OP10 • THEEDGE SINGAPORE
| JUNE 2, 2008 PICTURES: BLOOMBERG
DINE OUT
SHANGHAI
Cracking the code at Yingqi; delicious fare at Ye Shanghai; glorious views at Kathleen 5
Surprises
YINGQI 805 Julu Lu, Shanghai Tel: 86 21 5404 0707
A clock tower stands above the restaurant Kathleen 5, housed on the roof of the historic Shanghai Art Museum
| BY RICHARD VINES |
G
etting into Yingqi restaurant in Shanghai is more complicated than simply finding the place, and that is hard enough. There’s no big sign, no telltale lights and certainly no warm welcome. Instead, there are two doors, without a bell or knocker, and there’s a blank wall with a series of illuminated holes. The only way in is if you know the code and can work out which hole corresponds to which number. (You get the code when you make the booking.)
This Deepfried Pork Strips and Vegetable Salad is available at the so-hip-ithurts Yingqi restaurant
Place your hand in the correct sequence of apertures, and even then you may not be lucky. One of the two doors may slide back to reveal a mirror bearing a single word, “Gotcha”. This could become quite tedious rather quickly, but I found it hilarious even after just a couple of drinks. (And good luck, if you don’t have the help of a Chinese speaker.) Inside, nothing is much clearer. The waitresses are dressed in black, and the place Grilled King Prawns with Hairy Crab Meat and a Celeriac is so dark, it’s hard to spot Remoulade is served at Kathleen 5 them unless they smile. Because Yingqi is hip and cool, they don’t The rice was Japanese, I think, and very do that much. As for the washrooms, good, and we also had a spicy beef dish the door handles are on the wrong that my Chinese guest said was authenside. I can’t even explain. Just tic. So that’s all right then. don’t leave a visit until the last I didn’t dare have more than a single minute. drink in case this turned out to be the HoAt around this stage I might nor- tel California of restaurants, where you mally describe the other diners, if only can check out but you can never leave. I had been able to see them. They ap- Then the real shocker hit me, the bill. It peared to be young — they would need was about US$30 ($40.80). I’d go back to be — and some sort of aura was tell- if I could. ing me that they were a mix of Chinese and expatriates. Bargain brunch Ye Shanghai is a simpler alternative for In the dark modern Chinese cooking and it is as acNarrow spotlights provide limited illumi- cessible as possible, being conveniently nation and once you’ve stumbled to a ta- housed on the third floor of Citigroup Towble, you and your guests can take turns er. So if you are a banker, you can make to hold the menu in the only place you money and spend it without needing to can possibly make out what’s on it, most- go outside. The place is popular anytime, ly fusion Chinese dishes. but the real bargain may be the weekend The big surprise for me — well, apart brunch, when it’s all you can eat for 98 from the fact anyone would come up with renminbi ($19). this idea for a restaurant — was that the This isn’t a buffet, or some sort of confood was good. There was a deconstruct- veyor-belt operation where dishes arrive ed salad, with long batons of celery and rapidly. In fact, the food is reassuringly carrot that you dipped in some sort of slow in showing up, which is just fine mayonnaise. Twice-cooked Pork with Si- because the floor-to-ceiling windows ofchuan Pepper Sauce was spicy, and not fer fine views of the city and the Huangmessed around with. pu (river). The seats are comfortable, so Shrimps with Diced Pineapple was a lit- why hurry? Especially if you have a glass tle more unusual, similar to Nobu’s Rock of champagne in hand. Shrimp Tempura. The batter was light, There are dim sum options, such as only the sauce tasted of condensed milk. Steamed Pork Dumplings with Hairy
YE SHANGHAI 3/F Citigroup Tower, 33 Huayuan Shiqiao Lu, Pudong, Shanghai Tel: 86 21 5878 5660
KATHLEEN’S 5 325 Nanjing Xi Lu, Shanghai Tel: 86 21 6327 2211 Email: www.kathleens5.com.cn/index.asp
Crab Meat and Steamed Chicken Feet with OK Sauce. All right, I didn’t try the latter, preferring Shanghainese Spring Rolls (with crisp, light pastry), Curried Pork Pastries and Baked Mushroom Dumplings. There are also soups and starters and mains such as Wok-fried Fish Slices in Yellow Wine Sauce and Steamed Egg with Clams. Everything was freshly cooked and delicious, and I’m puzzled why there wasn’t a big line of people waiting to get in. Glorious location Across town, Kathleen 5 restaurant is housed on the roof of the Shanghai Art Museum. The venue is owned by Kathleen Lau, an American-Chinese who moved to China in the early 1990s and opened this establishment in 2004. The menu is a mix of Western dishes such as Chilled Cucumber Soup with Oyster, Radish and Caviar; Pan-fried Turbot with Leek Fondant and Artichokes Barigoule; and Chocolate Fondant and Mousse, Pistachio and Praline Ice Cream. The set lunch starts at 120 renminbi. It’s the location that is glorious. You dine just below a huge clock tower and get a wonderful view over the People’s Park. The building is fascinating to explore. It’s the old British Racing Club and if you take a couple of wrong turns on the way back down, you can explore its dusty corridors and make your way into the museum itself via a back door. Alternatively, you could just walk into the museum by the front door and pay 20 renminbi, though that would be much less E fun. — Bloomberg LP Richard Vines is the chief food critic for Bloomberg News