Results tagged “dining”

In Shanghai there are two types of Italian restaurants that really should be judged separately from each other. There are the ones with actual Europeans somewhere at the helm, which feature different primi and secondi piattis, huge wine lists and tend to leave you about 500RMB lighter (per person) at the end of the night. Then there are the ones not run by Europeans, with dishes that are just... different. Not to knock different, it's the same way Chinese dishes in Italy taste different, even if they're tasty. Aura is one of the latter.

We kid you not. This is a genuine post on pho, the beef noodle soup, and not another smart-alecky headline pun post.

• How much did it cost Chinese online gaming giant Shanda to turn the Jinmao tower into a huge game advertisement? $50,000. Phew! [Interfax China]
• One Shanghai resident finds the real reason to train for the Great Wall Marathon: it helps you get your wallet back from pickpockets. [China Travel.net]
• Speaking of marathons, the 2009 women's international road cycling race will be starting up this Friday in Shanghai. The five day race will cover 400km and is the first to be held in Asia. [Xinhua]

After some follow-up trips to Pho King, it appears the the pho there isn't quite the triumph we might have made it out to the be in an earlier review. Since then, we've visited Aniseed and revisited Pho No. 1, and our conclusion is that pickings are still slim when it comes to this beloved bowl of Vietnamese rice noodles.

Over 25 restaurants have signed up to the idea, each offering a fixed price menu showcasing the best that their kitchen has to offer.

The long lines in front of the entrance of San Gu Bullfrog Restaurant (三顾牛蛙店) are a tribute to the popularity of its namesake and signature dish: bullfrog dry pot (干锅牛蛙). Walk inside and you'll see an army of the sizable ceramic bowls adorning nearly every table top, and for good reason. We've never had a frog leg dish where the meat was so flaky and delicate that it seemed to naturally slink off the bone when it landed on our plate. The taste of bullfrog meat is often likened to the workmanlike chicken, but at San Gu it also shares the flaky consistency of broiled sea bass, tender and moist to a wonderful degree. Surrounded by a hefty mix of semi-drenched potato chips, lotus root, peppercorns and garlic, you can dig your chopsticks in blindly and be sure to pull out something worth chewing on.

Now that we’ve been able to put to bed our 5 year long obsession with finding a decent burrito in this town, we’ve moved onto our next elusive obsession: a decent bowl of pho.

The wait is over. We've finally found a Mexican restaurant that has satisfied our too-long simmering desires for big hearty burritos, soft fish tacos, chunky guacamole, and a selection of salsa both sharp and subtle. The new Cantina Agave, located on the Fumin side of the new Mansion complex on Changle Lu, has brought the California-style Mexican fare we fell in love with back home to Shanghai, wrapped up in reasonable prices and a much appreciated focus on authenticity.

Osteria, the warm and wonderful new Italian restaurant on Jinxian Lu, is having its grand opening tonight at 6 pm, though it appears to have already built up a following in its soft opening phase. Certainly co-owner Eduardo Vargas can move large swaths of diners with his involvement in any restaurant, mostly because his brand (and it's now definitely a brand) connotes an immediate sense of comfort and quality. Osteria easily clears the bar, but this time greatly due to the help of the charismatic Zoltan, partner and sommelier/wine journalist who zealously preys on empty wine glasses both downstairs in the lounge and upstairs where the main courses are served. This is a man who loves his wine and relishes in sharing it with his new friends. And you, dear reader, will be made to feel like a new friend right when you walk in.

We always enjoyed Gourmet Cafe's playful creativity when it came to its selection of burgers. Thankfully, they've transferred that same sense of innovation to their doppelgänger; a noodle house on the flip side (literally and menu-wise) of the beloved burger restaurant but still under the same moniker. For those diners that constantly grapple with simultaneous east-west cravings, Gourmet Cafe now gives them the best of both worlds.

Considering our proximity to Hong Kong, mediocre Cantonese cuisine seems to be the rule of thumb around here. 茶餐厅 (“tea canteens”) in the true Hong Kong fashion are few and far between while the better of dim sum restaurants are so crowded that by the time you secure a table, the Shanghai Expo would have come and gone.

Set back from the junction of XinLe Lu and XiangYang Lu, opposite a blue-domed Russian Orthodox Church stands the Mansion Hotel.

The title of "Best pizza in Shanghai" is a hotly contested one that frequently sparks passionate debates, not least within Shanghaiist towers, and these days, it's a crowded field in Shanghai, with a number of restaurants jostling for position. However, in this correspondent's humble opinion, Pizza e Pasta might just pip the others to the post.

Before you click play on this video, be warned: it is not for the squeamish or for animal lovers.

