Shanghai Michelin Guide Scramble – Page 2

Dining like royalty at T’ang Court in Shanghai

T’ang Court is the flagship fine dining restaurant of the luxury Langham Hotel in Shanghai (in Xintiandi). In Hong Kong the Langham uses the same name for their top Chinese restaurant. Both in Hong Kong and Shanghai T’ang Court is a Michelin-starred restaurant. In Hong Kong has been awarded the top honor, 3 stars, for years. In Shanghai, the inaugural edition of the Guide (2017) awarded 3 stars as well making T’ang Court the only triple starred restaurant in Mainland China. For a while. In the 2019 edition of the Guide it was demoted to two stars and, for some inexplicable reason, to one in the subsequent 2020 edition. It is headed by executive chef Alan Sun. Here’s my visit as part of the Shanghai Michelin Guide Scramble.

The visit

I booked with a simple email. The website features the menu and a nice interactive picture showing the venue. I did not take pictures of the dining room to avoid bothering other guests. The main dining room is relatively small, accommodating only 20 people; most of the space is dedicated to private dining rooms, but the small size is not an issue: tables are nicely spaced and there is a terrace. It is modern understated luxury.

There was a complimentary amuse bouche: a shrimp and pork dumpling in soup and some carrots wrapped in radish and marinated in vinegar. It was very nice.

My first dish was a soup with grouper and handmade tofu (two pieces of grouper, one not edible).

My main was grouper fillet with yam and vegetables. This was a very good dish. Live seafood seems to be one of the strong points of this restaurant.

By the way, at the beginning I was also given a set of sauces: chili sauce, Xo sauce, and soy sauce. I was recommended to use the Xo sauce for the main dish.

Following the grammar of a classic Chinese meal, I included a rice dish at the end. This was fried rice with crab meat and sea urchin. The sea urchin was almost invisible…

I had some room for a dessert. In the room the most popular dessert seemed to be mango ice cream coming in a bowl contoured by fuming dry ice. The presentation of my dessert was less spectacular, but the taste was great. It was an almond tofu pudding that was simply superb in flavor.

Also of note the Chinese tea menu. They have some of the best of the best Chinese teas. It is an impressive list (with a serving easily costing 30 USD and more).

Another special note about the service. The staff was really professional. They knew how to have a conversation with me about the menu and talked me out ordering a very large dish that would have been unsuitable for me. Well done.

The check

For three courses plus a dessert the check was 936.30 RMB (or 135 USD). This is the price point you can expect from this kind of establishment.

It was a seamless meal, even if the dishes did not blew me away. In comparison, I think Yi Long Court remains a better Chinese restaurant in the two star category of the Michelin Guide.

Where in Shanghai:
5/F, The Langham Shanghai Xintiandi, 99 Madang Lu
In Chinese: 马当路99号5楼
Check their website for menu, email for reservation, and virtual visit.

Back to Lei Garden (IAPM Shanghai) for Cantonese fare

To complete my Michelin challenge, I visited again Lei Garden in Shanghai, this time the branch in IAPM mall that was awarded a star in the 2019 edition of the Shanghai Michelin Guide. (You can read a more extensive review of Lei Garden in Shanghai from my visit at the IFC location.)

The visit

I went to Lei Garden (IAPM) on a Saturday evening. It was a quiet night, not much business in the restaurants. Without a reservation, the receptionist found a table for me instantly.

The restaurant is a bit smaller than the one at IFC Pudong. The main dining room is decorated with an dome resembling a tree embracing the whole room and a piece of rock art.

The table was decorated with a not perfectly achieved swan-shaped napkin.

I ordered the crispy roasted pork that was sold out in my previous visit. I liked it, but the skin was a little too hard.

Then I had their braised chicken with clack bean and shallot (plus some ginger, garlic, and capsicum). It was quite good, the chicken pieces were reasonably meaty. It was a large portion (250 grams of chicken according to the menu).

As a side dish, I had pickled mushrooms in a vinaigrette sauce. Quite forgettable.

The check

The relatively light dinner cost me 359 RMB (52 USD).

With this meal I think I am done with Lei Garden. During my two visits I did not experience any dish that would motivate me to come back, even if it is an impeccable restaurant in terms of service and food quality.

Where in Shanghai:
IAPM Mall, 4/F, 999 Huaihai Zhong Lu (Middle Road)
In Chinese: 淮海中路999号4楼.
Nearest metro station: South Shaanxi Road.

Exquisite dim sum and seasonal dishes at Yi Long Court, Pensinsula Shanghai

Yi Long Court is the main Chinese restaurant of the Peninsula Hotel in Shanghai. It has two stars in the 2019 edition of the Shanghai Michelin Guide (and one in the 2020 edition). It is run by a veteran: Hong Kong-born Michelin-starred executive chef Tang Chi Keng opened this restaurant in 2011 before moving on to Hei Fung Terrace at The Peninsula Tokyo, and LiLi at The Peninsula Paris. Then in 2016 he returned and he has been at the helm since then.

