Jasmine Ji and Valerian Ho celebrate the city’s diverse culinary landscape
In the early 20th century Shanghai emerged as a major trading city known around the world for its cosmopolitan mix of peoples and vibrant style. As international investment poured in, and British, French, American and other entrepreneurs developed the city, they brought with them foreign cuisines that became widely accepted by the food-loving Chinese, adding to famous food traditions from Huaiyang, Canton and Zhejiang to create a smorgasbord of restaurants offering superb dining to suit all tastes.
Today there are so many excellent restaurants in Shanghai it’s almost impossible to give anything more than a broad overview of the city’s culinary landscape, but we’ve collected a few personal picks that give a taster of Shanghai’s stylish dining options.
LAGO by Julian Serrano
Talented US chef Julian Serrano recently introduced his famous restaurant from Las Vegas to the Bellagio Shanghai, bringing a dining concept that highlights Italian small plates and side dishes – following the modern trend of “appetisers as the new main course”. LAGO offers Italian dishes such as vitello tonnato (cold sliced veal), strozzapreti pasta and ABG dry-aged tomahawk steak, and if you love dessert, you shouldn’t miss the classic Italian affogato.
The restaurant’s interior design has a space-age feeling; walking through the long, glass-decorated tunnel at the entrance you’ll see a shining red-hued wine cabinet, within which more than 300 bottles of wines from around the world are stored (the accent is on Italian, of course). The spacious dining area is connected to an outdoor terrace with expansive views of the Huangpu River and Lujiazui district (there’s also a private dining room).
Open 6–10.30pm daily
Address 6/F, 188 Beisuzhou Road, Hongkou District
Contact +86 21 3680 6777; bellagioshanghai.com
Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet
The mysterious Ultraviolet is hard to categorise. For starters you won’t even know where it is until your booking is confirmed – and that’s hard enough to do as there’s only one table with ten seats. You also need to pay for your meal in advance at the time of booking.
This three-star Michelin restaurant is more artistic than luxurious, using technology to activate your emotions and trigger your taste buds. During the 20-course feast, graphics are shown on the white walls and accompanied by lights, sounds and smells, activating your gastronomic imagination. Paul Pairet’s avant-garde style surprises you with the taste of each course; combined with sounds and imagery designed to tell a story, it’s a unique multi-sensory experience that’s well worth the extra effort to book.
Open Tue to Sat from 6.30pm
Address Meet at Mr & Mrs Bund restaurant, 6/F Bund 18, 18 Zhongshan Dong Yi Road, Huangpu
Contact uvbypp.cc
Bo Shanghai
The “demon chef” Alvin Leung is good at injecting new techniques and flavours into a traditional recipe, creating his own “X-Treme” Chinese cuisine. Bo Shanghai is a secret fine-dining restaurant hidden behind the Daimon Bistro – Leung’s other restaurant, and boasts just 26 seats, with six of them arranged at a live cooking station. The 12-course tasting menu emphasises the variety of Chinese cuisine, with traditional dishes from China’s eight different regions, put together with Leung’s imaginative fusion skills. A recently launched menu titled “Journey” comprises 13 dishes – a mix of reimagined Italian and Chinese recipes.
Open 6–9pm, closed on Tue
Address Bund 5, 6/F, 20 Guangdong Road
Contact +86 21 5383 3656; [email protected]
The Chop Chop Club
The Chop Chop Club is a new carvery by UNICO Shanghai that specialises in grilled meats. Designed for group gatherings, this restaurant is all about the communal or shared dining experience. Signature dishes include char-roasted chicken, char-roasted lamb shoulder and grilled sea bass – with carefully controlled cooking times to keep the meats’ skin crispy and moist. Roasted leg of lamb, barbecued piglet, turbot grilled over an open fire, salt-encrusted snapper, pressure-steamed crab, charred beef tongue and other mouth-watering dishes are all carved on a centrepiece wooden deck.
A new range of bottled cocktails as well as creative cocktails made to order, plus an extensive selection of aperitifs, wines and champagnes accompany the food.
Open 6–11pm daily
Address 2/F Three on the Bund, 17 Guangdong Road, near Zhongshan Dong Yi Road
Contact +86 21 5308 5399; unicoshanghai.com
Shang-High
Shang-High serves classic Shanghainese cuisine with the emphasis on classic flavours, creative interpretations and modern cooking techniques. Awarded a Michelin star for the last two years, it is directed by executive Chinese chef Frank Hu, who specialises in creating Chinese cuisine using international ingredients. One must-try dish is his braised beef cheek with black truffles, the supremely tender meat rendered fragrant by the thinly sliced truffles. If you’re looking for something a bit more adventurous, try the braised cuttlefish with pigeon eggs or smoked pomfret. Both are iconic Shanghainese dishes, given a modern touch by adding different ingredients.
