Shanghai restaurants
Jul 13, 2014, 8:38 am
#32
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Except, of course, for the brilliant "Drunken Chef" in Suzhou run by a Yorkshire native (England that is) and serving a mean outdoor BBQ on Sundays when weather permits. Worth an outing from Shanghai.
http://suzhouliving.com/2012/09/12/t...s-english-pub/
Jul 15, 2014, 8:07 am
#33
Join Date: Jun 2013
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To sort of answer my own question, lunched with a friend who also lived in Japan before at Irodori Japanese Restaurant at Huahai Zhong Lu recently.
Very nicely executed Japanese "homely dishes": my grilled mackerel set was fresh and tasty and my friends katsudon the best he has had in China. Most other lunch customers were actually Japanese officer workers from the area.
Seems to be a Singaporean operation: http://www.irodorijapaneserestaurant.com.sg/Index.aspx
Very nicely executed Japanese "homely dishes": my grilled mackerel set was fresh and tasty and my friends katsudon the best he has had in China. Most other lunch customers were actually Japanese officer workers from the area.
Seems to be a Singaporean operation: http://www.irodorijapaneserestaurant.com.sg/Index.aspx
This place even serves a buffet dinner and I don't think self respecting Japanese restaurants do such things.
Jul 15, 2014, 10:52 pm
#35
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Had dinner at Irodori tonight and the food didn't taste Japanese. The rice in my unagidon was grainy and hard to pick up using chopsticks, and not moist like Japanese rice should be. The other components of the set: the yasai tempura didn't come with dip sauce, the chawanmushi seemed to have been steamed for too long and the tempura bits in the udon dip were hard instead of light and crisp.
This place even serves a buffet dinner and I don't think self respecting Japanese restaurants do such things.
This place even serves a buffet dinner and I don't think self respecting Japanese restaurants do such things.
As for the buffet dinners, I think China is a different World from most other countries. Even a self respecting and honourable Japanese restaurant might not survive for long without this option, especially if targeting extremely cost conscious Shanghainese customers.
Jul 15, 2014, 11:21 pm
#36
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Were you in Singapore or Shanghai? We found the food at least satisfactory.
As for the buffet dinners, I think China is a different World from most other countries. Even a self respecting and honourable Japanese restaurant might not survive for long without this option, especially if targeting extremely cost conscious Shanghainese customers.
As for the buffet dinners, I think China is a different World from most other countries. Even a self respecting and honourable Japanese restaurant might not survive for long without this option, especially if targeting extremely cost conscious Shanghainese customers.
Jul 16, 2014, 11:38 am
#37
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Were you in Singapore or Shanghai? We found the food at least satisfactory.
As for the buffet dinners, I think China is a different World from most other countries. Even a self respecting and honourable Japanese restaurant might not survive for long without this option, especially if targeting extremely cost conscious Shanghainese customers.
As for the buffet dinners, I think China is a different World from most other countries. Even a self respecting and honourable Japanese restaurant might not survive for long without this option, especially if targeting extremely cost conscious Shanghainese customers.
Jul 17, 2014, 3:33 am
#38
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I'm in Shanghai and ate at Shanghai Plaza. It's not a comment on your taste but yeah it's not how Japanese cuisine should be like. Rice is the single most important component and they didn't get that right. I don't expect much of Singaporean chains though. Also wouldn't be surprised if they took individual items from what was laid out in the dinner buffet to make up my set.
As for prime quality rice and other ingredients, I'd think only the various Communist Party canteens can guarantee top produce being used. They have their own, organic and tightly controlled (quality wise) contract farms that deliver only the best China can offer.
Jul 17, 2014, 3:52 am
#39
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I beg to differ. I used to know a guy from France who started an organic farming company that quickly rose to supply the majority of 5-star hotels and high end grocery stores in tier-one cities from the mid-90s onward. This was a very lucrative business for him (and may still be, for all I know). More recently, I've seen organic farming operations pop up in many parts of China (including a bunch of good ones in Beijing's Shunyi district).
Jul 17, 2014, 9:17 am
#40
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Shanghai is the city where the most number of overseas Japanese live after LA, so there's really no excuse for there not being a market to buy this with economies of scale.
Even Coco, the curry rice chain restaurant, serves rice cooked better in Shanghai than Irodori.
I'd go to Changning district for the best Jp food here. Competition there is rife and if you don't do a good job nobody comes back.
Jul 17, 2014, 10:42 am
#41
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I'm not sure if Suntory (which, I plugged in the OP to this thread last year) still exists, but if it does, check it out. The HSBC building was Mori's first project in Lujiazui (subsequently trumped by the WFC in 2008), and F500 Japanese tenants were a crucial part of the plan. Suntory was awarded the contract to provide F&B services on the top floor (split between a restaurant and lounge). Unlike the family style venues in Changning, chains like 大鱼, or fusion restaurants like Hatsune or Shintori, the MO was high quality Japanese food from the get go.