The restaurant is pristinely presented. Occupying one half of a spacious mansion conversion, it feels earthy-contemporary with pared back surfaces, high ceilings and dark wood everywhere. Handed a plate of warm, homemade rye bread by a well spoken waiter, we could be in the trendy quarter of any city in the world.

The menu doesn’t give away anything either. One sheet of paper with a handful of options for each course is just the way we like it. Vaguely modern-French, it looks to have the customarily satisfying collection of plants, meat and fish.

But here starts La Poste’s demise. From the one-too-many creamy cohorts in the salmon and avocado tartare (RMB78) to the confusing and conflicting combination of crab and fish and sausage in the crepinette (RMB78), there is a disconnect between overlapping flavors. It continues with a weak slab of pork belly (RMB170) alongside a piercing and dominating side of mushroom gratin (RMB45). More satisfying is a rarely offered trio of deliciously succulent swordfish fillets (RMB160). Shame they’re on a rich and too-salty leek fondue reduction.

Tucking into a frankly tremendous strawberry meringue (RMB50), we could almost put our disappointment down to expectations. With this inviting, low-lit, casual restaurant, we’re yearning for gastro alignment: bring the food down a notch or two on the try-hard fanciful scale.

With La Strada across the corridor and Wagas around every corner, perhaps the Wagas group have pushed a little too far in a bid to escape their current mainstream orbit.

Where: 225 Xikang Lu 西康路225号
Tel: 6266-8789

This is from my article in Cityweekend – see the whole listing here.

Nestled alongside the throng of oversized Häagen Dazs and Paulaner outlets, the restaurant offers expensive seafood in a killer setting. However, being on the Huangpu’s riverside promenade opposite the iconic Bund skyline means that everybody wants a slice of the action. The result is that the effort put into elegant décor and feeling of exclusivity is diluted in being surrounded by blasé drinkers and photograph takers.

Which would be fine were it not for To the Sea’s high-end pricing. The restaurant offers probably Shanghai’s most comprehensive Mediterranean seafood menu with cold platters to share from RMB538 and three courses of seafood and meat options. Wines start at RMB60 a glass from a long menu.

A plate of miniature codfish cakes with tomato coulis (RMB88) and a delicate bowl of mussels and clam salad (RMB98) both set the tone for what is adequately well prepared food, presented nicely, though consumed in seconds.

Hoping for a more impactful seafood experience, we chose the halibut fillet (RMB158), an uncommon offering around town. Served in a confit of mint peas and tomato, it cleverly delivered the delicate fish alongside crisp flavors with a slice of firm Iberian ham, bringing seasoning with texture. But a plate of grilled octopus with mashed potatoes (RMB158) was far less rewarding. Large pieces of fleshy meat have somehow lost their tenderness and flavor against an odd combination of smooth potato, bitter olives and strong garlic tones.

Where: Unit A, 2967 Lujiazui Xi Lu 陆家嘴西路2967号滨江大道北滨江A座,
Tel: 5878-6326

This is from my article in Cityweekend – see the whole listing here.

When they do, M’s Teppayaki will be waiting like it has been for all these years. The restaurant is so old there’s nobody left who knows who M is… but they do know that in their small dining room is served a Fusion of French and Teppanyaki using some seriously high end produce.

I was lucky enough to be invited to a daytime tasting of their evening menu. On paper it is a superfecta of caviar, foie gras, king crab and wagyu beef.. and a healthy ¥798. They knew I was coming so I must admit to being slightly biassed. Our Chef definitely slipped me all the choice cuts with a wink. Or perhaps I’m just too handsome.

with a backdrop of river traffic and chrysalis-like residential compounds forming in the background, we are led through the ritual of table-sized hot plate teppanyaki preparation one dish at a time. The distinction between M’s and many other places in town is the raw-ness of the ingredients. There aren’t lashing of MSG or salt or sauce or garlic being applied to every course. Instead the produce is left to speak for itself – something my simpleton european palate can appreciate.

This is admittedly at heart a Chinese ownership restaurant and as such the finest dishes must come with a story. The three lands represented in their Egg Souffle are realised through an infusion of Foie Gras topped with caviar.

Showing 15 years of Teppanyaki experience our Chef cooks, fillets and season the ‘South Pole Ice Fish’ entirely with her blades. It is a work of deft beauty. Then she cooks the spine and serves it in the mouth of the fish. Oh boy.

Fortunately the king crabs legs face no such humiliation. They are plainly cooked to perfect succulence before we gouge out their flesh like barbarians. Delicious, but not perfect.

Alongside fig, pear and grilled apple the sautéed foie gras was the highlight of the meal. Considerately plated it demonstrates M’s comfort in the franco-teppan realm.

After all that had preceded, the Wagyu beef could have been cooked in the microwave to make us happy. Watching it aggressively sizzle on the hot-plate as all the marbled goodness ensures an even tenderness and texture was all the more satisfying.

M’s is a curious venue in the wrong part of town above the surely copyright-infringing Oscar nightclub. It’s a little dated and a little forced in areas. That said, it’s my tip for the highlife when the Cool Docks Riverside finds its footing and basks in glory.

Set in an impressively renovated space, their tasteful split-level dining room offers modern Italian cuisine at a price. Following a loosely five-course arrangement (the final being an extensive cheese selection), Pistacchio’s menu expresses a message of specialism. Cold cuts come from their curing station, desserts from the pastry room and the wines from their extensive and considered list (bottles from ¥340).

The real excitement comes in the form of their hand-made pasta. Roughly hewn ribbons of pappardelle with a fresh cherry tomato and mozzarella sauce (¥88) blow most of Shanghai’s Italian restaurants out of the water and make it a contender for best-in-town in this category.

But the pricing of some dishes indicate that rent must be paid somehow. Almost too thin but admittedly delicious are slices of sirloin in a caper and rocket dressed Beef Affettato (¥86) and an apparition of delicate baby spinach leaves with San Danielle prosciutto (¥108). This theme is similarly reflected in the mains, when a sliver of New Zealand king salmon appears alongside a weak mound of ratatouille (¥188). Better is a unique beef rossini (¥188), a succulent tournedo of tenderloin with foie gras, a red wine reduction and mashed potatoes.

Breaking into a tremendously doughy and piping hot soufflé (¥68) for our last course, we hope Pistacchio doesn’t soon deflate with quite as much spectacular drama.

On full display on the corner of Wukang, Pistacchio will be under a keen eye. After a few kinks in portion size and service are ironed out, we’re sure it can rise to the occasion.

Where: 378 Wukang Lu 武康路376号
Tel: 5410-9852

This is from my article in Cityweekend – see the whole listing here.

Their bowls of pho (¥28 small, ¥35 large) are not going to blow anybody’s socks off but at this price they’re an honest offering of silken rice noodles in a tasty broth charged with slices of beef. This, amidst a sea of fried fast food and ice-cream, feels like a welcome departure from the surrounding shopper’s paradise.

Elsewhere on the large menu we are at the mercy of chance. Fried cha gio spring rolls (¥20) and barbecue shrimp with sugar cane (¥48) are both all present in constitution but lacking in flavor. A papaya shrimp salad (¥26) is much tastier, combining the clean and crisp flavors of carrot, spring onion, cucumber and papaya with fresh coriander and mint tossed in a light fish sauce. For more punch, a fiery bowl of pork in soup noodles (bun bo hue, ¥34) has enough heat to satiate any spice-lover’s palate.

The result is a feeling of modest satisfaction. When Tianzifang feels too far away or the wallet has taken a beating, wander round in circles down on SML’s B2 level and hit Pho House.

Where: Rm. B-19, B2/F, SML Plaza, 618 Xujiahui Lu
Tel: 6152-1187

This is from my review in CityWeekend, check the full article here.

CHAR | The Bund
Char’s lofty dining room is dark, sultry and luxurious and a perfect setting to savor the high-cuisine delights of expertly prepared lobster bisque. Chef Vincent Song perhaps matches the stock to the restaurant’s atmosphere; roasted saffron and fennel are added to the stock to give a deep and unsweetened flavor. It’s poured piping hot from a traditional clay Chinese teapot over a lobster, scallop and mussel ensemble. It comes together as a beautifully intense burnished-orange soup, and there’s even a spare portion kept warm in the pot.

The MEET | Century Park
Executive chef Tobais Unger attributes the focused flavor of The MEET’s bisque to the hours (sometimes days) that go into making their lobster stock. It’s an intricate process that involves 30kg of baked shells being simmered alongside onions, leek and carrots, which are re-boiled, adding ice cubes, over a series of cycles and then flambéed with cognac. The real fun happens when cream and cold butter are slowly blended into the stock, releasing the seafood’s intensity and matching it with lavishly velvety textures. Served over chunks of lobster tail in a soup bowl, the bisque is a wonderfully complex and weighty affair.

VUE Restaurant | The Bund
There’s little that compares to VUE’s awe inspiring vista over the Huangpu or their comfortable open-plan (yet private) dining concept. However, a table-side prepared bowl of bisque does both absolute justice. Is there anything more indulgent than a pristinely uniformed chef stirring stock and cream together in a glistening copper Mauviel saucepan? Any fence-sitters will be converted when the bisque is poured at the table into a pre-warmed bowl. The aromas are unlocked in real-time and are pure heaven.

Jojo’s good stuff comes in the form of shaved slices of doner chicken tossed in shredded salad, smothered in garlic sauce and wrapped in toasted flatbread. They’re fresh, juicy, delicious and almost worthy of the time it takes to prepare them.

They offer two sizes (¥25/35) and the sauce options are piquant or fiery. For a few extra yuan there’s the chicken ‘bom’ option (¥28/40) with upsized meat. Take it with the RMB10 upgrade for a can of pop and a small bowl of salad or mashed potatoes and you’re up to ¥50 for a meal set. Which is not particularly cheap or volumetrically impressive, but that’s the price you pay in Shanghai for a relaxed bite in a good setting. A selection of RMB25 imported beers and RMB35 mixed drinks makes up a little and perhaps lends enough incentive to order a second kebab.

Steer clear of the menu’s other options though. A prawn pilaf (¥28) is a microwave disappointment and the salads are lackluster and overdressed. Our advice? Bring a chilled group and treat Jojo’s like a bar with one great snack on-hand and you’ll be in for a good time.

Where: 1321 Yuyuan Lu 愚园路1321号
tel: 6215-2770

This is from my review in CityWeekend, check the full article here.

Tai Lake is a huge, almost superlatively huge with the promise of lazy islands, expanses of water and country life, despite a surrounding population of 30 million people. With Mission Workshop and John Prolly in town on our Yangtze Delta tour, we continued the trip over from Suzhou, having rolled there from Shanghai a couple days before.

The approach from Suzhou is 40km of straight, suburban roads and towering malls. Light industry kicks in before reaching the lake and becomes almost steampunk wild-west through a barren and dusty town. We popped out onto the water’s edge next to a huge, static waterwheel.

Along the side of the lake and things take a turn for the better. We slipped around to the shoulder-less and slightly hairy bridges and burst onto the XiShan island with a wild huger.

After rolling the island’s mostly flat circumference, we hit gold and thanks to a very well-connected member of the group managed to get up the normally foot-traffic-only Xishan Mountain for some wonderful views across the water and empty rolling twists through the tea groves.

Here’s the route we took from Suzhou, around XiShan island and off to our Resort hotel for a much needed dip in the hot springs.

In recent times, what was a half-day journey on the commuter train has become a stop or two on the Shinkansen-esque Gaotie (high speed rail). In the case of Suzhou it’s barely an hour’s journey away… plus the hour on either side getting to and from the train station.

Which is why we always talk about riding it. 100km across some of the world’s flattest terrain between some of the world’s fastest developing infrastructure. With Mission Workshop and John Prolly in town we donned face-masks and struck out west to see if the roads actually lined up.

They do! almost. Here’s the route we took on strava.

Head north up to Wuning road and bear west as it turns into the Cao’an Highway. This is one of my favorite roads; fast, wide, smooth with enough room in the bike line for salmon-scooters and wayward trucks.

At Anting, do a dance with the checkpoints and motorway intersections and transpose south to the Baishi highway, from here it’s a straight shot west to Suzhou. There’ll be a resemblance of agriculture, roadworks for sure and you’ll have a tailwind.

It’s not a beautiful landscape. This is a zone of medium and heavy industry spaced between strip-malls and garbage dumps. On the approach to Suzhou the road becomes particularly gnarly with a new highway, metro line and chain of high-rises being envisioned in parallel.

But then, passing over the origins of the Suzhou Creek and through the outskirts of Suzhou and the Jinji Lake shimmers like a green carpet to say you’ve made it. Across the shore stands the new city’s new office development and the gateway to the east – aptly named ‘big pants’.

We’ve not quite made it yet though. Virtually anywhere actually worth going to in Suzhou is 10km from here further west. As the traffic and mayhem gradually builds, you’ll come to realize that this city is a Shanghai home from home… with it’s damn good snacks.

This, of course, isn’t beans on toast. It is a simple but no-expense-spared menu, covering a dozen plates spanning a glamorously continental list of meat, fish and vegetables. Seasonally they present a ¥480 four-course set menu. Otherwise, expect to pay ¥1,000-plus before drinks.

For this price you’re presented with high eminence, pristinely presented food. Each dish is brought in as its elements and prepared at one of the spotless kitchens alongside diners. The experience feels like private dining as our chef intently concocts an explosively flavored Boston lobster bisque (¥160) and al-dente Champagne, Parmesan and truffle risotto (¥165).

Mains maintain the euphoria. A succulent fillet of Macadamia-crusted cod in an orange butter and fennel chips (¥280) is all but perfect, complementing clean fish with a refreshing sauce. Steaks are priced to the heavens and approaching there in flavor. A 300g prime rib (¥340), served with a curious puff of bread, is all about the meat, and with a side of rösti (¥50) and béarnaise sauce becomes a perhaps not-rewarding but certainly sumptuous affair.

It’s expensive, but VUE offers top-notch cuisine in a superlative setting.

30/F, West Tower, Hyatt on the Bund, 199 Huangpu Lu 黄浦路199号外滩茂悦大酒店西楼30层
tel: 6393-1234

Here’s the route on strava, or google maps.

It’s a long, straight shot to Jiading. Ride up to Wuning and follow it left as it branches under the motorway and turns into the Cao’an Highway. This is one of Shanghai’s big artery roads which starts full of traffic and gets quieter the further you go. It’s flanked by a generous bike lane, smooth and mostly congestion-free.

Before the big Anting bridge, turn right onto Jiasong North Road and a few kilometres up on the right hand side will be a sign for the circuit.

There’s plenty of parking around the Metro station and today there were loads of people milling around. I’d perhaps have felt safer leaving the F5-Seeker with one of the nearby hotels.

Practice was a good chance to pick out a good seat for the race. We walked the entire circuit and aside from the usual grandstand, it would be a hard pick between a corner on the last straight or the first corner. There are grass sections flanking both so if you’re hoping to drop-on something on the day, aim for one of those.

Open plan, Azul’s dining area is more lounge than restaurant. Well-spoken wait staff circle around casually topping up waters and remembering orders without jotting anything down.

It’s with this air of confidence that we almost wildly pointed at items on the menu. It’s similar to Vargas’s other Azul location, European-with-a-LatAm-twist. There’s a sprinkling of tapas, a few sandwiches and a selection of mains all at mostly reasonable prices … for a swanky mall.

A seared tuna and potato salad (RMB75) is crusted in a fiercely peppery sauce though balanced by a citrus dressing over crisp, fresh leaves. Spicy too was a plate of pork ribs (RMB55). Soaked in an almost dominating infusion of chilli sauce, it packed a stealthy punch. If you’re looking for something hot, you’ve struck gold.

On a more even keel for the casual atmosphere was a superbly juicy and feature-packed avocado and BLT burger (RMB85). Centered around Wagyu, the king of patties, it was everything we hoped for, though they’re still playing with its sizing. Similarly pleasant and flavoursome was a Sicilian chicken sandwich (RMB45). It’s served on ciabatta, which comprehensively soaks up the piquant dressing.

It’s a clear contender for the business-lunch crowd, and perhaps good if other Western options have become a little bland. The real reason to return here though? Their perfectly blended pisco sour (RMB50). It’s a frothy, tart and downright delicious cocktail celebrating 100 years of Peruvian prestige.

4/F, K11, 300 Huaihai Zhong Lu 淮海中路300号K11艺术购物中心4楼
tel: 5352-0237

This is from my review in CityWeekend – see the full listing here.

Add it to your list if it isn’t on there already. Its name is the Japanese for croquette, and here is a large ball of herbed potato stuffed with a soft boiled egg and lightly fried in breadcrumbs. It’s served in a delicate basket as a solid, ominous sphere. All the action happens when it’s almost ceremoniously broken into to reveal an oozy, mushy, absolutely wonderful combination of potato, egg and Japanese flavor. Most of Kota’s dishes are petite, organized and polished; the korokke goes against all this as a messy combination of different textures. We love it.

