The Shanghai Scoop – Food & Drink News (November 2018)
The Shanghai Scoop is a monthly column dedicated to the latest food and drink news happening in Shanghai. Here is a round-up of the newest restaurants and bars, hotel news, and upcoming projects.
New Restaurants & Bars in Shanghai
UP Shanghai just celebrated their grand opening on November 30. It’s a bar/club/lounge catering to hip parvenu socialite types, F&B industry heads, and people who want to drink, dance, chill, dance, drink some more, and end the night eating takeaway whilst Mobiking home.
It’s a gorgeous space with fantastic drinks that don’t break the bank and a short and solid bar food menu. UP Shanghai is run by people who’ve been in the industry long enough to have seen some shit, and they’re not fucking around. Kudos to the team! Credit to Geo Valdivieso and Jackie Dmitriev for the drinks, Victor Doukov on operations, and Carlos Sotomayor for the bar snacks.
Pineapple infused gin, Midori, and activated charcoal.
Poutine waffle fries with brisket gravy,
truffle and cheese
Vibes at UP are dope.
More on this in a later review.
Sense 8 Group is steadily growing their F&B empire. The group runs Sense 8 (誉八仙 yu ba xian), which serves Cantonese fare out of four elaborately decorated restaurants in Shanghai and Peacock Room, Sichuan fine dining in an ornately posh space at Taikoo Hui mall.
Peacock Room
The “spared no expense” decorative theme carries throughout all restaurants. It’s extravagant, and yet, is anything but gaudy. They just opened Lion, self-labeled as “exotic Cantonese cuisine” in Xintiandi late October, and have just launched Yuan Yang hotpot (火鸳鸯 huo yuan yang) in LuOne mall.
Crispy Chicken with Nyonya Sauce at Lion
Lion may not be exotic to me, but I’m sure it can be to many people who haven’t sampled authentic Chinese-Malaysian / Nanyang cuisine before. They do a tame offering of the food from my homeland, which is an understandable business decision that caters to the diverse audience in Xintiandi. More on this in a later review.
Lion. (OK, maybe a tad gaudy.)
Located in the Sofitel Hyland on Nanjing Dong Lu is J Prime, a steak and seafood-heavy restaurant that also showcases an impressive 8-course degustation menu (¥488). The food comes by way of executive chef Jeremy Austin, who was previously the group executive chef for the Oysterlicious Group.
Scallop Crudo with orange, squid ink,
and celery leaf at J Prime
Speaking of the Oysterlicious Group, these guys are in overdrive and are working on two more projects! They have taken over the space formerly housing Vinism wine bar and will do a complete overhaul. They’re keeping the name (licensing mafan and what not to change it). The end game is to offer a small menu that focuses on bar food and snacks—house charcuterie, pickles, cured and smoked fish, sourdough breads, etc. Basically, the same idea as Vinism, but better executed.
Elijah Holland, who also has the grand opening of Bloom, a sustainable zero-waste restaurant in Jing’an, is working on the food.
The Oysterlicious group will be also be opening a Japanese / hotpot restaurant on Dagu Lu.
Claiming the space formerly housing Devil’s Share (which is relocating to Anfu Lu) is Odd Couple, also in Xintiandi. It’s a surefire combination of aesthetic and talent—Shingo Gokan (Speak Low, Sober Company) and Steve Schneider (Employee’s Only, Strangers Club) are steering the wheel.
Table Black, the long-awaited multi-course reservations-only restaurant on second floor of Blackbird is now open for business. Chef Blake Thornley (Blackbird, OHA) is serving tasting menus, ones that will rotate and evolve along the way. Right now they’re serving a 5-course “Feed Me” menu for ¥320. Drinks from Bar Black, also within the second floor space.
Bar Black
Table Black
Fish and chips ahoy! Fish Plus is a fish and chips
shop in Jing’an, run by the Harry of the former Mr. Harry. (Now closed,
Mr. Harry was one of maybe three places in Shanghai that offered British
fare). Specialties include the aforementioned battered and fried
proteins for an average check ¥70-120.
