There's a great deal of Chinese food that's not remotely eccentric but which is almost completely unknown in the West. What's typically served as Chinese food in the West is mostly ruined by adaptation for what is perceived to be the need of the Western palate, and by the desire to substitute cheap for expensive ingredients and increase profits when serving the ignorant foreigner. Even the cheapest eating in China can be a revelation, and Shanghainese food is what should be eaten in Shanghai. It's a little sweet and oily at times, but not remotely challenging.
So although I'll recommend Western restaurants, I'll start by throwing in an entertaining Shanghainese one in an historic building--an experience you won't find elsewhere:
Xuhui
??
Lao Zhan
Old Station
Caoxi Bei Lu 201
(021) 6427 2233
Well-executed Shanghai classics at budget prices in a choice of highly unusual settings: the high-ceilinged halls of a former French monastery, or two connected luxury railway carriages, one formerly used by the Dowager Empress Cixi, and the other by Song Qingling.
Huangpu District
???
Rangqiaozhi
Jean Georges
4th floor, Three on the Bund, Zhongshan Yi Lu 3
(021) 6321 7733
www.on-the-bund.com
The Shanghai branch of Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s garlanded New York restaurant offers French with hints of Asia (lemon grass, coconut), each dish small but perfect in every way. Try the seasonal set menu which makes the best of available ingredients, and something from the 5000-bottle wine cellar.
Jing’an District
???
Paladuo
Palladio
Nanjing Xi Lu 1376 (inside Portman Ritz-Carlton)
N/A
(021) 6279 8888
www.ritzcarlton.com
Sumptuous menu of extravagant Italian dishes with hints of Napoli, suggesting meals should be taken at a gentle pace over an extended period of time, although briskly served business set lunches are excellent value for money, too. Highly recommended.
(Oh all right, this one's Chinese, too--but unique to Shanghai in its setting)
Luwan District
1931
Maoming Nan Lu 112
(021) 6472 5264
Eating at this cosy little restaurant is like being in a 1930s private house, the walls hung with advertising and photographs from the period. Few of the dishes are obviously Shanghainese, although all are light and pleasant, and excellent value for money.
(OK OK another Shanghainese [with Hong Kong twists]. But now I'll stop.)
Huangpu District
???
Huangpu Hui
Whampoa Club
5th floor, Three on the Bund, Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu 3
(021) 6321 3737
www.on-the-bund.com
A completely comprehensive menu of traditional Shanghainese favourites in luxurious surroundings, some given a surprising modern twist (such as almond and cocoa fried spare ribs) or simply re-invented to accentuate the flavors. A tea sommelier offers 50 different fine teas from around China.
Pudong District
??36
Feicui 36
Jade on 36
Fucheng Lu 33 (inside Pudong Shangri-La Hotel)
(021) 6882 3636
www.shangri-la.com
High in the Shangri-La’s new tower, Jade offers a stimulating menu of ‘cuisine de voyage’ that combines ingredients from everywhere in stunningly inventive ways that look odd in the menu, too beautiful to eat when they arrive, but leave the palate eager for more.
Huangpu District
???
Lu Wei Xuan
Laris
6th floor, Three on the Bund, Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu 3
(021) 6321 9922
www.on-the-bund.com
Australian David Laris’s white-on-white dining room is the perfect setting for his menu of ‘global cuisine’—subtle, intelligent, but never pretentious dishes which may just make this the very best foreign restaurant in Shanghai. An evening with one of the tasting menus will be long remembered.
Huangpu District
?????
Mishi Xi Canting
M on The Bund
7th floor, Guangdong Lu
(021) 6322 0099
www.m-onthebund.com
Atop a 1920s bank building overlooking the river, the pioneer of posh Bund dining continues to excel with a menu of celebrity restaurateuse Michelle Garnaut’s favourites, including signature soft-as-butter salted lamb and light-as-air Pavlova. An essential Shanghai experience.
Note that all of these, except 1931 and Lao Zhan are amongst Shanghai's most expensive restaurants, and although lunch menus are sometimes cheaper you'll be looking at US$50 to US$100 or even considerably more, depending on your choices.
Oh, and for views (pollution and humidity permitting) you might want to consider one of the ring of restaurants about the 53rd floor of the Jin Mao Dasha in Pudong, inside the Grand Hyatt: Italian, Japanese grill, and American, if memory serves. There's another restaurant on the 87th floor, too, but that's Shanghainese.
Oh, and if there are lines of gibberish beneath the district name for each place given above that's because this site doesn't handle Chinese well, or because you need to set your browser's preferences to read simplified Chinese.
Hope that helps.
Peter N-H