I love to eat and I love to share. Search entries by city, cuisine, and other things like 'cheap eats,' 'brunch', etc. I hope this will be useful for others to find good eateries :)
Check out http://aki-eats.yelp.com for US-based food
Cool Sichuan restaurant run by the same people as Citizen Cafe. Pretty foreigner-friendly and had more ex-pats than Chinese, but yummy food, interesting drinks and fun atmosphere.
Four of us had pan fried green peppers, tofu, string beans, chicken, fried pork, and rice, with a few drinks and came out to about 50 rmb per person.
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.
Sim's is a fabulous hostel in Chengdu, but that's now why I'm including it in the 'Eats' blog. Lonely Planet had suggested them as one of the places that offer Sichuan cooking lessons, and we had an awesome time and some delicious food.
We called Sim's the day before -- they wanted us to show up in person to make the booking. The cooking lessons are pretty informal, depending on the chef's schedule along with availability by one of the bartenders to translate. Sim's is a bit out of the way on the northern end of the city, but we had a few beers and walked to ChongQing QinMa Hotpot close by
The next day we returned to Sim's at 7pm for our lesson. Our interpreter (aka bartender) was a Shanghainese who had come out 4 months ago to help out at Sim's. Bob (or Bao) took us to the roof deck (6 or 7th floor) that had a small nook with a small kitchen, where our chef instructor was waiting with our ingredients and equipment ready to go.
We chose three dishes - Kung Pao Chicken 宫保鸡丁, Fish Flavored Eggplant 魚香茄子, and Ma Po Tofu 麻婆豆腐
We spent the first part of the class chopping and preparing the chicken (cubed), cucumber (halved and thirded, then seeds sliced off, rest cubed), eggplant (quartered lengthwise then peeled with the cleaver), and tofu (cubed). We also learned to make decorative flowers from pink pickled daikon slices and toothpicks.
Then onto the cooking. It's all about the spices -- minced garlic, ginger, Sichuan peppers (ground and whole), red pepper (ground, whole, and wet), scallion, MSG (yes, MSG), salt, chicken stock, soy sauce, vinegar, and starch, and then oil and water. I figured the blend of spices and sauces, the order, and timing of the cooking was going to be impossible to remember... so it's all on video...
A chain of hole-in-the-wall local eateries in Chengdu and rest of China, Long Chao-shou was yummy albeit confusing for the two of us who didn't quite read or speak Chinese that well. Tan Tan Mien is the staple Sichuan order for me (or it happens to be the one thing that I can read ona menu), some sort of rou mien (meat noodles) that Ryota could order, and we pointed to a few others. Tan Tan Mien was the best here for sure.
We ordered the foreigner-friendly split hot pot, with a non-spicy broth in the middle, though we did end up deciding that the spicy broth was much better. Then we chose several meats and vegetables for the pot. They gave us small bowls filled with sesame oil into which we put spoonfuls of minced garlic and chopped cilantro.
The cooking is much like shabu-shabu. You dip the meat/veggie into the boiling broth for a set time (1-5 min depending on what it is). But then you dip the fiery hot item into the sesame oil, and yummmm...
Seems to be THE famous Ma Po Tofu place in Chengdu, as all hotels and guidebooks will recommend. It's the oldest restaurant in Chengdu serving the local specialty, and it is fiery and delicious.
We walked in for lunch. One order of their mapo tofu, one order of greens, and rice and tea was the perfect amount.
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.
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 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 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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Great yakitori place that we found on Guru-navi in Shinjuku. They have several restaurants in Tokyo, and on the larger end of a yakitori place.
Started with some 'premier' draft beers and appetizers like sesame dressing salad, chicken karaage (Japanese fried chicken), tomato salad, and chicken yukke (sashimi). We ordered a ridiculous amount of yakitori. I think the most popular were the asparagus wrapped in pork, the amazing steaks with wasabi sauce, and the tebasaki (wings). Vegetables are quite good. I've had better tsukune (chicken meatballs). I love sunagimo (gizzards).
Hint: no more than eight to ten skewers per person, and remember orders come in pairs.
English menus with a few staff that speak if needed .
http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g041700/ Few minutes walk from JR Shinjuku station or Marunouchi line Shinjuku-sanchome station
This is my aunt's family's 'go-to' yakitori place in Akabane, and it is fabulous. Never been disappointed and have been there many times over the years.
Cool Sichuan restaurant run by the same people as Citizen Cafe. Pretty foreigner-friendly and had more ex-pats than Chinese, but yummy food, interesting drinks and fun atmosphere.
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.
Sim's is a fabulous hostel in Chengdu, but that's now why I'm including it in the 'Eats' blog. Lonely Planet had suggested them as one of the places that offer Sichuan cooking lessons, and we had an awesome time and some delicious food.
flowers from pink pickled daikon slices and toothpicks.
May 2010
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.
Great filling lunch at Zen, a chain with good Shanghainese and other food at Raffles Plaza.
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.
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.
Clubbing in Shanghai. Fun stuff. 17 meters long shark tank.
nically, 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).
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.
