dungeness crab, avocado, cucumber and a ginger soy dipping sauce, quite good. It was cut up into six pieces (probably two bites per piece, so decent size). Their menu also has small and large plates -- we had the Happy Buns, which were four small buns with Peking Duck, cucmber and hoisin sauce, really good.
We were probably aggressive with dinner and got the "Shaking Beef", catfish, and rice. The Shaking Beef is cubes of sauteed (I think) beef with green onions and pepper on a bed of watercress. Catfish comes in a clay pot and is deeply marinated. It's good but pretty strong tasting, I needed some rice with that. Loved the Shaking Beef. Didn't finish it all though. Two appetizers and two large plates with rice was too much.
Three Seasons has a pretty extensive drink and wine list also, glasses in $8-$12 range I think. Dessert menu too, didn't have any but they had Inniskillin ice wine on it which is one of my favorites.
Trendier than your average Palo Alto joint, I think this is a nice date or parent spot.
518 Bryant Street, Palo Alto, CA 93401
(650) 838-0358
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Caffe Riace
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Dinner with LDP group
So before I start, I will preface my comments with Caffe Riace is a wonderful place to have a lazy lunch on a sunny day. By lazy, I mean service is not fast at all so expect to take your time, but also because Caffe Riace has all outdoor seating and it is wonderful to sit in the sun.
For dinner in Palo Alto though, it gets kind of cold. Especially when there is slow service with everything from ordering to the bill to re-lighting your heat lamp. The last one is important.
Caffe Riace is located right inside the corner of Oregon Expressway and El Camino in the business district. During lunch hour, the parking complex is completely full, as is their patio dining area. The decor is interesting--Romanesque fountains and statues of pontificating naked men all within the inner courtyard of an apartment complex.
The food is pretty good. They have traditional antipasti, I like the melenzane (eggplant) one. Caprese salad and bruschetta are other options. For dinner tonight, I tried to custom order gnocchi with bolognese sauce (gnocchi is on the menu with a different sauce, and the shells with bolognese was a special). It ended up working out, but the waiter tried to push back because they have a small kitchen? I had quite a bit of food envy when Jeff Y and Andrew's seafood linguine came out, it was quite spicy with lots of stuff on top. Sarah also had a great chicken dish.
The antipasti range from $7-$10 and main dishes $15-$25, so we ended up at $35 per person including tax and tip (and without wine).
Overall, Caffe Riace was not that impressive today, though I was happy to spend time with my LDP group again. I recommend going for lunch when you have a lot of time.
200 Sheridan Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 328-0407
Dinner with LDP group
So before I start, I will preface my comments with Caffe Riace is a wonderful place to have a lazy lunch on a sunny day. By lazy, I mean service is not fast at all so expect to take your time, but also because Caffe Riace has all outdoor seating and it is wonderful to sit in the sun.
For dinner in Palo Alto though, it gets kind of cold. Especially when there is slow service with everything from ordering to the bill to re-lighting your heat lamp. The last one is important.
Caffe Riace is located right inside the corner of Oregon Expressway and El Camino in the business district. During lunch hour, the parking complex is completely full, as is their patio dining area. The decor is interesting--Romanesque fountains and statues of pontificating naked men all within the inner courtyard of an apartment complex.
The food is pretty good. They have traditional antipasti, I like the melenzane (eggplant) one. Caprese salad and bruschetta are other options. For dinner tonight, I tried to custom order gnocchi with bolognese sauce (gnocchi is on the menu with a different sauce, and the shells with bolognese was a special). It ended up working out, but the waiter tried to push back because they have a small kitchen? I had quite a bit of food envy when Jeff Y and Andrew's seafood linguine came out, it was quite spicy with lots of stuff on top. Sarah also had a great chicken dish.
The antipasti range from $7-$10 and main dishes $15-$25, so we ended up at $35 per person including tax and tip (and without wine).
Overall, Caffe Riace was not that impressive today, though I was happy to spend time with my LDP group again. I recommend going for lunch when you have a lot of time.
200 Sheridan Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 328-0407
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