Open 11.30am–2.30pm and 6–10.30pm daily
Address Level 6, Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel
Contact +86 21 3858 0728; [email protected]
Xindalu
Xindalu – China Kitchen is located in Hyatt on the Bund. A popular restaurant with a stylish dining environment, its dishes are made in traditional Shanghai and Zhejiang style, and prepared in the open kitchen. Here, chefs showcase their skill in making hairy crab roe dumplings and pot-sticker pork dumplings – a visual feast preceding a delicious meal. Don’t miss the signature roasted Peking duck (the chef is from Beijing), which is made using traditional ingredients and an apple-wood fired oven to roast the duck.
Xindalu also regularly brings out new menus. Since March, it has launched seasonal dishes such as the tossed toona shoots with fresh walnut, slow-boiled Yunnan chahua chicken with spring bamboo, and steamed Changjiang longjaw anchovy, which is only available in the spring so grab this chance to try the delicious freshwater fish.
Open 11.30am–2.30pm and 5.30–10.30pm daily
Address Lobby level, East Tower, 199 Huangpu Road
Contact +86 21 6393 1234 ext 6318; shanghaithebund.hyatt.com
Yong Yi Ting
Shanghai and its neighbouring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces are known as the home of Jiangnan cuisine. Yong Yi Ting, at the Mandarin Oriental Pudong, specialises in the refined seasonal dishes of this regional food. Consultant Chef Tony Lu chooses the freshest seasonal ingredients to create such classic signature dishes as stewed “lion’s head” pork dumpling filled with crabmeat in sweet soy sauce, and yellow croaker wonton soup with salted vegetables.
Yong Yi Ting is elegantly designed and offers six luxurious private dining rooms, some connected to the outdoor terrace overlooking the garden. There’s also a chef’s live-cooking table and a wine cellar storing a great selection of wines from around the world. A speciality of the restaurant is a choice of 20 precious Chinese teas to pair with your Jiangnan dim sum.
Open 11.30am–2.30pm and 5.30–10.30pm daily
Address LG1, 111 Pudong Road (S), Pudong
Contact +86 21 2082 9978; mandarinoriental.com
Fu He Hui
There are a lot of vegetarian restaurants in Shanghai, but Fu He Hui gets first mention from many of the city’s food aficionados. Unlike some other vegetarian restaurants, it maintains the belief that its dishes’ ingredients should retain their originality. Surrounded by a group of old villas, the restaurant’s interior was designed by Lv Yongzhong to have a homey feeling. There are three set menus, all offering eight courses but prices differ depending on the ingredients you choose. Menus are updated seasonally and only the freshest, healthiest ingredients are used – keep an eye out for uncommon ingredients that are notoriously hard to procure and rarely found on restaurant menus.
Open 11am–2.30pm and 5–10pm daily
Address 1037 Yuyuan Road, Changning District
Contact +86 21 3980 9188
Puben by Jereme Leung
Jereme Leung was one of the earliest Asian chefs to mix Western and Chinese cuisines. Over the past 30 years, he has travelled extensively in China and has incorporated a host of Chinese cooking techniques into Puben. Its signature dish is golden roasted duck, renowned for its crispy skin and tender, juicy meat. The special ingredient for the sauce comes from rose flowers airfreighted in from Yunnan.
Another must-try is Leung’s black gold egg custard buns. This artistic dish is black in colour and decorated with golden lines on top. The custard and egg yolk centre matches well with the bun, providing a rich flavour. Also made using Yunnanese roses, the Yunnan edible rose pastry is inspired by the famous scene of snow and flowers in the picturesque town of Dali. Bite into the layers of the cake and enjoy the delicate scent and flowery taste that is redolent of a fragrant rose garden.
Open 5–10.30pm (Mon to Fri); 11.30am–2.30pm (Sat and Sun)
Address 5/F, 579 Wai Ma Road
Contact +86 21 6339 1188; volgroup.com.cn/en/pb.html
Local delights
Pan-fried bun
Pan-fried buns are delicious and you can find them everywhere in Shanghai. Juicy but with a crispy bottom, there are fully fermented, partly fermented and non-fermented options, and you can choose different meat fillings.
Xiao long bao
This is most people’s favourite. It’s a bite-sized dumpling usually filled with pork. Be careful when picking up the dumpling with your chopsticks, as the skin is very thin and easily broken, and the delicious meat juice (the best part of the dumpling) will then flow out. Top tip: pick the dumpling up with chopsticks and a spoon, so even if the skin breaks the juice will be held in the spoon.
Steamed port
If you really like that meat juice, then don’t miss the steamed port dumplings. These are larger than xiao long bao and the skin is comparatively thicker. Normally locals don’t eat the skin as it is quite thick – they just drink the rich soup inside. Most restaurants will prepare a straw for you but be cautious because the soup is very hot!