A small tip: enter the Peninsula from the entrance on the Bund (precisely Zhongshan East Road). The restaurant is on the second floor.

The visit

I dined at Yi Long Court on a Saturday. I did not have a reservation and the restaurant was almost empty.

The main dining room was impeccably appointed and exuded understated elegance as you might expect from a Peninsula hotel. From the windows you can see Zhongshan road and some of Pudong’s skyscrapers at a distance.

I ordered the chef’s seasonal set menu reinforced by two dim sum dishes. The first was a trio of vegetarian steamed dumplings with mushrooms and truffles. The truffle flavor was quite distinct. Delicious.

The other dim sum was scallop dumplings with caviar. The caviar was probably unnecessary, but the scallops were meaty and tasty.

Then the first dish of the set menu arrived and it featured more dim sum items alongside two barbecued meats: glazed pork and chicken, a delicious spring roll with shrimps, and a classic shrimp dumpling.

At this point I also got the house spicy sauces: one based on tomatoes and one based on fish. Both only lightly spicy.

Finally I received a complimentary snack: sugar-coated walnuts. These were particularly addictive.

Then I was served a soup: the broth was based on dried scallops (conpoy) with shredded sea cucumber. The soup had a creamy texture and was enjoyable.

The next dish featured a wok-fried king prawn (yes, it was really big) with some scallops and vegetables. Perfect dish.

Next was braised minced pork with bean curd and hot chili sauce (known as mapo tofu). This dish marked a departure from Cantonese classics, introducing a Sichuan dish. The meat had a very good taste. It was a big dish to the point to be difficult to finish and markedly hot.

While I was still working my way through the mapo tofu I was served the last dish before the dessert, a bowl of Yangzhou fried-rice, particularly generous with shrimp. This is a simple dish but it was perfectly executed and cannot remember a better specimen anywhere else. It helped in finishing the mapo tofu (it would have been good to have the two dishes together since the beginning).

The last dish was a chilled mango pudding (with an almond cookie). I am not a big fan of mango, but this pudding was excellent (and also a big portion).

The check

Total check was 756.73 RMB (or 111 USD). The set menu alone was less than 500 RMB, the rest was an expensive bottle of water and the two dim sum dishes. The dim sum menu that I believe is available only for lunch has excellent value.

Overall I enjoyed the lunch very much and I was particularly impressed by the dim sum dishes. Thinking about the Michelin Guide, this restaurant is way above other Cantonese restaurants that I have visited so far in Shanghai, including Canton 8 (two stars as well), Lei Garden, or Seventh Son.

Where in Shanghai:
2/F, Peninsula Hotel Shanghai, 32 Zhongshan East 1st Road, Huangpu District
Booking and menu on the hotel website.

Impressive Chinese cuisine and ambiance at Moose in Shanghai

Time to time the Shanghai Michelin Guide reserves some positive surprises. Moose is one of these. It is an amazing restaurant in many ways. It got a star in the 2019 edition of the guide.

Located in Changning, on Xinhua street (like Villa Le Bec), Moose occupies a renovated three-story colonial-era mansion. The shared dining space is on the ground floor, while upstairs business in private rooms take place.

The visit

Incredibly, in this world-class restaurant none of staff speaks English. I was unable to make a reservation by phone and I had to pop up in person to make a reservation for the next day. I used my phone to translate in Chinese. A bit odd considering that the owner studied in London. But the staff was extremely friendly, the menu is professionally translated in English, so overall language is not a big issue.

The main motif of the interior design is white: white-painted brick walls and immaculate white tablecloth. And, of course, antlers found their way into the lamps as an homage to the name Moose (but no moose on the menu). Oil paintings complete the contemporary decor. According to an old news report, the owner wanted to blend East and West decor.

I was immediately served some fruit (useful as a palate cleanser throughout the meal) and a welcome tea. Then I made my order after browsing the extensive menu of Huaiyang cuisine delicacies.

One of their signature dish is the boneless duck filled with rice and eight Chinese delicacies. Unfortunately I was alone and I could not order it, so I am left with a reason to go back.

Instead I had another classic, also recommended by the chef: braised pork belly with baby squids in brown sauce and bamboo shoots. The pork belly was excellent (I wish a bit more tender) and the squids were tender and a nice complement.

I ordered a soup and it was a home run. It was a matsutake and tofu soup and the tofu was cut into threads and looked like a blooming chrysanthemum. The broth did retain the flavor of the mushroom.

Then I had another of their signature dishes, crispy white teat fish with scallion. The teat fish is effectively a type of sea cucumber. It went in a very crispy crust. It was an interesting dish, I wish the teat fish was tastier.

