Month: May 2019

Double-starred Michelin dim sum from Canton 8 in Shanghai

As part of the Shanghai Michelin Guide Scramble, I headed off-the-beaten path to try Canton 8 in Runan street. The restaurant is located in an interesting part of town full of creative industry companies. Modern cafes share the space with traditional Chinese restaurants.

The visit

I went on a weekday without a reservation. I was a bit worried by a review posted by The Shanghai Kid that claimed to have waiting for one hour and half (but it was a weekend). No problem, I arrived at around 11.30 and I was offered a table on the spot. But the restaurant got busy quickly.

The dining room is not enormous (not a Chinese banquet room) and decorated with modern taste.

They had an interesting tasting menu for 500 RMB, but I preferred hand picking my dishes. At lunch, dim sum items are available.

I had the chef’s soup of the day: it was a relatively thick stock with pieces of winter melon, duck meat, and pearl barley.

In a Cantonese restaurant I usually order crispy roast pork. This was good, with the skin not too crispy making it a very tender bite.

The two classics, har gar (shrimp dumpling) and siu mai (marinated minced pork meat dumpling with crab roe) were ok, as many other I ate.

I also tried one of their “delicacies”: a Boston lobster claw in shrimp paste. It was a nicely presented dish, illustrative of their extended menu that is not just dim sum.

Finally I had the Hong Kong style pork “pineapple” buns (no pineapple used of course). The baking was perfect.

Finally I had a almond creamy soup as a dessert.

In the Shanghai Kid’s review that I mentioned service was bashed harshly. Service during my visit was impeccable. One member of staff did speak English and was particularly nice, to the point to ask if I needed fork and knife (me, the poor Westerner!) or a taxi at the end. That’s above and beyond most restaurants in Shanghai.

The check

This substantial lunch cost me 280 RMB (41 USD). Someone says that Canton 8 hold the controversial record of cheapest two star Michelin restaurant. Maybe. But it is not very important.

The dim sum was good (but not extraordinary) and the menu also sports many delicacies that could make an interesting dinner. The rating of the Michelin Guide defies logic, but I would have no problem recommending the restaurant for Cantonese food in Shanghai.

Where in Shanghai:
63 Runan Street
In Chinese: 汝南街63号
Tip: there is a branch of Canton 8 in a more central location on the Bund.

Little: An all day brunch restaurant in Ningbo

All day brunch is a thing in China, or at least in Ningbo thanks to an eatery called Little. At time of posting there are two locations in Ningbo and a third one is planned. I spoke to the owner, a young local woman, who studied in the UK and brought home the passion for brunch food. She is part of this wave of young Chinese bringing Western food in Ningbo (see La Pizzeria Echo and the Meating Room for similar stories).

The visit(s)

The shop that I visited is located in Yinzhou, in the Southern part of Ningbo, near Wanda Plaza.

The venue is intimate and has a tasty decor. There are two levels in a peculiar zig-zag white building.

In one visit I had their breakfast platter that was quite nice with bread, scrambled eggs, two sausages, mushrooms, and cheery tomatoes. Some butter for the bread would have been nice.

I had also their fried chicken with waffles that was particularly good. The fried chicken retained a juicy texture inside. A very good execution of this hipster dish.

They also have an extensive drink menu. Pictured above a non-alcoholic sangria that I enjoyed.

On another occasion I had their salmon Benedict eggs that were not only nicely presented, but also delicious with some extra melted cheese on top.

Their seafood risotto is not too big and a good complement. The risotto is infused with squid ink and comes with some cubes of salmon, a meaty prawn, and a mussel.

I also tried their tiramisu French toast that was a bit below my expectations, maybe because of the choice of bread.

The check(s)

The first visit (two courses and the sangria) cost me 132 RMB (around 20 USD). The second visit (two courses and a dessert) cost me 175 RMB (26 USD). The dessert could have been shared between two people.

The dishes are reasonably priced (considering the premium at which Western food is sold in China) and the quality was excellent. It is a place where I am always eager to go back and try more dishes.

Where in Ningbo:
39 Linyu Road, Yinzhou (a few blocks north of Wanda Plaza) – This is the shop I visited.
52 Leigongxiang Road, Yinzhou (near the Sheraton hotel). For Chinese information see Dianping.

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Ningbo’s favorite pizza: La Pizzeria Echo

When you ask where to eat a good pizza in Ningbo, especially in the Southern part of the city, La Pizzeria Echo comes up often as a recommendation. There are two young Chinese gentlemen at the helm of the store. One of them studied engineering in Italy, another one understudied an Italian chef for a few years, before joining forces to open this pizza parlor.

The visit(s)

The pizzeria recently re-located to Taikang Middle Road, opposite to the Academician Park.

