聖誕節快乐

Spending Xmas in Shanghai was like the highlight or the "un-highlight" of the trip. I like to spend Xmas overseas, especially if it is a temperate country, since we do feel like it is real Xmas when it is cold. But this time round, it was China and Xmas isn't really that big an affair there. I did see some scattering Xmas decor here and there though...

Nonetheless, I made quite an effort doing research on where to have my Xmas eve dinner. Well, surprisingly, Xmas eve buffet which is a common thing in Singapore is not that well sought after in China (or perhaps my research was not thorough enough). Most of the restaurants have special 7 or 8 course Xmas eve dinner. And contrary to what I had expected, early reservation is a must. I only managed to secure this restaurant which was like my 4th or 5th alternative.

New Heights @ Three on the Bund
We were told that Three on the Bund is one of the happening places along the bund. This colonial building houses several restaurants, with the Armani boutique fronting the main Zhong Shan Dong Yi Lu. Entrance to the building is at the side, which most people will miss. New Heights is a fusion food restaurant on the 7th floor of Three on the Bund. They have an alfreso area overlooking Pudong and it would have been awesome to sit there for a cup of coffee in milder weather. Food that night was alright but may not be to everyone's taste. Cost close to RMB700 per pax.

Foie gras with dry fruit chutney. Well, I think the foie gras is
an overkill. Way too rich and too much....but like the sourish fruit chutney

Stuffed turkey with truffle mashed potato. The potato was
the star performer...

Braving the cold at 2deg for this pic! One of the most
magnificant views in Shanghai....

Godiva at Xintiandi

My very sinful dark choco drink. Yummy.

Well, the night is not over for Xmas eve after dinner. Decided to make a move to Xintiandi, which we were told is a a hot favourite hangout spot for the expat community in Shanghai so we do expect there to be a huge crowd turnout at this place tonight. What could be better than good chocolate on an Xmas eve night....

The devil wishes u merry xmas. Got the horns at Xintiandi for RMB10.
It would have cost like S$10 for such accessories on orchard road during Xmas.

Oishi in Shanghai

Thought I should give special credit to this restaurant which I enjoyed. Even went to two of their outlets...

Haiku by Hatsune
They have an outlet at both Taojiang Road and IFC. Expect to pay close to S$50 pax if you want to have a sumptuous meal but can easily cut to half if you are fine with simple fare. I went to both outlets when I was there and had enjoyed the food. One of the few places in Shanghai where you can get good quality Japanese food. They gave complimentary starter and dessert.

Ultra Pilly Roll - My favourite. Salmon and cream cheese rolled into one, topped
with unagi on the top. Superb! Must try!

Hotate in cheese. The scallops taste somewhat chewy but the cheese was good.
Melting and soft when it first arrived.

This was one of the best deals. 10 superb veg tempura pieces for RMB45.
Big serving + the sweet potato was so soft and sweet.

 

Conch in soup. The fire was more fascinating than the food!

Alternative to shanghainese food in Shanghai?

You are spoilt for alternative choices on food in Shanghai. If you are tired of Chinese food, you can always turn to Thai food, Jap food, western food etc. And I must say that the quality of these food choices are decent at a reasonable price. But of course, tastes might have been slightly altered to tailor to the locals' palate.

Kagen
This is a teppanyaki restaurant that is along Taojiang road, next to Haiku. It is by the same owner. When you are in Kagen, go for the all-you-can-eat buffet. At RMB258 per pax, you can have a buffet teppanyaki, with free flow of beer and sake and of course, soft drinks and juices. Reservation is a must and somehow, alot of foreigners seem to know about this place. The restaurants do not stinge on ingredients, like their scallop and prawns are of very decent sizes. It was such a good deal that we came here twice during my time in Shanghai.

Our favourite order all time....

Chef at work

Simply Thai
Do not confuse this restaurant with the Thai restaurant in Singapore by the same name. The SG one tends to be more of a casual dining concept while this restaurant in Shanghai is slightly upmarket. We visited the one at IFC, Pudong and was impressed by the sheer space of the restaurant and the beautiful al freso dining area (which of course, is closed in this season). Prices are reasonable and I would consider this quality Thai food.

