Sometimes it feels good to be a Monkey

What's better than a tasty Hoyo de Monterey robusto and a mojito to celebrate the beginning of a new exciting week?

The Monkey is good at hiding in the urban jungle so if you're new in town and can't find your way to this secret den just ask me. If you make it in, ask Angelo, he's a true jewel in Shanghai F&B industry's crown and a great friend who will always look after you.

Monkey Lounge (Shanghai, PRC)
No 22, Lane 56 Donghu Lu, near Xinle Lu
东湖路56弄22号， 近新乐路

Hidden Japanese Yakitori den

OK... I won't tell you where to find this one. Not right now anyway :-)
This yakitori is the kind of place you sort of want to keep for yourself. It is so exclusive, so precious, so rare... so Japanese. I'm grateful to my wife. She's the best guide you can imagine when it comes to Japanese eateries in China. And I must protect the secret, or at least a certain dose of mystery.

As for those who don't know, a yakitori is one of the numerous type of Japanese cuisine. Western people usually knows Sushi well, Teppanyaki, Shabu Shabu, Tonkatsu, Gyouza, Okonomiyake, Isakaya maybe... there's more than a dozen different kind of Japanese restaurants, each one originated from a different part of the country, different service style, cooking methods, philosophy, kitchen set up, size and guest seating type (bar, table, tatami...).

At a Yakitori place (焼き鳥/やきとり/ヤキトリ), it's all about about skewered food. Believe me Japanese are good at grilling anything! Liver, Chicken Heart, Chicken Skin, Cartilage, Tongue, Pork Belly... and other more common things and close to my taste such as: Garlic, Green Pepper, Asparagus wrapped in Bacon, Enoki mushrooms, Chicken/Beef Meatballs, Chicken Wings... a real grilled fest washed with an extra cold Asahi beer. God... it doesn't get any better.

Now the scene... an all wood decorum, walls covered with rice papers strips with beautifully written dishes'names and prices, gently waved by the fresh air every time a guest slide the door and step into these small temples built in homage to food and drink deities. Yakitori must be small, comfy, homy, crowded, noisy, smelly, smoky, LIVELY! You eat at the table or by the bar like me and get intoxicated with more beer, sake or plum alcohol. Top 40 Japanese pops playing, totally covered by laughters, and heavy half-drunk talks. I love that part. Soon people are cheering, hugging each other, the usual Japanese shyness and restraint vanish. This is time for brotherly, sincerity... emotion.

Hidden Japanese Yakitory Den
Address: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Phone: XXXXXXXXXXX
Web: N/A

Not so "petite"

Few weeks ago I met a super nice Shanghai guy called Sam. Gentle, very well spoken, and with an extremely sharp vision of how to run his business in the investment banking. What a surprise to find out, few weeks later, that this gentleman also owned four restaurants (five soon) in Shanghai! His F&B story started when he and his wife discovered Europe, its restaurants and arts. They quickly became addicted to antic shopping, buying everything from old pianos to original silver frames, armchairs, bird cages, etc... They would ship non less than five containers of them to Shanghai. Sam says it was easy to bring wood, bronze and the silver, but piano and furs were stopped at some point and wouldn't make it to China. Furs OK but pianos?... Well, he says, apparently too many Chinese piano collectors got cheated by sellers that would buy not that old pianos in Japan, age them and sell them for a fortune to naive collectors...

Sam and his wife showed an amazing, if not unique sense of design and decorum, designing their restaurants themselves... four of them! All of them called a French name but serving more like a mediterranean choice of dishes from Roasted Beef Salad, Sea Food Pastas and Pumpkin Risottos with feta cheese.

I haven't been to the three others but La Petite Fleur is a very charming restaurant, and it felt so not shanghai, it was so relaxing and I felt I was transported to South of France, Italy or Spain, where things goes slower than here, much slower...

La Petite Fleur (Shanghai, PRC)
n.25 Anfu Lu
+8621 54038247

By the same creative minds:
Le Petit Jardin
Le Petit Chateau
Le Jardin Secret

Two Glory Hours at Morton's Steakhouse

My friend J is always great at sniffing good deals around town and I believe he was the one to recommend us Morton's happy hours for he had himself been initiated to the joy of not so tiny tinies at Morton's Singapore.

The guys and I should thank the discoverer and owe him respect. We did indeed spent one of the most delightful guys evening out at the second floor of Shanghai Pudong's IFC mall infamous steakhouse.

So let me tell you what glory hours we had there. The offer only convinced us to cross the Huangpu river, and it had to be good: 38RMB martinis from 5 to 7pm (4,20Euros) with an all-you-can-eat beef sirloin sandwiches, and the rest should be as below...

