This week in Shanghaiist
A couple scoops on the local dining scene from SH mag's Jarrett Wrisley, one scoop that looks more promising than the other.
First up, via Jarrett's new blog is the New York City Deli, which opened recently at Fujian Lu and Jinling Dong Lu. If the photos on the online menu are any indication (and we all know they always are) this place just might serve up a proper deli sandwich. They boast "100 grams of meat" in every sandwich and the prices range from RMB 16 to RMB 26 (although the RMB 16 one is Egg Salad -- doubt there is 100 grams of meat in that). This is all Jarrett had to say: "Their pastrami sandwich is pretty good."
The online menu mentions free delivery within 3 km ... in English. The Chinese translation says 2 km. But before you get out out your picket signs and protest a la Studio 78, we called and confirmed that it was simply a typo. The official policy is 3 km, and they are even a little lax on that. We mentioned Plaza 66, near where we live and likely more than 3 km away, and they said no problem. There is a 50 kuai minimum for delivery, though.
We discovered something a little weird about the deli's website. This URL (http://www.delinyc.com/nyc.htm) will take you to the menu. This URL (http://www.delinyc.com/) naturally takes you to -- you guessed it -- the official website for "Fight Club China." Explanations are welcome and can be left as a comment below.
The second thing we learned about from Jarrett this week (this time via his column in SH) was Mealbay, a new delivery service that will try to go head-to-head with the established and reliable Sherpa's. We have not tried Mealbay -- which has one of the most-difficult-to-read logos we have seen -- but based on appearances only, we have to say we share Jarrett's skepticism.
From the Mealbay website:
Service Center: Our operator young ladies are fluency in English and serve you from 10:30am to 10:30pm . The daily operation hour and holiday special operation hour of each restaurant will be noted on the menu. Our Customer Information System will keep your information and make your next order more convenient.Delivery Area: Puxi city center.
Delivery Time: Average delivery time is 45 minutes. If the distance is farther (more than 3 kilometers apart from the restaurant) or the order is bigger, delivery time probably in around an hour. It also might be delay several minutes if meet busy hour or weather bad.
Service Charge: Target place is in the city center ring road (north to Suzhou River; west to Zhongshan Road W.; South to Zhongshan Road S.; east to Zhongshan Road E.), Mealbay charge RMB 15 for delivery, if beyond the city center ring road, the extra service charge of every 3 kilometers' distance to the ring road is RMB15.
So, if you are going to be hungry for one of the following restaurants that Mealbay services, you had better plan in advance: Acropolis (they still exist?), Kaveen's Kitchen, Pasti, That's Amore, Colabo Hengshan, Matsuzaka, ハルケンLuo Sheng Men, Jimix, Togo Sandwich , Colabo Jing'an and The Spice Market.
Have you tried Mealbay or New York City Deli? Let us know how it was in a comment.
New York City Deli, 103 Fujian Nan Lu, near Jinling Dong Lu. Tel: 6326-2835.
Mealbay, pen 10:30 am to 10:30 pm. Tel: 5158-0169. Email: mealbay@gmail.com. They also deliver wine and flowers.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
post to facebook
Went looking for that NY deli place for lunch today but couldnt find it. Nothing around there on Fujian Rd other than a bunch of random boring shops that may or may not have ever sold anything. And some dudes sleeping on the sidewalk right next to parked slopbucketbikes. If the deli really is located somewhere near there, I dont think Ill be calling for delivery.
I've ordered NYC Deli three times now, having picked up the tip pretty early from Jarrett, and have to say it's damn good, though slightly expensive. At first, it seems no big deal to shell out 36 kuai for a hot pastrami and cheese, and the sammie itself is great, with plenty of meat, but it's just not very big. Back home, it would be a half-sub. And the ham and swiss on white is great, but at 30 kuai, it's thrice the price of a ham and cheese at City Supermarket. It's better, but it's not three times better. And people, do yourselves a favor: stay clear of the potato salad. Bland city.
jb: coming from jinlin lu, turn towards yan an lu; its across the street from a bubble tea place
meatball sub: what rindy said about a sub, but owns subway's meatball sub
ham turkey swiss: first time ive felt homesick
the fight club website: the proprietor of this establishment is looking to bring MMA-style events to shanghai
Had a pastrami sandwich from NYC today and I thought it was good. Packed with meat and a decent value for the price (RMB 26). I did pay RMB 7 extra for provolone cheese -- I probably won't do that again. Delivery was pretty quick, and free to the Plaza 66 area.
A couple things worth noting:
* I ordered sourdough bread. What my sandwich arrived on was white French bread. So either they got my order wrong or what they say is sourdough isn't.
* I ordered no mayo, just mustard. It came with both, and not very much mustard. Luckily, I have my own.
* I also ordered the Texas Chile (15 RMB), not because I needed it but there is a 50 kuai delivery minimum. It was OK. Not really sure what Texas-style chile is supposed to be like, but this has steak cubes instead of ground beef and it wasn't very spicy. I would prefer ground beef and more spice, but that is a personal preference.
* Cans of Diet Coke are RMB 5, which is pretty good from a restaurant.
I'll order from NYC Deli again. It's a good way to mix up my sandwich consumption. I had been ordering from Sandwich Express at least weekly. I like their salami sandwich, but it doesn't come with enough meat. Even after paying 10 RMB for extra meat, it's far less than what NYC puts on a sandwich. But I really like Sandwich Express' fresh-squeezed OJ, and they have some of the friendliest delivery guys in the city. I think they are open 24 hours now, too.
Anyway, the city's sandwich options keep getting better and better. Good thing I live across the street from my gym.
OK. We ordered from them again. The verdict: Not great.
I ordered a roast beef sandwich on wheat. No mayo. Just mustard. A surprisingly skimpy portion of meat, much smaller than the pastrami we had ordered just days earlier. Disappointing. Looked nothing like the sandwich Jarrett pictured on page 20 of the current SH. (Did you order extra meat, Jarrett?) Also, not much mustard -- and there was still some mayo on the sandwich. Maybe they use the same knife for both?
Bliss ordered a tuna melt. Said it was "OK." And it came on white bread, not wheat like she ordered. An American -- or someone who sounded American -- took our order over the phone.
I agree with Jarrett's description of the cream of chicken and mushroom soup: "gluey."
Your best bet with NYC Deli is to order the bigger sandwiches - the 130 gram or 160 gram ones. They're pretty big. I've had the same issues with the 'sourdough' they serve - also looks and tastes like French bread to me. One thing I really like about the place is that they don't rip you off with the extras - a coke is 5 kuai, as is a bag o chips, saving me a trip to the Lawson's.
Oh, and in SH that's a picture of a sandwich from Katz's Deli in NYC - not the NYC Deli - sorry if that wasn't clear (I just looked - it isn't). My bad.
their foods not bad. I also like moon river (moonriverdiner.com.cn), and city deli (citydeli.cn). good american food.
Service is ridiculous! We ordered for a delivery before lunchtime. After an hour the food wasnt delivered yet. We called to follow-up, they said they have problem so the delivery will be delayed. After another hour, we called back again. This time they said still the food isnt out yet. More than 2 hours of waiting and they didnt even bother to let us know it will take longer than an hour to wait? We could have cancelled the order cause we were starving. They even didnt bother to tell us whats happening when we first called to follow-up on the order! I wouldnt want to order again food from them, ever! I dont want to starve myself to death and end up not working productively because of a very late lunch.