faysroOms » Restaurants in French Concession

Laifu Hotpot at Fuxing Rd/ Huaihai Rd

fay — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 04:42:40 +0000

In the dead of winter, what's better than rounding up a group of friends and heading for a delicious hotpot dinner? Laifu is a reliable place in the French Concession that is not outrageously expensive. We spent about $80RMB/person, including a couple beers. The decor is more elegant than your typical hotpot restaurant and the atmosphere is pretty cozy and relatively quiet. You can order the usual "Yuan Yang" 鸳鸯锅 with with the pot divided into 2 halves, holding 2 kinds of soup base. I like the light bone-stewed broth + spicy oil soup base combo, but you can also order a variety of other types of soup base, such as Chinese-style sauerkraut fish. There are also a dozen or so DIY dip sauces that you can mix to your liking --- this is definitely something you can't really prepare at home. For the more adventurous ones, try the curdled duck blood -- it tastes perfect in the spicy oil! Other noted dishes include small egg dumplings with fish paste filling 婆婆蛋角, "bai ye"百叶包 tofu packages, and special beef 秘制牛肉. There's another location near Hengshan Rd.

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Hairy crab 大闸蟹 season is here!

fay — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:21:53 +0000

I've never been a fan of crabs-- the labor that goes into digging and cracking is usually much more than the satisfaction I get out of chewing on the small chunks and thin threads of crab meat. This year, however, I've finally begun to appreciate what so many Shanghainese and Hongkies have taken for granted, the exquisite taste of hairy crabs.

I began this season of crab eating at my generous friend Jimmy's house. We each had a pair of male and female crabs. You don't really have to get crabs from YangCheng Lake 阳澄湖, since they are more expensive and you can never be sure they're the authentic ones. Crabs from Tai Lake 太湖 and KunShan 昆山 will do just fine, as long as you pick the alive and kicking ones. Fall and early winter are the perfect time to eat crabs, and it's recommended that you eat the male ones earlier on in the season and move on to the female ones as they grow fuller in size and flavor later in the season. The major difference is the yellow/orange stuff under the crab shell 膏黄 -- the male ones are more gooey and the female ones are solid (uh, sperm and eggs?? just eat it! these are the best parts of hairy crabs, albeit super-rich in cholesterol...). The simplest way to cook the crabs is to steam or boil them. Before cooking them, you should put the crabs in fresh water for awhile to get any dirty stuff out of them.

Crab eating tests both your skill and patience. Jimmy, whose ex-girlfriend was Shanghainese, taught us some tips on eating the crabs. For example, you should take out the crab heart, a tiny white hexagonal thing from the crab chest because that's the "coldest" part of the crab. Crabs are considered "cold" in Chinese medicine, and you should drink some yellow rice wine like Shaoxing 绍兴酒 or HuaDiao 花雕酒 while eating the crabs. You can also dip crab meat in a vinegar and ginger mixture to both disinfect the meat and counter the meat's "coldness."

A week after the feast at Jimmy's, my local friend Diego took me to a crab restaurant on Julu Rd near Ruijing Rd called JingYuanXieWang 金缘蟹王. We got a table on the curb side because all the tables inside were reserved already. The crabs are from Tai Lake, but tasted just as nice. We had warm coke with ginger after the meal to warm our stomachs.

Now I'm pretty obsessed about eating crabs, so I'm thinking about throwing my own crab cook-out party in the few next week... yum~

Kevin's Thai Food Station

fay — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 09:03:13 +0000

Tucked deep in a narrow alleyway on ChangLe Rd near Urumuqi Rd across from the Center, you'd miss this restaurant if it isn't for the big light box at the alleyway entrance. I can't help but also notice there's a condom dispenser next to the sign...hmm. The restaurant is in one of the old houses with a nice yard. The food is decent but not remarkable. At night it does make a quiet dinner date place. They also do take out delivery, so if you want some Thai in the area, it's a pretty good choice.

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Diage restaurant/lounge/boutique -- hidden Spanish villa with haute design

fay — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 08:51:39 +0000

I stumbled upon this beautiful house last year at night when walking on DongHu Rd. The place is tucked in an alleyway next to the hairsalon, so they lit candles along the cracks in the wall, creating a glowing trail into the house and front garden. Just inside the house, there's a cigar lounge area with comfy black leather sofa. Further in, there 2 dining areas with a bar that's converted from the original fireplace. Upstairs there's a small gallery and a boutique shop with cutting edge designer fashion from Japan and Europe. The Japanese owner took great care to restore the house with period antiques and decorative elements. There never seems to be many people there so I worry about their survival. They have good-value lunch and afternoon set deals, starting at $30 something. The food is delicate but I'd go there just for the ambiance. Behind Diage toward the back of the house, a little shop called Ushigokoro has opened up. This peculiar shop is also Japanese owned (same owner as Diage?) and offer little cubicles for rent to anyone who wants the space for display. Many of the cubicles are occupied already, which a range of handmade jewelry, bags, art pieces, clothing, etc. They have recently held a flea market also.

