Koko is the Japanese restaurant on the 5th floor of the Sofitel Wanda in Ningbo. The menu is available both a la carte and as a buffet (unlimited orders from the menu). See the review of the weekend buffet at Le Bistrot for another Sofitel restaurant in Ningbo.
The visit
I went to this restaurant a few times choosing the buffet option (it is just much more convenient).
My first order is usually a sashimi platter with salmon, swordfish, shrimps, ark-clams, mackerel, tuna, seabream.
Grilled oysters with cheese.
More tuna sashimi.
Miso soup.
Abalone.
Sushi set. The sushi is quite bland. I guess it is the rice.
Sushi with scallops.
Scallops grilled with cheese. A lot of cheese.
Grilled fish.
Some tempura.
Pan-seared goose liver.
Grilled salmon.
Some final dessert.
The check
The buffet has several costs depending whether you include or not a few high-end dishes. The cheapest is around 320 RMB for lunch (47 USD). After a 15% discount, I spent 261.8 RMB (39 USD). I wish the dishes were more tasty and probably I would be there on a regular basis. Also, on a couple of occasions I had some stomach problems afterwards… so I stopped going.
Where in Ningbo: Sofitel Wanda Hotel Ningbo, 5F 899 Si Ming Zhong Road Yinzhou District In Chinese: 四明中路899号 Information for booking (advisable on weekends and evenings).
Nothing glamorous about this weekend brunch buffet, but it is very cheap and some of the food is excellent. I suspect it is a loss leader for the hotel. The buffet for lunch is only available at weekends starting at 11.30am.
The weekend brunch buffet is held in the second floor restaurant, calle Le Bistrot. Here’s a round up of what is available:
Random hot dishes (braised pork, vegetables, and so on).
Salads.Other appetizers.Grill corner, they prepare skewers, beef steak, some small white fish on demand.Some of the dishes coming from the grill.The roast meat usually features pork (never beef!).Chinese noodles corner.Some fruit.Some cheese.More hot dishes.This is my favorite corner: fresh sushi and sashimi including tuna (the rolls have random ingredients…).More fresh seafood, some small prawns, crabs, mussels… Drinks.Ice cream counter. The dessert buffet features classics like Opera Cake and more creative sweets. It is excellent, they must have a good pastry chef.Coffee. Bread and soft-serve ice cream.
The check
Ok, I am cheating a little bit, I have a discount eating at this buffet and my final check is 100.8 RMB (or exactly 15 USD). It is as low as it can get for a five star buffet.
However, even the full price, 168 RMB (25 USD) is still pretty cheap.
It is not a fancy buffet, but the selection is extensive and there are actually some excellent choices. The sashimi is fresh and the dessert corner sports many great cakes.
Where in Ningbo: Sofitel Wanda Hotel Ningbo, 2F 899 Si Ming Zhong Road Yinzhou District In Chinese: 四明中路899号 Tip: online booking is possible, but not necessary.
GaKuDen is a chain of European-style bakeries found all over in Taipei. Some of the locations also doubles as coffee shops. Here’s my experience.
The visit
Inside they have a variety of baked goods and the style is self-service.
In this particular shop near Chiang Kai-shek Memorial they had a room upstairs where to take a seat.
This was my snack:
I chose a juice, a brownie and a chocolate pastry made with Valrhona chocolate. They seem to do a decent job in supplying Taipei with European bread and cakes.
The check
In total I spent 189 NTD or 6.10 USD. Not bad for spending some time of relax in a clean and comfortable place. The pastries were good.
Where in Taipei No. 316, Songjiang Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei (for the shop of my visit, but other locations are all over Taipei).
A review of Taiwanese desserts would not be complete without mentioning starch balls and ice. Eastern Ice Store is a Taipei’s favorite for this dessert.
The visit
The first step is to queue. They are pretty fast though.
Then you can choose four toppings that will be added to a paper bowl full of ice. The balls are made with tapioca and there are classic sweet bean sauces. Unfortunately all the names are in Chinese.
This is what I got in a pretty random fashion.
Adjacent to the main shop there is a room where you can consume your dessert seated.
I did not like it much. I guess it requires a local taste.
The check
This treat is very economical at 60 NTD (or a few cents shy of 2 USD).
Where in Taipei: No. 38, Lane 216, Sec. 4, Zhongxiao E. Rd., Da’an Dist., Taipei City
Like Maisen and Saboten, Ginza Bairin is an old Japanese tonkatsu joint that became a large chain with overseas branches. I have not been at the original shop in Ginza, Tokyo, but I have visited two shops in Shanghai.
