Favorite Dishes of the Month

Each month we select for you the best new dishes in town. These dishes are creative and taste great. Simply put: If we can’t stop thinking about it, it makes the list. This month, we have chosen favorites from The Chop Chop Club as well as new menu items from Colca, TRIBE, Daimon Gastrolounge and Wujie.

The Chop Chop Club

The Chop Chop Club has been open since February of this year, but its honest concept along with innovative timed carvery concept allowing dishes to be served at their peak has us coming back for more and more. The menu, as conceived by one of Shanghai’s most famous chefs, Paul Pairet, allows one ingredient to take center stage in each dish.

Deceptively delicious avocado crushed guacamole (RMB 70 + 10% service charge)

Charred Toast

Leave it to Paul Pairet to take an item as ubiquitous as avocado and make it interesting. The creamy avocado is highlighted by fresh dill and cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime. Some chunks of avocado remain in the crushed guacamole which makes for a nice texture against the charred toast.

Charred octopus - ginger, soy aioli (RMB 100 + 10% service charge)

Think about everything that makes octopus delicious, multiply it by ten and you have The Chop Chop Club’s wonderful charred octopus with ginger, soy aioli. The tentacles are charred creating a fusion of charcoal and caramel flavors. It is crisp at the ends yet retains a bit of tenderness.

Raspberries essential – Jerez, fresh cream, burnt butter (RMB 100 + 10% service charge)

This raspberry dessert works with the berry’s natural flavor and takes it to the point of decadence. A sherry glaze and a surprise sprinkle of cracked black pepper embellishes the tangy fruit, making it the perfect partner for a rich scoop of cream topped with brown butter. We never tire of this dessert.

Address: 3 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, Three on the Bund, 2/F (near Guangdong Lu)

Hours: Daily, 6pm-11pm

Tel: [phone]

Colca

Chef Eduardo Vargas & Executive Chef Oscar Beltran have infused an already strong menu with a number of dishes that reflect their Peruvian and Spanish roots, respectively. At a recent meal, we remembered some old favorites and were surprised by new additions. Here’s a selection:

Don Ceviche (RMB 98)

It’s just not Peruvian food if you don’t have ceviche and this Don Ceviche is a very traditional take on Peru’s most famous food. The sea bass is combined with sweet potato, corn, onion, chili and a tiger’s milk so good you can drink it on its own. Don't tell, but we might have taken a shot!

Seafood Cau Cau (RMB 198)

We had never heard of this dish, popularized by African slaves in the 1800s, but after trying their seafood, halibut and spicy chili mint sauce version, we will never forget it.

Mousse “Republica de Cacao Peru” (RMB 88)

Dessert can make or break the meal and the chocolate mousse at Colca does not disappoint. The 62% Peruvian cacao mousse is not too sweet and we like the bold decision to go with milk, rather than vanilla, ice cream so chocolate can remain the main flavor here.  Dulce de leche sauce and dark chocolate “rain” are just the icing on the…mousse.

Address: 199 Hengshan Lu, 2/F (near Yongjia Lu)

Hours: Tues to Fri, 5:30pm to 1am; Sat & Sun,11am to 3pm, 5:30pm to 1am

Tel: [phone]

TRIBE

The good folks over at TRIBE have been offering Shanghai diners healthy choices for nearly seven months and their new Autumn/Winter menu is based around the color purple to light up your winter with nutritious ingredients featuring their star color. Plus they’ve added weekday BOGOF offers. So go with a friend and reap the benefits of free food.

Little giant squid ink spaghetti with anchovies (RMB 88)

Squid ink pasta is always dramatic and we are happy to report that the taste is just as impressive. Al dente noodles are topped with cherry tomatoes, anchovies and fresh grated parmesan for a dish that celebrates the essence of the ocean.

Mighty mackerel and arugula salad (RMB 68)

This salad is a nutritional powerhouse featuring smoked mackerel, pomelo, arugula, baby carrots, yam, pumpkin, beets, purple sweet potato, quinoa and grapefruit with a honey mustard sauce. The balance of salty, sweet and bitter makes for really nice bowl of salad. Go on Monday when they are BOGOF!

Address: 291 Fumin Lu (near Changle Lu)

Hours: Mon to Thurs, 8am-11pm; Friday, 8am – midnight; Saturday 9am-midnight; Sunday 9am to 11pm

Tel: [phone]

Daimon Gastrolounge

After opening Daimon Bistro last year to much acclaim, Demon chef Alvin Leung has reimaged his more affordable companion restaurant to upscale prix fixe restaurant Bo Shanghai. The cha-canting theme has been emphasized in the decor with a more distinct restaurant space separated from the lounge. Here are some of our favorites off the new menu:  

Classic HK clay pot rice (RMB 88)

They say classic, but this dish has been given a touch of fusion with the inclusion of crisp Iberico ham rather than the more traditional lap cheong. It is a substitution that works. Topped with a perfect Japanese egg yolk and served rather cleverly with bottled sweet soy and a concoction of half pork oil half Iberico ham, the dish is nostalgia with a dash of luxury.

Street chargrilled skewers (from Top): Wagyu beef (RMB 98), spicy Macau pork neck (RMB 58), scallop (RMB 98), HK red sausage (RMB 38), octopus (RMB 98) and HK style lemon chicken (RMB 58)

Nothing goes better with cocktails than skewers and we love the imaginative flavors Daimon is bringing to the table. They manage to pack the flavors of a main dish on a skewer which is quite a feat, and our favorite skewer is the juicy beef with peanut sauce.

Yang zhi gan lu  (RMB 68)

Mango pudding with grapefruit and coconut milk is one of the most classic Hong Kong desserts. They take one of our favorites and give it the extra care you expect from Daimon. The mango flavor is lightly sweet for a beautiful contrast against the tart and refreshing grapefruit and explosive coconut spheres.

Address: 5 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, 5 on the Bund, 6/F (near Guangdong Lu)

Hours: Restaurant daily, 5pm to 11pm; Bar Area Dinner, Sun – Thurs; 5pm to 1am, Fri & Sat, 5pm to 2am

Tel: [phone]

Wujie On the Bund

We recently visited newly Michelin-starred, Wujie on the Bund, to sample their autumn Sunray Menu, available until early November when they will release the winter menu. This prix fixe is the vision of their ever innovative Chef Ivan Xu and goes for RMB 799 plus 10% service charge.

Carrot broth with nostoc and dried seaweed crisp

Chef Ivan has achieved a carrot flavor that is so pure, you will hardly believe it. He accomplishes it by hand grating the carrot and preparing gently with kombu and ginger to enhance the natural flavor. A roll of tofu skin with mushrooms and a seaweed crisp add some fun to the bowl.

Rosemary salt-baked porcini and ginko with porcini jus

Zucchini and okra seed with bell pepper puree

This dish is the dish that just keeps giving. You are initially served a layered porcini mushroom flavored with Sichuan peppercorn on a fragrant leaf of Chinese hackberry. Then you are given the instructions to dig for seven lucky okra nuts in the salt below. Enjoy that with a hidden packet of porcini in a bamboo leaf plus a beautiful plate of zucchini and okra seed with bell pepper puree.  

Salted caramel cake with handmade potato crisps

This is one of two desserts prepared by their talented pastry chef, QiQi Ma, for this menu. It’s a sweet and salty cake that magically comes out in layers after a slow bake at 150C. The pomelo gel, crunchy nuts and house-made potato crisp are pleasing to the eyes and the taste buds.

Address: 22 Zhongshan Dong Er Lu, Bund 22, 4/F (near Xingyong’an Lu)

Hours: Daily, 11am to 10pm

Tel: [phone]

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