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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Tags: brunch,
Cafe,
wifi internet
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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aFP, as it's known, was one of the first brunch cafes I discovered in Shanghai. It's tucked in deep in an alley that's literally a stone's throw away behind my apartment, but unfortunately, all the passageways between us are blocked off so I still have to go around to Huashan Rd to enter. The cafe is connected to the cute little Old House Inn (which I wish I own) and serves that guests there breakfast. The owner had built a greenhouse type room with AC in the front part of the yard, while the back part is open-air seating. The inside of the cafe is pretty small with 2 chambers with progressive furnitures like corrugated cardboard chairs and ultra-thin water glasses.
The cafe is coming up 2 years old and now there's a smaller crowd given there are many many more places that opened during this time, but it's still a respectable place with style. Their menus are colorful with curious names for the dishes. I like to go there for breakfast/brunch, where you can get the likes of scrambles, spinach, mash potatoes, etc. For dinners, you have a good selection of salads, soups, pastas, meats, and seafood. The dishes all have great presentations but sometime could be too salty. They use local meat for steaks, which is fine, but it tasted just so-so last time we ordered. The dinner portions are definitely big, and I always have leftovers to take home.
This cafe definitely has the ambience and I like to take visitors there. However, I wish they can throw in some twists once in awhile (even some re-decoration) so repeat diners can be pleasantly surprised. Also, like with every restaurant, aFP needs to make sure trainee chefs are fully up to snuff before letting them take the helm or risk tarnishing its reputation.
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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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From the outside of this cafe on XinZha Rd across from One Park Plaza, you can only see the "?" sign. The building that houses the cafe was on the city's demolition list and then it was not, making the survival of this little place questionable. However, walking into the cafe yesterday, I was greeted by the cheerful New Zealand-Chinese owner(forgot to ask for her name) who took us upstairs for a look. It seems to be a perfect weekend read-a-book hide-out for the expat residents of the nearby highrises. We ordered some smoothies, which were thick and substantial. The baguette sandwich was decent with a side of salad. The hostess said their dinner entrees are also very good. They also have a pretty innovative take-out service, where you can text them w/ codes of items from the menu and they will decode what you want.
Will go back to try out some other stuff. Remember to ask to sit upstairs.
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I took my house guests to check out the Body Media show 2 weeks ago. It was a really cool collection of multi-media creations by artists in Europe. It's a shame that the show wasn't advertized more broadly, and it was only in town for a few weeks. On the other hand, we really enjoyed the space and lack of crowds. There was also a permanent exhibit hall, which shows modern sculptures from Chinese artists. Most of some sort of social commentary and interesting. There's also a big grassy area outside that's strewn with funny pieces of sculpture. It would be pleasant to stay outdoors if it weren't for the heat. The Beca Cafe further down the lane is an excellent rest stop after a tour of the exhibits. They have a great afternoon tea set ($28) with yummy crepes and cheese cakes and also free wifi internet.
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I took my houseguest to Whisk today for lunch. Didn't find the place in my Enjoy coupon book but decided to pay it a visit since it's been a while. We ordered some chicken arrabiata and pesto penne pastas, as well as an Italian chop salad with honey mustard dressing. Also got the Dark Granita chocolate smoothie, which is made of dark truffle. The servings were huge, enough to be shared between 2-3 people. Both the presentation and taste of the food were much better than some of the disappointing and overpriced places we went to recently. The paninis could use some more authentic bread but their panacottas and volcano cakes are heavenly. Espresson drinks are reasonably priced, and you must try their mocha --- it's perfectly laced with caramel --- yum!
I'm beginning to think it might be better for restaurants/cafes to NOT be listed in Enjoy; they might be cheaper and taste better...
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Nestled on the short stretch of JinXian Rd near Shaanxi Rd, this low-key, classy cafe is a haven from the bustling streets of Shanghai. During the day, you can spend hours sipping on your coffee while surfing the net for free. At night, enjoy a candlelight lounge scene over some yummy martinis, romantic jazz music, and beautifully arranged flowers. They do a decent job on appetizers and light fares. I like their quesadillas, chicken wings, pastas and sandwiches. The fries are very good too. They also serve a nice but limited brunch menu on the weekends. If you're looking for a place to relax, this is it.
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This new little cafe/restaurant is located on on AnFu Rd near the Center office building. It looks like a vintage home decor shop from the outside. The owner, a Shanghainese girl, has created a funky but homey space with her collection of vintage furnitures, complete with an antique barber chair and a birdcage with live chirping birds. What's really impressive is that the set lunch menu changes DAILY. There are both Chinese and Western set menus in the $25RMB range. It comes with a soup, 2 main dishes of your choice (they come in petite bowls), as well as a icy dessert of some sort. It's a relaxing place to have lunch or take a break from the office.
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This is their 2nd cafe on Changshu Rd., not the original Wukang Rd location, and it's in a much bigger 3-story glass building. In my opinion, it's MUCH nicer than the original one, although it's not much of bar/night lounge as the original one seemed to have been. I was really happy when it opened, because it's close to where I live, and has by far the best brunch deal around. Free wifi internet is also available, along with all the free English magazines such as SH, City Weekend, Shanghai Talk, and That's Shanghai, etc. Ranging from $80-90RMB, you can choose between Italian (my favorite with salmon filet, salami, prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella), Scandinavian, American, Mexican, and coffee (espresso drinks included) or tea is included. The price is a bit on the high side, but with ingredients they put in there, it's a far better value than some of the other places I've been to. The burger is pretty good too, while the other selections are more standard fares. A nice French manager who was working there gave us free refills on espresso drinks but he's gone now... It's interesting to see that these western restaurants start off using Filipino waiters but later switch to local staff --- to save some money?
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