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Go to Goga, but bring your game
It was a special birthday this past weekend, and we celebrated with a meal fit for kings. If kings feasted on bounty of avocado laced with crustaceans and other Cali/Tex-Mex/Asian fusion type garb. Roy Yamaguchi-trained chef Brad Turley is one of the best in Shanghai right now, concerned with feeding real people real food in his new Goga - an abbreviation of a certain bridge in San Francisco, his former site of training and inspiration for his colourful flavour profiles. The place is a box and seats maybe 20, and everyone is within conversation-length of the friendly chef in his open kitchen. He whipped up 7 courses, each topping the one before in decadence, and proceeded to feed us to the point where our physical ability to enjoy of each dish became an inverse function of how delicious it was. I've never felt so utterly defeated at the end of a meal before. It was a sublime sort of annihilation. And I'm already chasing the feeling again. The only criticism I can give, was that the flavours were so cosmically ridiculous, one might dare to suggest it was over-seasoned. I love salt, I'm sure it derived from the tears of God, but even I thought a couple of the sauces came on a tad too strong. But hey, good thing I'm breaming with youthful exuberance and can take an overload once in a while.
Pictured above is a dish of perfectly charred tiger shrimp.
thinly sliced red snapper
papaya salad with almonds
Off the menu: the night's piece de resistance. I previously told Brad that albondigas soup is a dish close to the birthday boy's heart, and despite not having made the dish before, he delivered. And how. There were rumours abound that this topped even the memory of abuela's...
sea scallops, black caviar, asparagus, miso glaze
steak. enough said, I think?
Speaking of Goga, you can catch me there again tonight...
week in pictures
short changing
caramelized onion & mushroom
carbonara at home
roast goose, duck, and wonton noodles @ Hengshan Cafe
everything pizza from NY Pizza
poison
Zhongnaihai 8's
Sunday Chili & Dirty Scrabble Night.
yakitori & sochu
Karaku's chef Toyoichiro Seki is a fan, expat pretend-food-writers, japanese business men, and local hipsters as well. Kota's has already developed enough of a reputation for itself, if not for its yakitori then for its unremitting backdrop of Beatles hits and paraphernalia, which understandably, have driven more than a few staff up the wall.
But for the regular visitor, Kota's is heaven. Jam to Blackbird and Yesterday, drown in the room's cuteness, pound back house-made fruit sochus, and feast on grilled camembert, avocado, ox tongue, and chicken skin. I hope no one is reading this, cus secrets are best kept secrets.
(Photos of venue via SmartShanghai where you can also read a decent review, food photos my own)
2905 Xietu Lu at Lingling Lu
Map here
i wish i thought of this genius. alain delorme's photography: totems
The photoshoppery may make this a little bit of a stretch from reality. But its really not, and anyone who lives in China will attest to this.
the images were captured during two art residencies (supported by ailing foundation) de lorme participated in shanghai throughout 2009 and 2010. fascinated by migrants' loads, he has photographed piles of stacked 'made in china' products which form unusual sculptures, symbols of a form of fetishization of the objects themselves. the verticality of these formations echoes the incessant expansion of the urban area, constantly under construction. here, de lorme gives a new vision full of humor and poetry of those porters - both super heroes and ants with impressive loads of tires, water containers, office chairs, flowers... distanced from the typical photos of china portraying immense crowds, he has focused on the individuality of these workers, as opposed to all those identical and interchangeable objects.
See more work by Alain Delorme on Design Boom
shanghai restaurant week: doggy bags + poached local baby
But I decided to try Restaurant Week because 1) lunch prices were low at 118 RMB and 2) a couple of the menus sounded quite enticing.
First up was Whampoa Club, paid a lunch visit with my friend Pauly who was in town from London- but being the smart individuals we are, we'd gotten annihilated by baijiu the night before and were in the process of paying a dear, dear fine for our actions. Paul's lips were white and eyes vacant, I barely made it through the first course, and the view of the Huangpu outside were wasted on us.
I had to da-bao most of the main course, who asks for a doggy bag at Whampoa Club?? But the meal was incredible, even microwaved the next day byahhh.