Morton's The Steakhouse (Shanghai, PRC):
4/F, IFC Pudong,
8 Shiji Da Dao,
near Lujiazui Huan Lu
世纪大道8号，
国金中心IFC商场4楼
近陆家嘴环路
Phone: +8621 6075 8888
http://www.mortons.com/

From Chicago to Shanghai, be sure they kept it high

Choosing our weapons

Round 1, Chocolate Martini

Round 2, Morton's Mojito Martini

Mouth watering beef sandwich, in numbers

Third, Dry Martini meets Hoyos de Monterrey

The Epicureans

Round 4, Espresso Tini

Final round! Blue Cheese Olives Martini

We Love Gobo!!!

After all these years of eating and slurping it's always a delight when you come across a food, a drink or an ingredient that you didn't know about. When they fall in my plate I treat them like an extra terrestrial entity and should reassure them: "Come in Peace my Friend, I will chew you very softly".

Living in Asia this kind of encounters happens quite often and I should tell you about this very peculiar discovery I made last week when dining at one of my favorite Japanese dumplings (餃子) restaurant...

From deep space, meet my new tasty buddy Gobo!

Gobo root is the Japanese name for the root of the greater burdock (Arctium lappa) plant. Utilized as both a vegetable and a seasoning agent, gobo root is also prized for the medicinal properties attributed to it.

Originating from the Siberian region of Northern Asia and in use as a vegetable in Europe during the Middle Ages, gobo root is particularly popular today in Japanese cuisine and Chinese herbal medicine.

Of the entire burdock, or gobo, plant, the long taproot is the edible portion that is valued for its culinary and medicinal attributes. Because it can attain a length of 3 to 4 feet (1 m) and a tapering width of 1 inch (2.5 cm), it is usually dug by hand to avoid damaging the root. The aboveground portion of the plant produces pinkish purple flowers that eventually turn to burrs, which will ultimately distribute the plant’s seeds.

Review - ROOSEVELT PRIME STEAKHOUSE

I was gracefully invited by my very good friends Ping and Fred yesterday to have dinner at ROOSEVELT PRIME STEAKHOUSE. We headed to the beautiful villa located in the heart of Shanghai French Concession, hungry for meat.

Very classic decor, velvet curtains, dark wood paneling, over-used leather chairs, and portrait of the Roosevelt family everywhere.

We were told RPS was serving the best Caesar Salad in town so we had to try it, and at 128RMB we had high expectation. I have to say there are very few Caesar Salads that I haven't tried in Shanghai and this one didn't stun me. Sauce was blend, watery, very light on the parmesan, topped with one tiny anchovy... I was definitely not bad but not that great either. Forgettable.

I was still chewing my last leaves when we got our plates taken away and were served the mains: 1 filet mignon, 1 New York Strip, 1 Salmon. Plates were cold and although we ate very fast our food and sides went cold in no time. Mustard was very boringly presented with only 2 kinds (French and English mustard and the waiter seemed bother when we asked him to bring them both). No choice of salts and peppers, unlike other famous steakhouses in Asia that offers a whole collection of spices and butter.

However...

The filet mignon (275RMB) was incredibly tasty, with an amazing crisp on top. The New York Prime was also very good (300RMB). Mashed potato garlic and mac & cheese as sides, both very nice. Meat was just awesome, the filet mignon got me and I understand why RPS was voted best steakhouse for 3 years. The Kenwood Cabernet Sauvignon was also very nice (450RMB).

We then moved to the cigar room, a true den for cigar lovers. Huge leather armchairs, good selection of cigars, and affordable. Cognac were pricy though so we went for a South American rum that perfectly matched our Upman and Montechristo. For desert we had the very generic chocolate fondants with vanilla ice cream, but were not impressed as it was overcooked outside, made from too much egg and flour that made the consistence chewy and tasteless.

Service was average, executed with no passion making the whole experience quite unremarkable. The steak was excellent and I highly recommend the filet mignon that was the most affordable yet the tastiest cut.

Overall was kind of disappointing as our evening seriously lack the element of fun and we didn't leave the place too enthusiastic. For nearly 900RMB per head I guess we were expecting more than just very good mains and a distant service.

Roosevelt Prime Steakhouse (Shanghai, PRC):
160 Taiyuan Lu near Yongjia Lu
太原路160号, 近永嘉路
Phone: +8621 6433 8240
http://www.rooseveltsteakhouse.com/

Tips - ENOTERRA WINE but also great food

As a French in Shanghai I came across a lot of pseudo-French offers. Just from looking at their breads and cheese it usually makes me want to cry. I knew I could expect more from ENOTERRA (also known as ENOTECA), as it is owned by a French, Pierre Monie. The guy was pretty much raised in Japan, and that was another hint that he would pay attention to detail, packaging and customer service.