The visit (IFC)
One of their stores is on the fourth floor of IFC mall in Pudong.
Inside they have a variety of sitting arrangements.
I ordered their signature tonkatsu that is different from usual: it is a fillet cut (not the usual loin) and the standard portion comes with three pieces. The fillet is pinkish inside and the meat is imported from Japan. It was tender and spotless meat.
They also have other deep fried dishes: scallop, beef, salmon, white fish, prawns… it is possible to combine them to make a customized platter. They have on the menu the katsu sando (pork cutlet sandwich) but, to my dismay, it was not available at the time of this visit.
For lunch, they had a special set that also included rice, pickles, egg custard, and miso soup.
One important part of the experience is the special house tonkatsu sauce, to add a sweet flavor to the cutlet. They claim that “originated in 1927, this sauce is a sweet blend of spices, apples and vegetables. Its smooth yet rich taste is unique to Ginza Bairin”. Also the more common sesame dressing was available and a spicy wasabi dressing as well.
I also tried an additional dish: egg omelette with eel. It was just ok. The rest of the menu is extensive, but not really attractive to me.
The check (IFC)
The lunch set was 108 RMB (16 USD) and the egg dish was 58 RMB (8.6 USD). Not having visited the original store in Tokyo I cannot comment on the authenticity. Overall was good, but I was not carried away like in Saboten (but it was Taipei). My impression is that in order to cater to the local customers they have lost the focus on the pork cutlet and other deep fried dishes and tried to offer a more complete Japanese food menu including sushi and sashimi. I would not recommend it for Japanese food other than tonkatsu.
The visit (Hongqiao Airport)
Curiously, I came across a Ginza Bairin branch at Hongqiao Airport (airside, near the international departure gates). Food in Chinese airports is usually so bad that was like a mirage.
I also had the pork fillet lunch set, that came with rice and miso soup.
The usual set of sauces.
The lunch set had fewer sides than the one at IFC, but here I got a scoop of green tea ice cream included in the price.
The check (Hongqiao Airport)
The price was slightly more expensive than the IFC lunch set at 118 RMB or 17.5 USD (please note that there was a mistake on the pictured receipt, it was a fillet tonkatsu, not a loin).
Where in Shanghai: Hongqiao Airport Branch: Terminal 1 International Departure Airside Mezzanine Floor I-206. IFC: Shop 9-10, 4/F, Shanghai IFC mall, 8 Century Avenue, Lujiazui, Pudong New Area. On June 2020 the IFC location was closed and I could not find indication of the Hongqiao location anywhere.
The Cathay Room is one of the restaurants of the Fairmont Peace Hotel, a Shanghai’s landmark. Built from 1926 to 1929, it was originally called Cathay Hotel and also hosted the private apartment of the owner, Victor Sassoon (technically, also the building across the street was part of the complex, it is now a separate property). Victor Sassoon was behind the development of a lot of art deco buildings in Shanghai and my understanding is that the Cathay Room was below (or part of) his quarters. The hotel even has a small museum where you can learn about his remarkable past. I spent time reading a letter of a British woman telling her story of her time at the hotel as a hostage of the Japanese. Some fascinating stuff if you are a history buff.
To get to the restaurant, take the third entrance to the right (the first one is closed and the central entrance leads to the main hotel reception), turn right and look for the elevators: the Cathay Room is at the 9th floor. They also have a terrace with fabulous views of Pudong and the river.
The visit
On Sundays, and only on Sundays, The Cathay Room offers a brunch semi-buffet. The seafood spread is formidable and it is what lures me back. In this review, I will account for my visit on Sunday 21 April 2019, that happened to be Easter. The restaurant was busier than usual.
The dining room has a classic charm and is quite intimate.
The table was impeccable and had some Easter goodies.
One station is dedicated to oysters. On this visit they were Moana oysters from Australia. They were shucked by the staff on demand. It is usually my first stop.
They have a decent selection of sushi and sashimi (including all the right pickled vegetables). Sashimi slices are thick.
Another station is dedicated to fresh crustaceans including giant clams, abalone, shrimps, king crab claws, mussels, razor clams.
Peking duck pancakes were prepared at this station.
Deep fried pork belly, some cold cuts (they discontinued the Spanish ham), smoked salmon, pate’, cheese, bread were available on one side of the central buffet table.