The pizza is indeed quite good. It is thin pizza with crispy borders. One issue is that they tend to burn, like in the example below of their namesake Echo pizza:

They also have other dishes, like Italian sandwiches (panini):

For an extra fee, each pizza can be made in a “calzone” (a type of rolled pizza):

Finally a “fried appetizers” basket:

The check(s)

The Echo pizza (with a rich toppings) was 92 RMB or 13.66 USD. The calzone was 10 RMB more. Simpler pizzas are a bit cheaper. Most sandwiches are less than 9 USD.

Overall it is a honest offering and when not burnt the pizza is good.

Where in Ningbo:
Middle Taikang Road, opposite of Academician Park.

What to order at Awfully Chocolate in China

Awfully Chocolate is a chain of dessert and cake shops founded in Singapore back in 1998 by Lyn Lee, a young lawyer, and her boyfriend (both with no business experience in the food and beverage industry). They have over a dozen shops and cafes in Singapore (including a restaurant) and have franchised their business in other countries. After false starts in Taiwan and Hong Kong, they seem to have found a very strong partner in Mainland China. At the time of posting, Awfully Chocolate stores are all over China, mainly in shopping malls.

What is interesting about their concept is that it, uncompromisingly, is all about chocolate. They started by selling a single type of chocolate cake at the origins and now they have a wide range of chocolate products: from cakes, to beverages, ice cream, pralines, etc.

The visit(s)

The picture shows the storefront of the shop in Wanda Plaza in Ningbo (now closed). Some shops have tables, some others do not (like the one at IFC Mall in Shanghai, just for take-away orders). They had a particularly large cafe in Ningbo near the central Tianyi square (now closed).

A very good introduction to their cakes is the super-stacked chocolate cake that is inspired by the traditional Southeast Asian Lapis Cake. According to their website, “each cake layer is baked one at a time, so a completed Super Stacked cake with six layers of cake and six layers of fudge takes almost four hours to complete”. I have the impression that they have reduced the sweetness of their cakes for the Chinese market over time (I remember them sweeter just a couple of years ago, but I could be mistaken).

For something even more massive, their cupcake is an interesting creation. Most of the mass is actually “solid” chocolate topping the soft layer.

I also recommend their hot chocolate. In the picture above a cold chocolate beverage (60%) with chocolate bits. Unfortunately this one was not very good, the hot beverages are way better.

The check(s)

The super-stacked chcolate cake was 29 RMB (4.3 USD).

The cupcake was 4 RMB more expensive and along with the cold chocolate was 68 RMB (10 USD). These prices are comparable to Starbucks in China.

Where in China:
Check their website for store locations. (Ningbo locations as to mid 2020 were all closed. The list on the website may not be up to date.)

A Japanese omakase dinner in Ningbo

In Ningbo, near In City shopping mall there is a cluster of Japanese restaurants. Some are really mediocre, but there is a group of eateries that stands out. They are located in the building pictured below: there is a yakiniku grill, a more formal kaiseki restaurant, and the omakase restaurant reviewed here (it is the located on the right corner near the entrance). On the left, not pictured, there is a good yakitori place called Bird Land. They all belong to the same owner.

The visit

The restaurant is the classic “hole in the wall”: it can host 9 guests around the counter. Two chefs were incessantly busy preparing sushi. I have been a couple of times for dinner.

I was welcomed with some inconspicuous marinated seaweed. Not sure whether it was meant as an appetizer or just a side dish.

The first dish was two pieces of sashimi: sweet shrimp and a white fish that looked like tai. All dishes were attentively garnished.

Then again a piece of white fish lightly seared.

The first piece of sushi was a large surf clam, very tender.

Then from the kitchen, I was served a piece of grilled fish, cod.

Next, Atlantic horse mackerel (aji) sushi.

A nice piece of o-toro with a tea scoop of sea urchin (uni), lightly seared with the blow torch.

A large scallop.

A maki roll with a generous portion of sea urchin.

An egg custard with salmon roe. It was very good.

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A raw shrimp topped by sea urchin,

Salmon sushi.

A piece of wagyu beef sushi, the meat was seared with the blow torch.

Another white fish (maybe flounder).

There was a rice dish with foie gras.

Towards the end I got the classic miso soup.

The last dish was a serving of panna cotta.

The check

The omakase has a fixed price of 388 RMB (57.6 USD). It included 12 seafood dishes, a rice dish, a egg custard, the miso soup, and the dessert (that’s less than 25 RMB per dish and I am not counting the seaweed).

The omakase included top ingredients, they did not shortchange in me in any way. It was reasonably authentic and all seafood was excellent. It is a great little eatery.

It is also possible to order additional dishes a la carte.

Where in Ningbo:
590 Qianhubei Road, Yinzhou