House of Lasagna opening (and other restaurant news)

House of Lasagna: The newest inductee to the Xiangyang Lu fraternity, House of Lasagna serves, you guessed it, different varieties of lasagna, stacks of alternating noodle sheets and sauces. The prefix “house of…..” usually suggests that there’ll be a “Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans” variety of something, but here the selection’s fairly standard. You’ve got your traditional beef, along with chicken, veggie, carbonara and pesto varieties. They come in two sizes: ‘tray’ (80-90RMB) or ‘family’ (150-170RMB). You can also mix any two flavors.
Sides look to be heartier than you’d expect, with a fatty pork belly with mashed potato (80RMB), mac ‘n’ cheese (85RMB), stuffed potato skins (40RMB) and crispy chicken skin (45RMB).
House of Lasagna // 174 Xiangyang Nan Lu, near Fuxing Zhong Lu (襄阳南路174号,
近复兴中路). Tel: (0)21-5424-9590. Hours: 11am-11pm daily. Closest metro stop: South Shanxi Road, Lines 1/10.
Cinderella: Cinderella Tang Dynasty Bar evokes another Chinese theme bar where the creator wrote up an outline of his tackiest brainfarts and decided to use all of them. The premise is essentially talking to scantily-cad servers dressed as Tang Dynasty pole dancers or something like that while eating the usual array of overpriced champagne and fruit platters found at your average glitzy Shanghai nightclub (2,000-3,000RMB per set). We should point out that the owner emphasizes that it’s not seedy. And for a Tang Dynasty-themed Cinderella Bar, besides the Tang Dynasty-themed servers, there isn’t much that screams Tang Dynasty or Cinderella. Refreshments include a ham platter (160RMB), cheese platter (160RMB), ‘special pasta’ (38RMB) and popcorn (38RMB). 100RMB entry includes one free drink but you have to shell out 15 per cent extra if you sit on one of the poofy seats (why not). We suspect this is one instance where you throw good taste out the window and put on your sleaze goggles.
Cinderella // Donghu Hotel South Wing 7 Donghu Lu Huaihai Zhong Lu Luwan district (卢湾区东湖路7号, 近淮海中路). Tel: (0)21-5466-0026. Hours: 8pm-2am. Closest metro stop: South Shanxi Road, Lines 1/10.
Lark Hill: Just when you thought Xiangyang Bei Lu couldn’t be more awash in wine, enter Lark Hill, a high-end wine bar and restaurant focusing on perfect pairings, especially with fish.
Benjamin Cost is Shanghaiist’s Food Editor. Email tips, recommendations, and news updates on Shanghai’s dining scene to [email protected].

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