A number of Chinese appetizers and salads were available on the other side of the table, including boiled egg mimosa sprinkled with caviar.
This is a semi-buffet, because the buffet is supposed to be just an appetizer. Then you can order a main from the list above.
I had their turnedos Rossini that was fully satisfying. The meat was really top-grade and super-tender. Also the lamb chops and the cod were substantial dishes.
Among the many treats available, I want to show their truffle cheese and cheese bell peppers. Quite unique in a buffet. I appreciate the attention to the details.
Finally there was a dessert buffet with a couple of good cakes.
The check
The check was 687.70 RMB (or 102 USD) after service charge and water and soft drinks were included (ignore the separation in the check between beverage and food, it was total price, the subdivision must be for internal reasons).
Given the quality of the food, I have no problem with their price.
Finally, they also have some free-flow options for Champagne lovers.
Where in Shanghai: Ninth Floor, Fairmont Peace Hotel, 20 Nanjing Dong Lu (West Road) In Chinese: 南京东路20号费尔蒙和平饭店9楼 Info from the official website and link to reservation here.
As part of my Michelin Shanghai Scramble I visited a one Michelin star restaurant serving Shanghai classics called Lao Zheng Xing. The restaurant is supposedly the oldest Shanghainese restaurant in the city (founded in 1862) and moved to its current multi-story location in 1997. It is near Raffles mall and People’s Square, not far from the Bund. There is no English name on the storefront, see the picture below.
The visit
I headed to the restaurant on a Saturday evening without a reservation. At 6pm the restaurant was already full (even if it is a huge venue), but I had to wait only 10 minutes before a table got free for me.
I got a table on the second floor in a classic noisy large Chinese dining room.
My first dish was cucumber in brown sauce. It was ok, the cucumbers were “crispy”, the sauce was nothing special.
Then I got a fairly large portion of Shanghai smoked soy fish. It was just ok, I did have better ones. These were full of small bones.
Then I had four pieces of baked abalone. The abalone was a bit hard to chew, but overall I liked this dish.
My biggest dish was the famous Shanghai’s egg and crab soup ( Xiefen) that came with sesame buns. It was actually the first time I tried it, so I cannot make comparisons. It was not crab season, so it was probably not the best time to try the dish. As you might expect it was very sweet. It was a dish for two people.
Then I had the classic soup dumplings (not invented in Shanghai, but a local favorite). This time I was really let down. The dumplings were hardly edible! Maybe I was given a set of dumplings left from another table? I have tried soup dumplings elsewhere and this was in no way close to an acceptable standard, with almost no soup inside and the poor dumplings that looked like asking to be put out of their misery.
A final dim sum dish, buns with cream, was also terrible.
The check
I spent 448 RMB (66.6 USD) for a very disappointing meal. I knew that this was not supposed to be a fancy restaurant, but the problem was the quality of some of the dishes that was just unacceptable. Maybe I was unlucky, but I guess the Michelin guide included the restaurant mostly as an homage to the local cuisine; however it should not be listed, in my opinion.
Admittedly, I ordered enough food for two people (I did not finish it) and this makes it at least an affordable restaurant, sharing with Madam Goose the record of cheapest Michelin restaurant in Shanghai. However the menu is quite extensive and also includes expensive dishes, so it is quite easy to overspend.
Where in Shanghai: 556 Fuzhou Lu In Chinese: 黄埔区福州路556号
Jean-Georges in Shanghai holds the record to be the first signature restaurant outside of New York of world-renowned chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. It is a French restaurant.
The visit
I visited the restaurant for brunch in April 2018 with two friends. It is located on Bund 3 along other high-end restaurants and sports nice views of the Huangpu river and Pudong. It is a very classy location, dominated by bright colors.
The brunch deal included two courses and a dessert. We also ordered some additional dishes.
Our order included the chef’s signature eggs with caviar, that I did not find worth it. The other dishes were tasty, beautifully presented, with a touch of creativity here and there.
The check
The brunch deal was around 330 RMB per person. The same offer is still available at the time of writing this post. We actually spent much more by ordering the caviar eggs and some additional dishes. The brunch menu is a good deal in my opinion and it is a great way to have a brunch on the Bund. But if you go for dinner and order a la carte is another story, this is the kind of place where spending hundred of dollars for a meal is quite easy.
Opened in 2016, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon is the flagship restaurant of the Robuchon’s properties in Shanghai and it is located in Bund 18. Needless to say, it was awarded Michelin stars (two). Robuchon (passed away last year) is the chef that with his multiple restaurants collected most stars in the world.
