New Opening: Mad Lab, Exquisite Food For the Budget-Oriented

Pushing the boat out in terms of concept, newly opened Mad Lab comes from the genius minds behind Barbarian, Bites & Brews and Hot Chick, and it's probably the most fun and out there restaurant that I have been to in years.

The Concept

The back story behind this restaurant is amazing: some friends were exploring an abandoned area of a city when they came across a warehouse. They found old conveyor belts, small hydraulic cranes, cooking equipment, hoses and pumps.

They decided to use everything they found to make a really cool space to hang out in and, as more and more people started coming, they decided they should make some snacks and boozy drinks too. 

Everything they made was an experiment, a daring creation and so Mad Lab was created.

The Food

The idea of rustic experimentation is carried into the food and the drinks. Head Chef Todd Losacco comes from a fine dining background and is using Mad Lab as his own personal experiment. Each night, he creates up to 30 dishes - some new, some old favorites - and they are carried to the dinners on a conveyor belt, sushi style.

The food is an amazing fushion of east and west, you could be munching on a plate of Sushi one minute, and tucking into smoked duck breast or salmon tartar the next.

Right now Mad Lab is still in soft opening, so all of the small dishes are RMB 19 and they have an awesome all you can eat deal for RMB 129 per person. If I were you, I would hop, skip and jump there as fast as you can. They have some big dishes available if you want to grab something quick, the prices of these vary, but really it's all about the small plates.

A stand out dish for me was the salmon-avocado tartar with lotus root crisps and mango jelly. It’s the perfect start to dinner, bundle a heap of the raw salmon with fish eaggs and mango onto a crisp and try to get the whole thing in your mouth. The flavors are explosive, fresh and popping, and the lotus crisps add an amazing crunch.

The tea smoked duck a l'orange was by far the best dish we tried. (We worked our way through around 20 of the 30 dishes on offer and were so stuffed we couldn’t move.)

This braised duck breast is served with edamame in a buttery sauce and topped with tea bubbles. It’s is a MUST order. I have never had such juicy and flavorsome duck breast. The duck is complimented with the subtle flavor of the other ingredients. The most incredible thing is the smell the smoked herbs pumped on top of the dish balances the rich aroma of the duck perfectly - it’s a treat for eyes, ears and nose. Cooked on demand, make sure you grab the waiter and get your order in.

I’m going to pop in some more photos so you can feast your eyes. I cannot stress how high the quality of this food is, especially for the unbelievably low prices.

Mussels with a creamy cheese topping

Tofu Soup

Octopus terrine

Beef Vindaloo (I am a curry fanatic and this vindaloo is up there with the best of them)

Vietnamese spring rolls with tomato salsa

Charred Beef with creamy mash and pea puree

The Drinks

The cocktails are another seriously cool part of Mad Lab, they have been working with Spirit Box to develop cocktails on draft. This can be tricky because keeping the cocktails balanced is a bit of a nightmare, but they all put their heads together and have managed to create some cocktails that SERIOUSLY wow. Right now, during their soft opening, all cocktails are RMB 40.

How to be Cool is a seriously awesome cocktail served with a side of dry ice that's definitely not for human consumption, unless your a complete lune. It's fresh and zingy, a perfect session cocktail... if you don't mind wobbling home that is. 

The Cheesecake cocktail is super beautiful to look at. It really really does taste like a slice of New York Cheesecake. It’s thick, syrupy, and sickly sweet. But if you like your cocktail to essentially be a dessert that gets you drunk, then this is the perfect drink for you.

'Girls Like it' is their twist on a classic Cosmopolitian and it's super fun. Packed full of edible glitter, the drink swirls with gold and looks amazing. It’s pretty heavy on the vodka, so go steady!

'Strawberry is the Best Friend of Coconut' is a bestseller at Mad Lab and it's pretty awesome. It's essentially two cocktails for the price of one: one strawberry based drink and one coconut. You could order them to share or guzzle both. I reccomend the latter. Have a sip of one followed by a sip of another.

Mad Lab

Address: 1085 Wuding Lu

Tel: [phone]

Hours: Daily, 5pm-2am