Restaurant Review: Okaeri

By Betty Richardson

The Place

It's cliché to say that Shanghai is full of surprises, but the quiet hum of Jiashan Market at night is one of them. During these balmy summer evenings, groups of young locals – ostensibly mosquito-immune – dine on the terraces of a handful of quaint restaurants within this old Shanghai enclave. 

Sadly the flesh of your correspondents is a favorite on the menu for Shanghai's notoriously voracious mosquitos, so we venture for an inside table at Okaeri, a popular new restaurant tucked down an alley near Jiashan Market stalwart Cafe Sambal, serving flavors of Taiwan in the format of a contemporary Japanese izakaya joint. The result is comfort food with whisky-based cocktails and beer. 

The Food

Full disclosure, the menu is in handwritten in cursive Taiwan Mandarin with a Sharpie pen on brown paper – a challenge that far exceeds our six-year-old child putonghua skills. Nevertheless, all the dishes we ordered over two visits are written in Pinyin and Chinese should this review incline you to visit. 

Okaeri's menu is deeply unpretentious, and constitutes what might aptly be described as a wet dream for tipsy people with a craving for hearty Chinese food. Needless to say it is not light fare – there are fried things, heavy sauces and offal, destined to pair with cold beer and very good whisky highballs.

Juicy deep-fried oysters with Thai basil (above, 更珞銶稙, suzha xianke, RMB38) are a particular highlight, and a tough call between the succulent boneless fried chicken thighs with scallion and mayo (炸鸡蘸醋, zhaji zhancu, RMB48) – squeeze the halved calamansi over them to inject a pop of sweetness and acidity.

Another Taiwan specialty features prominently at Okaeri: sausage. Its distinctive smell and delicately sweet flavor permeates the sausage fried rice (腊肠炒饭, lachang chaofan, RMB48), but for the full-bodied experience, go for the sliced fried sausage and unapolagetically raw garlic (酸味香肠, RMB38). Prepare for garlic breath of the highest degree and revel in it. 

Brace yourself for this next one; 'lo mei' platter (卤味拼盘, luwei pinpan, RMB128) of assorted offal, tofu and pork belly braised in aromatic master stock sauce. Yes, there were intestines, but they were delicious. Other offal appraisers can look to the hearty and comforting fried noodles with braised liver and peppers (沙茶猪肝面, shacha zhugan mian, RMB48). 

But it's not all heavy fare. Stir-fried sweet potato leaves with garlic and chillies (蒜香地瓜叶, suanxiang diguaye, RMB38) is a welcome counteraction to the restaurant's bolder signature dishes, as are the delicate sake-steamed clams with ginger (酒煮文蛤, jiuzhu wenge, RMB48). 

Food verdict: 2/3

The Vibe

Atmosphere is arguably the experience clincher at Okaeri, with a warm, bar-like ambience that strikes a great balance between lively and conversational. While offal and oysters are not for everyone, we really love that Okaeri puts classic, un-fangled flavors of Taiwan in a contemporary yet affordable setting, and this place is definitely worth hitting up if the latter sounds like it might be your jam. Just remember to bring a Chinese-reading pal with you.

Vibe verdict: 2/2

Total Verdict: 4/5

Price: RMB130-250 per person, including drinks
Who's going: young locals
Good for: Taiwan eats, casual dining, dates

Okaeri, No. B103, Jiashan Market, 259 Jiashan Lu, by Jianguo Xi Lu 嘉善老市内B103室，嘉善路259弄，近建国西路

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