I unfortunately didn't record the menu, and DiningCity has since removed the content from their website, but I'll go with what I can remember.
We got seasonal veggies pickled in yellow wine, jellyfish in sweet vinegar, and drunken chicken. When I said I barely made it through the first course, I think you now know why. Everything was swimming in wine! Even the chicken was drunk. *shudder*....
I think this was course number 1.5. A creamy, tangy, soft shell crab soup. or was it lobster? not sure, but it was one of the only things I could finish.
Main(s) were slow-braised short ribs, fish filet in kind of a Hakka sauce, greens and Shanghai fried rice. I have to say, they microwaved very well.
The next day, we went with the Lymans to brunch at T8 following a night out at usual haunts JZ and Cotton Club. This time the whole table was overhung with headaches except me, who was fresh as a spring chicken after refusing every drink that came my way the night before.
The menu to T8 was brilliantly written, actually the first one that caught my eye when browsing. See exhibit A below.
Psych! No local babies being poached that day teehehhe...
But in all seriousness, I wanted everything on the menu. And because we were sharing, I did.
STARTER
Beijing duck and anise consommé
-tempura tea smoked duck, spring onion, coriander, pineapple and “crackle”
Such creative presentation! the duck balls on sticks were melt in your mouth divine, especially when dunked in the delicate anise consomme. A great appetizer.
Poached local baby (lobster)
-asparagus, burnt onion mayonnaise, radish, dried nori
I can never get enough of xiao long xia aka little lobsters, and the burnt onion mayonnaise was the truest truth I ever did taste. Incredible textures in this dish! creamy sauce, succulent lobster meat, crisp nori, crunchy radish, and crackly/melty paper thin prawn crackers.
MAINS
Sea bass
- mushroom, scallop, red seaweed, foam
I wrote this one myself, not sure you can tell. I forgot to photograph this part on the menu. The dish was a delicate balance of flavours, a lot going on, and kind of a masterpiece, really. Hats off to the kitchen team, not only did they execute perfectly, they were also quiet and graceful doing so. This must have been the quietest kitchen I've ever seen, as its a center piece in the restaurant, their performance is part of the experience.
BEEF
-man being a food writer is hard work. Can I just say that this beef was a party in my mouth?
Coffee infused marshmallow, FRESH FIG, coffee ice cream and artistic graham cracker trail... I don't like marshmallows, but if this is a marshmallow, I'll be damned....
Choc cherry sundae- house made honeycomb
The fixings here weren't as impressive as the actual chunks of summer fruit on it, I haven't had real good fruit in China yet, and this cherry was the definition of cherry. Brings me back to the days in England, when we'd climb orchard fences and dye our faces red with cherryjuice.
photos- friday muslim food market
In anticipation of every Friday's muslim prayer call, Changde Road across from the mosque becomes a lively market home to tasty goodies from local Muslim and Uighur communities in Shanghai. I went out last week to take a look.
The air was heavy with the scent of cumin-rubbed lamb and freshly baked naan. People lined the streets, chatting with vendors, filling up on familiar foods from home, and greeting old friends. The sense of community and festivity was undeniable. I felt kind of weird with my big camera though, and only got a few shots, but here you go.
The air was heavy with the scent of cumin-rubbed lamb and freshly baked naan. People lined the streets, chatting with vendors, filling up on familiar foods from home, and greeting old friends. The sense of community and festivity was undeniable. I felt kind of weird with my big camera though, and only got a few shots, but here you go.
Friday Shanghai Muslim Market
Changde Lu in between Aomen Lu and Yichang Lu
常德路，近澳门路和宜昌路
Every Friday, 11am onwards
a fairytale wedding and a Michelin-star meal at the Peninsula on the Bund
This weekend was my friends Hanna and Andrew's wedding. It was the sweetest affair, the vows andspeeches were so heartfelt and touching that I was a complete sobfest, a mascara-streaking embarrassment. If this is someone else's wedding, I can't even imagine...
Of course, Hanna spent hours making sure the meal was prepared to perfection. The 7 course dinner was catered by head chefs from the Peninsula's Michelin award-winning chefs Chi Ping Xu and Tang Chi Keung. The product was a custom menu that honors the Chinese art of 'food ordering', creating a dining experience where each dish complements the others in color, texture, temperature, and flavour.