Quick Bites
Kagen's due to soft open on December 8!
Three on the Bund is taking back the space formerly housing Chop Chop Club and UNICO. Management is working on a contemporary Japanese restaurant with a bar come early February. Kelvin Chai, executive chef of Mercato Shanghai and Guangzhou will be taking the lead in developing the concept.
Every week a new franchise opens in Shanghai. (Not a real statistic.) Zizzi, an Italian chain from the UK, will open in Taikoo Hui this December.
Nearby, Grom, a much-loved Italian gelato company, will also open in December.
Shifts! Abel Matos, formerly head chef of now-closed Chop Chop Club has now moved to Colca. Ruslan Kapstan, formerly Cobra Lily is now at Calypso, Jing’an Shangri-La.
Gracie’s has new seasonal flavors! Pumpkin Spice, Eggnog, and Spiced Apple.
Photo via Gracie’s
VUE Restaurant at Hyatt on the Bund has a new interactive Saturday brunch called Kitchen Party. It’s 21 courses throughout the afternoon for ¥788 plus 15% service charge per person. Cook alongside the chefs, shave your own 5J ham, and hover around the live cooking stations for bites.
Kitchen Party menu
View from VUE Restaurant
(and some freshly steamed clams)
Closures
Daimon Bistro is closed.
Or the Daimon Bistro you knew is long gone. In it’s place is some odd, drab looking teppanyaki set up with the same name “Daimon” on the menu.
How Daimon Bistro looked like before:
Super cool, right?
Funky food, great cocktails.
But this is how it looks like now:
Well, that was drastic.
The new Daimon does teppanyaki but with a fancy looking set menu that has either old Daimon Bistro / Bo Shanghai DNA. Dishes like foie gras with Sichuan green pepper sauce, and wagyu ribeye with oyster sauce, and claypot rice. Can’t judge the food as I haven’t been, but the interiors don’t do the space any good.
Dumplings at Dao Jiang Hu
In an unexpected turn of events, Sushi Oyama, Racines, Ochobo, and Daojiang Hu have closed. The premature shuttering came due to a kitchen fire in Ochobo. Ochobo is relocating to Taiyuan Lu. Dao Jiang Hu is moving into the Heyday building.
Dongping Lu again. Sasha’s and Zapata’s will close at the end of the year. DOC will be moving to Dagu Lu.
Pizza at DOC
Party house The Mansion is also closing.
All locations of Pan Dan (Thai restaurant) and Win House (American fast casual) have closed. Nine for Pan Dan, six for Win House.
Kyochon city center locations are no more. Two locations out in the sticks are still open.
Also closed: Wine Connection and Jarajam.
Directory
Blackbird / Table Black
Columbia Circle, Bldg 8, 1262 Yan’an Xi Lu, near Panyu Lu 延安西路1262号8栋2楼, 近番禺路 // Tel: 18701990479
Fish Plus
685 Xikang Lu, near Changping Lu 西康路685号，近昌平路
Gracie’s
204 Xinle Lu, near Donghu Lu 新乐路204号, 近东湖路 // Tel: 54651259
J Prime
4/F, Sofitel Hyland, 505 Nanjing Dong Lu, near Fujian Zhong Lu 南京东路505号4楼，近福建中路 // Tel: 63153113
Lion
Bldg 2-3, Lane 123 Xingye Lu, near Zizhong Lu 兴业路123弄2-3栋, 近自忠路 // Tel: 52396777
Odd Couple
No. 25, Lane 181 Taicang Lu, near Xingye Lu 太仓路181弄25号, 近兴业路 // Tel: 63332363
UP Shanghai
2/F, 688 Shaanxi Bei Lu, near Kangding Lu 陕西北路688号2楼, 近康定路 // Tel:
VUE Restaurant
Hyatt on the Bund, 30/F, 199 Huangpu Lu, near Wuchang Lu 黄浦路199号, 外滩茂悦大酒店30楼, 近武昌路 // Tel: 63931234