Friends Meet-up

Not planning for anything in particular, but I ended up meeting with a few friends from Hong Kong during my week in Shanghai. 

Fortune Meal

I wanted just one proper fine-dining meal in Shanghai but it's a challenge finding a place that can accommodate party of one. Fu 1015 on Yu Yuan Lu is one of those few that serves Tasting Menu in individual portion so I asked hotel concierge to help me book for one of the evenings. 

The One to Visit

Turned out the best meal I had during the Shanghai trip is the only I didn't plan in advance. I was looking for something easy and local on my first evening and saw the review about Ren He Guan so I decided to give it a try. Hotel concierge told me the place could get quite crowded at night and recommended me to check out their new branch just 2 block away - still as crowded but at least I could wait in my room until the table was ready and just hopped over. 

Crab Encore

I considered this an extension to my earlier Shanghai trip when I headed over to The Murray before the National Day long weekend to check out the collaboration menu with the chef team from Shanghai's legendary Lao Ji Shi 老吉士 restaurant. 

Three Meals in Three Weeks

I happened to eat at Shanghai Fraternity Association on three different occasions in the month of April with three different group of friends. Tasked with sorting out the menu for each of the dinner, I managed to go through quite a number of dishes in this clubhouse restaurant known for classic Shanghainese cuisine even with a handful of new dishes (not new on the menu per se, but items that we haven't ordered here before)

Lunch at Forty-Five

I was glad to visit The Merchants, the new Shanghainese restaurant in Landmark, on a clear day. This new dining venue, called Forty Five and as part of the complex on top of Gloucester Tower some 45 levels high, offers the sweeping view of Central, harbor and the Kowloon skyline, either through the window in the dining area, or at the rooftop bar (to be called Cardinal Point) that will soon open. Even just for the view is a legitimate reason to pop by for a visit. 

Safe Choice

Shanghai Fraternity is always a safe choice, especially during COVID times when we could always book out a private room with separate tables to conform with the social distancing rules while still feel like we are eating together. 

Food Pairing Experiment

After a few messages exchanged, turned out we were having dinner in a group of 9 people over 3 separate tables on a Sunday evening at Shanghai Fraternity Association Restaurant, a rare occasion these days given we were not allowed to have a table more than 4 people at a restaurant.

Dish that cannot be named

It's true we often come to Shanghai Fraternity Association for their hairy crab dishes during the fall season, but there are more to that in this private dining club which has become one of the places we visit regularly throughout the year - sometimes it's for many of their simple, home-style Shanghainese dishes which I crave for every now and then, and sometimes for something more elaborate. 

The Contemporary Old Bailey

We had a strong preference as in our favorite Shanghainese restaurant in town, so guess that’s the reason we never came around to try the food at Old Bailey, a chic restaurant (not far away from our go-to place) specializes in Jiangnan cuisine, which essentially encompasses Shanghai and its proximity (though we did find it to be a nice place for a quick drink in the neighborhood with its quiet setting)

Good Old Jesse

We did two other serious meals during our short stay in Shanghai – one that we have been to before, one that was new to us. First, the good old Jesse Restaurant (or Lao Ji Shi 老吉士 as known by the locals) right in the center of the French Concession neighborhood. What started of as a home-style restaurant in a quiet block serving classic Shanghainese cuisine has grown into an institution, with multiple branches around the city and other places in China. We had a memorable meal there during our last visit to Shanghai so we were dying to go back, and we made a reservation at their original branch right after our flights were confirmed, helped by our friend M who was a regular at the restaurant during her days living in Shanghai.

Hairy Crabs at the Club

Turned out it's a blessing in disguise that our annual crab feast at Shanghai Fraternity Association was pushed back for an extra week this year because of some scheduling conflict, as the Shanghainese hairy crab season was also delayed by some government bureaucracy, so we barely caught the early part of the season even with the later date. It's already the third year we joined our friend C and A who organized this friends' gathering at their home club famous for the exquisite Shanghainese cuisine. (previous ones in 2015 and 2016)

Old School Hangzhou

I am always on the fence about the food at Tin Heung Lau (天香樓), the old-school restaurant sitting in this quiet street in Tsimshatsui for as long as I remembered. Some friends swore by this humble-looking place serving the best Hanzhou cuisine in town, but from the couple of times that I went, it was a rather meh experience – pricey, apathetic service and quite ordinary in all aspects to be honest.

Neighborhood Shanghainese

Thought we would use the occasion of an early Chinese new year family reunion dinner to check out a new restaurant right in our hood. Jardin de Jade （蘇浙匯）at Cityplaza is the second branch of this nationwide chain of Shanghainese restaurant in Hong Kong, in addition to other one in Wanchai which got a Michelin star a few years back and has been keeping that rating since.

Crabby Feast

The crab feast at Shanghai Fraternity Association has become some sort of ritual for us during the hairy crab season, courtesy of our friend A and C who asked us to join them and their other friends every year. We always made the best effort to make sure we could join, clearing up our schedule, pushing back any travel plan if needed – well, you got the idea.

Fraternity Food

There is no secret that the best Shanghainese food in town was served inside an old building in Central at the clubhouse of Shanghai Fraternity Association. What started as a meeting place for people sharing a similar cultural heritage some 30 years ago has grown to become an exclusive, members-only venue best known for its exquisite Shangainese cuisine served at their restaurant.

Holy Crabs! - Man Wah and its hairy crabs

Autumn morning breezes reminded me that it's the time of the year when hairy crabs showed up in every Shanghainese restaurant menus in town. Well, that and the invitation from Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong for a preview of Man Wah's seasonal hairy crab menu which runs for 2 weeks from end of October.