2905 Xietu Lu 斜土路2905号
tel: 6481-2005

It’s difficult not to get carried away. Their courtyard is tremendously alluring and sure to be at capacity every balmy evening. Inside is a stylish collection of understated yet beautifully dressed dining rooms. The menu comes wonderfully simple, one page for each of a customary three-course offering. To homesick ears it must read like a serenade: vegetable terrine, duck breast, bouillabaisse, sea bass. They’re all present and vying for attention.

A duck liver pate (RMB48) served with slices of sweet bread and an underrepresentation of chutney snapped proceedings into focus. Thank goodness for the basket of baguette slices to fully support the robust flavors. The scallops au gratin (RMB78) are a more complex affair, however the fleshy meat is lost against a dominating sauce and mushrooms acting as scallop-doppelgangers. Le Bouchon’s are much better.

In French cuisine, appetizers are often the creative star of the show. So for our next course we selected safe, a large but underwhelming rib-eye steak served with a mountain of shoestring fries (RMB190) was evocative but not prime, especially at this price. Similarly mark-missing was their take on chicken pot-pie (RMB155), a slow-cooked crock of chicken in a rich sauce lidded with puff pastry. Alongside a bowl of boiled vegetables it all feels incomplete and needs harmony.

This is the kind of meal that would serve in London or Paris as a quick pre-show meal at a reasonable price. At RMB300-plus a head we were expecting more.

246 Anfu Lu 安福路246号
tel: 6417-9819

This is from my review in CityWeekend – full listing here.

On the night we were there it was RMB88 for all-you-can-eat tacos. They’re served the right way: corn and soft-shell (hard-shell is available too) in half a dozen flavors. Take your pick, though the al pastor and carnitas are the obvious winners with their succulent fillings.

Elsewhere on the gargantuan menu there is enough choice to keep both traditionalists and tourists happy. A loaded shrimp cocktail (RMB55) and mixed green mango salad (RMB30) are both zesty and cleanly refreshing.

Mains come from the same stable of fresh ingredients lit up by piquant Tex-Mex flavors. The fajitas with spicy chicken (RMB118) are a love affair of fresh tortilla, stewed meat and refried beans. A pleasingly large piece of grilled salmon served with orange glazed sweet potatoes and a bell pepper sauce (RMB148) sounds over-concocted but comes together well. The owner’s goal of keeping a rolling menu on which only the best dishes remain is clearly working.

We barely had room for a plate of banana chimichangas with vanilla ice cream (RMB40) but found space in the reserve tank. Alongside 40 flavors of frozen margaritas (RMB50), bottles of Corona (RMB40) and some live music, Mexico Lindo is a step outside of Shanghai into a world of color and flavor and one of our picks for an innocently good time on Hongmei Lu.

No. 39, 3338 Hongmei Lu 虹梅路3338弄39号
Tel: 6465-9336

This is from my review in cityweekend, see the full listing here.

The joys of Minhang and the millions of people that live here will be apparent as you pass mile after mile of junkyards followed by towering malls. People do two things here: make pollution and shop. We’re not in Shanghai to be rolling countryside lanes, we want to get up close and personal with the motorcycle taxis, guys throwing cigarette boxes out of their car windows, kids with awesome hair and policemen driving the wrong way down the road whilst on the phone.

That’s what you’ll get but alas, it’s all over far too soon and before long you’ll see Shanghai’s tallest mountain as a slight bump on the horizon with a satellite dish and a basilica on it. Now we’re near Songjiang, the designated New Town famous for big open streets and Thames Town.

We’re not going there today, but the Botanical Gardens; a couple square miles of nothingness on which some large scale landscaping has been going down. You’ll know you’ve reached this China AAAA rated (their version of Unesco) example of natural beauty when you see a humongous wall of concrete sticking into the ground like a knife into nature. That’s the visitor’s center.

60RMB lighter, head across two or three expanses of concrete paving and you’ll be right up against all the botanical nature. It’s basically a bunch of ornamental lakes surrounded by some pretty brown grass (maybe it’s in season) and a flower bed or two.

Of course, there’s a network of paths just wide enough for either pedestrians or a fleet of electric shuttle buses. In true China nature they honk along in case you’re feeling too peaceful. If you’re not feeling completely lame it’s also possible to simply walk around.

Head to the rear of the park and the star of the show. A disused quarry which has been turned into an attraction. Around the outside runs a wooden walkway which is showing it’s age a little but is impressive nonetheless. It’s actually one of Shanghai’s most impressive attractions – an almost coming together of rock and wood and yeah I like it.

From a vantage point up an honestly steep path you’ll get a great view of the park, the haze and the electric pylons. It’s huge, you’ll need an hour or two to do a lap and soak in the. Here are the highlights… a collection of ‘rare’ plants yet to germinate, a pagoda and a straw bison with a guy riding it whilst playing a flute.

Being english, I love a greenhouse and here they do not disappoint. They’re full of leafy plants, the sounds of the jungle and actually green grass. Bliss.

Turning home, there’s a longer but faster way up and back along the Huqingping highway. You’ll be ready to stretch your legs and follow the scooters down it’s generous bike lines before hitting the Yan’an elevated road and deciding whether to risk it or not!

more photos in the flickr set here.

Like all self-respecting Turkish restaurants, Efes’ cold starters roll out on a hostess trolley to be formally introduced. You’ll probably end up taking one more than necessary; we recommend the rice-stuffed eggplant dolma (RMB68) and the smooth hummus (RMB45), both of which complement a fiery trio of spreads on a chunk of warmed bread. Even more delicious for dipping is a slender lahmacun (RMB45), a thin mince and fresh salad-topped Turkish pizza.

Mains encompass the alluring Turk-Mediterranean spectrum. Plates of grilled mixed kebabs (RMB130) offer juicy chunks of succulent lamb. Spring chickens stuffed with herbed rice (RMB135) bring a cauldron-rich complexity that befits a cuisine as old as the stars. Our own favorite, the sarma beyti (RMB120), provides herbed meat, rolled in lavash flatbread, baked in the oven and served with a mound of sour cream and tomato sauce. It’s everything we were looking for, although not quite on on par with Garlic’s.

Add in a couple of the restaurant’s namesake beers (RMB30) and for a moment we’re not across the Huangpu but over the Bosphorus, looking back at Istanbul’s minarets and twinkling lights. Such moments only come when the food, service and ambiance is just right, and here about does it.

It’s not all magical. Tucked into a quiet corner of a first-mover development off Century Avenue, Efes is waiting for the cranes to drop and an atmosphere to pop up. For now they’ve enough of an offering to pay a visit when in the area.

1/F, Block B, Lujiazui 1885 Culture Center, 665 Shangcheng Lu 商城路665号1885文化广场B座一楼,
Tel: 150-2677-7724

This is from my review in cityweekend, see the full listing here.

This is up there in my absolute favorites, assembled around the F5100 frame it packs a heap of top-shelf goodies into an 8kg build. It’s dark, stealthy, obsidian and that high-gloss smooth-weld finish is pristine.

more info here.

Now that Shanghai has finally transcended the gargantuan five-star hotel brunch buffet, a bunch of tasteful newcomers to the scene are flourishing. Larder is a perfect example, offering a calm, relaxed way to read the paper and eat a well-composed bite or two on a weekend morning. Their French toast (RMB58) is like none we’ve ever eaten before, with a thick and impossibly fluffy slice of bread that soaks up the whipped egg and milk to form a consistency like an unbaked cake. It’s wonderful and alongside petite dishes of syrup, cream, berry compote and stewed apples—it is pure sweet tooth heaven.

Homies | American
For a quick and no-frills all-day breakfast fix, Homies delivers. Owned by a couple of skaters, their tiny eatery has the rustic charm of a student dive with a chalk board of deliciously diner-style food at appetizingly cheap prices. Homies’ French toast (RMB19) is a simple and heartwarming affair; it’s a couple of slices of light bread, dipped in egg, fried, dusted with cinnamon and served on a day-glow tray with a jug of maple syrup. For RMB39, upgrade to a breakfast combo which adds bacon or sausage, a couple of eggs and free-flow coffee or tea.

Madison | American
Ever the innovator, Austin Hu uses brioche to present a uniquely firm and sweet French toast (RMB56). Stuffed with banana and drizzled with syrup, berries and apple, it is a pure feast for energized eyes. It’s tremendously sweet—if you’re looking for a slice of traditional, egg-fried bread with a slice of bacon, pick something else from what is probably the most complete and established brunch menu in Shanghai. It’s no surprise that Madison’s new, larger venue on Fenyang Lu is stuffed to the rafters on weekend mornings.

Whatever it is (at F5 have a few ideas already, more later), I want it to be cool, standalone, rewarding. My greatest achievements in China will be the relationships I’ve created and the stories I’ve told, and will tell. But this… this will be the deal sweetener. It will go on existing without me.

All of these these boxes have been ticked by my friend Sam. He wins. He’s gone and designed something of utter oaken beauty, a pristinely considered pull-up table of absolute slenderness. It will Cantilever across your couch like a laptop butler, handing you the mouse and a single malt with utter grace.

The best part, it’s made in Northern England. I raise my flat-cap. Here is the essence of living in China, staying real and getting stuff done. Where else are you going to work a 12 hour day, 6 day week and then find the time to turn your hand to another ritual? Only in the place where you feel you’ve got something to prove.

Go ahead, buy it from Naughtone here.

It has all the right ingredients: a chic courtyard, elegant dining room and well-spoken service. Missing though, are the layers of mood and romance from the likes of La Petit Fleur. La Faubourg feels a little too pared-down and sparse.

This is a theme flowing into the cuisine. From a handful of choices, appetizers are not of the considered complexity we expect of fine French cuisine. The too-simple arrangement in a mini croque monsieur (RMB58), slightly limp tomato and basil tartelette (RMB58) and wishy-washy tuna mayonnaise (RMB58) give a feeling of unsophisticated rather than rigorously faithful hands in the kitchen.

Mains are more uplifting. The beef fillet topped with foie gras butter and shoestring fries (RMB138) is tender, masculine and delicious. A similarly brawny and rewarding affair comes in the shape of a cheeseburger served curiously in pita bread (RMB118). Less worthy is a grilled salmon with black and white rice (RMB128) offering little innovation to familiar produce. Tucking into the deliciously rich chocolate fondant (RMB48) and sumptuous crème brulee (RMB48), our misgivings slip away.

Within La Feubourg is a niggle though. On such prime property with arguably the world’s most accomplished cuisine, this should be an escape from reality. We may have slipped away for a few minutes but this is no Parisian fantasy. Here’s hoping the warmer months and idyllic courtyard can bring another ingredient to the table.

758 Changle Lu near Fumin Lu
长乐路758号 近富民路
186-1633-9975
This is from my review in Cityweekend, full listing here

Here in one of Danshui Lu’s converted terraces a curious if not awkward mixture of Shanghai tradition and burgeoning boutiques and coffee shops. Perhaps that’s why the large windows looking onto the street are opaque: the restaurant is a retreat from the world outside.

The menu is traditional Italian with all courses accounted for and a detailed wine list with bottles reasonably starting around the RMB175 mark. A pristinely presented mound of grilled baked aubergine with mozzarella (RMB68) tastes simple and clean, demonstrating the versatility of the vegetable in capable hands. Similarly
well composed is a rich bowl of creamed leek and pistachio soup (RMB43). Topped with flakes of Parmesan, it is almost too hearty and filling to be a soup, and that is indeed no detractor.

Hopkins’ chefs are well versed in the simplicities of good, safe Italian preparation. A meatball and tomato pasta (RMB88) with precisely al dente spaghetti and small-succulent nuggets of ground beef is as it should be but not overwhelming in flavor. A four seasons pizza (RMB98) is also rightfully decked out and tastefully balanced with ham, artichokes, tomato and olives, but in this price range there are more masterful pizzas to be found elsewhere in town.

Luccio’s is an embarkation on a personal story. Right now it’s delivering a satisfying meal. We’re looking forward to when they’ve found their feet and a specials board shows confident forays into explosive Italian cuisine.

242 Danshui Lu near Fuxing Zhong Lu, Xintiandi Metro Line 10 Xintiandi Station
淡水路242号 近复兴中路，地铁10号线新天地站
5352-0587
This is from my review in Cityweekend, full listing here

The sister restaurant of Abbey Road, Geneva has the same solid formula of attractive surroundings, well-spoken service and oversized portions. Here the dishes are even more Swiss, with packed salads, rösti and schnitzel around every corner.

Set in a tastefully modernized villa, they’ve also transported Abbey Road’s alluring courtyard, complete with a heated gazebo for the winter months. We’re spoilt for choice between year-round outdoor tables, a ground floor conservatory and contemporary upstairs dining.

Food comes reasonably priced. We munched on a generously dressed bacon and rocket salad (RMB45) and sipped on a pint of Heineken (RMB45) whilst nodding agreeably at almost everything on the menu. Mains come in at RMB75-100 and offer a few selections for each key dish.

Keeping matters Swiss, we found our serverlat rösti of hash browns, bacon, sausage, cheese and egg (RMB80) and the cordon bleu pork shnitzel, stuffed with cheese and ham (RMB90), to be monstrously hearty, comfortably faithful and the best of the options.

Similarly hearty and best not ordered as a side unless you’ve a Friar Tuck-appetite is a Mexican chicken salad (RMB70). Slices of lightly spiced chicken breast, salad leaves, sweet corn and tomato in a choice of dressing, it’s an alpine mound of it’s own.

We’d no room for fondue, just another half-pint before embarking on the long journey back. We’re looking forward to when the streets around Hongqiao Zoo are a bustling night hot-spot. Here’s hoping Geneva can hold out until then.

Where: Bldg. 6, 1896 Hami Lu 哈密路1896弄6号别墅, Tel: 5239-9197

This review is from my cityweekend article – see the full listing here.

So, given the chance to do some long hours working in a capacity I’ve almost forgot I possessed, in an all-too familiar conference room layout in “the most expensive property on the strip”… I said “yes please”. I spent seven days in Wynn’s Encore Hotel and have to admit that if there was anywhere in the world to be, where you couldn’t leave the hotel, this would be up there in the top 3.

All I can do is confirm what everybody already knows about Vegas. There are a load of hotels each with a theme. Each hotel is linked to a huge casino in which there are a dozen ways to have a great time losing your money tessellated every few metres in every direction as far as the eye can see.

Gambling dries most people out before long. So in order to stay moist, there’s a plethora of ways to have a good time. Restaurants, bars, clubs, concerts, shows, sports, machine guns, hookers, ferraris, choppers, animals, whathaveyou are all within one arm’s reach of the one armed bandit.

But the gambling. Oh the gambling. That’s what it’s all about. They pipe oxygen in and hide the clocks so we stay longer. We know it, we’ve tried it. We liked it a little. We lost some money, then was up, then was down. Then came out just a little under break-even. That’s if we were lucky and had a good time. We’ll never feel lucky though, riches were around the next corner.

On the flight over to Vegas I played blackjack on my computer for 6 hours straight so I could learn how to play it. Within half an hour at a table I was bored. Take my advice, which is everybody’s advice… go to where people are having the most fun. You hear the laughter and cheers? That’s the Craps table. It’s a group game, fun to learn and on average is the game where you’ll lose your money the slowest.

But yeah, with no photography in the casinos I basically got a hundred shots out of my window and a few from a walk up and down the stip. A few more in my flickr set here.

The latter tells a revealing story. This has been the year I’ve noticed menu prices reaching a ‘how much!?’ level. A mediocre western meal costs 200-400/head. Rents are creeping up, food distributors are squeezing the supply chain and cheap wait-staff stick out like sore thumbs. But if the food is not good, it’s not worth buying. No wonder half of all new restaurants close within a year. My most sorely missed for 2012 has to be Avalon, now home to a good but faltering Bloc.

Sure, 15RMB lanZhou noodles or a basket of xiaolongbao are the first you’ll mention to support Shanghai’s food cost of living but be honest, they’re the last thing we think of after a long day. The first thing we think of is salad and a pizza.

Which is why 2012 belonged to the Italians. After Chinese, Japanese and Korean, there are more Italian restaurants in Shanghai than any other cuisine. There are more brick pizza ovens than apartments with actual ovens and I bet you’ve more olive oil in your cupboards than soy sauce.

This year has seen some big players like Sabatine and Bombana stroll into town with their strong sourcing, attention to service and executive chef capabilities. Could 2013 be the year that Michelin prepare some stars with China written on them? To be honest I don’t think we’re at that level yet. It will take international level creativity, service and probably local food to warrant a Michelin journey to the mainland.

Anyway, we don’t Michelin. Not yet. Leave us to find those diamonds in the mediocre rough. Here are my highlights of 2012.

Garlic

This was a complete surprise. I wanted it to be average, or less, but the food here is remarkable alongside a considered attention to service. The story goes that I once had to skip a GMAT exam due to a long weekend in Istanbul but it was worth it because I discovered the Turkish Beyti, a kebab of minced and herbed lamb wrapped in flat bread and baked in a tomato sauce. Garlic’s Sarma Beyti is heaven.

