Must Try New Menus & Brunches
Just like most of the month itself, this list is short and sweet. With the Chinese New Year break, we lost a week of eating in Shanghai. That’s not to say that some lovely nibbles didn’t pass our lips such as the new menu at French favorite Cuivre to additions to the pastry selection at Pâte. We joined a tasting at Gemma where we sampled an array of dishes from Populo Group venues and our favorites of the night came from Bar Centrale, Alimentri, and Enoterra. Plus The Cut Rooftop and QV have jumped into the brunch game. We are happy to report that both satisfy on the Bloody Mary front.
Alimentari
Assorted cold cuts platter (boards starting at RMB 75 or purchase by 100g)
Marinated olives and stuffed peppers (starting at RMB 28 per 200g)
We can’t keep ourselves away from the deli counter at Alimentari and have added the killer lardo and stuffed peppers to our growing list of products we treat ourselves to every time we are in the Anfu Lu vicinity. It may still be too chilly to nibble these treats in their outside seating, but we find they taste just as good curled up on the couch with a blanket and a nice bottle of wine.
Address: 158 Anfu Lu
Tel: 021 5403 69991
Hours: Mon-Fri, 8am-11pm; Sat & Sun, 8am-midnight
Bar Centrale
Polpette (RMB 40) and Ascolane 2.0 (RMB 38)
The polpette (Italian meatball with liquid mozzarella) and ascolane (veal and green olive balls) are small bites with huge flavors. To be honest, we could eat the ascolane all day, every day. The green olive in the center is one of the best tasting olives we’ve ever had.
Address: 135 Yanping Lu
Tel: 021 6205 1068
Hours: Daily, 9am-midnight
Cuivre
Chef Michael Wendling has really outdone himself on the new menu items at Cuivre. The group we went with was unable to stop raving about the meal for days. Here are a few of our current favorites:
Salade de chèvre frais (RMB 108)
Sure salad is supposed to be good for you and this one is, just look at all the fresh leafy green and herbs. Plus there’s roasted pumpkin and slivers of radish. Eat the rainbow, amirite? But what really makes this salad sing is copious amounts of lardon and a stick of bread slathered in chèvre and honey before being brûléed. How can you resist that?
Le Saumon (RMB 178)
Salmon, spinach and ricotta are wrapped in tender yet flaky puff pastry and served with an excellent buerre blanc sauce. This is hearty yet delicate with plenty of freshness to offset the rich fatty fish and buttery sauce.
Risotto à la truffe (RMB 188)
This is hands down one of the top five risottos in Shanghai. Don’t let the ostentatious gold leaf put you off, it’s pure comfort in a bowl with just the right amount of truffle shavings. One order might not be enough.
Address: 1502 Huaihai Zhong Lu
Tel: 021 6437 4219
Hours: Wed-Mon, 6pm-10:30pm (closed Tues); Weekend Brunch, noon-2pm
The Cut Rooftop
The newly launched brunch at The Cut Rooftop is a great deal with 2 courses for RMB 148, 3 for RMB 198 or 4 for RMB 238. Add on RMB 158 for free flow drinks including bloody mary and gin & tonic bar. An additional RMB 40 on top of that gets you Chandon sparkling wine. Teetolers can settle for RMB 98 free flow soft drinks, juices and smoothies. Categories include: fresh, eggs, roasts and desserts.
Vitello “tunato”
They do justice to the classic Italian starter with thinly sliced roasted veal slathered in a creamy mayonnaise and tuna based sauce topped with capers.
Slow cooked egg with foie gras
Our preferred egg dish is this warming bowl of chicken bouillon with rich duck liver, slow cooked egg and assorted mushrooms. It’s a unique way to get your brunch egg fix.
Banana cake
A moist banana bread topped with brûléed bananas, banana caramel sauce and walnut ice cream is the perfect end to a great meal at The Cut Rooftop.
Address: Rm. L7-705, IAPM Mall, 999 Huaihai Zhong Lu
Tel: 021 6443 5136
Hours: Daily, 3pm-1am
Enoterra
Over on Anfu Lu, Enoterra has been spruced up with a focus on bruschetta to give you something to nosh on while you go through the wine selection. We are big fans of the Marea Alta (RMB 42) which is salmon marinated in red beetroot jus with green peas and watercress salad on bread. Di Cuore (RMB 38) which is a play on caprese is also very tasty.
Address: 53-57 Anfu Lu
Tel: 021 5404 0050
Hours: Daily, 11am-9pm
Pâte
The pastry geniuses over at one of our favorite bakeries, Pâte, have added quite a few new sweet treats that we are obsessed with. Not only do they photograph well, but they are interesting flavors baked and assembled with perfect precision.
C1. Pistachio, Strawberry (RMB 58)
The C here stands for choux, which is a light pastry perfect for fillings such as pistachio cream. The combination of pistachio and strawberry is colorful hence as pleasing to the eye as to the palette. This pretty pastry is satisfying without being overly sweet.
G5. Thai Milk Tea, Coconut, Mango (RMB 56)
G5 is a gateau or a sponge cake with layers of creamy filling. This version borrows flavors typically associated with a beverage, Thai milk tea, for a truly intriguing dessert. The addition of mango helps balance the condensed milk sweetness and overall richness of the cake. And as with everything else they make, the presentation is superb.
Address: Room E107, SOHO Fuxing Plaza, 462 Hefei Lu
Tel: 13044163913
Hours: Daily 10am to 9pm
QV
Cozy neighborhood wine bar, QV, has joined the brunch bunch with their newish “Vinyl in Da Brunch!” and it blows other brunches out of the water in terms of prices. Two dishes for RMB 98, Three for RMB 128 and additional dishes are RMB 48. This includes choices such as foie gras, burrata and octopus which is a steal. At the time of writing this, our friends at Popolo warned us that the menu will be updated soon, so bear that in mind. Here are some of our favorites:
Tartare di Manzo
The Angus beef tartare with truffle oil, capers, pickled onions and lemon zest is perfectly seasoned indulgent plate of chopped beef.
Sous vide egg
One soft sous vide egg with parmesan cheese chantilly, crispy focaccia and parma ham aged 24 months takes brunch up to another level.
Caramel banana tart with gelato
There is nothing wrong with this dessert, nothing. The crisp tart shell is filled with a gooey caramel sauce which is then topped with brûlèed bananas then served with a scoop of gelato. Worth the calories.
Address: 343 Jiaozhou Lu
Tel: 021 6256 5005
Hours: Daily, 5pm-midnight
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