The visit
My visit dates back to April 2017 and I went with two friends to try the discovery menu for Sunday brunch. This is the four-course entry level tasting menu and at that time it was available only for brunch or for early or late dinners. Not sure whether this has changed since then, but the menu is still available.
When the staff called to confirm my reservation they told me that only counter seats were available. That was not ideal, but when I showed up with my friends they gave us a normal table. More than half of the seats in the restaurant are bar chairs facing the open kitchen.
Down below pictures of some of the dishes, 4 courses, including one appetizer, one soup, one main, and one dessert.
The check
The discovery menu was priced 756 RMB (excluding supplements for certain dishes and beverages), that would be 112 USD. Not a bad deal for a Robuchon on the Bund.
The dishes were beautifully presented and made full use of French high-end ingredients and cooking techniques.
Where in Shanghai: Bund 18, 18 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu In Chinese: 黄浦区中山东一路18号外滩十八号 Website for menus and reservations: http://www.joelrobuchon-china.com/
Bombana is an Italian chef that made it big in Hong Kong: his restaurant in Central has three Michelin stars. From there he has been expanding in Asia: Macau, Beijing (where the restaurant is called Opera), and Shanghai.
I visited a couple of times the Shanghai’s restaurant (two Michelin stars) headed by chef Riccardo to better understand this Italian high cuisine. By the way, “Otto e Mezzo” of course is the title of a famous Fellini’s movie, but references to Fellini seem to end here.
I had my reservation through Dining City (very simple) and I headed to the restaurant on a gloomy Sunday evening. It was a pity, because the restaurant also has a nice terrace and balcony on the sixth floor of a renovated building in the now called Rock Bund district.
The restaurant has an elegant dining room with tables reasonably spaced. To avoid bothering other guests I did not take a picture of the room, but you can check the restaurant’s website.
While I was still looking at the menu, I was served a welcome dish with three nibbles: a geometrically audacious pastry with diced salmon, another pastry with a sort of Russian salad, and half a cherry. I thought the staff was too hasty in delivering the plate or maybe it is their style. Apart from this, the service was spotless and all staff spoke English.
The bread basket was a bit underwhelming: white bread with olives, sourdough with sesame and corn bread. The sourdough was almost impossible to chew! Luckily, they also served some Italian grissini that were still warm and very nice.
There was another amuse bouche: a stracchino spuma with peas. The stracchino is an Italian cheese that I had never tried in this preparation that made it incredibly soft. It was a great dish and the peas felt very fresh and full of flavor.
The menu was divided in four sections: appetizers, pasta dishes, mains, and desserts. No appetizer stimulated my interest, but all pasta dishes looked great. I went for the homemade cavatelli (small pasta shells from eggless semolina dough) with seafood. There was king crab meat and two pieces of uni (sea urchin) on top. The dish was excellent.
My main was amadai fillet in a light coconut and shellfish broth with some fresh peas. The cooking fully respected the flavor and texture of the fish that came from Japan. Other mains available were lobster from Brittany, wagyu from Japan, and veal.
I ordered a dessert and before getting there I was offered a palate cleanser in the form of a very elaborated sorbet.
The dessert, called Chocolate Variation, was a small masterpiece. In a perfectlty coreographed presentation, the dish included a round hazelnut “moretto” (a homage to an Italian ice-cream), a scoop of chocolate ice cream, a ball of pistachio rocher (I guess using Ferrero Rocher material to enclose the pistachio) and, finally, two crispy tuilles cannoli with black and white chocolate. That was like a chocolate encyclopedia.
Before leaving, I was offered a final dish with pear jelly, pastry with cream and a “sandwich” with berries.
No wine for me, the still water was a Chinese spring water, Nongfu, that is also the best selling water in China. This came a bit to a surprise, as the water cost me 15 USD, for that money I would have expected some Italian bottled water.
The check
This three-course dinner cost me 1542 RMB or 229.5 USD.
Most appetizers and pasta dishes cost around 50 USD, a main costs around 100 USD and desserts around 30 USD.
All the dishes were perfect (apart from the bread). The ingredients were top of the top, super fresh and genuine. Was this worth the price? I do not think so. After all, these were not particularly innovative dishes, just very well executed dishes. I have no problems spending this kind of money for a meal, but I am seeking something more that I did not get in terms of creativity and surprise.
