One of the first cafe chains aiming at providing health, light fares. They have a good selection of juices and smoothies (with those boosters that Jamba Juice lovers are so familiar with). They also have wifi internet and bright interior so you can actually do some work there. Both the Shanghai Centre and KaWah Center (on DongHu Rd near HuaiHai Rd) locations have outdoor seating. My complaint would be that the food has become somewhat bland, and the prices are getting higher. I go there once in while for the bright space. The new Paul Bakery Cafe is right next to its Shanghai Centre location.
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I first heard about this new place from my guest who ate there everyday when he was in Beijing (this franchise started in Beijing) so I kept going back to check when it would be open. Finally tried it out this past weekend and it struck me as a place stuck in the 80's (not sure if it's the intended design). The carpet was in a funky forest green color with striping; tables and chairs are of the no-frills, no-style type; the menu came in photocopied paper bound in a plastic binder. I order the french toast with eggs and sausages. It tasted ok but I could also reproduce most of it at home (and mine would taste just like it if not better). The sausages were good though, plump and tasty. The pricing is decent (~$30-40 for breakfast items)In Shanghai's competitive landscape today, I think this restaurant's concept is truly outdated. To survive in the Nanjing Rd area, you really need to have more style --- and more substance.
Steaks and Eggs is located on XiKang Rd, around the corner from the Shanghai Centre.
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I went to Lynn once for their weekend dimsum buffet, cuz I needed a break from those western brunches. The place is nicely decorated with modern Chinese elements. We ordered the $68 per person all you can order dimsum. However, I was not happy about having to order tea by the glass --- the leaves floating on top made it very hard to drink the tea --- a personal size french press or teapot is called for if they are charging the tea separately. The dimsum menu has the usual fares so we order pretty much one of each. The dishes were slow to arrive (I guess it's a strategy for all-you-can-order style pricing) and overall food tastes just so-so. Maybe their individual dishes taste better, as one of my guests really liked it there. The service can use some improvement too, as we saw the well-dressed staff running in and out empty-handed and not giving the customers eye contacts.
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YongHe is the name of a suburb of Taipei in Taiwan, and someone had started a breakfast shop several decades ago specializing in freshly made soybean milk, "you tiao" and "shao bin". A chain by the same name started in China in the 90's and have become a successful local brand. Besides the breakfast items I mentioned above, you can also get xiaolongbao, and various kinds of rice plates and noodles at the shop. The prices are more expensive than the local shops but for it's relatively cleanliness, it's worth a bit more.
Check out their on-line ordering system and photos of the food items (all in Chinese though) here. The nearest one around the apartements is on XiKang Rd near Beijing Rd.
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For those of you who have visited Taiwan, you couldn't have missed all the yummy street foods like stinking tofu, minced pork over rice, oyster omelettes, pig gut vermicelli (hmm, why do the names sound so scary in English), and the legendary shaved ice, and pearl milk iced tea. So what do you do when you have a craving for these things? Bellagio is one of the answers (another one is Charmant and I'm sure there are more and better places in the Taiwanese enclave of HongQiao and Gubei). Honestly, Taiwanese food could never taste the same once outside of Taiwan, because of the indigenous ingredients used in the dishes, but ordering food bearing those names takes away some of that homesickness. Bellagio has several locations, one near Xintiandi, 2 more in Hong Qiao and Gubei. They're also expanding into other cities like Bejing, Nanjing, Xiamen and other major cities.
I have no idea why the 3D ice dessert sculptures are so popular here. In Taiwan, the shaved ice is not piled so high, and the toppings are much tastier and melded in with the ice. Bellagio invented them for the stunning visual effects I guess and they are popular. Boy, do I miss the real McCoy...
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There are actually 2 shops, one in the JingAn Park plaza, one on Beijing Rd near Xikang Rd. They do a decent pepperoni classic (albeit with oil running down) pretty well, as most of the local chains (Hello Pizza...) don't even use meats that taste like pepperoni. For $88RMB you can a big 17" think crust pizza... not a bad deal for a night snack esp. when you have a room full of hungry people. Delivery is free too if you're in the neighborhood.
3214 0024 is the number for the JingAn Plaza shop.
Note: prices have since gone up to $103 and $108 for the 16" and their new 18" pies respectively in early 2008.
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Connected to Subway #2, JiuGuang City Plaza is a busy hub, esp. on the basement floor. There a supermarket stocked w/ imported groceries (with a Japanese emphasis), the priciest fruits in the entire city, as well as a food court, a Yamazaki bakery (where you can get decent bread Japanese style), and a Watson.
My personal favorite is the Hong Kong Tea Cafe "LongKee" where you can get the yummy milk tea. The pricing is not on the cheap end though for a tea cafe, and there's a long waiting line around meal times, but the food quality is very good. I had my best wonton soup there. There are also a couple chain curry places, a udon shop, Italian/pizzeria, and a hot pot/shabu shabu restaurant.
Both are housed in a cute house on Beijing Rd around the corner from Xikang Rd. C's Cafe on the first floor is a 2nd location by House of Flour (in ZhangJiang Hi-tech Park in Pudong). I've had some of the yummiest berry crumpler from House of Flour so assume the pastries at this branch should also be very good. I had high expectations for Pasti upstairs, but last time when we went to visit, they seemed to have put the trainee chefs in the driver seat. They emphasize on using only the best ingredients (some organic), but I guess they need to let those things shine through good cooking techniques. Of the two lasagnas we ordered, one was too hard and the other too mushy. When we summoned the manager/chef supervisor to come look, they admitted that the new cook was in charge of making them... tsk, tsk. After several hints, they finally offered 2 desserts for free, which led us to spend more money on the espresso drinks...
I'd suggest the restaurant owner and original chef come back and check on the quality again.
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I've heard of Malone's from various guy friends when I first got here. It's your typical burger/pool/darts/bar place that was probably an oasis for expats before Shanghai had many western establishments. The managers do a good job making everyone feel at home and they have a lot of regulars. The clientele tends to be an older crowd (upper 30's-40's). The place, though, really needs an update --- it reeks of stale smoke, which is very unattractive for brunch visits. Also the food can use some refinement and touch-up --- other newer diners have much more interesting and tastier offerings. I guess guys go there as a regular hangout place so food is not the point.
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That's right, this hard-to-find home restaurant is located on the 2nd floor of a non-descript apt building, INSIDE a scary-looking alley by the DUMPSTER. I've had one guest who turned around while walking in the alleyway, saying he just can't do this... Once you get past all this, you'll find a cozy little restaurant which takes up 2 apt units, with country flags lining the windows. The food and tastes are authentic enough, not too saucy and coconuty like most other Thai places do their dishes. The prices, however, are a bit on the high side, for such a low-cost location. Oh well, rising prices seem to be the story of Shanghai life these days. If you like this place and plans to come back, don't forget to ask for a VIP card which gets you a 10% discount. They also do deliveries for free if you're nearby.
www.thaihouse-sh.th.gs
Phone: 5169-9217
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