Otto e Mezzo

This is the big one. Chef Umberto Bombana has set up on the rock bund and brought his kitchen, interior decorator and eye for luxury with him. It’s the best of the echelon Italians in town with five star service, finely crafted dishes and class dripping from the ceiling. Yes it’s expensive. Yes it’s worth it if you’re looking to drop the cash.

Salute

This Fuxing Lu courtyard owned by an Italian wine importer is the dream. It has bustling rustic charm, casual service and small plates of damn fine Italian snack food. Here is the best ciabatta in town. Washed down with a reasonably priced bottle of white it’s top choice for evening chills.

Slotting into the new environment adequately, the duplex restaurant, formerly home to Chicha, feels at home in the lane house beside Alchemist. It lends an exclusive air to the layout, with diners tucked around every corner munching on attractive plates of well-dished fare. A mound of Italian antipasto misto dello chef (RMB135) with a tossed salad and drizzled with olive oil looks radiant. It lasted mere seconds before we were licking our lips with only a slight after-taste of money. A small and simple plate of diced-tomato topped bruschetta (RMB58) was far less attractive for the price.

Elsewhere, pizzas and pastas are well represented, with a page of both covering all the classics. On the pasta side, head to the second page for more substantial affairs, including the absolute winner, a bowl of parpadelle in lamb ragu (RMB126) that contains supremely tender chunks of meat in a balanced sauce. Pizzas hail from the Tuscan stable. They’re lightly topped with incredibly thin bases, and this is absolutely fine by us. A crisp and delicate prosciutto, arugula and Parmesan affair (RMB146) is both beautiful and delicious.

It all should be cheaper, though perhaps Chicha’s rent-inflation-based departure from this venue is the reason it’s not. With a couple glasses of Italian house white (RMB48) and even after completely avoiding the fish or meat main courses, we were singing to the tune of RMB600-plus for two. At this price we’re not far from the lofty heights of Sabatini and Bocca. Pane e Vino needs to grow some bigger horns to run with that particular herd.

Block 33, Sinan Mansions, 47 Fuxing Xi Lu 复兴中路47弄33号 5465-2177

This review is from my cityweekend article – see the full listing here.

Freshly equipped with the Paulaner family of taps, beer proceedings are familiar with light, amber, dark and wheat at a pricey RMB68 / 78 / 148 for 0.3 / 0.5 / 1.0L. Their early evening happy hour (12-8pm) and group dishes like the finger-friendly and tasty German cold cuts platter (RMB240) ensure red-blooded businessmen need not roam too far from the office after a hard day’s work.

For the average punter, a full spread of the dishes on offer is enough to get the juices and beer flowing. We tucked into a loaded onion soup with floating cheese cobbler (RMB45) and then chomped on chunks of breaded Camembert with a cranberry dip (RMB78). Both were hearty and strong wintertime beer complements.

Mains cross the whole gamut of German pizzas, schnitzel, robust salads and Brotzeit’s signature sausages. A plate of pork and cheese wieners with creamed potatoes and sauerkraut (RMB98) is all of the above and tremendously filling. Less stodgy but no lighter is a grain-fed pork knuckle (RMB188). Crisp on the outside, falling off the bone in the middle, it’s succulent indeed but on the expensive side for the amount and quality of meat delivered. When all that had been consumed we were fit to burst; a late-arriving side of croquette-like bread “napkin” dumplings (RMB35) was enough for us to throw in the towel.

Some of Asia’s most consistent but predictable food can be found in shopping malls and Brotzeit fits the mould perfectly. If you’re looking for German beer and bar food in limitless combinations then head to the second floor of the SWFC.

2/F, SWFC, 100 Century Avenue 世纪大道100号环球金融中心2楼 895-2887

This review is from my cityweekend article – see the full listing here.

Set in Hongkou’s recently opened Ruifeng Plaza, La Tagliatella’s cavernous dining room is centered by a large pizza oven and chefs turning sheets of fresh pasta. Every other surface is entirely covered with an overload of wood panels, mirrors, lamps, pictures, pasta related slogans and general Italian chintz.

The menu is an overload too. There are a dozen types of pasta and another eight of ravioli. Each can be combined with any of 15-plus sauces in seemingly limitless combinations from RMB78 to RMB108. We took a moment to do the math while tucking into a ‘Torre Pisa’ stack of aubergine, tomato and buffalo mozzarella (RMB68). With frozen-in-the-centre cheese and limp tomato, we wished we had stayed focused.

We paired gorgonzola and pear ravioli with a creamy tomato and pine nut pesto rossa (RMB108). The result was a battle of flavors with well-stuffed triangles in a complex sauce. It worked quite well though became ultimately heavy given the large portion.

Pizzas are more straightforward on the senses but that doesn’t help. An almost scandalous prosciutto pizza (RMB78, pictured above) comes not with prosciutto but circles of cheap boiled ham. Bases are thin and crisp enough, but at this price they come nowhere close to the quality of Bella Mia’s. Avoid the domed Toscana calzone (RMB88), a cake-like experience of soggy dough, bland ham and tomato contents and overly sweet balsamic glaze.

If this were a second or third tier city, we’d be here every week and probably bring relatives too. But we’re in Shanghai, where the bar is set much higher.

Ruifeng Plaza, 138 Ruihong Lu 瑞虹路138号瑞虹坊 5567-0516

This review is from my cityweekend article – see the full listing here.

Perhaps the Korean owners of the Ashley group are ahead of the curve. Their first forays into China have taken them deeper into Pudong. With 100+ restaurant in Seoul perhaps they know something about JinQiao that we dont. Actually, we know it already. Here is a few million international-savvy Shanghai residents looking for a fine slice of life away from the downtown commotion.

And so, in what was a Yolo-centric strip-mall on the outskirts of the outskirts of town, the Ashley are concocting an American buffet and steakhouse. Next week it will open in a revamped shopping gallery of highbrow stores and airy modern courtyards.

They’ve a challenge on their hands; Here are discerning local masses, hungry to express themselves but not hungry or wealthy enough to be in the french concession doing it. Here too are opulent suburban newcomers who have been sold on luscious surrounds to their gated developments. the Ashley must ingratiate them both.

Which is why the Ashley’s steakhouse is a collection of attractive, well-themed dining rooms which combine to entertain three hundred diners at a time. It’s a feat of five-star hotel proportions, with expensive collections of USA paraphernalia adorning the walls, flocks of rigorously trained wait-staff circling attentively and a gargantuan array of American, Italian and Chinese cuisine.

They’ve lava-stone cognac-flamed tenderloin, brick oven fired pizzas, seafood pots, jumbo chicken wings, pasta, bread, cheese, deserts… all for a set price of 128/lunch 188/dinner (with prime australian steaks added to the mix for 288-328). It looks, tastes and feels the part. Here they can entertain any walk of life as it wanders around barrels of bottomless prosecco and alongside counters of fresh produce. Private dining for the locals, number plate collections for the young professionals and enough shaved ice to make everything sparkle. They win, and they’re very proud of it.

Here’s where Shanghai begins to turn it around. Real reasons to be out in the sticks, just before they’re not the sticks any more but natural epicenters of their own.

Ceviche is a predominantly Peruvian dish that uses a complex lemon, lime and chilli marinade known as leche de tigre to turn cuts of raw, fresh seafood into mouthfuls of infused wonder. Modern methods use a shorter marination time and raw fish must be served extremely fresh. From behind a tiny sushi counter in the corner of this six-table restaurant, the chef concocts mounds of sea bass, snapper and assortments of seafood for RMB90 a plate (each enough for two). The sea bass Don Ceviche is where money should be spent—the cubes of fleshy, premium fish are mouthwateringly succulent and tremendously piquant.

However, after all that citrus, washed down with a deliciously frothy but equally acidic pisco sour (RMB50), we yearned for something to balance the meal. Peruvian appetizers and side dishes are wingmen at heart and Ceviche’s are a little lacking. Their crab causa (RMB40), a layered mound of deconstructed crab cake, was bland in comparison. A handful of pisco prawns (RMB65) served in a generous and fruity dressing were fair but fleeting.

Larger dishes are also mute in contrast to the star attractions. The lomo saltado (RMB120), stir-fried chunks of beef tenderloin with potatoes, onions and rice, was lacking in both identity and sauce. If only we could pucker up for another plate of the Don Ceviche. But here lies the crux: one plate is all you need. We’ll be back for it though, along with another of those refreshingly provocative pisco sours.

559 Fuxing Zhong Lu 复兴中路559号 5404-1052

This review is from my cityweekend article – see the full listing here.

As a leafy mid-town haven, Nanchang Lu’s lane houses seem a curious fit for a modern Turkish restaurant. Immediately inside the ground floor doorway we are greeted by a chef poised awkwardly behind a sunken grill. It almost feels intrusive. Skipping past this and up the stairs, the dining room is tiny collection of well-dressed tables, tastefully surrounded by ceramic and Turkish motifs.

From a comprehensive menu a few items pop out, including a plate of smooth hummus (RMB58) and refined cucumber and mint yoghurt Cacik (RMB43). Both, when soaked up by slices of Turkish bread, are moreish to a tee. The ispanakli pide (RMB52), a strip-sliced Turkish pizza of spinach and cheese, is complex but light and worthy of re-order. Again similar to Garlic though, the star of the show reveals itself to be a safin beyti (RMB135). A masterstroke of lamb kebab that’s wrapped in flatbread and smothered in a cream and tomato sauce, it’s thoroughly delicious. Garlic’s is slightly more polished though.

Elsewhere on the menu you pay more for slightly smaller portions. Accordingly, we preferred the dishes above to the chicken shish (RMB85) and the lamb kofte (RMB95) that followed.

Pasha tries hard, with a lahmacun amuse bouche to start, free-flow chunks of bread throughout and the obligatory Turkish coffee to finish. However, we still prefer its more complete and only slightly more expensive sister restaurant.

262 Nanchang Lu 南昌路262号, 6473-8113

Hailing from the area around Venice, Potaci (“easy snacks” in Italian) serves up thick pizza by the slice. From behind a tiled counter, ovens churn out square offerings in an assortment of flavours. Per-slice prices hover in the RMB23-29 range with all the expected toppings from pepperoni to ham and pineapple alongside a couple of less routine options like salmon.

Two should be enough to fill most bellies. To be honest though, we were overwhelmed and slightly bored by the thick, chewy and sparsely topped slices halfway through the second slice of ham and mushroom (RMB25). They’re also experimenting with items on the menu. Today’s pizza dough wrapped sausage (RMB25) was curious, and not great.

Potaci is a moderately cute place and certainly earnest. If only this were in the otherwise snack-sparse Yongfu Lu area then taste misgivings could be overlooked (and clubbers would probably be queuing out the door). Here on the fringe of Dagu Lu where good-easy food is just around the corner, they need to up their game in order to serve up slices of heaven worth searching for.

Where: 117 Chengdu Bei Lu 成都北路117号, Tel: 139-1855-2802

This is from my review in Cityweekend – see the full listing here.

el Efante | Donghu Lu
At the bar of el Willy seductive pan-Mediterranean Donghu Lu restaurant, Spanish and Italian slivers of very premium cured meats go head to head. Piquant chorizo line up against garlicky salami Milano. Spicy Salchichon battles tangy Ventricina. Delicious ‘5J’ Iberian jamon vies for top spot against mouthwatering San Danielle prosciutto. Everything comes individually priced by the gram (RMB80-400 for a plate) or together as a Mediterranean “festival board” (RMB355). We’re looking forward to the rematches and another glass of Spanish Riojia (RMB70).

Burdigala Wine Bar | Wuding Lu
Burdigala is a relatively new addition to the Wuding stretch, offering many varieties of wine from the oenophilic French region. Matched well with a quaintly prepared half-liter of their “from the tap” table wine (RMB98) is a charcuterie board for two (RMB148). Simple and large, it features ample selections of cured and cooked meats including a subtle salami, delectable piles of prosciutto and a fine pastrami. Served with pickles and a bottomless supply of baguette, it’s a strong reason to order another bottle.

These are from my cityweekend article

Antoni offers Spanish cuisine in three courses, preceded by a complementary and pleasing slate of assorted amuse bouche. Starters range from a signature dish of ratatouille-like ‘gypsy’ vegetables (RMB85) to manchego and tomato salad (RMB95) to fried mixed seafood (RMB105). They’re all fine but slightly imbalanced and lacking refinement. There are roasted cherry tomatoes all over the place, the stewed vegetables are bland and the manchego is eye-winking fierce.

The mains, divided cleanly into half a dozen choices each of seafood and meat, are simply stated and simple in execution. An Emmental baked pork rib with brandy apple (RMB175) was not the evocative, succulent, roasted affair we expected but pork chops covered in cheese. The stewed lentils and chorizo (RMB195) was as rich as it sounded but not delicious. Likewise the Sammi lamb cakes with mint yogurt (RMB210) were too straightforward and lacked effort, we felt. The most sophisticated item on the table was a fine bottle of Spanish Tempranillo (RMB380).

All is set to the theme of shadow play. Bright spotlights pierce tabletops and areas of the restaurant, leaving the second floor’s gabled ceiling floating menacingly overhead. Aside from an odd frieze on the wall comprising huge white cogs, it does ooze an air of luxury, but at these prices the food needs to excel. Here’s hoping Antoni can slip a more considered selection of offerings between the menu’s leatherbound sheets.

Where: 794 Julu Lu 巨鹿路794号 Tel: 5204-9879

This is from my review in Cityweekend – see the full listing here.

‘One day’ you’ll think. Well the time is now. Behind Shanghai’s firmly bricked aspirations for a modern future, there’s a tender attention to gastronomic detail wrapped in upper-class style that makes T8 something really quite special.

My time came when a friend over at Enjoy Shanghai dropped off their 2013 membership card and an invite to lunch. T8′s Executive set is a weighty RMB 328 for four courses of incredibly significant cuisine. For those looking for a lighter meal, they offer an RMB 168 Healthy Lunch. We took a couple hours and wandered down both paths.

Sat at the low wooden bar around a pristine obsidian open kitchen, details stand out like shiny buttons on a shore-leave uniform. Over there columns of steam rise from woks set into recessed halogen rings. Over here a tray of blackened roasted peppers are being sieved for their juices. To the side onions are being diced with deft knife-play. All is being orchestrated by Executive Chef Jordi Servalls Bonilla whilst he prepares vacuum bags for a dose of scientific fusion.

In the mean time a fillet of sesame crusted tuna is being sliced then laid atop a bed of fennel and cherry tomatoes. Married with a pesto reduction, each ingredient feels considered and this sets the theme for the following 90 minutes. It could be a halo-effect after watching the dish form right under our noses, or it could be that the fennel, sourced from a very particular suzhou farm, is exactly the right level of peppery to complement the robust fish.

Then arrives a plate of ‘cured’ fruit with a burrata and snow pea salad. Cubes of fruit have been infused with fruit gelatin in a vacuuming process, one of Jordi’s molecular techniques. He’s a huge fan of finer-detail methods, admitting that running a commercial kitchen is both a process of adaptation and opportunities to play with kitchen toys.

Amidst chuckles arrives an incredible example of the former. Atop a wooden board is a dream-like fold of raw angus beef wrapped around creamy rice like a meat-obsessive’s birthday pancake. Served with a pate of porcini mushrooms it’s almost godly and Jordi knows it as he beams over the counter. ‘We love the ravioli concept here but why should it be so predictable?’.

On the healthy side of the menu, T8 provides a less calorific series of dishes. From the smoked goose breast appetiser to the red snapper, dishes are less complex but no less lacking in consideration. If only there wasn’t a couple handfulls of well seasoned angus within arms reach I’d be raving about succulent uncomplicated cuts of superior white fish.

To finish what felt like an afternoon of chefs-table precision, we’re handed our final degustation. The T8 black forest is a separation of the gateaux into it’s rudimentary elements. It’s visually curious and intriguing to taste, each mouthful requiring reconstruction before it resembles completeness. Much easier to comprehend is T8′s other signature desert, the edible pina colada, a light, frothy, invigorating affair.

Hand shakes and knowing nods all round and proceedings come to an end. It’s here that I admit T8 knew I was coming. Today my friends were involved and so this may not be a fully impartial review… however from the way this is high-end, Xintiandi and expensive… and booked most evenings… something tells me it’s not a coincidence.

More photos in the gallery here.

Before we leave, I owe a shoutout to the folks over at Enjoy Shanghai. Their yearly membership card grants offers and discounts at literally hundreds of places across town… including this one where you can get a two for one on weekend brunches and bottles of wine for books of 4 or more. Enough said!

The swanky interior befits a luxury yacht floating down the Bosphoros, but we yearned for the alluring captain’s table outside. On the off chance it’s available on a balmy fall evening, grab it.

The similarly plush menu is a three-fold of everything Turkish. We were spoilt for choice, which must be a common theme as the waitress brought over a tray of their cold starters for immediate selection. It’s a good idea, and with a warm pita smothered in a very garlicky aubergine salatasi (RMB68, Turkish salad) in hand, picking off the menu comes much more fluidly.

