Shanghai Supper Club

Last Saturday, Matthew and I were thrilled to be a part of August's Shanghai Supper Club.

What exactly is SSC? You can think of it as an underground foodie group that meets monthly around the city, each time boasting a new location, chef, and group of people. Founder Camden Hague started the club last fall and previous events have brought together graffiti and Mexican food as well as burgers and a skate park. For each dinner, Camden invites ten different people, each of whom brings one guest. The result is an eclectic mix from Shanghai's expat scene. Our dinner included well known faces from the F&B scene, teachers, and an adorable engineer (that would be my husband).

This month's event was held in a beautiful lane house, owned by Shanghai native and chef Anthony Zhao. The intimate setting had us laughing with other guests like old friends in no time and left me with some serious kitchen envy.

photo courtesy of Fields

Fields, an online grocery store, sponsored the evening. Looking to highlight their fresh produce, Fields partnered with chef Kimberly Ashton of Sprout Lifestyle to create a healthy vegan meal that left even the meat eaters at our table satisfied. Though I did miss the alcohol (Kimberly opted not to have any served in order to keep in line with her principles for healthy living).

While the food was good (not surprisingly, my favorite dish was dessert), the company was even better. We heard fascinating tales, met unique individuals, and even received a hot tip on where to buy the best coffee smoothie.

Want to join an upcoming Shanghai Supper Club? Fill out your information here and cross your fingers that Camden invites you to her next even in September.

Day Trip: Nanxiang Town

Thursday was Labor Day in China, meaning that we were all granted with a few days off work. Despite the fear of crowds, we decided to venture out of downtown to Nanxiang Town in the northern Jiading District of Shanghai. Nanxiang is a sleepy suburb that boasts attractions such as Guyi Gardens, Nanxiang Twin Towers, Ancient Town and Yunxiang Temple.

We came for none of these. We hadn’t gone to Nanxiang to sightsee, we were there to eat. Why? Because Nanxiang happens to be the birthplace of xiăolóngbāo.

I’ve talked about my love of these dumplings before and even suggested a few spots to try them in Shanghai. But eating xlb from the source seemed like the perfect way to spend an afternoon.

Reaching Nanxiang is easy. Simply take line 11 to the Nanxiang stop. Once there, take exit 1 and walk south along Huyi Gong Lu for 1.5 km (~10 minutes) to Guyi Garden. A short distance after that, you’ll encounter Guyiyuan Lu, which is where our culinary adventure began.

I’m not joking when I say there are hundreds of xlb restaurants in Nanxiang. Hundreds. For the purpose of research, we ate at three restaurants. I’m clearly conducting a very scientific experiment.

Our first stop was the shop on the corner. Overly thin skins combined with overcooked dumplings meant that our xlb stuck to the steamer and ripped when picked up. Would not recommend.

The second spot was the famous Gulong Restaurant (220 Guyiyuan Lu). While Nanxiang town may be the birthplace of xlb, Gulong is apparently the actual spot of creation. The dumplings here were beautifully prepared. The dough was slightly thicker and the flavor was sweet and savory. These were voted the best by our panel. FYI, the panel consisted of me, Matthew, and our friend C.

Our third stop was slightly further down Guyiyuan though I failed to notice the name. This restaurant offered numerous types of xlb and we opted for original pork as well as the crab variety. The crab version was a big hit and I quite liked the pork as well. These xlb received slightly less enthusiastic praise than the ones at Gulong, but we were also rather stuffed at this point. I think we had ordered and consumed close to 60 dumplings at this point.

I can feel you judging me.

Since we only sampled from a few restaurants, I have a feeling I will visit Nanxiang again. All in the name of research of course.

Shanghai Eats: Bellagio

I'm just going to say it, the Taiwanese could teach Mainlanders a thing or two about sweets. One such example is in the delectable desserts offered at the Taiwanese restaurant chain, Bellagio.

While I've come here numerous times for my main meal (I recommend the three cup chicken, sānbēijī), it's their desserts that have me coming back for more.

My favorite treat happens to be their ice smoothies. The smoothies consist of ice, condensed milk, and a topping of your choice. My personal favorite is the peanut, huāshēngbīngshā, though I've heard raves about the mango version, mángguǒbīngshā, as well.