“You’d think Mister Tsuri would’ve tasted the food before he opened his stadium,” slurred a jovial member of our dinner party, as we spilled sake down our throats in a red-shag-carpeted cube.

Healthy eating is anathema to Shanghaiist; why deprive oneself of all the deliciousness in the world just so one can live a few more extra years? However, we understand that folks here sometimes need to feel a tad better about themselves after one too many 3 a.m. lamb skewers outside [insert overpopulated club of the moment here] any given morning. Thank goodness for RU? Cafe and its aim of providing balanced and nutricious offerings in a small but sleek setting. Since opening the middle of last year, we've found ourselves recovering from many a late night over a big mug of coffee, freshly baked bread, and the cafe's homemade yogurt. The mushroom risotto is pretty delightful as well, striking a good balance between richness and flavor.

By Julien Bertrand: On his first official visit to China, French President Nicolas Sarkozy must have been dizzy, witnessing the signing of contracts worth 20 billion euros in total, comprising of 160 Airbus aircrafts, two EPR nuclear reactors (to be built in Taishan, Guangdong, by 2014) and signal equipment for Shanghai’s future 36-kilometer metro line #10, a long-awaited deal between Alstom and Shanghai Metro that will link New Jiangwan Town to Hongqiao Airport. In an...

With Christmas just around the corner, there are plenty of parties to attend, plus more wine tastings and other opportunities to get thoroughly blotto. Here's what Winopete has heard about so far: Nov 29 Oriented Happy Hour at MoCA art gallery in People's Park. Please visit www.oriented.com for details. Nov 29-Dec 1 Italian wine exhibition at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre (Tongren and Yan'an Roads) hosted by the Institiute of Fine Italian Wine. No other details...

A prominent former Thai senator accused of sex crimes against four underage girls was sentenced to 36 years in prison on Tuesday, when an appeals court stiffened the sentence of a lower court.

This week's Shanghai pub news HAMILTON HOUSE: Hamilton House Restaurant and Bar (137 Fuzhou Road 福州路137号) opened last week and is located at the corner of Fuzhou and Jiangxi Roads, opposite the Metropole Hotel and a couple of blocks back from the Bund. Hamilton House is a 1930s art deco building with nice high ceilings and reminds me of many bars in Melbourne. On the ground floor (i.e. first floor for you North American readers)...

Someone told us recently that there was a new Mexican burrito place called Cal Kitchen that opened up not that long ago on Dagu Lu, and being long-time residents of California, we decided to see if it lived up to its billing as place for authentic Californian/Mexican food. Long story short, it doesn't. We ordered a big chicken burrito that in better days, might have been a contender—but as it was, it was a soggy...

Photo of a Mummy 3 set in a Hebei Province desert from China.org.cn

The soup pot arrived in good time and the rest of the food arrived promptly after. We recommend the split bowl with spicy soup on one side and regular on the other, the spicy side can be a bit much at times. The actual food was extremely fresh, in fact some of it was still taking their last breaths on the table (one of the perils of eating with locals we guess). Iced tofu (冻豆腐) is one of our favorites dishes, the lamb was likewise tasty, the winter melon and potatoes served as nice fresh vegetables for the night. We really could have done without the pig brains though, at least portions were large and varied.

Walking into Steak & Eggs, Shanghaiist was flooded with fond childhood memories of chowing down on big greasy breakfasts at truck-stop diners during family road trips along Interstate 10. Sure, we love Moon River and its classic 1950's theme, but Steak & Eggs is the first place we've eaten at in Shanghai that fits the mold of the no-frills American roadside diner.

We just got word that Blue Frog will be opening a restaurant at the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel on August 28th. From their press release:

For this Shanghaiist, lunch during the work week typically consists of lukewarm slop served downstairs in the company canteen. So, when we get a rare chance to take a day off from work or telecommute, we like to venture out and take advantage of the many lunch specials that are offered by Shanghai's popular restaurants.

The problem with objectively trying to discuss food is that it’s an inherently subjective experience. Let’s face it; when it comes to eating out, everybody and their uncle has an opinion, and they inevitably polarize into two distinct groups: those who think ‘this place is great!’ and those who think ‘this place should be razed to the ground and sown with salt so that nothing can ever grow in this spot again.’ It makes discussion… difficult.

Pioniers, a minor league team in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 2007, he was signed by the Beijing Tigers of the China Baseball League (more info here). The CBL season already over, Kim recently answered some of our questions via email.

Wonderful as living in an egalitarian utopia may be, it’s sometimes nice to get away from it all and enjoy a little taste of luxury.

Shanghaiist had an interesting challenge: do a restaurant recommendation for a restaurant that doesn't really have a name. Well, at least one that we recognize. We got a business card but the Chinese name is simply "烧肉" (grilled meat) and we didn't know how to read the Japanese characters.