The first course- Traditional Barbeque Meat Combination
- roast duck, char siu pork, crispy suckling pig, Shanghai-style crispy fish, and marinated jellyfish.
King Crab in Hot & Sour Soup
Grouper, Black Mushroom, Yunnan Ham
-steamed and lightly seasoned fish with ginger and scallion with a thin slice of prized Yunnan ham for added umami
Abalone and Sea Cucumber
- perfect
Beef Steak & XO Radish Cake
- organic xue long beef from Dalian province served with radish cake fried in XO - a slightly spicy, dried scallop and shrimp sauce
Dessert Trio: Cream, Jelly, Tart
- shot of chilled sago cream, spoon of osmanthus jelly, a mini egg tart
Wedding (Cup) Cake
- banana cake with cream cheese frosting
the view from Sir Elly's, which beats even the Vue in its panorama...
Congratulations to the happy and oh-so-perfect couple!
Grace Vineyard Symphony Series and New Releases Tasting Notes
I was lucky enough to have been invited to the Grace Vineyard New Releases Tasting at their new Grace Vineyard Club on Yan'an Road in Shanghai yesterday afternoon. The clubhouse is located inside a majestic mansion just dripping with history and style.
I finally met Judy Leissner- the proprietress of the vineyard, often hailed as China's best-who I've admired from afar ever since I first tasted her Symphony series muscat last year. She told me the clubhouse is open to the public but isn't being promoted to reserve for family and friends. The space is ye Shanghai, smells of cigars, and even has a traditional kun opera stage!
The wine started flowing early at 3pm, and I managed to taste every one of the 11 new releases. All in a hard day's work right? I started with with the whites; Symphony Series 2009, Chardonnay 2008, Premium Chardonnay 2008, Tasya's Reserve Chardonnay 2007, Rose 2008, and rounded up with the Premium Cabernet Merlot 2008, Tasya's Reserve Merlot 2008, 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Tasya's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Deep Blue 2008, and Chairman's Reserve 2008.
Went back and forth but the winner was still the Symphony Series, it is aromatic, clean, and its fruity notes pair perfectly with Chinese food as well as on its own. It's just like biting into a juicy muscat grape, or one of those amazing green gummies, but better. This is an immensely enjoyable wine, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who dislikes it. At188 RMB a bottle, you pay for the quality but its worth the treat every once in a while.
(As a side note: the Symphony reeeaaallly reminds me of the similarly named Obsession Symphony of California's Ironstone vineyard, which is from the Symphony grape, a variety developed in 1948 at the UC Davis by cross-breeding muscat and grenache gris, and patented in 1983. Since the grape isn't grown very much, I remember a mad dash every summer in the LCBO as restaurants and consumers in the know snatched up all the cases in days.)
As the limited production of these smaller Chinese wineries mean the prices can be prohibitively high, this was the first time I tried many of the Tasya's Reserve wines, and I was surprised at the strong, earthy aromas in the Tasya's Reserve Chardonnay 2007 that carried through to the palate. Its well-balanced, has good citrus acidity and would be great with fish and grilled veggies. Actually all the wines went really well with the tapas catered by El Willy, I especially loved this wine with the smoky fish balls in tartar sauce. The Reserve Chardonnay is expensive at 218 RMB but at the mid-range of Grace's offerings.
In the value section, the Rose 2008 won. It doesn't stand out in any aspects, but the flavour is long, fresh and well-balanced, and at 60RMB a bottle, is a STEAL. Perfect for a summer aperitif.
Aside from the Symphony, the other one worthy of all its praise is the Chairman's Reserve 2008. Named "one of the best Chinese wines" recently, it is very aromatic, with a bouquet of tobacco and liquorice, and perfectly balanced tannins. But at 488RMB a pop, you had better save it for a white tablecloth occasion when you've got some abalone and a master chef on hand.
After the tasting, we were treated us to a Kun Opera performance in the room next door. The makeup took an hour to do! It's rare to see Kun opera these days, so bravo to the Grace Vineyard team for putting together a perfect afternoon.