Sticking to the “small dishes” side of the menu, we dipped, tore and wrapped our way around a selection of succulent dolmades (RMB64, stuffed vegetables), deliciously nutty walnut kofte meatballs (RMB66) and a curious baked dish of cheese and prawns (RMB75). All go very well to the tune of a crisp and herby lahmacun (RMB55, Turkish pizza). A definitely avoidable octopus salad (RMB68) came at the same time—perhaps not everything in the kitchen is gilded with gold.

For mains, they’ve a range of kebabs and grilled meats, and to test the kitchen and our own ordering prowess, we chose what should be the absolute star of a Turkish menu (and in our opinion the entire cuisine): sarma beyti (RMB135). A skewer of minced lamb, wrapped in pastry-like lavash and drizzled in a tomato sauce, Garlic’s is served sliced alongside sour cream. It makes every mouthful absolute heaven.

Garlic is off to a hot start. Other than a couple of food imperfections, it’s excellent.

698 Yongjia Lu 永嘉路698号, Tel: 5424-3332

This is from my review in Cityweekend – see the full listing here.

The first time though, you’ve got to suck it up and join the queues. Given eighteen hours in Rome, this is exactly what we did. All on foot.

The Pantheon.

Hands down the Pantheon is older and better than anything in China. This a perfectly circular, immortal, breathtaking church – built when gods had names and special moves. It’s a piece of man-made architecture that makes you proud to be a human being, something in the modern world we’re not often able to express.

The beautiful spherical, tessellated ceiling. Oh man; the altars, the corinthian columns. So much marble. That massive studded door. It’s phenomenal.

At the ceiling’s peak is probably the world’s greatest oculus. As sunlight enters the space, it casts an etherel shaft of light which moves across the space as the day progresses. It also gives no F**ks about the rain, water sprinkles in and departs through a somehow ominous golden drain in the exact center of the decadently laid floor.

It’s also full of people who move randomly across the space oblivious, thank god you walk around it looking upwards.

The Colosseum.

Everybody in the world knows what this is. It’s probably the most famously gruesome building in the world and the largest built by the Roman Empire. It’s also a fully geometric beauty, just as much in ruin form as it must have been before big-game tourists exist.

What we don’t all know is how much effort went into making the world’s first large-scale sports stadium. Video walls and disabled access were a worry of the future. The Roman’s needed to consider a load bearing floor, with slave handling and ferocious animal delivery mechanisms built in.

The result was something that would go down in history, with only a vague acknowledgement of what happened in there. People tore each other apart. People tore animals apart. Animals tore people apart. That’s what happened in there.

The in-between.

The beauty of Rome is that it’s smacked full of so many landmarks, around every corner is a piazza, or market… or vatican. It’s a wanderer’s dream.

Many more photos in the Roman flickr gallery.

When I first came to china we met some very unique and fascinating people, forming relationships that would last many years. I’ve the MBA to thank for this. CEIBS is not only a jam-packed cranium (and an expensive phone book) but a chance to understand globally distant people in very accelerated and revealing situations.

Earlier this year I was asked by one of the first people I shook hands with upon arriving in 2009 to ‘help the groom’ at his upcoming wedding. He’s from Hong Kong and his wife is Shanghainese. Helping the groom is tantamount to the western Best Man except there can be more than one, there’s no speech and the role is essentially to help him through the happiest, and probably most arduous day of his personal life.

The Chinese wedding day begins at 7h45am when the Groom is allowed to return to the home he recently purchased. He’s been living there alone for the past few weeks. For the last couple of nights, though, his parents banished him whilst they have turned it into a matrimonial home (read: redecorating everything flowery pink).

After a light breakfast of meat dumplings and deep fried dough sticks, proceedings get underway by heading over to the bride’s house. On route, male friends & family are collected in order to make a mob large enough to handle the upcoming test of determination.

Arrival is signified by firecrackers and boiling oil poured (in the form of shaking heads and wagging fingers) from the bride’s apartment upstairs. She’s holed up with every female member of the family, who are quite explicit in their reluctance to let the day progress. As a troupe we must first negotiate with the entry gate, then the stairwell, then the front door of the apartment. Fistfuls of red envelopes, answers to awkward questions and pleas for safe passage are required in order to beat the gatekeepers and progress to the next level.

With the eldest female amongst the brood distracted by a couple of red notes, it’s time for the end of level boss. The Bride. She’s in the bedroom, demanding for the groom to bawl a godawful rendition of her favorite Li Yuchun (read: Justin Bieber) song. He does, and an hour after we arrive, the door has been breached and he can try and slip a ring on the bride’s finger before she notices.

To celebrate the transaction we’re all treated to a sweet soup of fruits and nuts. Tea is poured, babies cry and after many pleasantries we’re back downstairs for more firecrackers and to convoy 8 vehicles (significant) back across town to the groom’s place.

His parents have changed out of their pyjamas and are now ready to host the cavalcade. Tea is poured, cake is cut and photographs in the pinkness shot in their hundreds. The wedding video team, appropriately dressed in jungle camouflage and chain smoking cigarettes, demands for re-takes to get just the right amount of light to catch that one loving glance amongst the nine of bewilderment.

Then we’re off to take more photographs at wedding shot hotspots on Fenyang Road. It’s mid afternoon. Half of the groom’s backup team have retired to the hotel. I’ve turned to soup inside my suit and whilst the bride adjusts her hair, we sneak over to Lawsons for a cheeky beer. “I need a holiday” the groom admits.

Then we’re back in the cars and over to the wedding reception venue on People’s Square for dress rehearsals. Walking down the aisle, ferociously kowtowing and roving spotlights are all practiced before the doors are open and 25 tables of guests flood in. A table at the entrance is on-hand to receive red envelopes which are publicly opened and the amounts written in a huge leger. It’s customary for the whole wedding and more to be covered by the total cash gifts.

Some of the guests seemingly wandered in off the streets, or forgot to change out of their short and t-shirts. That guy in camouflage who was holding the camera is actually a relative who has forgone a lapel carnation in favour of an extra cigarette behind both ears. He’s still in a vest.

The ceremony itself is relatively short. Bows, vows and applause are followed by four or more courses of fancy wedding cuisine. Some appropriately high-grade cycling down the aisle, singing, violin playing and party games bring the formalities to an end and. As the bride and groom go from table to table for alcohol laden cheers, guest filter out full of the joys of marriage.

Fortunately the happy couple managed to swap out the wine in their glasses for grape juice, though before they can retire to their hotel room, must first be greeted by their friends, who, jumping around on the bed like baboons, seem determined to give them no peace. By this stage I was a broken man and slipped off home to contemplate on whether this or last year’s Spanish wedding in Oviedo would go down as the world’s longest.

Shanghai is full of anti-tourism. From the Jing’an Sculpture Park to the insect market there’s something for everyone. Nothing, however, comes close to the ‘one city nine towns’ initiative that has resulted in such urban planning abominations as Italy town, Thames Town and the Scandinavian Lake Malaren.

Holland Town has been on the agenda for a couple of years now, and finally, on an almost bright and hazy day, we took a roll to the city limits and explored the impossible. Could this be an authentic, thriving, dutch-themed community perched on the mouth of the Huangpu River? Of course not. It’s terrible.

Getting to ‘Creativity Holland’, just outside of Gaoqiaozhen, is no walk in the park. It rests on the north side of the wrong side of the river, some 20km outside of Shanghai. Nearby are a bunch of factories, abundant locals dancing around open fires and the godawful #6 Metro line at Hangjin Rd Station. Here’s a route to ride (there are two ferries to take which are clear on the route, ignore the part where it winds onto a car-route).

If you’re rolling there: Cross the river in the way you know best and cruise east along Pudong Avenue past the vast expanses of construction. Head under the lesser-spotted Yangpu Bridge and roll up through CSSR territory. Here is the largest container shipyard in the world and possibly responsible for the paint-stripper aroma in the air. If this were Russia, kids would be licking the lamp posts.

Sometime after you’re bearing dead north, around DongJing Lu, there’s a leafy local road. Take this through a neighbourhood of rubble and garbage and blankly staring locals. It doesn’t take long before Shanghai basically sinks into nothingness. If the wind, traffic and piles of broken glass are in equinox then it will make for a mostly pleasant roll.

Just before the huge factories (almost immediately before the small factories) begin the modern, gabled low-rise complexes that mark a departure from reality.

This is Holland Town. You can tell it’s Holland Town because of the windmill. There’s also a rusty sign that says so. Other non-conclusive hints include a vaguely european-facaded high street and a church spire. The whole affair, like the others, is poorly maintained and mostly abandoned. It’s like the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse movie, where the only survivors were a few Chinese mainlanders who have spent the last couple years squatting in an Amsterdam street-scene film set, slowly transforming it to fit their lives.

Picture that for a minute. Now you don’t need to go.

“But there’s a windmill!” you’re also thinking. It’s rubbish. You’ll go across a rusting bridge over a brown canal to a wedding-photograph-infested park which has an out-of-service windmill slowly, visibly falling to pieces. it used to be a museum, or a cafe, or something. It’s nothing anymore.

There is fully nothing to do. We tried to sit on the grass but the sleeping guard was onto us in seconds. The church is a shell. The chinese restaurant is done for and there’s so much spittle on the streets that you’ll skate across the high-street and land on someone’s badly shaved poodle. It will take 10 minutes to do all this, including time to wave at the locals.

It was entirely worth the trip though. This is China anti-tourism at it’s very, very best. Please go there. We made our excuses and left, closing the door on the way out. Just south, along the river is a ferry crossing to relative normality in Puxi, and, if you’ve not had enough anti-tourism for the day, the Gongqing Forest Park.

more photos in the flickr set

As regulars on the Italian scene we walked in the front door already playing out the meal. Nicely dressed tables but a little pokey layout, a flat-screen with a slideshow of menu items, black and white photographs of global landmarks on the wall and a slightly nervous greeting—all so familiar, all so distinctly average.

With a menu showing moderately priced sets (RMB249 for four courses) and seemingly overpriced à la carte options, more mental boxes were being ticked. Some painfully stiff bread arrived, and with that we were about to condemn it to suffer the fate of many Julu Lu pretenders before it.

But then out trotted a plate of tuna carpaccio (RMB62) with a masterfully sharp citrus dressing, and reality shifted. We expected it to resemble a plate of ceviche but instead, there sat impossibly thin swathes of pink tuna which melted, nay, dissipated into mouthfuls of joyous flavor. Similarly piquant was a veal tonnato (RMB68), where tender slices of meat and a light tuna sauce complemented each other well.

The mains were equally rewarding. A linguine lobster (RMB118) with fresh pasta and a luxuriously rich sauce tasted almost as refined as what you’d get at 8½. A supremely meaty block of cod (RMB145) amidst a sprinkling of vegetables was similarly decadent. Paired with a bone-in slab of slow-roasted suckling pig with orange sauce and mashed potatoes (RMB158), we were on Cloud Nine.

At this price we’d expect a few sides, and accompaniments seem in short supply. Reaching for that bread basket, we’re reminded of the restaurant’s letdowns and the way the dining room seems to turn into a stuffy closet. Hopefully Bambino will be around long enough to bring everything in line.

903 Julu Lu 巨鹿路903号, Tel: 6445-3656

This is from my review in Cityweekend – see the full listing here.

We stuck straight into a plate of Iberian ham croquettes (RMB98) as iconic Spanish sporting events played on a screen overhead. Crisp on the outside and deliciously gooey in the middle, they were enough to keep distractions at bay as the dishes started to roll in. Both a marinated dish of peppers and aubergine and a robust yet delicately fried Andalusian-style baby squid (RMB52) were wholesome yet sophisticated in a way only Spanish bar snacks can be. They’re perfect with a big bottle of the nation’s favorite, Estrella (RMB98).

Only in the pre-main lull did we lift our heads to look around. Casa 700 is a curious venue, half-bar and half-restaurant. With piercing lighting and a clumsy layout, the space feels on the verge of awkward.

Luckily the star of the show arrived to refocus us on the food. The sea and mountain paella (RMB94/person – minimum of two) is a huge dish of saucy rice, Barcelona-style, and its generous portions of prawns, clams, mussels, chicken and ham all simmer in a hefty and meaty stock. Maybe your Spanish aunt can do better, but it’s on par with the best in Shanghai.

Completely eclipsed was a lamb shank slow-cooked for 60 hours sous-vide (RMB208). It wasn’t the melt-in-the-mouth masterpiece we were expecting and it felt expensive as a result.
Already teeming with Spaniards, Casa 700 has the indicators of success. To us, it’s a great place to go for a beer and some tapas and or for the occasional paella feast.

700 Huangpi Nan Lu 黄陂南路700号, Tel: 6386-0377

This is from my review in Cityweekend – see the full listing here.

Along with a generous and delicious plate of beef carpaccio (RMB65), we sat on the terrace and mused over why this stretch of Huashan Lu is so devoid of life. By the time an equally pleasant and almost entirely forgettable marinated salmon with fennel (RMB65) arrived, the Family Mart door-jingle from down the road was imprinted on our souls.

It took a large and loaded San Danielle-topped pizza with a pleasantly thin crust and delicate tomato & mozzarella base (RMB88) to lift the rapture. The pasta selections are similarly in fine trim with a strong traditional selection. A bowl of thin taglioni, soft shell crab and cherry tomatoes (RMB110) demonstrated that there are capable Italian hands in the kitchen.

With mains comprising a predictable beef tenderloin (RMB150) or grilled salmon (RMB140), the feeling of indistinction creeps in. Seve offers good but not amazing food in a space which is fine but somehow out of the way. The truth is that all other outcomes on the location / menu matrix result in either obvious failure or immediate success. We hope that they can pull out more than a few solid dishes to turn the tables inside the void of average.

600 Huashan Lu 华山路600号 Tel: 6249-3638

This is from my review in Cityweekend – see the full listing here.

The unique factor with G Waterfront is that it’s dedicated to a cuisine we don’t often associate with the echelon: Indian. People will be flocking to find seats in the likes of Jean Georges and Sabatini but with a typical bill at G pushing 1,500 for two, their proposal is a toe dipping without heavy investment.

Not that your toes are in any danger. Imported Indian flour, spices and chefs ensure an adherence to a comprehensive and traditional menu. The dishes have all been selected to represent the breadth of a cuisine that has a story as varied and rich as China.

The restaurant week menu starts with a selection of appetizers including tandoori prawns and creamy Papri Chat. Then it’s a story of curry with four carefully placed classics amid pilaf rice. Expect insanely smooth butter chicken and complex lamb Rogan Josh with an option or two from their half-dozen or so signature nans.

As a previously Brick Lane (London) dweller and long time Indian food aficionado, it’s a tremendous affair and amongst the best I’ve eaten. In Shanghai. On the Bund. Who’d have thought? I guess it’s obvious when you think about it.

Such is the beauty of restaurant week. It’s a chance to explore what’s out there and discover that the answer is more than you’d think. Of course it’s also a chance to get a cheaper meal at a luxurious venue. Either way do it. They’ve already had 20,000 reservations for lunches and dinners across the city. There’s plenty of places left they tell me with a nudge and a wink. Find out what’s available here.

This old-style chain is popular enough to warrant hour-long queues. They’re busy from lunch right through to supper on a daily basis. We chanced an early tea-time weekend slot and waited a modest fifteen minutes to be called.

It takes another 15 minutes to be seated. The restaurant is a colossal maze of furnished private dining rooms, corridors of family booths and row after row of full tables, all to the heavy-wood theme of a bygone era.

As expected of a Chinese restaurant, the menu is also big. Here it is gargantuan to the point of being overwhelming. We took 15 minutes just to do a first pass and, almost exhausted, opted mostly for their signature dishes. It’s thankfully cheap enough, with most main dishes between RMB20-40.
At this price, the cold tofu (RMB3) and crunchy cucumber (RMB7) with a rich sesame sauce are both strong starters. The mixed “wild vegetable” (RMB9) is fresh and seasoned deliciously with garlic and chilli. From there proceedings derailed as poor dishes piled up. Both of Grandma’s grilled fish (RMB32) and lamb chops (RMB32) are deep-fried, overly spiced, under-represented in meat and disappointing. The fresh scallops (RMB6 each) are meaty but small, and the bamboo shoot pot (RMB26) overly oily. Even Grandma’s pork (RMB39), their fish-enhanced take on dongporou, is woody and dry.

We escaped the clamour with ringing ears. Large-scale second-rate Chinese dining has a time and place, but it’s not quite for us.

Rm. 718, 818 Mall, 818 Nanjing Xi Lu 南京西路818号818广场701室 Tel: 5239-7225

This is from my review in Cityweekend – see the full listing here.

But this is not New York, and Scarpetta is different. Shanghai is crawling with pretenders and few have gone through a few thousand recipes to get there. American owner John Liu has taken a background in finance and a passion for food and distilled them into an expensive but considered five-page menu of his versions of Italian dishes.

