I visited Shanghai over the Easter break and had some delicious food (which left me with too many ulcers though it was worth it!) I hope you enjoy the pictures - xiao long bao features a lot ;)
On our first day we decided to check out the famed xiao long bao at 南翔馒头店. Luckily, it was within walking distance from our hotel because I would not have been impressed if I actually made a trek out for these xiao long bao's. They were alright, but not the best I've had and not really worth the wait.
xiao long bao @ 南翔
fried shrimp balls and glutinous rice @ 南翔
giant xiaolongbao @ 南翔
We walked around the old town and then headed over to the former French Concession, which was close to our dinner destination. Along the way, some potarts for a snack :)
portugese egg tart from Lillian's
I'm sure the Macau version is even better but these were pretty damn delicious. Though I don't know if Lillian's cake shop really exists in Macau?
For dinner, we went to Le Shang, a modern Shanghainese restaurant on the outskirts of the French Concession area. It was actually opened by David Laris, a Greek from Australia who's now living in China and owns a number of restaurants in Shanghai. Also, the restaurant seemed to have some affiliation with Dragonfly, the best (at least for Westerners) massage retreat in China.
interior
huge bowl of complimentary white rabbits!
spare ribs @ Le Sheng - delicious!
drunken chicken @ Le Sheng
chilled cucumber @ Le Sheng
old fashioned shanghainese smoked fish @ Le Sheng
stir fried rice cake with wild vegetables and shredded pork @ Le Sheng
xiao long bao @ Le Sheng
mango pancakes @ Le Sheng
more white rabbits to end the meal :)I enjoyed every dish we had, aside from the mango pancake dessert (the pastry was really hard). The drunken chicken had a much more subtle flavour which worked to my benefit as I usually hate the dish with its overwhelming stench of alcohol! The spare ribs were amazing in their sweet sauce, and the Shanghainese smoked fish to die for. I also found myself addicted to the stir fried rice cake. All in all, a very enjoyable meal at decent prices (each dish was under 40RMB and most hovered around the 20RMB mark!)
On the second day, we had lunch at tian zi fang, a bustling area with lots of small boutiques, galleries, and arts and crafts. It kinda reminded me of nanluoguxiang in Beijing. We chose a pseudo-Italian restaurant to eat in as they had a lovely rooftop terrace.
pesto linguini with mixed vegetables
There was nothing special about this dish, and I remember it being really pricey - I think close to 120RMB! I guess you don't really come to this area for fine dining :P
froyo time!
Shanghai's froyo's just don't match up to HK standards! The yoghurt tasted a bit off and the consistency was way too thick and creamy.
Second day dinner involved more xiaolongbao's of course!
hard at work
making vegetarian ones
veggies!
ready to be steamed and eaten by me :)
On our final day, we headed out to the Waterhouse at South Bund, a small boutique hotel which used to be a Japanese army headquarters during WWII. The architects kept the concrete facade and exposed brick but completely renovated the interior into nineteen beautifully modern and minimalist rooms. I loved it!
the waterhouse
We snagged a table at Table One for Easter brunch - three courses for 178 RMB.
apparently they have an affiliated restaurant in Singapore!
bread basket - the spreads were delicious (pesto, tuna fish & cheese, and butter)
appetizer - asparagus veloute with sea bass fritter
appetizer - BBQ mackerel with toast, salted cucumber, and horseradish
main - roast young lemon chicken with carrots, golden raisins, and almond salad
main - roast pork tenderloin with red onion tart and roasted beetroots
main - risotto of lettuce, spring onion and poached egg
dessert - lemon and lime pavlova
ice cream and sorbets (chocolate, grapefruit and vanilla)
complimentary hot cross buns for easter!
This was an amazing meal from start to finish. My asparagus veloute was soo creamy and smooth, but that sea bass fritter stole the show! The pork tenderloins rivaled the ones I've raved about at Bloom in HK, and I loved the red onion tart which was just the right amount of sweetness. Ice cream was nothing special, but I liked how they gave you chocolate and strawberry sauces for dipping!
today's snack of vitamin water after a satisfying lunch - only 5RMB in Shanghai???
Our last meal was in xin tian di. Not much to eat around there so we ducked into one of the few Chinese restaurants which didn't have a queue.
can't get enough of the Shanghainese smoked fish
creamy creamy prawns
pigeon - not as good as HK
some much needed veggies
All in all, I had some pretty fantastic food and can't wait to be back to try the twenty odd restaurants that we didn't manage to hit up this time!
