The place
Kanpai! That phrase should be familiar if you've ever eaten with a group of Japanese people (it means 'cheers' or 'bottoms up'). And it sets the tone for recently opened Kanpai Classic, a popular Taiwanese chain of yakiniku (Japanese BBQ), who have just welcomed their first restaurant in Chinese mainland
Situated in a fantastic Bund location, Kanpai Classic now joins Atto Primo, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Museo, M on the Bund (and rumor has it Alvin Leung's Bo Innovation in a few months!) at Bund 5, which will no doubt give some cause to concern for fellow BBQ restaurant Chi-Q at Three on the Bund next door.
The interiors are pleasant enough, but don't have the kind of Bund glamor we've come to expect; one of our dining companions described it as feeling like 'a mall restaurant' in places. On the other hand, the simple, masculine hardwood accents look cool with the brushed gold barbecue pits.
The food
Since it's on the Bund, you probably already guessed this place is pricey. And yes, it is. Kanpai Classic's raison d'être is premium marbled beef, imported from Australia.
Like a steakhouse, they keep it in refrigerated containers for your perusal.
Unlike a (good) steakhouse, the beef is not as delicious as it could be for the prices they charge. In fact it was ridiculously chewy, despite its appearances of being marbled.
Also unlike a steakhouse, there are no knives to cut the beef into more chewable sizes – it took us a good two minutes to wrangle with particularly big and chewy pieces.
One explanation for this would be over-cooking, but since Kanpai Classic is yakiniku (DIY barbecue), we cooked it ourselves to just medium rare. It made no difference, and Kanpai Classic needs to re-assess their meat supplier if this goes on.
Furthermore, many of the beef cuts we tried were short flank and belly, which are high in connective tissues and usually reserved for brisket and the like – hence the chewiness when not slow-cooked for hours.
The same phenomenon happened when we ordered one of the most expensive items: whole wagyu beefsteak (RMB630 for 2.25 kg). When you order a particularly expensive steak at Kanpai Classic, they'll bring over the slab, cut and weigh it in front of you, before a server comes over and cooks it.
While said server did indeed cook it to medium rare, only the intensely fatty outer part of this was any less chewy than the other cuts we tried.
Other dishes, such as the Hokkaido seafood kamameshi (RMB99/RMB178) were decidedly better. We particularly liked the crab, ikura, salmon, corn and spring onion rice with broth.
Also nice was the pork jowl seasoned with black pepper and sesame oil (RMB68), the juiciness of which offered some respite from the endless beef chewing.
Uni and wagyu beef sushi roll (RMB78) looked beautiful but didn't deliver the flavor we were expecting as the uni was bitter, and the pickles overpowered the wagyu beef flavor.
Also, the sushi rice wasn't prepared correctly, a task which in itself takes years to master and is overly ambitious for a yakiniku restaurant such as Kanpai Classic.
Finally, we finished with whole jumbo prawns, which at RMB84 each were an expensive mistake. Cooked for us by another helpful fuwuyuan, horrifyingly, these were possessed of a mushy, almost crumbly texture.
This can sometimes happen when frozen shrimp is not stored correctly – the delicate cell membranes in the shrimp can burst and destroy the bouncy texture. For this reason, some high end restaurants in Shanghai choose not to put imported frozen shrimp on their menu.
Food verdict: 1.5/3
The vibe
The food might not live up to the prices, but the service at Kanpai Classic is extremely attentive and thoughtful: softly spoken, exceptionally polite employees from the Taiwan office have been flown over to do the job.
Many speak fluent English, and genuinely care about your experience as they grill your meat, helpfully talk you through the menu and re-fill your drink every five minutes. Lucky they speak English, since on our visit the beef menu was only in Chinese, although the main menu is fully bilingual.
Furthermore, the general ambience of Kanpai Classic is not romantic thanks to very bright lighting. Great for taking photos, not great for a relaxing meal.
On the plus side, there are numerous chic private rooms which can be adapted in size to accommodate larger parties.
Vibe verdict: 0.5/1
Value for money
If you're a fan of Japanese yakiniku, you're not going to find a good value dinner here at Kanpai Classic (we ended up spending RMB900 per person), especially not if you've been spoiled by the excellent, cheap and cheerful value offered at superior yakiniku places like Ajiya on Huaihai Zhong Lu and Tetsuya in Gubei.
We aren't chomping at the bit to return to here, but neither are we willing to write it off completely (largely due to the charming Taiwanese servers). These guys need to change their beef suppliers or switch the menu to less chewy cuts of beef before they get on our go-to yakiniku list.
Value for money: 0.5/1
TOTAL VERDICT: 2.5/5
Price: RMB450+ per person
Who's going: locals, for now
Good for: Yakiniku, formal dining, small-medium groups, beef, steak
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