Restaurant Review: Tsuru

By Betty Richardson, January 21, 2015

These days we aren’t exactly wanting for Japanese restaurants in Shanghai, but the Jing’an Shangri-La hotel’s Tsuru is an very good new addition that promises to please diners unfamiliar and acquainted alike with the delights of kaiseki cuisine. Heading the kitchen is Chef Masami Honda, a Nagasaki native with over 48 years of culinary experience to his name at sushi Nadaman restaurants in Japan.

Tsuru’s menus include a diverse mix of ingredients and styles; guests can choose from sukiyaki, roasted eel, sashimi, sushi rolls, tempura, bento, soba and of course larger kaiseki sets, of which the substantially portioned lunchtime options are priced from RMB160-480. Dinner menus focus on still larger sets and more elaborate kaiseki, which can stretch up to RMB1288 for the chef’s special menu.

These are all very well, but it’s Tsuru’s a la carte menu, available in full at both lunch and dinner that excites us most.

Resplendent with imaginative yet classic dishes, highlights included breathtaking fresh homemade sesame tofu topped with uni (RMB60), kinki fish roasted with sea salt (RMB588), sautéed Japanese lobster (RMB600),

premium sushi platter (RMB488, above) and meaty king crab tempura (RMB430, below).

These might not seem cheap, but were interspersed with affordable options such as steamed egg with foiegras (RMB78), shrimp tempura rolls (RMB60, below), roast salmon with miso (RMB120) and many others.

Everything we tried was flawlessly cooked and fresh, and while it might not be the same intimate experience afforded at an omakase restaurant, Chef Honda’s experience and passion sings through with this judicious and varied menu.

Last but not least in our meal was its crowning glory: hot Wagyu beef with Inaniwa udon noodles (RMB240, above), a rare marbled beef that cooks in front of you atop hot miso broth noodles. Absolutely a homerun, this dish alone is reason to return to Tsuru time and time again.

Price: RMB200-1288 per person (+15% service)

Who’s going: Mixed locals and hotel guests

Good for: Business lunch, out of town visitors, dates

> See a listing for Tsuru.

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