How can you innovate the restaurant experience? In Tokyo there is a place where you have to literally fish your meal (and if you do not, a premium will apply on the check). In Kuala Lumpur once I visited a Marché restaurant where you can build your meal hopping from a food kiosk to another. But let’s be honest, you can only go so far…
Chop Chop Club tries to add something new with a set of timed dishes… Every 15 minutes two or three mains are available for order, either in a portion or the whole dish. Guests are welcomed with the à la carte menu encompassing a variety of appetizers and side dishes, while on a separate page (that I guess is updated on a daily basis) you can find the list of the mains and their serving times. The daily mains are also displayed on a large screen.
As the name suggests, the kitchen specializes in meat, but also some fish is available.
Chop Chop Club is located in one of the iconic “food palaces” on the Bund, Three on the Bund. It shares the same space of Unico, a self-proclaimed “Latin-infused” (do not ask me what it means) restaurant and lounge. From what I understand, the Chop Chop Club kitchen operate from 6pm to 9pm, then it is all Unico.
The visit
I visited Chop Chop Club on a calm Sunday evening in June attracted by the new format and by the fact that the restaurant is the latest brainchild of Paul Pairet, a well-known Shanghai restaurateur behind the three Michelin star Ultraviolet (one day!) and one of my all-time Shanghai favorites, Mr and Ms Bund. Easy reservation through Chope.
I went with a friend and, in general, that’s a good idea, since the portions are not huge, but they can easily be shared among two people.
We had three mains: a portion of the house pork sausage (that came with a bit of mashed patato), a portion of Grilled seabass, and a portion of char roasted lamb shoulder. Everything was cooked by the book, maybe the lamb was a bit cold when it arrived. The sausage, that for some reason in Asia they never get right, was also good. We had only one side, some creamy cabbage (that was exceptionally good, it did not taste as cabbage at all… I should have tried more side dishes). On the menu for the evening there were also Wagyu sirloin steak (for 450 USD), black pepper short ribs from Singapore, cote de boef and lemon chicken. The dishes arrived punctual, the kitchen must be operating like the proverbial Swiss clock.
I and my friend were very pleased by the desserts we chose: I went for a decadent Nutella mousse (you cannot go wrong with Nutella) and my friend for chilled pomelo.
The check
The total bill for two people came to 1128 RMB (around 176 USD). It was a substantial but not a pantagruelic meal and only my friend had a cocktail. Just to say that you could easily spend much more…
I enjoyed the food and the ambience. The place delivered what it promised: solid good traditional food without excessive frills and the place and service kind of justify the premium price. And what about the idea of timing the dishes? Honestly, it did not add much to the experience. Whoever out there is on a mission to innovate the restaurant format, you need to keep trying.
Conclusion: I would come back if I had to entertain a small group of friends.
Pro-tip
From the opening at 6pm to 7.30pm it is happy hour and alcoholic beverages are 50% off.
Where in Shanghai: 2/F, 3 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, near Guangdong Lu
请带我去 中山东一路3号2楼, 近广东路
December 2018 Update: now it seems to operate on a reduced schedule on Fridays and Saturdays and on a new model: you share a table with a blind menu. See their website.