I can only imagine the consistency and taste of this velvety treat is what the love child of a snow cone and ice cream would resemble. And it's delicious.

To visit Bellagio, check out one of the numerous locations around town including:

Gubei Branch: No. 778, Gold City Street, Changning District (near South Gubei Road)

Xin Tian Di Branch: No. 68, Taicang Road, Huangpu District (near Songshan Road)

Shuicheng Branch: No. 101, South Shuicheng Road, Changning District (near Hongqiao Road)

Xikang Branch: No. 111, Xikang Road, Jing'an District (West Beijing Road)

Shanghai Eats: Champagne Brunch at Vue

Guys, I'm so behind on blog posts. I've been logging 35+ hours at my "part-time" job and simply haven't had time to update. I have more to tell you about Harbin, a trip to Cambodia, and of course Shanghai updates to give. The posts are coming, just not in a timely manner. In an attempt to make it up to you however, I am going to post something that I did today. Yes, that's right, this event occurred only a few hours ago. How's that for quick turnaround?

My friend Lesley decided to celebrate her birthday in style with an all you can eat and drink champagne  brunch at Vue Restaurant. The price tag isn't cheap at 688 RMB per person but the incredible food and service were deserving of the cost. Unlike your average buffet, each of the dishes is made to order at stations situated throughout the restaurant. The result is beautifully executed food delivered to your table.

We started off our meal with glasses of Perrier Jouët along with a stop at the Bloody Mary bar.

Next we moved on to poached eggs with polenta and black truffle before hitting the cold bar for oysters, lobster tail, and king crab legs.

After the seafood, it was steak with red wine and bacon sauce, tiger prawns in cream (a personal favorite), and lobster risotto. As a side note, I apologize that all my photos of food look the same. I'm clearly not a food photographer. 

We took our time, noshing on other dishes such as Boston lobster bisque, steak tartar, and a full Sunday roast. And then finally, it was time for dessert. While we enjoyed everything we sampled, the chocolate soufflé stood out as a favorite in our group.

If you feel like treating yourself to a decadent brunch, this is the place to go. I'd recommend coming early and staying late to allow yourself time to savor your dishes. We arrived at 11:30 when the restaurant opened and waddled out left shortly after 4pm (final call for dishes was around 3pm). While not a spot my waist line could handle on a regular basis, I have no doubt I will be back when another special occasion rolls around. Like because it's a Sunday. Or the sun is shining. Those seems like good reasons to celebrate.

Vue Restaurant, 30th Floor
Hyatt on the Bund
199 Huangpu Lu, near Wuchang Lu
黄浦路199号, 外滩茂悦大酒店30楼, 近武昌路

Street (ish) Eats: Henan Lamian

I was first introduced to Henan Lamian through Culinary Backstreets. As scallion oil noodles (cōng yóu bàn miàn) are one of my favorite Shanghainese specialties, I was happy to try out this street side restaurant.

 

There are two reasons this hole in the wall noodle joint is worth a visit. One, their cōng yóu bàn miàn is delicious. But the second and more important reason to come here is because their noodles are hand pulled (lāmiàn).

Hand pulled noodles are an art which many makers spends years perfecting. The noodle maker will first knead and stretch the dough and then pull it the length of his arms, over and over with small twists throughout. As the noodles becomes thinner, the maker will slap them against the counter to separate them into individual noodles. 

Cōng yóu bàn miàn are fairly simple and insanely delicious. To make the sauce, scallions are fried in oil until they are dark and crispy. Salt and soy sauce are then added and the sauce is complete. The oil is then mixed with your noodles for a delicious and cheap meal (bowls of noodles are only 6 rmb or .98 cents). I then like to add a little (okay, a lot) of black vinegar to mine.

I'd also recommend you add a side of qīngjiāofǔzhú or bamboo tofu. The crispy peppers and soft tofu are the perfect side dish to round out your meal. As there is no English menu available, make sure to practice the pronunciation of the dishes you want. Or point. Either one should work.

Address: 
607 Changle Lu, near Donghu Lu
徐汇区长乐路607号近东湖路