Second time Shanghai for me, after the first time 15 years ago. This will not be a trip where I’ll be exploring many eateries, due to the more conservative eating patterns of my travel partners (my parents!). So, it will be a mixture of hotel food and restaurants. I don’t know the city well - restaurant sourcing comes from google, rachelgouk.com, michelin and HO!
We are staying at a nice hotel on the banks of the Huangpu river, and with club lounge access. The lounge is actually very good, all day drinks, and then breakfast, afternoon tea, snacks, and cocktail hour in the early evening.
Breakfast at the hotel (not in the club lounge). The breakfast at our hotel is your typical Asian/Chinese variety, with a large selection of European and Chinese dishes. There is an egg station, a noodle station, and a congee corner, with every order being made on request. There are also different already cooked foods, a large pastry section (very good quality), ice cream for the kids, a coffee corner and so on.
I’ve been settling on congee so far. You can choose out of a variety of meats, fish, greens, and things mushrooms and pickles, and the cook makes it fresh for you. I’ve had beef and a mixture of shrimps (raw then cooked in the congee) and clams so far. Really good! (Though not as extensive as the breakfast we had at the Okura in Bangkok earlier this year).
Lai Lai Xiao Long Bao. Apparently a Shanghai institution. Bib gourmand. They have two shops, this is the less popular one (so no influencers!!). Locals, families, and some tourists like me. Small shop, beautiful window to the world outside. Just a nice spot to chill and eat.
Simple order of standard xiao long bao with pork and shrimp, and a bowl of noodles with pork chop. Less than 10 euro together.
The xlb are just very good. My experience is limited, but these are definitely a cut above the Din Tai Fung ones. Handmade, and the yellow liquid dripping out suggests the broth is made of chicken. The noodles were also very good, delicious broth, and juicy pork.
I’m sitting in a hospital waiting room. I’m scheduled to have a minor operation so have been fasting now for over 18 hours as my slot has been delayed. Your reports are making my stomach rumble. So tempting!
Tonight we had dinner at Yong Yi Ting, the 1 Michelin star restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental hotel. This was the first time where I had what could be called Chinese fine dining. It was excellent. I’ve been to two other 1 Michelin star restaurants in China, in the Mandarin Oriental HK, and then earlier this week in Shanghai (report to follow), but this felt different and a cut above.
We started off by choosing our tea, from the tea menu! Of course we had to take Golden Chrysanthemum. Gorgeous tea, like all the tea I’ve had so far in Shanghai, even in the hotel room!
As appetisers we had some cold chicken in a sauce of spring onion and garlic, and then the local deep fried carp which is then subsequently braised in a sweet soy sauce. Both were excellent. The fish was lighter but just as tasty as the one at Ren He Guan earlier this week (the other Michelin).
What followed were, sauteed seasonal vegetables, fried rice with seafood, a small portion of gorgeous pork belly with some mushrooms, and then the star of the evening a steamed yellow croaker with scallion oil.
For dessert some vanilla ice cream and a coffee creme brulee.
And then the star of the evening, the croaker. No hint of fishy-ness whatsoever. Didn’t see any tanks but this was definitely a live fish a few minutes before. The picture doesn’t do justice to the size of the plate: it was perhaps 50 cm, really large plate.
You know, it’s quite an amazing city. No smog, no loud noises, most of the cars are electric so again no loud noise like in Bangkok, streets are easily accessible, no difficult stairs to cross the street. Streets being cleaned all the time. The only thing that makes the city difficult to navigate is its sheer size: you’ll be spending a lot of time in taxis (which are cheap though).
Yesterday we sat outside on a terrace in the sunlight, drinking Hoegaarden and having a salad. In the French concession area. Feels like Europe!
In the first picture you see a man cleaning the street with a traditional bamboo broom. The green facade is that of a local wet market, small and indoors. The cutest wet market I have ever seen!
Lunch at Grandmother, near the Bund. Thanks for the recommendation @Google_Gourmet (I believe you went here as well?)
Simple lunch. White rice, steamed veggies, fried shrimps in sweet sauce, deep fried croaker (fish), and one hairy crab!
It was my first hairy crab ever, and I like it! I love crab generally, and also cook it myself, so when the whole, uncleaned crab came on a plate, I knew what to do…
The sauce that comes with the crab is a sweetish vinegar, and goes really well with it. There is actually a good amount of meat in the crab, and roe as well.
Cold appetisers: the deep fried smoked carp which is then braised in soy sauce, and then fried ‘kaofu’ with black fungus mushrooms. Both were exceptional.
And then the star of the evening, hairy crab on its own and with rice. A special dish here at Ren He Guan, where they take apart the crabs for you, add vinegar, and mix it table side with white rice. Umami bomb and reason to come to this place for this alone. The crab on its own was marinated in rice wine, wonderful but I think I preferred the one at Grandmother…
So, I really didn’t want to go to Din Tai Fung, as it is so ubiqitous in Asian cities, but I just didn’t want to eat much or anything heavy for lunch, so ended up here instead of Lei Garden in the IFC mall (where we were escaping the light rain). Ended up being just what we needed!
Simple lunch but very well prepared. Fried rice (vegetarian but with egg), a deep fried pork cutlet, sauteed morning glory, an appetiser of braised eggplant which was delicious, and of course pork and hairy crab xiao long bao.
Gorgeous!! I am actually craving Japanese food… Safe travels home, HK is also preparing for a typhoon now. Hope we’ll escape any of it as we land there this Saturday!!
Oh man…hoping for the best for you and your parents. I’ve been enjoying your dispatches immensely. I’m not exaggerating when I say that they have been a bright spot in these trying days. All the sautéed veggies have me swooning!
