Food news: Ruin bar, Peruvian eats and new spots for ice cream
You know that complex between Hengshan, Wulumuqi Nan and Yongjia Lus? Well, it’s finally filling up with good stuff – now open, there’s a new branch of Qimin Organic Hotpot Marketplace from the Green & Safe team; and Crafted, a rib joint from the folks at Bistro Burger (they’ve got those famous boozy milkshakes, too). Coming in hot behind them, there’s Peruvian restaurant Colca from Eduardo Vargas and the Azul team; a little spot called Madeleine that looks like it’s setting up to be a café and bakery; and La Bodeguita del Medio, whose sign says you can get comida criollo y sus tragos (Creole food and drinks). We’re certainly down for that.
In drink news, Johan Holmberg (of The Parrot, Funkadeli and formerly el Cóctel) has opened up fanciful cocktail bar Wonderland in Jingan on Xinzha Lu near Shaanxi Bei Lu, and it looks like a trip. The theme, as you’ve surely guessed, is the fantastical world of Wonderland (without Alice), and there’s all kinds of stuff going on that would have the Mad Hatter quite excited – whimsical decor, tea cocktails and more.
On Shaanxi Nan Lu, near Changle Lu, Jeno Rácz of Taian Table has set up corner shop Lick it, with homemade ice creams and naturally sweetened sorbets in interesting flavours like strawberry black pepper. Meanwhile, last year’s awesome gelato pop-up Bonus has returned to Wulumuqi Zhong Lu beside the Avocado Lady, and this year it's got a rotation of stellar flavours like salted caramel, olive oil pine nut, matcha and more. Yum.
Over in Changning district, there’s a new bar opening up behind DADA. Ruin is set to be ‘a space to chill and talk’, with ‘lights on, bare walls, organic wines by the glass, art exhibits and no party music’. Sounds a bit like ‘no fun allowed’, so going on this description it’s a bit hard to tell whether this place will be super classy, or super boring.
The shopping mall Raffles City Changing is opening near Zhongshan Park and, of course, has a whole mess of new eateries – the highlight of which just might be White Castle. Harold and Kumar, anyone? The American burger chain is a cult classic, particularly for its iconic small, square-shaped burgers. It will be one of a pair of White Castles to open in town, the second over on Maoming Bei Lu. Morton’s Steakhouse offshoot Morton’s Grille will also be opening in the new mall. We’re not holding out for a reinstatement of the now-defunct happy hour with all-you-can-eat steak sliders, but one can hope.
Though there’s still no news on where and when Cajun and Creole eatery Ruijin Cajun will reopen, a restaurant called Palmetto has moved into its old spot, and is also serving up fare from the American South – what it calls ‘Southern comfort foods’: fried chicken, mac and cheese, cornbread, spiked sweet teas and more.
Finally, May is shaping up to be the month of many food festivals, with something happening just about every weekend: there’s Shanghai’s First Annual Hot Sauce Festival at Jalapeño on Saturday 6, Shanghai Supper Club and Social Supply’s FEAST on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 as well as Shanghai International Beer Festival (Beernanza) at Okura Garden Hotel Friday 12 to Sunday 14; and Belgian Beer Weekend Saturday 20 to Sunday 21 at Tonglefang.
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