We started with a take on the traditional Caprese (RMB118). Using local buffalo mozzarella, an assortment of cheery, roasted, green tomatoes and their own basil reduction, it’s not a purist’s dream but a refreshing take. Similarly modified is the calamari fritti (RMB98), tender rings of squid fried alongside carpaccio-thin rings of lemon which give a delicate zest to the squid ink and aioli dipping sauce.

Liu’s pizzas also reflect an attention to personalization with wide, puffed crusts and soggy, topping-loaded centers. Our home-made sausage-dressed salsiccia (RMB128) was wonderful, perhaps not as much as à Cote’s, but worth returning for. Their pastas are also provocative. A curious selection is Scarpetta’s bavette con cacio e pepe (RMB118). Linguini tossed in pecorino and Parmigiano-Reggiano, it’s very lightly dressed and served in a bowl made from Parmesan. It comes with an ‘incredibly cheesy’ warning. It is, and also incredibly peppery.

We barely had room or deep enough pockets for the fresh and rich tiramisu (RMB68) and instead opted for a glass of house red (RMB48) and the chance to enjoy a little slice of somewhere else in the world.

33 Mengzi Lu 蒙自路33号 Tel: 3376-8223
http://www.scarpetta.cn/

This is from my review in Cityweekend – see the full listing here.

From a simple one-sheet menu, the French options are almost caricature-like. Beef tartare is featured twice (starter RMB78, main RMB128). Duck or goose are prolific in a number of dishes, and snails are on the menu even though they’re not available and can’t be ordered thanks to a recent China-wide ban.

Salads dominate the list of starters and amongst the predictable green, Nicoise and goat’s cheese options, a home-marinated feta Greek salad (RMB58) was all present and dressed well if not a little small. More exciting was a too-expensive goose liver paté and a Shimeji mushroom salad topped with duck confit (RMB138), in which otherwise distinct flavors became surprising bland mixed together.

We continued to be underwhelmed into the mains. On paper it’s an all-star cast including beef, duck, tuna, sea bass and sole. The tuna steak taki-taki (RMB158) sounds incredible; plump cuts of pink fish are rolled in sesame seeds and served on an orange and mango reduction. It ends up only fine, suffering the same way the cassoulet-style seabass with white beans (RMB138) does: these are not cuts of incredibly fresh fish cooked in exactly the right way, and the overall impact is diluted.
As a restaurant, it’s too expensive to be a casual meal and Des Lis misses the mark. On the other hand, for sitting with a glass of excellent house white (RMB85 a glass) while the world flitters between Xinle Lu’s boutiques, it has high people-watching potential.

178 Xinle Lu 新乐路178号 Tel: 5404-5077

This is from my review in Cityweekend – see the full listing here.

In what was a wine-intensive bar before, the new French-Chinese owners have pared down the wine list (bottles from RMB168 to the sky) and added a menu of light Mediterranean dishes. They also did the smart thing and opened the large front window into a terrace. What is otherwise a standard space has phenomenal appeal when the clinks and chatter can float out into the Shanghai atmosphere. Much of the two-page menu is Greek tapas style, small dishes ranging from RMB38 to RMB78, and it’s here that Mimosa excels.

A platter of hummus, tzatziki, melitzanosalata and tapenade dips with fresh pita, crunchy carrots and peeled cucumbers (RMB88) are appetizing to a tee and whipped us into a feeding frenzy. Moreish, too, though a little on the dry side, were a plate of Greek-style meatballs (RMB38). They’re best brought to life with a glass of fruity Californian Woodbridge Sauvignon Blanc (RMB58 per glass, RMB228 ofr the bottle). There are a handful of larger dishes and salads, but we kept it fresh with a well-balanced Nicoise salad (RMB48).

The true star of the show though is the greek spinach and filo pie (RMB48). Otherwise known as spanakopita, it comes with a story and you’ll need to ask for the full version. In short, the well-traveled owner learned the intricate technique for preparing the perfect filo pastry and has been perfecting it in Shanghai for a while (it’s also on sale at The Pantry). The result is heavenly, a rich spinach filling encased in filo excellence. It’s this dish that will bring us back to the terrace of Mimosa again and again.

43 Yongjia Lu 永嘉路43号 Tel: 5464-6123

This is from my review in Cityweekend – see the full listing here.

I’ve got a backlog as long as your arm of things to write about and a dossier of anti-tourism that needs to be released before I explode. Don’t even mention the photographs. They’re not going to edit and tag themselves.

Stay frosty.

Situated in the space where Avalon used to be, it keeps the simple yet elegant décor, though you should still avoid the uncomfortably upright booths in the main dining room. Instead, head to the terrace up in the trees above Changle Lu’s local fashion boutiques.

The menu is simple and elegant, offering a pleasingly short selection of dishes with their own takes on classics including qunoa, borscht, goulash, pierogis and chicken Kiev. The twist with Bloc is that they’re each considered and contemporary enough to avoid falling into the trap of becoming overly niche or hearty reproductions of dishes now outside of their own context.

Take their light, balanced sweet potato and goat’s cheese pierogi dumplings (RMB40), or the full-flavored beetroot, pork and beef borscht (RMB35 a cup). Both are clearly reminiscent of their homeland dishes, but attentively refined and presented. At this price, we’re a step above provincial cuisine but that’s alright. The seared salmon salad (RMB85), featuring a phenomenal slab of crusted fish alongside dressed greens and a mixed ratatouillie-like mixture, is enough to knock anybody’s socks off.

Followed by a tender marjoram-marinated loin chop with sour-apple sauce, potato pancakes (RMB138) and a slice of banana-meringue cake (RMB50), Bloc has managed to pull off something we didn’t expect. Sit back and enjoy it with one of their Lipton tea vodka cocktails (RMB50) in hand.

2/F, 139-19 Changle Lu 长乐路139-19号2楼 Tel: 6404-6685
http://blocshanghai.com/

This is from my review in Cityweekend – see the full listing here.

At RMB200 for a small plate and RMB360 for a large of the Major de Espanya Bellotas, it’s costly. The price, however, faded into obscurity almost as quickly as the slices of ham melted in our mouths. They also offer a less refined, not acorn-exclusive Iberico jamon (RMB125 small, RMB225 large), which is honestly close to perfection.

The rest of the simple tapas menu luckily is a tour de force as well. An ample mushroom tortilla (RMB50), a new twist on a warm spinach salad with pancetta and orange (RMB42) and lip-smacking wedges of patatas bravas (RMB45), all were great, and our garlic-drenched tender rings of alamari (RMB45) and chunks of rich cheeses served with bread and honey (RMB120) followed superbly.

Wash it all down with some good conversation and a bottle from their short but detailed wine list (starting at RMB220), and the package is complete. We only wish this wasn’t in the off-Xintiandi neighborhood with its customarily lofty prices. Otherwise, this would become a regular go-to for a slice of Europe at its best.

68 Taicang Lu 太仓路 68 号 Tel: 6384-1382

This is from my review in Cityweekend – see the full listing here.

Instead, you’ll find a strain of fine Italian dining that has earned Sabatini global praise. In the hands of executive chef Valentino Palmisano, the menu features signature dishes such as the linguine Sabatini (RMB168), a seafood-rich, al dente pasta, as well as more personalized dishes like the homemade, almost ribbon-like scialatielli with lobster and ricotta cheese (RMB168). There’s an attention to preparation to which Sabatini adheres with precision, as shown by the seared tuna salad with pomelo (RMB138)—it’s an applaudable construction.

The story, however, tells of a struggle. These are not yet the masterpieces that we’d expect of Sabatini’s 50-year heritage. The raw flavors are slightly too familiar. There isn’t cheese from a 100-year-old family dairy or seafood fresh from the local bay. However, Sabatini truly excels in one dish on the menu, the crispy suckling pig with red onion jam (RMB298). Cooked for 26 hours, it’s a succulent, delicious testament to what can happen when these Sabatini’s skilled hands find the right produce.

Faced with a sourcing challenge, Sabatini is clearly pushing the boundaries with what’s available. We’re looking forward to the next iterations of the menu with bated breath to see where fine-Italian cuisine is destined in Shanghai.

1/F, Wheelock Square, 1717 Nanjing Xi Lu 南京西路1717号会德丰国际广场南苑1楼 Tel: 3127-8577

This is from my review in Cityweekend – see the full listing here.

They also know that we don’t just do brunches and lunches. We like to let our hair down in the evenings too. Element Fresh Vintage is their Xintiandi nightlife spot. The concept is a no-brainer. They offer everything an Element Fresh has, but with the lights turned down and the music up. Outside on the terrace is a prime location for people watching on Xintiaindi’s popular thoroughfare. Inside are three floors of sultrily-lit tables including an airy rooftop terrace.

To benchmark, we tried the classic firecracker salmon (RMB148), two pieces of boneless pink fish grilled in house in nine spices and served with snow peas and an almost Thai-sticky rice. It’s effortlessly balanced and delicious.

Vintage-specific additions to the menu include a tad expensive but utterly mouthwatering spicy prawn salad with miso dressing and glazed pecans (RMB188), and they also have a bar menu offering snacks until 2am including praise-worthy tiger prawn and mango ceviche (RMB78) and a light and fresh quesadilla (RMB68). This is all on top of an extensive drink list. They’ve also greatly expanded their wine offerings, and will walk you through a three-course food / wine pairing for RMB450.

Yes, it’s more of the same. Yes, it’s in tourist central. But it still works and we’ll come again, though you’ll probably want to avoid it for family outings.

No. 2, North Block, Lane 181 Taicang Lu 太仓路181号新天地北里2号 Tel: 6326-0950

This is from my review in Cityweekend – see the full listing here ]]> http://triplefiveshanghai.com/review-element-fresh-vintage/feed/ 0 http://triplefiveshanghai.com/hanging-fujian-tulou/ http://triplefiveshanghai.com/hanging-fujian-tulou/#comments Wed, 27 Jun 2012 03:31:09 +0000 555Drew http://www.triplefiveshanghai.com/?p=2833

At some point in the history of China’s ebb and flow of progress, the local Fujianese discovered agoraphobia. They clubbed together to build what are essentially little community castles.

Over the next couple hundred years, some 20,000 of these circular (sometimes oval, sometimes square) buildings were knocked together from mud (hence their name, Tulou: “Earth Structure”) and whatever else was laying around. The result is a thick walled, sturdy, inwardly-facing donut residence for eighty or so farming families.

From the outside they’re impenetrable toughness. Three or four stories of 6-foot thick wall, slits for windows and only one iron-clad door. Fierce. Inside is a different story. From the middle of a circular cobbled courtyard is a wooden hive of accommodation. Around each floor runs a corridor from which thirty or so rooms join into a loop. It’s like a donut motel. Nothing is private.

They’re reminiscent of the Shakespearean Globe Theatre, only larger and perhaps Byker Wall, only older. Of course they’re not really products of the fear of open spaces, nor a complete disregard for privacy but an effective way to share resources, withstand earthquakes and ward off attacks from The Others.

Nowadays they’ve mostly fallen down or into disrepair (this is China). The ones that are still standing are either on their way out, turned into nightclubs, snapped into inevitable antitourism by UNESCO or slowly, perhaps fondly, taken over by the more progressive descendants of a once dwelling family.

We have the fortune to know someone in the latter category and so, in the dead of night, three hours outside of Xiamen, we pulled into a weekend-retreat Tulou of our almost-very own.

‘This one in particular is of a young and beautiful age’, explains the almost spiritual PHD researcher staying for a few days to interview the half-dozen remaining residents. Once home to almost a hundred, it’s now 75% owned by one family, 90% vacant and for the time-being a base-camp for Tulou spotters as they rove the area.

It has all the charm of something old and Chinese. Functionally ornate and somehow calmingly complex. It feels slightly backwards, as if created by a civilisation that had it wrong all-along but admirably stuck to the plan. In the surrounding area are many more examples. Mostly husks of somewhere left behind when a better idea came along. The truth is this all happened more recently than you’d think.

Down the road, past the waterfall and up the hill (and further than we expected by bike) is the flagship cluster of Tianluokeng. Here the three circular Tulou, one oval and one square have been overrun by the busy tourism ants. We were there on the same day that the local chintz-board were delivering their display stands to the occupants. We politely refused the hand-rolled cigarettes, fake Mona Lisa paintings and bullhorn rattles to wander through their kitchens and admire the central well – an evocative reminder of how the other half lives.

To get the juices flowing, we explored the traditional dips selection with a six-dish sample platter (RMB68). Served with a blimp-like balloon of their impressive signature puffed bread, we especially liked the well-made hummus, quenching yoghurt haydari, and perfectly tart stuffed dolmades. Moreish too, are their puff borek (RMB30), piping hot puff pastries filled with spinach that ooze flavor.

Vegetable amuse bouche aside, the core of Kebab King’s Turkish menu is all about meat and flames. The kuzu sis (RMB78), tenderly grilled, well-seasoned plate of boneless lamb served on flat bread, is no culinary masterpiece, but is satisfyingly primitive, allowing the meat to speak without interruption. Far less impressive was a chicken doner with pilau (RMB65). The morsels of too-dry chicken mixed with rice were too bland and greasy for the price.

Wash it down with a nectar-sweet Efes (RMB30) and balance is restored. Perhaps it’s not a place for a romantic date, but Kebab King is a cheerful if not cheap addition to Shanghai’s underrepresented carnivore circuit.

Rm. 1, 8 Ruijin Yi Lu 瑞金一路8号1铺 Tel: 6211-7980

This is from my review in Cityweekend – see the full listing here ]]> http://triplefiveshanghai.com/review-kebab-king/feed/ 0 http://triplefiveshanghai.com/review-crpes/ http://triplefiveshanghai.com/review-crpes/#comments Thu, 31 May 2012 08:57:11 +0000 555Drew http://www.triplefiveshanghai.com/?p=2829 Nestled in a corner of Shanghai Centre, Crêpes & Co is a relaxed and friendly café serving up great dessert pancakes and some passable savoury ones too. Their 40-strong savoury menu (ranging from RMB45 to RMB93) offers variations of what is a perfectly thin crêpe wrapped around almost any combination of ingredients imaginable, from a cheese and egg Fermiere to a “London”-themed version with bacon, spinach and cottage cheese.

This is from my review in Cityweekend – see the full listing here ]]> http://triplefiveshanghai.com/review-crpes/feed/ 0 http://triplefiveshanghai.com/finger-fatigue/ http://triplefiveshanghai.com/finger-fatigue/#comments Wed, 23 May 2012 14:42:43 +0000 555Drew http://www.triplefiveshanghai.com/?p=2814 This last month I’ve written 4 restaurant reviews, 2 newsletters, 10 food award summaries, 12 al-fresco recaps, 80 product entries, 555 emails and 0 posts on triplefiveshanghai.

Bringing his right-hand chefs, building contractor and a love for the truffle, Bombana has now come to Shanghai. As the first tenant of the new Rock Bund development, this could be where the Chinese Mainland truly embraces echelon Italian dining. Fully booked since its opening, it’s receiving an emphatic Shanghai welcome. Leaning on executive chef Alan Yu’s Shanghai experience, the menu is a fanfare of luxury ingredients, from 36-month aged bellota Iberico ham (RMB190) to Boston lobster tagliatelle (RMB190) to Oakleigh Ranch beef rib eye (RMB1,300).

For those who wish to follow Bombana’s select story, there’s a five-course degustation menu (RMB1,288 for two with wine pairings). Delicate wasabi themes flow through the masterpiece Napoleon of bluefin tuna. Balanced Parmesan and porcini gather amongst fine risotto. Heavy truffle and foie gras go head to head against perfectly succulent Wagyu Tajima tenderloin. It’s a narrative paralleling Fellini’s 1963 film, the restaurant’s namesake.

Topped by pastry chef Sohya Takahashi’s phenomenal apple tart and molecular petit fours, this is a story indeed. A chat with pasta specialist sous-chef Silvio Armanni confirms our only misgiving; a ravioli course would have added an overlooked chapter.

Is this Akelarre? No. Is it global Michelin quality cuisine served in a country not famous for it’s international-friendly produce, palate or refined service? Yes. Ranked against almost everywhere in Shanghai it’s very, very good—five stars. Against other Michelins? Almost there. Perhaps this is a discussion to be had over a tremendously well-mixed cocktail (RMB80-120) at 8½’s seductive bar.

Otto e Mezzo: 6-7/F, Mision Building, 169 Yuanmingyuan Lu
(0)20 6087-2890
www.ottoemezzobombana.com

This is my review with Cityweekend, full listing here

The restaurant carries an elite swagger, with an alluring bar by the entrance surrounded by their extensive 220-label wine list. Unfortunately, designers Zerolaboffice seem to have been more concerned with slapping the Bocca logo all over the ceiling than paying attention to acoustics. You’ll need to scoot close to your date to have a conversation, but maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

The soft opening menu we tasted covers a couple of options for each course. Executive chef David Bassan, returning to Shanghai after stints elsewhere in Asia, is developing the kitchen along with the menu. He’s put together an all-star lineup that includes mouth-watering 24-month aged Parmesan cheese, San Daniele ham and black cattle carpaccio. We opted for an oversize Caprese (RMB148) with rewarding slabs of what is no doubt Shanghai’s best buffalo mozzarella, deliciously hearty tomatoes and wispy molecular basil foam.