Not as sour and spicy as the usual tom yum soup. But still good!

Dried beef kway teow but you probably can't see the kway teow
which is flooded by all the veg and beef. So generous are them that
even asparagus is used in this simple dish. Wah!

The highlight of the meal. Thai coconut kueh.
It was so good I wished I could stomach more....

Courtyard Bistro @ Roosevelt House (27 on the House)
This was an unexpected dinner place. This is on the other end of the Bund and Rolex is fronting the building along the main road. Food was alright but for some reason, this was an absolutely quiet restaurant. On two occassions that I was there, I only saw one customer. How unbelievable!

Duck confit. Nothing to shout about but not cheap though.

The Cook @ Kerry Hotel
Kerry Hotel resides in a new integrated development near to Shanghai Expo venue. The Cook is a casual dining restaurant in Kerry Hotel and its dining concept is akin to that of Marche. You will be issued a card upon entry and you can use your card to order your food at the various food stations in the restaurants. But what was even better was that they could track your table so that after you order, you need not wait at the food station. You can head back to the table and the food will be delivered to your table.

Hee, boring chicken rice but it eases my crave for home food.

Shanghai food...kind of my type of food...

A trip to Shanghai is not complete without trying Shanghainese food right? Well, I was told Shanghai food tends to be a little on the sweet side and I kind of like it. Unfortunately, I did not manage to take pictures of the more traditional must-try Shanghainese food like the 紅燒扣肉，狮子头，酒酿圆子. I especially like the 狮子头 the last time I was there. I was told that they used different ingredients to cook this meat ball soup in different seasons. When I was there in summer, it was lychee and the soup was so yummy but this time round in winter, they used chicken. I still like it but found it a little less flavourful and more oily.

I visited this hunan/shanghai restaurant quite frequently as it was near my hotel. 苏泽匯. It is a nice, atas-looking restaurant with very decent Chinese food at very reasonable prices.

Fresh green with sesame sauce. This is refreshing, yet at the same time,
very tasty. A good starter.

Fried beef with dried chilli and cashew nuts.
Don't be deceived by the heaps of chilli. It is not as spicy as it looks.
Beef slices are tender!

Don't forget to try the dessert. They do very good dessert here.
This pastry is wrapping a mochi with some cream sauce inside.
It is sweet and light. Nice!

Shanghai, a familiar and yet not-so-familiar place

Well, I did not do much sight seeing in Shanghai even though I was there for a few weeks. I was probably too focused on scouting for good restaurants. But here is a few picture of the places I went to.....

IFC @ Pudong
I was quite impressed by this integrated development, which comprises office building, hotel and a retail mall. This is developed by the HK developer, Sun Hung Kai. The retail mall reminded me of ION Orchard. Similar to ION, the mall seems to be divided into 2 stacks of retailers. Those on ground level and above are the premium brands like LV, Cartier, Gucci etc while the stack below has local retailers and more casual dining restaurants. By the way, IFC houses Morton on the 4th level.

Had originally wanted to go for a movie here but was stunned by the movie ticket price of RMB120 per tic i.e. ~S$24. I could easily watch two movies in SG and still have some money left for snacks. Didn't know it is so pricey to catch a movie there.

You can also find City Super here, which is a supermarket selling imported products. Here, you can find products from Japan, Korea, HK etc. Though the supermarket is small, it boosts quite a well range of products. The other retail mall you can find a supermarket selling imported stuffs is near Kerry Hotel. The supermarket is called Ole and it is much larger, with a wider range of products and there is even a section dedicated to wine only.

Superbrand Mall
This shopping mall is right besides IFC but it gives a totally different shopping experience. It is huge and if my memory did not fail me, it should be about 10 storey high. Even though it also boosts of international brands like Uniglo, Espirit, Charles & Keith, Zara, H&M, Mango, but somehow this mall is a little less organised than I would have liked it to be. Maybe I am too used to shopping in a very organised manner.

The Bund
Most people, whether they have been to Shanghai or not, would know about the Bund. I believe this is what they used to call 外滩 or 上海滩.

From the Bund - Overlooking at Pudong

Puxi - Colonial buildings lining along the Bund