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Guyi Hunan Restaurant

fay — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 08:23:46 +0000

The first time I went to Guyi was with my American ex-boss and his Chinese girlfriend. Because I have relatively low tolerance for spicy food, they were nice enough to order some non-spicy dishes. I especially liked their pumpkin and baihe cold appetizer, and the steamed frog legs in bamboo casing. Then there's my boss' favorite salt'n pepper ribs, which were tasty but on the salty side. They are also decent on the spicy chicken dry pot. This place is wildly popular with foreigners because the food is pretty good and more importantly they have the menu in English and Japanese with pictures of delicious-looking dishes. If you're planning to go, make sure you call ahead and get your reservation. Otherwise, long line awaits. A cheaper alternative to Guyi is DiShuiDong on Maoming Rd near ChangLe Rd.

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Charmant 小城故事 -- better Taiwanese restaurant than Bellagio

fay — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 07:56:31 +0000

I just went there 3 times within the same week recently, because one of my friends visiting was vegetarian. Charmant is not a vegetarian place but does a wonderful job cooking up not only leafy veggies, but also tomato-tofu-egg soup, vegetarian 3-cup chicken (which is actually a bean curd variation), and vegetarian vermicelli. They also do a great job on the meat dishes, such as the popular kung pao chicken, hui-guo-rou (bacon with leeks), shi-zi-tou (lion's head). For those who have lived in Taiwan, you can also get your dose of pearl milk iced tea (pearls are thoroughly cooked and chewy), lu-rou-fan (minced pork sauce over rice), bitter mellon with salty egg. They do leave out the MSG and put in less oil upon request. For dessert, my favorite is the old fashion black sugar shaved ice, which has a bit of pearls, another type of chewy jello, mung beans, and other yummy toppings. Their shaved ice beats Bellagio's hands down.

Another pleasant thing about Charmant is that they really spend time on putting in beautiful flowers and plants. Their own staff go out the Caojiadu flower market daily to pick up fresh flowers and arrange them themselves. Their service and staff training is also very good, thanks to the Taiwanese management Charmant has a 2nd location in Zhang Jiang Hi-Tech park in PuDong.

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Velvet Lounge and Casanova

fay — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 07:35:47 +0000

This stylish, ambient pair of lounge and Italian restaurant is located in a little house on Julu Rd, around the corner from HuaShan Rd. Unlike the row of seedy bars next door targeting traveling business men, Velvet and Casanova are frequented by local residents. Velvet is a relaxing hideout with great music and reasonably priced cocktails, perfect for an intimate week-night date. Upstairs at Casanova, you can get a nice multi-course Italian meal. A lot of people like their thin-crust pizzas, which you can also order from Velvet. I also like their Caesar salad and breads. This place is definitely not one of those big productions on the Bund, but it's nice to have some place like this in the neighborhood.

Arugula Cafe -- sunny old house cafe with comfy couches

fay — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:59:13 +0000

Arugula is one of the dependable "brunch circuit" cafes that we go to frequently. The simple menu is nothing spectacular but the food has a consistent quality. The best thing about the 3-story cafe is the comfy couches on the 2nd floor. It's great for a weekend afternoon hangout or reading. They do have this one bad habit of telling you that fa piao has run out. One time I was so upset that I made them give me a $1000 fa piao to make up for all those times they "ran out."

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Amokka -- another old house style cafe

fay — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:23:55 +0000

I found Amokka on the way to the traditional market. It sits on the quiet stretch of Anfu Rd between Urumuqi and Wukang Rd near Shanghai Dramatic Center. It's a 2-story house with a big open space on the 2nd floor. The furnitures have a modern designer look. The menu is a standard fare of sandwiches, pastas, burgers, etc. The pricing is average for western meals, with business lunch sets around $50 and higher for meat dishes. The breakfast/brunch goes for $28 but doesn't include a drink. I like the baguette sandwich with bacon and eggs, with a small side of salad (although I made an equally yummy sandwich myself with baguette I bought down the street at Feidan the next day). The cafe is not yet that popular so you can enjoy a bit of peace and quiet. While I feel grateful that so many nice looking old houses are getting converted into cafes, something is amiss --- maybe it's personality??

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Enoteca Wine Bar -- sensational wine, food and crowd

fay — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 10:54:05 +0000

When new shops started cropping up behind the Center, I was a bit doubtful of their qualities. And wine bar definitely sounded a bit snooty, knowing the wines are typically marked by quite a bit. Enoteca turned out to be a star --- people hang around until late in the evening because the atmosphere is so inviting. Last time we went on a Wed, and the place was packed at 10pm. The shop has a bar area, a dining area, and a tasting room, which can also serve as a auxiliary dining area. The wines are ordered by the bottles (as opposed to the expected by-the-glass arrangement in wine bars) because you can get a bottle for as low as $89RMB. I'm not an expert in wines, but I liked what I tasted (tried the Rose Chardonnay, and Bordeaux). They also have some of the best meat and cheese selections I've tried in Shanghai (much better than Franck's and less expensive). Since they don't serve real dinner type dishes, we pretty much ordered every tapas on the menu. Have to say every one of them was yummy. They also have a brunch menu, and I want to try it out soon.

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