Proceedings lost their edge slightly with the swordfish paccheri (RMB118). Such large ribbons of pasta do not marry well with the salty-firm morsels of fish. The supremely tender Angus fillet tenderloin (RMB388) was fantastic. However, at this price, we expect as much, and the plate feels empty with only a handful of potato cubes and a mini-bowl of beans keeping the cut company. Desserts are pleasingly experimental with a contrasting smooth and crunchy ricotta cheese cannoli (RMB68).

These are great times for Shanghai’s high end Italian restaurants. Like bus passengers, we wait and wait and three come along at once. If others weren’t so strong we’d probably be crowning Bocca as the new prince. But the others are, so we look forward to Bassan further upping his game.

22 Zhong Shan Dong Er Lu 中山东二路22号5楼 Tel: 6328-6598

My Review in Cityweekend of another contender to the Italian iron throne… full listing here

It’s a departure from the norm. These are small cuts of pleasingly fresh fish individually deep-fried in a thin batter and served alongside a herby, homemade tartar sauce. Tradition dictates a fluffy-yet-crunchy, almost bland batter acting as a vessel and letting the fish do the talking. Catch! offers a more flavor-diverse experience, and for an additional RMB10 you can get a delicious plate of battered fries or sweet potatoes on the side.

Catch! isn’t for everybody, and if you’re in need of the authentic English experience we recommend a trip to The Camel, O’Malley’s or even The Sailors a few doors down. But for an elevated experience with good produce this is worth a try. We’re looking forward to the warmer days when the doors are open so we can sit streetside and not go home smelling like an east London chippy.

63 Yongkang Lu 永康路63号 Tel: 139-1798-5763

My Review in Cityweekend of Yongkang Lu’s second (or is it third) fish and chips bar… full listing here

It was a 5 lap race – who won? Well I didn’t – the Kart obviously did. I comfortably took second. Here are the results and a full race review.

If you’re in Shanghai this weekend, you’d be silly not to get involved. There’s a huge group ride on Friday night sponsored by us and Cheers in and Shanghai Tattoo; the Alleycat and after party on Saturday with Title Sponsor Boxing Cat and Sinan Mansions; and on Sunday the trick competitions and a BBQ with meat brought by Yasmine’s Butchery, beer courtesy of The Brew’s Beer Bike and gold sprints hosted by Specialized.

It’s all free to enter. The food and drink will be cheap or free and it’s going to be huge.

All you have to do is grab a free t-shirt made by Lee, dash/cruise/swan around town, collect a wrist band from 12 checkpoints and get back to the beginning in the fastest time.

If you haven’t already: Register now

Jump on the Metro to the end of line 7, Huamu Lu. Walk into the new mall in the Kerry Centre – hit up the massive new Baker & Spice and tuck into a whole Chocolate Strawberry cake.

Whatever you do – do not cross the road, go into the architecturally god-awful Jumeirah center and buy a RMB 100 ticket for the World Chocolate Wonderland. Inside is one of the worst events that has ever come to Shanghai (alongside the Thailand Expo Pavilion and that first gig in the new-new Mao Livehouse which got shut down by the police before it started).

The Wonderland, as rumor has it, is a chocolate theme park to rival Willy Wonka. They tout the terracotta warriors cast in chocolate, a fully recreated chocolate Bund (complete with flowing chocolate Huangpu river) and a factory where you can make your own chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate!!! What they don’t mention is how utterly unimpressive all of this is.

Set to an Alvin-Chipmunk style jingle on permanent loop, in what feels like a skyscraper still under construction, with a handful of crafty mascots repeatedly shoved in your face. You’ll wander through a series of mildly refrigerated spaces that smell of chocolate.

Behind the glass there’ll be a series of ‘things’ made of out chocolate. Guides in winter coats and Jester hats will explain the marvels of how liquid chocolate can take any shape when solid and how white chocolate and brown chocolate can be used to make white or brown items. I guarantee you’ll raise an eyebrow at a couple, go ‘meh’ at a few and instantly forget the rest.

The Terracotta Warriors are amongst the ever-so-slightly impressive. They look like rows of angry Chinese Easter bunnies.

Unfortunately by this stage you’ve already paraded past a whole display dedicated to a mediocre galleon… and the laughable Lujiazui scene.

Elsewhere there are a couple of Transformers, a Lenovo, a Vespa, a wall of Buddha, the world’s most expensive chocolate and to keep the locals happy – some Louis Vuitton. All of which is punctuated by heavily branded displays, some chef making a cake and human-size blocks of chocolate dancing around.

Before you know it, the tiny free chocolate has been munched, you’ve marvelled at the DIY factory and are on the ‘street’ of chocolatier gift shops. Was that an actual wedding going on back there? Forget it. Get out before the music and the mascots seep into your soul and you actually try to eat the one of the massive chess pieces at the entranceway. Be warned, they’re made of plastic and probably covered in infant drool.

Italian Kitchen 26, also known as Seasalt, is of the Italian-by-numbers mold. There are wine boxes stacked in the corners, stock photos of Vespas on the walls and chalkboards hanging from the ceiling. Japanese owned, the restaurant’s décor is only just on the right side of cliché, and when all of the six or so tables are occupied, has a satisfying appeal.

Once you get over the confusion of being given multiple menus and the restaurant’s clear penchant for the number 26, the food options are rather simple. They offer a series of bite-sized appetizers, a few pasta dishes and a handful of mains.

Of the appetizers, our plate of calamari (RMB48) drizzled with lemon set a good tone with fresh squid cooked firm but not rubbery. Excellent, too, is the moussaka-like roasted eggplant layered with pork and tomato (RMB26). But skip the crab cakes with horseradish (RMB38); they’re bland and watery and a shame.

Mains are also slightly off-kilter. While a bowl of rocket and pesto fusilli (RMB48) has everything in the right order, it carries a “could have done this at home” feel to it. Similar is a couple of grilled king prawns (RMB58) which looked rather lonely without accompaniment. Fortunately, by dessert, proceedings are back underway with a delicious strawberry-topped panna-cotta (RMB32) and light tiramisu (RMB38).

Grab a glass of house red (RMB26), explore a few options on the small-bites menu and roll with it.

2/F, 23 Anfu Lu 安福路23号 Tel: 3302-4997

My Review in Cityweekend of Anfu Lu’s latest low-end italian… full listing here

We got together with the Englishman in the M1NT kitchen to ask a few questions about his menu. Grant Brunsden started in London’s Tsunami and with a resume that’s seen him work in Nobu, St John and Ai New Delhi, he has a globe-spanning if not diverse repertoire. When posed with “How do you keep it together, current and crowd pleasing all at the same time?” Grant gave us his pointers:

Freshness is about variety:

“If you’re sharing it’s more fun. You can have a steak next to a bowl of dumplings, as long as they’re both good!” With a menu that ranges from Rangers Valley black Angus beef served with a wasabi dipping sauce (pictured above left), to Cantonese shrimp and prawn wonton soup (pictured above right), Brunsden is open to the Chinese approach to group eating. “Many of our diners like to mix it up. These are big portions, and up here in the right atmosphere the fun begins.”

Good food means trial and error

“We’re always playing with new ideas in the kitchen. If something doesn’t work for people we cut it from the menu. Simple.” The result is refined variety, each dish a culinary iteration. Take the black cod (pictured above) for example: starting with Brunsden’s perfected dashi base, the fish is covered in a miso marinade and wrapped in bamboo. Three days later it’s roasted and served unwrapped. It’s one of their best sellers. Robust yet succulent and paired with the complex miso tones, it oozes experience.

Find good produce

“Be ready to work with what the ship brings in. I’m eating strawberries in the middle of winter and so seasonality becomes finding a blend of good local and international produce”. At M1NT, sourcing is a key to maintaining a current menu. Their sea bass and bream and even foie gras are sourced locally, and increasingly too are the subtleties that make a superior dish. “Three years ago there were no pea shoots in China; now we use them every day,” Brunsden tells us. As a garnish to the rolled octopus terrine (pictured above) they add a distinct yet complementary layer.

Brunsden’s approach demonstrates the confidence of someone who’s seen it all. “At the end of the day, if the restaurant is full, people are happy and having fun, then our menu considerations have done their job.”

This is because Issimo could be in the gastronomic-epicenter of any city in the world. It’s a step out of Shanghai, and to prove it, you’re led to your table past bowls of lush vine-ripened tomatoes and bell peppers. Quaffing a glass of Riesling (RMB88), watching Pace in the open kitchen, you’re gearing up for the big league.
Sourcing is clearly on point with supreme antipasto cuts (RMB98) and salmon carpaccio (RMB128). The mozzarella burrata atop the cherry tomato and basil bruschetta (RMB68) is to die for. Sitting with a generous plate of meaty yet succulent calamari and king prawns (RMB68), the Pudong skyline feels a thousand miles away.

Italian food is, alas, not all just about the produce. In the overly salty pumpkin ravioli (RMB108) and too-stringy spatchcock spring chicken (RMB148) the sheen fades. Those should have been easy. Easier still should have been the offerings from the wood-fired oven. We must admit a certain penchant for pizza temples, and the thought of Issimo’s copper-lined beauty had us rather excited. Unfortunately, the day’s doughy prosciutto pizza (RMB158) seemed to be worshipping a Ciabatta god.

Sometimes it’s the case with great but not perfect restaurants that appetizers outweigh the mains. The next time we’re here it’ll be to nibble on calamari and burrata while knocking back a cold pint of Stella (RMB58).

2/F, 931 Nanjing Xi Lu 南京西路931号2楼 Tel: 3302-4997

My Review in Cityweekend of high-end and ever so slightly so-so Issimo.. full listing here

Aside from a bottle of Beluga vodka (RMB2,350) it’s hard to spend money at this place. Virtually everything is less than RMB50 with the whole Eastern Bloc covered by an almost overwhelming menu.

Their star appetizer is a plate of smoked salmon blini (RMB27). They present an odd juxtaposition of sweet pancakes and salty fish and are curious if not moreish. More pleasing is a huge plate of marinated mushrooms (RMB20), cucumbers (RMB15) and an extraordinarily tasty creamed Parmesan-stuffed tomato(RMB25).

The classic salad Oliver (RMB30) and borsht soup (RMB38) are no sweat for what is clearly an accomplished chef in the kitchen. With authentic ingredients in abundance, they both make Red Square’s taste like poor Chinese relations.

Mains are heavily meat based, served alongside potato ‘garnishes’ such as spicy wedges or potato pancakes (an extra RMB15). Ranging from cabbage-wrapped meat golubtsy (RMB35) to Siberian pork and beef pelmeni dumplings (RMB38), the closest you’ll get to a vegetable is the meat-stuffed peppers (RMB35).

They’re all excellent and incredibly filling but take the waiter’s winter recommendation and get a plate of captains’ meat (RMB38) for the road. It’s a pork chop loaded with cheese and layered with potato. Finish all this and they’ll be rolling you down the stairs like a Matrëshka doll.

Matrëshka: 165 Shimen Er Lu, 石门二路165号

My Review in Cityweekend of Shanghai’s Third Russian restaurant.. full listing here

Thanks to a yorkshire Christmas, I just entered the world of prime lenses – and like racing flats and fixed gear – the distillation of functions is pristine clarity.

Landing into Heathrow, if you’re lucky, you’ll be stuck in a holding pattern and be circling around east London. Sit on the right hand side, that’s where all the action is as the plan banks clockwise over the city. It must be a hundred times that I’ve thought about slipping out the back door with a parachute and landing on Victoria Park.

Here’s where the Olympic Village has emerged. From a bunch of gas towers, train tracks and one significant hockey pitch has grown a rather large sporting neighbourhood. At it’s centre – the relatively humble (The World’s most eco-friendly) main stadium stands out poised to be London’s next landmark.

Spotting London’s last landmark, Renzo Piano’s The Shard, teetering above the City on the other side of the Thames normally indicates approach for landing. As the plane makes a lazy descent across the middle of town you’ll be treated to Canary Wharf, the South Bank, Piccadilly Circus, Westminster, Pimlico, Hyde Park and Hammersmith.

Assuming, that is, you’re sat on the right. Otherwise, well, enjoy a bit of Brixton and maybe look out for deer in Richmond Park.

With globally recognised Russian and Ukrainian fare from borscht (RMB18) to potato pancakes (RMB20), the menu has plenty to choose from. Each comes as a small dish so there’s good reason to explore the lesser known items, especially if you can decipher the slightly obscure descriptions. The salad Olivier (RMB28) is a solid rendition of the mound of vegetables and mayonnaise otherwise known as a Russian salad. Of the soups, the less common rice Kharcho (RMB28) stands out; its hearty base with tender chunks of lamb make it perfect for winter.

Golubtsy (RMB32), meat and rice wrapped in cabbage, is a mainstay of Russian comfort food. Here though, they are a victim of Chinese produce. They’re a little bland and need lashings of Smetana sauce. The slightly dry chicken Kyev (RMB38) runs into similar problems.

Red Square also caters for the high-flyers. Their red caviar bliny (RMB68) are the real Russian deal, large pancakes served with incredibly salty caviar. They’re definitely an acquired taste; Western canapé renditions are a much lighter affair and we can see why.

In the evenings there are live performances, so expect Cossack dancing and Russian techno—assuming they have enough people fill their huge dining room. 1933 may be too far from the former French Concession to be trendy and a little too try-hard to win over discerning Bund diners, but it’s worth bucking the trend and heading over if you’re looking for an eastern-European experience.

Red Square: Rm. 308, 1/F, 1933 Building, 10 Shajing Lu 沙径路10号1933老场坊1号楼308室

My Review in Cityweekend of 1933′s hopeful Russian… full listing here

So, given that Chongqing has some 31.5 million people, we were expecting a plethora of snack offerings. Take the city’s proximity to pepper-loving Sichuan, distance from fresh air and the local desire to punish themselves, here are some of the worst, weirdest and damn spiciest snack foods in the world:

See the Chongqing street food flickr photoset here.

Other posts on Chongqing here

In the five and a half years since being infatuated with going to Chongqing (China’s largest city that nobody has heard of) I’ve conjured up images of what it would look like.

Sure. I know people who’ve been or lived there. “There’s a reason you’ve never heard of it” they say. “It’s basically any big Chinese city, just bigger”. But they said the same about Guangzhou and so I remained unperturbed.

I knew it would be hectic, hazy, hilly and very Chinese. I figured there’d be some curious local delicacies, one or two AAAA tourist traps and a sprinkling of Louis Vuitton.

In all my wildest projections I didn’t imagine there would be an entire district covered in graffiti. There is.

HuangJuePing is the high-street of a neighbourhood which envelopes the Chongqing art college. In 2006, a prominent local artsy figure managed to persuade The Party that his doodle project would be a good idea. They agreed, and within minutes had convinced every single resident of HuangJuePing to go along.

And so over the next months they painted almost every square inch of every wall and building in the area. The result is an overload to the senses, like a council housing compound that went ten steps further.

Well done China. It’s bloody awesome. Chongqing you proved me right. It’s exactly why I came to China.

I look 5 million photographs. Here’s a handfull:

More photos in the Chongqing, Doodle Street flickr set here.

From the provinces the size of two Swedens, to the those with a population of three Germanys and one Spain I’m here to enjoy them for what they are, not what they want us too see.

I knew it wouldn’t all be pretty, I came to test the senses. I would be the antitourist.

My first non-mainstream taste of China was a 2006 Guardian article on the ‘Megapolis you’ve never heard of’. Since then I’ve been transfixed by making a visit to Chongqing.

Thanks to a friend’s wedding and a little free time, five and a half years later I finally made it to the city of 31.5 million people to find what it takes to keep something so ginormous entirely off the radar. The answer? A blanket of haze, a mountain of awful food, a couple of rivers and one or two very well kept secrets.

Blankets of haze

Set on a plinth at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers, Chongqing has the only urban skyline in China that actually looks good. It feels like the city is bursting at the seams – bulging out of the ground with a million skyscrapers in various stages of incubation. In contrast to the flat-pancakes of Shanghai and Guangzhou, Chongqing is a beautiful and striking landscape of brute force and human determination.

Beautiful and striking if you can see it. The summer humidity, winter fog, inland clouds and rampant pollution make Chongqing the most hazy city in China. The effect is a constant blanket of dazzling grey, like a hangover headache. Take some rose tinted shades.

Mountains of spice

Thanks to the topography, bicycles are virtually non-existent. The locals, devoid of an A* Chinese past time (causing havoc on the roads) have instead particularly embraced street food. This being Sichuan, the result is street food drenched in spice. Then covered in spice.

Absolutely everything comes with spice. The steamed dumplings, the noodle cups, the big macs, the skewered fish, the korean rice pots, the gigantic BBQ sticks (that put Shanghai’s to shame) the fresh tomatoes, the bottles of water…

… and the chongqing hotpot… frozen lumps of volcano are heated in a tabletop moat until bubbling with anger. Plates of raw ingredients turn into vessels for the lava to break free. After an hour of dining I’m not sure who ate who. I definitely saw the hotpot burp after we left the table.