ENOTERRA is a wine place before all, excellent wines at fair price but their party/function offer is great too. Bread is very good, with a soft yet dense dough and a sublime crisp, excellent cold cuts and the cheese... washed with a nice Chilean cabernet-sauvignon... ENOTERRA is definitely one of the best options for hosting a small casual event and won't deceive wine and food lovers that you are.

Enoterra (Shanghai, Beijing, PRC):
www.enoteca.com.cn

Tea, Champagne with Kindle on the top at The Langham

Well... I guess we usually don't seek for a hotel lobby to spend an afternoon when one can find so many charming cafes. The good thing about the Longham in Shanghai is that it is right in the middle of the city, in Xin Tian Di where there are only few options for good read, tea and Champagne. After all these years I really got bored with Starbucks and Coffee Beans or Costa.

Longham lobby was splendidly designed and I immediately felt well there. It is spacious, not too bright, not too dark, a good acoustic that won't distract you from your reading or cause headache. Ordering the Champagne & Snacks set you might have to ask the staff to pour a bit more as they don't tend too be too generous on the quantity. Tea sets come with a great selection of sugars (see picture below): Maple, Muscavado, Brown, Crystal, White, Palm, Equal, and Free. Beautifully presented.

The Langham Xin Tian Di (Shanghai, PRC)
99 Madang Lu, near Taicang Lu
马当路99号1楼, 近太仓路
www.xintiandi.langhamhotels.com
+8621 2330 2288

Visual Idendity - GATTEN SUSHI

I'm very picky when it comes to visual identities for restaurants, bars and clubs. They have to be smart enough to arouse people interest, curiosity, to describe their offer somehow, a real challenge.

This one comes from the Japanese sushi chain GATTEN SUSHI, also my favorite sushi place in Shanghai. Logo is friendly, fun, original, colorful just as it should, and says: "Hey! Here we have fish and we're muscular enough to hold it up!".

Gatten Sushi (Shanghai, PRC):
http://tinyurl.com/68m6qez

Tips - KOMMUNEST YOUTH

Few years ago I would spend so many hours at KOMMUNE Cafe, one of the nicest place you can imagine in Shanghai for: early breakfast, brunch, lunch, coffee, afternoon tea al fresco, dinner, a traditional Ozzie BBQ, and early evening drinks... yeah only that...

I opened my first creative agency (Shanghai Art Studio) right next to KOMMUNE and I would probably spend more time there than in my office. No matter how cool this one was I would just not resist the call for a coffee, a lasagna, a huge piece of lemon tart or a giant hot chocolate. It was some years ago and I've never imagined I would eventually be married with children... and that one day my daughter would enjoy the very same hot chocolate.

Now we enjoy going to KOMMUNE together and it seems that she's inherited her old man's tastes.

Kommune Cafe (Shanghai, PRC):
Taikang Area
Lane 210 Taikang Lu, near Sinan Lu
田子坊泰康路210弄近思南路

For Kids - ICHIDO Birthday Cake

I haven't been a very good dad this year as I haven't planned my daughter's cake enough time ahead. Eventually there was only very few option. ICHIDO was the only solution for a last minute pick-up. My daughter chose from their catalog. She had the choice between half a dozen shapes and theme cakes but went for the Formula 1 (that's my girl!!). Sponge cake, a lot of cream in huge quantity, about 70USD... Tasteless and it didn't look too much like a car to me... Next year I'll arrange something better, sorry baby.

Ichido Bakery (PRC):
http://www.ichido.com.cn/

Taming the Noodles, a Dough Story

When you were a kiddo how many times did you wander where were pastas from? Usually they go together in the same group of highly appreciated kid dishes together with potatoes and rice. So potatoes grow in the ground, rice under water, and pastas? Well... I didn't have a very clear idea about it till I visited some of the world most amazing pasta houses in Italy 10 years ago. Pastas don't grow on trees. Surprise! They're "just" dough... D'Oh!

Dough? You mean like bread, pizza, and... dumplings? Oh, I see... So Pastas never come on Earth as a food gift from God, you don't seed them? Good I haven't tried to hard growing penne in my backyard.

So Pastas come from dough, and it is funny to think about how many people eat Pastas (billions) and how few knows the secret of their making.

The same way I visited factories and traditional handmade manufactures in Italy last Century, and with the same curiosity, I was granted access to one of the best Chinese restaurant in Shanghai, "SOAHC", in Xin Tian Di, for a private lesson of noodle making. And yes, it all started with dough.

I should thank my dear friend and owner of several restaurants in Shanghai, Ping Ping CHAO-NUGERON thanks to whom I discovered the behind-the-scene and met some of her amazing Chefs. I had really no idea what it takes to sculpt these noodles, a perfect dough, the perfect hands, the perfect move, the throwing in the air, result of years of practice. Well, after all, there is something divine about Pastas.

Soahc
South Block Xintiandi
House 3, Ln. 123 Xingye Lu (Madang Lu)
Shanghai, China 200021
6385-7777