The new PS Cafe at Ang Siang Hill

It was a rainy afternoon and I was stuck at the new PS Cafe at Ang Siang Hill, a nice little spot at the end of the row of conservation shophouses, with a bar, and a spacious, mod-colonial styled main dining room on the second level. I ordered the popular Big Nihon salad, with edamame, marinated tuna, sprouts and tofu. It's a good addition to this quaint part of town, and makes a really nice lunch spot. Will be back for drinks in the evening some time.

More bull....

I guess the name 'Bull' is a  popular choice for restaurants in China. After eating at Noodle Bull at 1933 last week, I was not expecting to run into another restaurant called Bull so soon. This Sunday morning, I took a brisk walk over to the new IFC mall in the financial district of Pudong, just a few minutes down the road from the Park Hyatt.

I wasn't too keen on dim sum, so I skipped over Lei Garden, and decided to try Golden Bull, the new Vietnamese restaurant on the fourth floor. I ordered the usual fried spring rolls as an appetizer, and for the main, I picked the beef pho noodle in superior broth. At 100RMB, this was the most expensive pho I've ever had. The broth was excellent, the beef was of a very high grade and very tender. Overall, a very good meal, though a bit pricey for beef noodle.

Recently, Vietnamese restaurants have been sprouting all over the city, if this is a sign of things to come, then I guess I won't have to pay so much for a decent bowl of pho in Shanghai very soon.

Spicy Sichuan at the Long Bar

The Long Bar at the PuLi hotel in Jing'An is a well kept secret that few people who head to the Bund know about. On any given night, there'd be just a handful of patrons seated along the very long wooden counter (hence the name Long Bar), mingling over well-crafted cocktails and snacks. The Long Bar has a few unique signature drinks, and my favorite has to be the Spicy Sichuan. Chili, lime, tequila, peppers.....

Back to El Willy yet again

This is probably my third trip to El Willy, my favorite Spanish tapas restaurant in Shanghai, and quite possibly in this part of the world. I'm still amazed that there are such high caliber restaurants in a Chinese city, but I guess Shanghai is no ordinary Chinese city. It's quite possibly on the way to besting Hong Kong as the foodie capital of Asia.

Anyway, I was determined to try some new items on El Willy's menu tonight. Except for the foie gras. That, I cannot do without. There are few foie gras dishes that impresses me more than the one here. Seared slivers of foie gras on brioche, with raspberry basil compote and popcorn power on top. Yum.

I had the citrus cerviche, the 24-hr cooked pork beef and roasted pumpkin soup. Too much food as usual. I didn't get to order dessert again. There's always next time, I guess.

Noodle Bull at 1933

There's a former abattoir in Shanghai called 1933, recently renovated and transformed into a hip, ultra-modern entertainment complex filled with restaurants and curio shops. It's not everyone's cup of tea for a weekend destination in Shanghai, but if you're fascinated by the architectural wonders of a bygone era, this is a fascinating place to spend an afternoon exploring.

There's a Taiwanese noodle restaurant called Noodle Bull on the second floor of the labyrinthine complex. I was fascinated by the decor, a mix of gothic hip with Chinese decorative touches. Food was typical Taiwanese noodle shop variety, and was actually rather decent.

Madison, Shanghai

I headed out to the French Concession on a Sunday night in late January. Had a reservation at Madison, a new bistro by Austin Hu, a brash new chef cooking up a storm in Shanghai's culinary scene since late last year. Pity they didn't have the usual ala carte menu, it was prix fixe night, and beef Chateaubriand was the highlight on the menu.

In fact, it was a rather old fashioned supper menu, with shrimp cocktail, gratin, onion rings, caesar salad and old fashioned apple strudel. Simple, yet perfected executed. I would defnitely be back to try their ala carte menu some other time.