Finally, I had a trio of very nicely presented pan-fried beef ravioli.

The check

Final check was 742 RMB (109 USD). Almost half was the teat fish. Prices on the menu were net, including tax and service.

Even if I did not enjoy all dishes equally, I found the dining experience very pleasing, with very professional service and the opportunity to discover new dishes prepared with top ingredients and perfect technique.

Where in Shanghai:
Lane 1, 119, Xinhua Lu, by Panyu Lu
新华路119弄1号, 近番禺路

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.

Sampling Shanghainese cuisine in a Michelin Starred venue (and being disappointed)

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

Brunch at Jean Georges in Shanghai

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.

Where in Shanghai:
4F, 3 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu
In Chinese: 中山东一路3号4楼
Menu and reservations:http://www.threeonthebund.com/dining.php

The discovery menu from Robuchon in Shanghai

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/

A culinary journey through China at Bo Shanghai (closed)

This is going to be a posthumous review of the now closed Bo Shanghai at Five on the Bund (an announcement suggests that the restaurant may be relocating). The restaurant is part of my Shanghai Michelin Scramble as it got a star in the 2018 and 2019 editions. I dined at Bo Shanghai with two friends in May 2017, before starting this blog and before the restaurant got its Michelin star. The photos have been made available to me by one of the friends at the dinner.

The restaurant was run by two close collaborators of Alvin Leung, the chef at the helm of the original Bo Innovation in Hong Kong: Simon Wong and Tam DeAille, both of whom were born in Hong Kong but raised in Canada where they met Alvin.

The visit

I met my two friends on the sixth floor of Bund 5. Bo Shanghai was concealed behind a hidden door accessible through Daimon Bistro, a eatery also set up by Alvin that was also closed.

The menu was not a replica of the Hong Kong’s menu. The chef had their freedom to create an original menu whose main idea was a culinary journey across China, but, of course, with a twist. Chinese traditional dishes were re-created using Western cooking techniques and ingredients. From what I can see online, the chefs would change the menu quite often.

Since it was a long time ago, I am not going to pretend to remember how the dishes tasted. They were all explained by the waitress. It was fun, there was a lot of creativity. My favorite was probably the “stinky tofu” that was not real stinky tofu, but blue cheese wrapped in fried tofu. You got the idea. Below the pics from the evening, I left the caption blank for some dishes that I was not sure how to cross-reference with the menu.

Jiangsu: duck, with chestnuts, mandarin, and mustard seeds.

Anhui: lobster with Gu Jing Gong (a liquor) soup, Japanese mushroom, and capsella.

Anhui: Wagyu with “stinky tofu” (on the right with a bamboo shoot).

Shandong – Risotto with yellow chicken, abalone, and seaweed.

Hunan: panna cotta with orange blossom, blood orange, and almonds

The check

The cost per person was 1848 RMB after service charge (around 275 USD). Wine pairings were available at a steep price (825 RMB for three glasses and 1045 RMB for five glasses). Wow, that was a handsome amount of cash. Once was enough, while I might consider visiting the original Bo Innovation in Hong Kong.

Dinner at Phénix at the Puli in Shanghai

The Phénix Eatery and Bar is the flagship restaurant of the luxurious Puli hotel in Shanghai. I already had a weekend brunch in the restaurant. This time I went back for a dinner as I wanted to get a better idea of this Michelin-starred Shanghai restaurant.

The visit

My visit was extemporaneous. I was in the area at the right time on a Saturday evening and I decided to give it a try even if I did not have a reservation. But this was not an issue and I was promptly seated. Most of the other diners were young – very young – Chinese couples.

I was served the bread and I ordered a couple of dishes. They also had an interesting tasting menu, but I was not that hungry. And the chair was also a bit uncomfortable for a long session.

The appetizer was memorable: crab meat with burrata cheese, asparagus, and a herb-flavored “granita”. This I guess is the kind of dish that wins you a star on the Michelin Guide. It was not only creative, but really delicious.

My main was a white fish, toothfish, with basil and other condiments, including a couple of ecargots. I was expecting more from this dish. Also the sauce, yuzu-based if I am not mistaken, was at times too strong.

T had a sidedish in the form of a French ratatouille: the portion was quite big and the dish well executed.

That’s it. I had a couple of complimentary sweets when I asked for the check.

The check

After adding tax, service charge and a 90 RMB bottle of water, the check was 699,60 RMB or 104 USD. Considering what I got, that’s a hefty sum of money. Let’s be honest, that’s terrible value for money.

If you go, I would probably recommend the tasting menu that after taxes and a drink will set you back for around 1100 RMB.

I think I am now done with this restaurant.

Where in Shanghai:
2/F, 1 Changde Lu, near Yan’an Xi Lu
常德路1号璞麗酒店二楼, 近延安西路