Click here for my bonus post about the various food-offerings in Chongqing.

A couple of rivers

Chongqing’s most impressive feature (beyond the local’s capability to consume swathes of thermonuclear sauce) are the two rivers that bisect it. Wide and lazy, they lend a feeling that the city centre is a river island. As Chongqing has emerged bawling into the modern age – relics of it’s relationship with the river remain. Fleets of rusty tankers float decommissioned along the banks. Bang Bang workers loiter with shoulder-lengths of bamboo poles at the ferry terminals to carry wares uphill.

Rare for the urban waterway, Chongqing also has a history of slightly appreciating it’s river. One of the three actual tourist destinations in the city is a few centuries old citadel clinging to the rock face. It has been completely overhauled into a ghastly arrangement of tacky souvenir shops, spice outlets and pirate themed bars.

Don’t go there. Instead take a night cruise along the river and enjoy it from afar. With the haze turned down and the skyscraper lights turned up, evening is the best time to appreciate Chongqing’s skyline.

One or two well kept secrets

Ci Qi Kou

Perhaps not so well hidden, Ci Qi Kou, is one of the other main tourist-riddled destinations in Chongqing.

Festooned with appalling bric-a-brak, the part of Ci Qi Kou that’s infinitely more unknown and interesting are the mostly untouched back streets. Nobody goes there because after five minutes on the main drag your soul has been extracted by the gourd and fake art vendors. If you can survive the onslaught, the real Ci Qi Kou is a forgotten neighbourhood, frozen in time where the government’s demolish signs were tagged everywhere some time ago and now serve as macho blue plaques.

Whatever you do – don’t go to the waterside carnival. You can do without spending 5rmb to throw bean bags at boxes of ice tea.

Huangjueping

Chongqing’s doodle street is exactly the reason I can to China. In 2007 an entire neighbourhood was covered in graffiti. Apartment buildings, shops, streets, everything has been wrapped in a layer of doodles. It’s incredible. It looks beautiful, a process of accumulation as you wander from one end of the district to the other.

See more in my post on Chongqing’s Doodle street.

the complete Chongqing photo flickr set is here.

Seems the right moment to reflect on the year; snowboarding in Japan, graduating an MBA, a spell in banking, touring Spain, showing family our city, home-made bacon, paradise in Vietnam, special people, starting Factory Five and making it back to Yorkshire after a couple of years away… all to the rhythm of Shanghai in the worlds most talked about country.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, a peaceful boxing day and for me; the time to sit & write.

… and I’ve just found a bunch of old photos to upload so be warned!

185 Fumin Lu (富民路185号)
3419-0220 Full listing here

We actually finished the Hong Kong Trailwalker. All of it. We knew it was going to be tough (30hrs) but had no idea exactly how tough (37hrs57mins). As the day became night (twice), the sun turned to rain, all the checkpoints were passed, all the energy gels finished and we were running empty – all we had left in the tank was the sponsorship money raised for Oxfam and our pledge to deliver it the whole way. For this we thank you.

Unknown to us until we arrived at what we thought was the finish line, they added a few bonus miles. According to the organisers it was 2km longer but the GPS seems to think it was closer to 5km. Therefore, if you’d like to add a 2-5% bonus to your sponsorship money (or you missed the chance last time) we’ll gratefully receive any more donations before the end of the month.

Only 75% of the people who start finish it – and we were amongst the mighty few who tackled it continuously without sleep. We’ll leave you some finishing quotes from the team, and a couple of shots (taken with my iPhone) along the way.

Drew: “Not even the breathtaking scenery over Hong Kong, forest paths and dawn wildlife, carnival atmosphere along the route, phenomenal podiatry support or free-flow peanut butter sandwiches could detract from this being the hardest, most horrible event I’ve ever taken part in”

Alex: “HK slapped me in the face with a white glove; the mountains were steeper, the rain fell, the ground turned into mud that seemed to want to eat my shoes, the anti-blister socks let me down 8km in, and the peanut butter sandwiches stopped tasting good. Never has my body and mind been in such disagreement. But we found the extra crumbs of energy to bring home the sponsorship money. Thanks to all who gave so generously and especially those along the way who brought us McDonalds and pizza.

Stef: “First I want to apologize to my pinky toes, to my poor flat feet and my knee caps for all the suffering I put them through. This was the toughest walk I’ve ever done in the worst weather you can imagine. Surely even if Chow Yun Fat pulled his Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon stunt, bouncing from one peak to another, he’d be blown away in seconds and become disoriented in the thick mist. Many thanks to my family, my friends, my teammates and my mint color walking stick whom all supported me through this insanity. This walk has left scars on me mentally, physically and financially, I have absolutely zero desire to repeat this experience. However, there is one thing I do want though, can all the 4800 people who had seen me zombie walking in a big black garbage bag erase their memory…like permanently? ”

Peter: “I went for a walk in the mountains of Hong Kong and came back as a changed man… This could have been the tale of an epic spiritual journey where one finds his true self – well it was not! I did change though, I now have what looks like leprosy struck feet; knees like a cow that can’t walk down a flight of stairs because of its mis-aligned joints and a constant yelling inside my head ‘to never ever to do such a stupid thing again’. What’s next?”

More photos in my flickr set here

So relentless were we in making it down the list, those phenomenal buildings became lost in the white noise of architecture.

I’ve spent the years since then perfecting my archi-white-noise-cancelling capabilities. By rolling my eyes, Archispeak Soundwaves are knocked loose from the environment. Even the most potent chat can be minimised to the faintest of rear-brain niggles.

There is a piece of architecture beyond any AWNC technology. Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. In Barcelona today I couldn’t find our favorite Pelle Negro bar or private pipe-collector’s club… but I can remember that cathedral in all five senses.

And now, all five have been compounded with 12 years of interest. Whilst still clearly far from finished, La Sagrada Familia is what it wasn’t before… a Cathedral.

It’s phenomenal. A walk around the museum in the basement demonstrates Gaudi’s forays elsewhere as merely dry runs. How he took forms from nature. The logic in the column’s alien realisation. Wonderful.

Every nook is completely overrun with tourist ants, busily getting in the way of everything. A best approach is to stand at a backwards angle, always looking upwards. The action is all up there anyway.

The tour of the upper reaches tries to make you avoid it by slapping an extra tax and a complicated queuing system. Ignore them. Do it.

To see more photos, visit the flickr set.

In case you didn’t read the guide book (or you only got a cheesy one for tourists) here’s a super-quick antitourism rundown of what’s actually good to see in Spain’s capital city.

La Rambla and the Port

Walk along a racing line from Plaça de Catalunya to the port in as little time as possible. There are three photos worth taking. One of the wide pedestrian-packed boulevard, the second of the amusing real life mannequins and the third of the petty criminals as they steal your wallet. You’ll see them trying trick you into a ball-cup gamble. Too late. He’s gone.

La Boqueria

Impressive due to it’s monstrous volume of fresh produce, La Boqueria is ironically the biggest market you’ll ever go to and probably come away with nothing.

You’ll be completist, you’ll wander ever aisle and reach every corner. You’ll see beautiful displays of fresh seafood, vegetables, regional delicacies. You’ll buy a filo pasty shaped like a cumberland sausage it will be good but fleeting. If you’ve still got your wallet, splurge on a fresh juice from one of the 55 vendors.

The Beach and Barceloneta

Barcelona beach is on the best sea in the world; the Mediterranean. Good sand, warm waters an island to swim to and it’s proximity to the city are enough to make everybody jealous.

Trumping all of this are the neighbouring streets of La Barceloneta. These tight streets of residential blocks are oozing layers of repression and gentrification. If I lived in Barcelona I would live here. Every day I would walk down to my corner deli-bar, drink a clara and argue with the locals about unemployment.

The alleyways

East of La Rambla are a network of painfully picturesque alleys and plazas. The more lost you get, the fewer tourists you’ll see so make this a priority. Look out for artisan garages, neighbourhood bars curious galleries and upmarket plaza refits. Have a bottle of water to hand and stay hydrated.

Agbar Tower and Santa Caterina Market

Barcelona is only 95% Gaudi. Of the newer projects a couple stand out. From afar, Torre Agbar is a ginormous monet-wrapped bullet, glistening in hues of red and blue in the long afternoon sun. Impressive at a distance, it reveals it’s budget construction up close… like a poor-man’s Swiss Re.

Like a Marylebone Waitrose, you just know the peaceful layout and beautiful produce at Mercat Santa Caterina are going to attract a hefty premium. Come here instead for the roof, an undulating technicolor timber tapestry. You’ll not be able to wangle you’re way up there but the surrounding buildings offer a vantage point.

(also worthy of a runner’s up prize is Richard Roger’s Bullring. For some reason they lifted the entire bullring up a few inches and turned it into a mall)

La Sagrada Familia

Only an imbecile would visit Barcelona without going to the Sagrada Familia. Find out why in my post on Gaudi’s masterpiece Cathedral.

To see more photos, visit the flickr set.

Well. We did win an entry ticket. The distant future became the next few weeks. A huge blip on the radar pulsed ever closer like the beat of a Viking drum. Why does this feel familiar?

Next week, Alex, Stef, Peter (All from Neri & Hu) and I will go to Hong Kong, find the start of the Army’s most grueling MacLehose Trail and with a few thousand people walk non-stop along the entirety of it.

It will probably take us around 30hours. Through the day, through the night and up to the following evening. All in the name of charity – and my inability to say no.

We’ve bought the kit. Kind of. In true Drok style we’ll be doing it in our normal gym kit with a couple kagools and an ipod.

We’ve done the training. Sort of. We hiked the 7 hour hangzhou trail, got up at 4am and walked from Shanghai to Sheshan and last weekend scaled the fire escapes of 6 Shanghai Skyscrapers across town.

We’ve got the support. Fully. A couple special friends will be at choice spots along the way with blister tape, big macs and pugil sticks for us to beat each other with.

What we don’t have is the Charity donations. We need a minimum of a few hundred pounds to pass their requirement and a few hundred more to make us feel like we made a difference. I am in no shadow of a doubt that it’s going to be the hardest sporting thing I’ve ever done.

So, on the night before we leave – next tuesday, 15th November, come to Annion in the Jiashan Market, wish us luck and instead of buying me a parting drink, buy yourself a raffle ticket.

We’ve been super-lucky to have some amazing sponsors giving awesome prizes including a Factory Five bike, Hyatt on the Bund brunch tickets, Dyrberg/kern jewelry and Tom Dixon lights.

If you’re not in Shanghai on tuesday, give me 100RMB or £10 (or more) via paypal and I’ll put your name on a ticket.

After passing the wet sandcastle that is Rico Rico beach, our expectations of its sister venue were far from lofty. Get through the door, however, and there’s a clearly different vibe. Tastefully vintage-meets-warehouse themed, the restaurant doubles as a bar and budding salsa venue most evenings. Upstairs, and quaintly served wedged in a novel, is the menu, a pan-Latin read from a Spanish-Mexican chef. Expect empanadas, gambas and a couple dishes with some Asian influence.

Served atop a custom-cast section of terracotta, the “piruleta” croquettes (RMB35) set the tone, each with a surprising yet naturally apt filling that includes pumpkin and sweet potato. Also well composed is the shaved calamari salad (RMB60). Balanced against pico de gallo, it delivers each one’s identity without compromise.

The dozen or so mains put Rico Rico in the big league. From the aired potato accompanying the superbly tender pig cheeks (RMB168) to the seabass skin with the roasted seabass and sweet potato puree (RMB135), there’s an attention to preparation often lacking in “upper echelon” restaurants. The price tag does concur though, and each dish would benefit from a selection of sides.

A brave trio of cinnamon bread, rice pudding and spicy chocolate ice cream (RMB55) has enough of a love-it-or-hate-it appeal to pass. A safer finale is the very long Spanish Moscow Mule (RMB60) enjoyed at the downstairs bar or on the outside terrace.

Rating: 4/5
Rico Rico, Rm. 114, 601 Waima Lu 外马路601号114室,
Tel: 3330-0977

My Review in Cityweekend of this higher end new-cool-docks Latam experience… full listing here

The incredible part of the museum lies at its core. Down one corridor, into a tidy cloister and ducking under a half-sized door there is a 16th Century Church. It’s a system shock. This shouldn’t be here. Did they really install an entire church into this museum? Sublime.

The Church’s Apse and lofty nave are covered in Josef Maria Sert’s frescoes. They’re being meticulously and painfully restored – squares of tissue paper accentuate how seriously the Basques are taking the project. How seriously the Basques take themselves is left to the rest of the museum. Turns out they invented the television, bicycle and the sewing machine.

Pintxos are the Pho of Spain. If you’ve been in a Spanish restaurant and had a prawn salad atop a slice of bread and you weren’t in San Sebastian then you didn’t have Pintxos. It’s that simple.

Holy Pinchos

To celebrate this monopolistic prowess, every bar in San Sebastian is absolutely overflowing with them. Around the cobbled streets of the old town you can’t walk ten meters without pulling up alongside an oversize bar laden with plates. There must be a hundred bars, each home to 50 plates. Arranged on each plate is a dozen or more two-bite ensembles of goodness. That’s 120,000 mouthfuls of culinary pleasure. You did it Spain. You did it!

Holy Holy Pinchos

There’s a wedge of brie and roasted peppers, squid and lettuce, tortilla and quail’s egg. A pork chop, crab salad, smoked salmon and mustard. All absolute heaven. You barely notice that half of your wallet is missing and half a dozen barely touched the sides. It’s a feeding frenzy. Jubilation. As if that’s not enough, San Sebastian throws us another dish from nowhere; Pimientos de Padrón. Amazing. Hat’s off Spain, you did it.

Moneo’s Kursaal

Euphoric, we went off in search of art or architecture in the rain and found ourselves beaming at Moneo’s rainbow-lit Kursaal. Okay it’s a couple of oversize cubes but their jaunty angles hit the right tone for a balanced, vibrant city. With the humongous San Telmo refit and Michelin Stars falling from the sky there’s clearly money here. Chillida’s iconic sculptures must be combing for more than the wind.

Wind Comb, Chillida

The actual Covadonga is, if my Spanish is good (it’s not) is a village parish consisting of a pilgrimage-worthy shrine and basilica. They’re both photogenic to a tee, the shrine is clinging to the rock face carved into a cavern perching atop a waterfall. It’s accessed by a huge staircase embedded into the rock with tunnels through the mountain lined with candles. Spend an hour to wander over to the mighty basically and soak in the heavenly atmosphere.

Then jump back in the car and head further up the mountain to the Lagos Covadonga. Along the way you’ll be winding through precarious hairpins, rubbing noses with stray cows and wondering if the snow-capped vistas can get any more beautiful.

They can. At the end of the road are two lakes. Keep going at the first, the second is the money. Here is an immaculate grassy meadow circling a glassy lake. On the far side a range of mountains, on the near side the only restaurant for miles and all around a gentle, repetitious cow-bell chorus from the grazing herd. The sound of breaking waves, rainfall in the jungle and a purring cat. Now we can add Covadonga cowbells to the list of world’s greatest sounds.

We ate (at the only restaurant for miles) a hearty Fabada stew of chorizo and beans in preparation for running the 7km loop around the lakes (do it – even as a walk). Fabada is basically the Spanish version of the French Cassoulet. Served right I know Fabada can be the a sultry slow-cooked cauldron of texture and taste. Cooked not-right and you get this, the same wet-bland taste as we’ve had a bunch of times in Soho. Spain – what are you doing to us?

More photos in my flickr account here.

Weddings in Oviedo take hours. Actually the wedding ceremony proper is over in a few sentences. Then everybody is whisked away blindfolded to the middle of nowhere to eat and drink as much as is humanly possible – and then some. Then dance. Repeat. Add a chocolate fountain. Repeat.

The party lasts 12 hours until 6am when the coach is scheduled to return to the non-wedding real world. For the weak there’s also a coach at 4am which nobody is allowed to take. Those without the ability to stay awake given lashings of alcohol and disco can go for a stint on the bouncy castle.

Over the course of the evening lashings of lobster, shrimp, beef fillet, cod, cheese, pata negro jamon and champagne kept falling from the ceiling. Yes it was good but even my foodie senses couldn’t process anything beyond some of the best jamon I’ve ever had. Perhaps the rest was good too.

Set back from the busy street, the small patio is a good spot for people-watching. The floor upstairs offers a more intimate experience, but the polish comes off the Italian veneer as soon as the bread basket arrives. Is that the olive oil in an Eiffel Tower bottle? From this point on there’s an authenticity-implosion. The crab cakes (RMB68) are oddly flossy, and the veal gnocchi (RMB128) resembles a heavy dumpling goulash.

This could perhaps be overlooked if the rest of food was above par. Alas, even the simple grilled sea bass (RMB98) with a weak mango dressing lacked quality and preparation. The margherita pizza (RMB58), too, suffered, as many do in Shanghai, with a thick, overcooked base.

