The Shanghai Michelin Guide Scramble continued and I visited with two friends one of the two vegetarians restaurants listed in the 2019 edition of the Guide with one star: Fu he Hui (I already had visited the other).
Fu He Hui is part of the Fu Group that runs three other restaurants in the same Changning District: Fu 1015, Fu 1039 and Fu 1088 (the number coming from the address).
Since 2015, it has been featured in the list of the best 50 restaurants in Asia.
The visit
The restaurant is located in three-storey town house on Yuyuan road in a street dotted by trees (and coffee shops) in the typical fashion of the former French Concession. The ground floor hosts the reception and cashier, while each floor above has both private dining rooms and a common area.
I made my reservation through Chope where only bookings for 2 or more people where accepted. Given the large location, I think you can find a table even without a reservation most of the times (but do not quote me on this).
Above pictured an example of seating in the common dining area on the second floor.
We were greeted by an English-speaking waitress that explained us the basics: the restaurant only offers set menus (she did not specify this, but I believe the same set menu must be ordered for all guests sitting at the same table). She also removed from the room a shopping bag that I had because she spotted inside something that could contain meat (no meat allowed in the dining room apparently).
We chose the introductory menu for 580 RMB (net). They had two chef recommended menus for 780 and 880 RMB (with the possibility to add a tea pairing for an additional 288 RMB; the tea pairing was not available for the 580 RMB menu). In the past they also had a 300 RMB (or so) menu that is no longer offered.
We also ordered a pot of tea that was non cheap.
The initial amouse bouche selection included some salty crisps shaped as maple leaves (hidden among real leaves that we were recommended not to eat), some crackers with egg plant puree, and a beetroot roll with a chickpea filling. The latter appetizer was really good and could have been a stand-alone dish.
The first dish of the menu was avocado mixed with mango and tomatoes in a nori (seaweed) waffle cone. The taste of truffle oil used to amalgamate the ingredients was very clear.
We all enjoyed the next dish: lotus fungus with some baby corn and clack medlar with a mushroom based broth that came in its own bottle. The mushroom flavor of the broth was unmistakable.
Next, we got two bites of eggplant filled with crunchy lotus root, sprinkled with sesame in teriyaki sauce, and some gorgon fruit (an aquatic plant actually).
The fourth dish was a combination of white and purple yam paste (yin and yang?) surmounted by termite mushrooms (I guess a type of termitomyces) in a housemade soy sauce. I did not know the yam could be so good.
Then we got another type of fungus: morels on a melon squash made with Jiang Bing melon (a Chinese variety).
The sixth dish was a fairly conventional carrot puree (I could not identify the flavor of the potato and bamboo shoots indicated in the menu) made more interesting by the addition of balsamic vinegar pearls. The pearls were really powerful and mixed in the puree conferred an interesting counterbalance.
The second last dish was called a “spring pancake”: on a nori base with a line of soy paste there was cocumber, crisp tofu skin and a bai ling mushroom. We were instructed to roll the seaweed and eat it with our hands.
The last dish was a green bean dessert with green tea and mint oil. It was served chilled and I could not expect that green peas could be such a tasty base for a dessert. It came with a mini mooncake filled with bean paste.
Some extra sweet treat: walnut cakes (right), panna cotta in transparent edible paper (homage to White Rabbit candies), and sweet chocolate balls.
The check
The set menu was 580 RMB per person, but after adding the tea pot (and the wet towels! I cannot believe that they charged the wet towels) the individual cost per person rose to 681 RMB, basically 100 USD.
The 580 RMB menu is very similar to the previous 380 RMB menu offered before the Michelin Guide’s mention (and for a while after), so it looks that they decided to raise their price point over the past year.
The comparison with the other Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurant in Shanghai, Wujie, seems mandatory: I found the same level of quality and creativity in the Wujie’s introductory tasting menu, at a more affordable price, in a more casual environment with staff non speaking English (but super friendly). Wujie also used some cheese, Fu He Hui seems to be strictly vegan.
I and my friends truly enjoyed the experience. Apart from being overcharged for the tea, the service, the creativity and quality of the food was excellent. Even more interesting dishes can be found in the higher price set menus that I might try one day.
Where in Shanghai:
1037 Yuyuan Lu
In Chinese: 愚园路1037号
Nearest metro station: Jiangsu Road Station (line 2), exit 6 or 4 (if you are adventurous, the 20 bus from the Bund stops nearby as well).