Wednesday, December 19, 2007

one and only

My first (and probably only) flower arrangment creation!

Monday, December 17, 2007

Heng Shan Cafe

I think Heng Shang Cafe will become our new regular place: it's so close to us and the few things we tried there were pretty good. Nothing was out-standing (yet) but we liked the spotless-clean place and the swift service.

Marinated eggs in Chiu Chow soy sauce(RMB15). I was surprised to see so many of them! While the taste of the marinate was not bad the eggs were probably just dipped in it for 2 seconds and therefore not very flavourful at all.

Steamed prawn and bean shoots dumplings (~RMB15). Nice fillings with fresh ingredient - chunky prawns too. Better than I expected.

The Siu mai (~RMB15) were average. I think they might have been previously frozen.

Beef balls (RMB10) were much better than teh siu mai.

The seafood congee (RMB18) was OK. The congee base was nice and smooth but there were not a lot of fish or seafood in it.

Stir-fried lily bulbs, lotus roots and celery served in 'nest' (RMB33). My husband ate all of the content so they must have been good. He said the 'nest', normally made out of flour and fried, was not as good as some of the ones he tried before. It was pretty plain and tasteless.

Singapore noodles (RMB28). Again he almost ate all of it and he wanted second helping so it must have been really good. Probably the star of the meal!

Heng Shan Cafe (4 locations in town)
719 Yan An Road West (nr. Cao Jia Yan Rd.), Shanghai. Tel: 6226-0525

Sakae Sushi

I was hoping to go crazy on the RMB98 all-you-can-eat deal but to my disappointment they now want RMB168 for it. Hardly worth it - not for supermarket-quality stuff.

A couple of things from the sushi menu: egg sushi and spicy tuna rolls. The egg slices were way too thin and plastic like but the tuna rolls were nice.
Mini California rolls...good like supermarket variety good.

Some kind of grilled fish - similar to mackerel and very very meaty. I kept looking for bones in the middle then I realised it was ONE big thick fillet!

Terriyaki chicken ramen. I didn't think much of the soup base but it was OK.

Lunch came to RMB85. Not bad.

Sakae Sushi

7/F Parkson, 918 Huai Hai Middle Rd. (nr. Shanxi Rd.), Shanghai. Tel: 6415-9726

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Zapata's

One should go to Zapata's when it's not too cold to sit in the garden; the inside is such a dive: think stale cigarette smell and holes on the vinyl couch. Yuck. The food is looking better than ever though.


Our chicken burritos(RMB100) tasted as good as it looked. We loved the mucho fillings!

My chicken flautas(RMB45). The fillings were nice and the salsa fresh and zingy. Good value for a starter!

El diablo wings(RMB40) - nothing diablo about them and they were pretty bland in fact. The only good thing about them was that they weren't dry.

5 Heng Shan Rd.(nr. Dong Peng Rd.) Shanghai. Tel: 6474-6166

Ginger

A late afternoon lunch at Ginger on the day we moved: it was a very nice sanctuary compared to the total chaos of our move.

My mint and orange tea (RMB45 I believe) was very warming and rejuvenating. It totally calmed my mood and my stomach down.

My husband's spaghetti Bolognese (RMB70). He said it was OK.

My Japanese bento (RMB125). From top left clockwise: homemade tofu, terriyaki chicken and some kind of potato fish cake, tempura fish, aubergine, vegetable sushi, and lastly brown rice with carrots and chestnuts. Everything was good especially the chestnuts rice but it's still a bit pricey for what you get.

Service was friendly and it was a pleasant experience...I just wish it could be cheaper.

Ginger
299 Fuxing Rd. West (nr. Hua Shan Rd.), Shanghai. Tel: 6433-9437

Frankie's Italian Bar and Grill

My first lunch visit to Frankie's. For RMB100 we got to pick between 2 starters and 3 main courses.

My clams in white wine sauce was beautifully cooked. The broth was delicious and not overly garlic-ky at all.

Pasta with porcini mushrooms and aubergine. Too bad the pasta was soggy and as a result the dish was very pappy.

Chestnut semifreddo. We liked the hint of sweetness the chestnuts gave out.

All in all it wasn't bad at all, especially for RMB100.

Frankie's Italian Bar and Grill
592 Feng Yang Rd. (nr. Dai Tian Rd.), Shanghai. Tel: 5228-7961