When we gave our feedback to the friendly manager, he told us that, in his experience, this is what people like. Perhaps that’s true. But if you’ve eaten in Italy, you won’t be crazy about any of it.

Rating: 2.5/5
Bellissimo; No. 7, Lane 434 Changle Lu 长乐路434弄7号
Tel: 6217-0933

This is my review from Cityweekend. Full listing here

This isn’t a blog about architecture but to present Bilbao without the Guggenheim is like talking about Shanghai and not mentioning spitting on the street. In truth, here is a city, unlike Aviles, where the master-plan appears formed around the centrepiece. Over there the canal curves around the building’s exterior. Over here the grass-lined tramway glides alongside. From above; the elevated motorway slices straight through the shiny metal folds.

The rest of Bilbao is a tidy, attractive city with ironically more banks on every street than pubs in England and a fair sprinkling of galleries and open spaces. I can see why people would like to live here… but there’s only one reason they would like to visit.

So, without further ado; the Guggenheim. Sheet waves of shiny titanium almost comically overlapping and floating about each other like a huge metallic cloud, or boat, or neither. Or both. It’s pristine, each tile dazzling, blinding in the cloudless sunlight. The build quality puts the likes of Zaha’s Guangzhou Operahouse to shame.

Beautiful, yes but it’s also so legendary, so illustrious it feel cheesy. Dotted around it outside are a smattering of token works from the likes of Louise Bourgeois and Jeff Koons. The effect is like walking into the Vitra store… that Eames lounger doesn’t feel quite so exclusive any more.

Inside is a hive of rooms and annexes, enough to make a game out of visiting them all. The highlight is clearly Richard Serra’s interpretations of corten steel, the space literally built with them in mind. Even their scale-models in the explanation room are a wonder.

Another wonder is in the small plaque of description next to each work. Up there with wire coat-hangers and Capoeira hippies these really get my goat. Okay, you’ve gone and done something weird in the name of art, or maybe something not so weird… but then the description is so fantastical, or fantastically serious that the whole effect is laughable. I leave you with an example: the piece “The naked soul of captain shit and the legend of the black stars”.

More photos in my flickr set here.

It’s a building, monument, bridge, Escher sketch and piece of alien tech rolled into one. The pristine spans look poised to reconfigure into a craft that could destroy the whole city with a laser beam.

I feel like it was gently humming. It’s as if the city is host to some sentient but currently dormant device. Palacio de Congresos waits while we use the lower levels as a high-end shopping centre and thorax as an auditorium. Win-win.

There’s not a single vanilla aspect. Every perspective presents a new photogenic layer of ribs and fins. Protruding upwards, the Congressional offices are suspended bridge-like by impossibly pristine supports. The result is a structure that looks imposing from afar and more sympathetic to the surrounds at close quarters.

I love it. I want to walk around it a few more times. I want to be there when it pivots upwards, unfolds into a massive spacerobotspider and inhales Oviedo high street.

More photos in my flicker account here.

Ascending through layers of fog and rain following a local friend’s rough instruction and exactly around the hairpin bend as described we emerge into a curiously beautiful village; Malleza.

The English translation of the story goes that the locals were amongst the first returnees to Spain in the 17th century. They were also amongst the most opulent and brought with them a taste for distant architecture. The result is a hamlet of painfully and ornately panelled houses and halls, each with a take on detailed execution.

There’s enough for a stroll around the triangle of roads that circles the village to catch them all. Then down to the Palacio Conde De Toreno for a night in an almost Ghibli-esque bastion turned hotel from which the views over the valley are utterly marvellous.

After Leon, Polvazares and Cudillero, would here be the knock-out meal to prove Spain’s gastronomic prowess? On a local friend’s recommendation we were whisked over to Casa Mama on the outskirts of the village. Seated in the best table in the restaurant (in front of the TV!) we were led joviantly through Mama’s rendition of croquettes, fried cheese, fried calamari and plenty of fries. If only the Al Son Del Indiano had been open!

Fortunately we had another good tip-off and descended into Sales to the Casa Del Profesor for some rather phenomenal and clearly historical cookies.

Flickr photoset here

Now take this model and blow it up to real size. Drop it randomly on a Spanish coastal town. You are Oscar Niemeyer and this is your gift to Spain; the International Cultural Centre in Aviles, Asturias aka Centro Niemeyer. Take a bow.

You must feel slightly bemused. They let you literally insert a humongous, dominating white slab of concrete into their city that is so ‘you’ it couldn’t possibly be mistaken for anybody else. Alone the 3 or 4 quintessentially Niemeyer structures are attractive, obsidian, pristine. Together and on this massive expanse of mucky white concrete they look like the penguin enclosure at the London Zoo.

They even let you roughly scrawl a line drawing of a woman/shark on the side of the theatre. Oh how you chuckled when they even signed off on that. You must sit at the top of the cylindrical room on a stick, looking out over the rooftops and thinking how you put Aviles on the map. You’d be right.

One beautiful aspect is the foot bridge connecting the complex to the town-side of the river. With an impossibly large corten cantilever bisecting the shell of an old Aviles warehouse – it’s a fitting break of reality in preparation for the geometric white noise of Niemeyer’s mind.

More photos in my flickr account here.

In my home town of Doncaster, we live on the east side of the Pennines. Whenever the weather is bad we blame the mountains. When the wind blows west, the clouds get penned in and downpour. Meanwhile, on the other side in bloody Lancashire there’s uninterrupted blue skies.

So it is in Spain. You enter the south side of the Cantabrico tunnel sweltering, lathered in sun tan cream. Five minutes later you surface a few hundred yards from the sea wrapped in fog and scrabbling to turn down the air conditioning. Thank god for Playa Catedrales.

This stretch of the Galicia coast needs no sunshine. People don’t come here to bathe but gaze at what history made. Emerging from the coastline is a cannon of rock cliffs and formations where sandbanks jut up against layers of prehistory. Melodramatic maybe, too long in the car definitely, though here is a bewildering place where land and sea have battled for a couple million years.

Rising out of the waves (along with a couple of brave souls) is a complex of naturally formed caves, arches and rocky columns. Crashing waves echo around the cavern walls as the tide comes in. Connected pools fill and drain to form new paths through the cloisters. It’s holy. The Cathedrals.

Far less holy, back to earth and down the road is Cudillero, a tiny fishing village perched in a tiny bay on the side of a hill. Cudillero is painfully picturesque, worthy of one photo that must be taken a thousand times daily by the tourist influx. Reminiscent of Tuscany’s Cinqueterra there are a dozen exquisitely cute, homogenous restaurants, each with a cobble-side view, grumpy waitress and chalkboard set menu. Beyond reversing up and down the car park to defend a free space; you can’t go wrong.

Which is fine – but is this the finest balance of cuisine and preparation? Honestly no. The pork lomo was tough, chorizo normal and prawns average. Everything came with fries and was instantly forgettable. The search goes on.

Few more photos in my flickr account

Seme: 5 Wuxing Lu 吴兴路5号
Tel: 3461-6682

This is my review in Cityweekend. Full listing here

Some 50km outside of Leon we’re divining for them both in Astorga. Here is a sleepy town (during the daytime at least; who knows what they get up to in the evening) with the odd gaggle of shell-seeking backpackers roaming the back alleys. Get the annoying one-way system right though and you’ll be rewarded with the Bishop’s mystery Palace.

This being Spain, there’s little room for architectural suspense. Yes. It’s a Gaudi. Astorga’s late 1800′s Bishop commissioned what at the modest and geometrically palatable end of the fantasy and one of my understated favorites.

Five kilometers to the west (dodging more shell-wanderers) and there’s an even more sleepy village. So sleepy that everybody actually forgot about it, Castrillo de los Polvazares is for one reason or another 500 metres of olden, barren high street. A Spanish friend told us of a traditional countryside three course meal of soup, chickpeas and meat prepared together and served separately. In Castrillo de los Polvazares the merchant traders we’re so on edge about an incoming marketing opportunity that the meal was served in reverse to ensure they didn’t miss out on the good stuff.

So the tradition, in this one traditional village has remained. Maybe they still do trade on a barter system or perhaps they run on tourism but the locals are waiting with a couple of beautifully traditional restaurants and a big smile to serve Cocido Maragato.

Cocido Margato is basically an overwhelming plate of chops, sausage, belly, trotters, chorizo, cabbage and potatoes. It’s like a pork mixed grill where everything has instead been stewed for hours. Before you’ve chance to make a sizable dent on the platter they bring out a heap of chickpeas, bread and a vat of soup.

Put it anywhere else and it’s a mountain of basic sustenance fit for a day in the fields. Which is what it is. Within these surrounds it’s a meal through history. Our search for the future of global cuisine continues.

Okay so maybe it was the Romans, not the Spanish… and maybe it was a few wheelbarrows of gold. Either way, around 77AD, over a 250 year span, a prize range of El Bierzo hills (near Leon) was manually reduced to a sandcastle.

At the time it must have been pure genius. They’d worked out how to get water across motorways, used pressure to flush bidets and in a moment of clarity figured that if you build a series of pipes through a mountain and sacrifice plenty of slaves in the process, you can get to the nuggets.

The scene is set. A network of tunnels primed and loads of serfs have popped their clogs. Now comes diverting the river and with the hills being porous and absorbing, they soak up the water like a sponge. Accelerated eons of erosion reduces them to sludge and washes everything down the valley. One can only imagine that guys in Stetsons and cowboy boots stood downstream with huge sieves to collect the results.

China would be proud.

It does make for a dramatic picture though and quintessentially UNESCO (another tick to the life ambition of visiting them all). The remaining hills emerge from the forest like the last of a clan of ancient golden sentries.

For the time-free there are a bunch of hiking trails through the site, weaving through quaint villages and beautiful landscapes… no doubt a few of those Camino de Santiago Shells are scattered through the area too. As an aside; was that guy not so good with the map or did he intend to zig-zag his way across the country?

Anyway. Las Médulas is best enjoyed at sunset, which fortunately in this part of the world takes about 4 hours. As seems to be customary in Spain we arrived around 8pm and left for supper at midnight.

According to folklore (stories from half a dozen Spanish MBA students), León is the local city that never sleeps. It’s a mythical place where beer comes with free food and bars don’t have stools because the pub crawls move too quickly. Thanks to one swig too many of Orujo last night, this doesn’t quite conjure up the grandeur it probably should to an Englishman.

Rolling into town late afternoon (around 9pm) we toured the central fountains and dropped off suitcases which had yet to be exposed to Spanish air. Wandering down the high-street, León could be one of any circa-150k cities in Europe. Here are the pastry shops, over there the church square and around that corner – a local bank’s headquarters in the form of a huge fantasy mansion.

Serious fantasy

Okay, maybe not like every other European City. Spain has the wonder of Gaudi, which we’ll explore later. Leon has a Gaudi sample in the form of the Casa de Los Botines. Aside from the triumphant figure of St George slaying a dragon, the building is a Modest offering (for Gaudi at least) that’s sadly closed to the public except for the stark lobby. Perhaps they have open days, we didn’t stay long enough to ask, otherwise it’s a shame the inner beauty is out of reach.

A quick tour of the Cathedral’s inner beauty later and already past midnight we were thirsty if not mentally geared-up for a drink. This is undisputedly where Leon really comes alive. I won’t be dragged over the coals for acknowledging that Spain has some employment issues; the career-protesting masses are incredibly well-catered for along the narrow cobbled lanes and plazas of the old town.

The Tapas Essentials

Around every corner is a dusting of miniature bars where a shiny continental coin is enough for a small beaker of lager and a mouthful of whatever tapas the bar specializes in. No two are the same so to get a full complement you’ll likely have tired legs or be too sozzled to notice. With jetlag and San Juan to thank we were of the former category and far too early for a true spaniard, turned towards home around 3am with bellies full of jamon, croquettas and tortilla.

Leon style

As (MBA) folklore would have it, Northern Spain is a foodie heaven – the true zenith of produce and preparation. So far, aside from a motherly paella and some fine jamon, I was expecting more. This seems a fitting point to admit that my first foray into tapas was 1998 in ‘La Tasca’ Newcastle upon Tyne. It was revolutionary. I’m ready for a tapas epiphany in Spain. Maybe things will change as we head over towards Galicia. Next.

This is a land of midnight sunsets, 3pm brunches, mobile discos and clara with everything. Nobody’s a stranger in Castile y León’s Villamañán and from the moment we arrived… the welcome party began.

After a pint of rum and a 100% pork BBQ we were primed for the night. Earlier, the town’s alpha males had played a round of tennis-squash (aka frontón?) at the local court to work up a sweat in anticipation for the festivities.

What followed was one of the world’s longest celebrations (second only to the following week’s wedding). The night wound a course around jumping over a smoldering fire, music performances from the back of a music-stage version of Optimus Prime, introductions to 35 out 55 uncles and ballroom dancing from people who really should have been in bed hours ago.

Many hours later and after the sun came up we finally made it to bed. Getting tucked in at sunrise was not a life-first, beating the neighbours, their grandparents, grandchildren and pets to bed – was.

We were stirred for lunch around 3pm. Half the town had already been up for, well, minutes after knocking back a shandy or two and was back out on the streets for the San Juan processions.

The town’s bachelors worked up a bead in a morris-dance through the deeply golden sunshine. Meanwhile, In Casa Nistal, Mrs Nistal was casually stirring up a Paella of epic proportions.

More photos in my flickr photoset here.

It’s a cute, small space, filled with only a handful of tables frequented by Shanghai’s young leisure class updating their Weibo statuses. Behind the counter, the owners are a hive of activity, putting courses together plate by plate in a shoebox kitchen. Right about when we’d given up hope for anything beyond a bottle of London Pride (RMB40), the dishes arrived.

The cherry tomato and mozzarella salad (RMB58) was a welcome start. While local produce can still have that certain stigma, this dish has the simplicity and volume, if not the authenticity, of a classic Italian appetizer. It stands out against a too-sultry artichoke, mushroom and black olive salad (RMB58), an ensemble requiring balanced, quality ingredients. You get the sense that Vale’s limits are being stretched.

The inconsistency continued through a plate of ricotta stuffed ravioli (RMB68). Crying out for a sage and butter sauce, it was instead served with a hearty tomato Bolognese. In truth it was actually rather tasty, though it made the absence of a bread basket for mop-up duty even more obvious.

We moved on to pizza, and it’s clear that they’re not hiding a wood-fired oven down the back alley. The result is one of Shanghai’s worst pizzas (RMB68-RMB78)–they should have called it a basil and mozzarella-topped ciabatta.

Also having an identity crisis is a slightly robust crème caramel disguised as a pannacotta (RMB38). Instead, go for the chocolate lava fondant (RMB38), if you go at all.

Vale: Rm. 192 Jing’an Villas, 1025 Nanjing Xi Lu 南京西路1025弄静安别墅192号
Tel: 6217-0654

This is from my review in Cityweekend of Jing’an Villa’s supposedly secret micro italian… full listing here

That should really only raise an eyebrow of the most pompous diner. In truth, it works in their favor as they’ve occupied an entire modern mansion. Upstairs there’s an elegant window-lined river view, downstairs there’s a pair of Bavarian lodges and out back is a sub-zero vodka ice-room / bar.

Back to the food though: chef Ansgar Schlemmer has put together a varied nouvelle-German menu. An ever so slightly smoked halibut atop muddled beetroot (RMB88) deliciously sets the tone. This is a cuisine barely related to stereotypical Brauhaus fare–far more considered and delicate (and expensive). A bowl of white tomato soup (RMB78), featuring king crab, sweet cucumber and many kilos of tomatoes that simmered for days before being skimmed and frothed, is a feather-light intermingling of taste and texture.

Mains are squarely distributed between meat and fish. Resonant and full-bodied beef, pork and lamb “meat dumplings” (RMB188) represent classic Prussian meatballs, served with a quirky combination of long grain and Thai rice. It’s delicous, but we actually preferred the succulent swathe of black cod (RMB198) served with a sticky, sultry pumpkin sauce, veal jus and curious bacon yeast dumplings.

Capped with a beautifully presented casserole brioche with honey cherries and ice cream (RMB78) and a delicious plate of petits fours, Käfer has won over our hearts and stomachs. Fine dining has slipped upstream and across the shore.

Käfer by the Binjiang One: Youlong Garden, Shibu Jie, Fucheng Lu 滨江富城路拾步街由隆花园
Tel: 5877-7500

This is from my review in Cityweekend of Pudong side Nouvelle German… full listing here

Well, in Shanghai nobody notices even if it’s one of the world’s largest all the way in from Dubai. The sounds and smell gets sucked into the general horn-honking-meat-juice-cocktail and the Ferris wheel has no match for shanghai’s skyline. Literally nobody has heard of the Shanghai Carnival.

Spot the punters

Well that’s a little un-fair [groan]. Some people did notice and we thought we’d join them to see what will be going down for the next 100 days. Apparently a few fairground rides, a few more that aren’t open and not much else.