Shanghai Restaurant Review: Daimon Bistro

By Betty Richardson, November 8, 2016

The Place

Say what you want about his ornate personal brand, which often teeters dangerously close to eclipsing his food, 'Demon Chef' Alvin Leung deserves credit for two things. Firstly, for bothering to give real Chinese food the fine dining treatment at Bo Shanghai (not to say they get it right with every dish, but it's a step in the right direction.) Secondly, for daring to update Cantonese dim sum, without doing away with the time-honored techniques used to make them.

That's exactly what happens at Daimon Bistro, Leung's newly opened eatery at Bund 5. Taking style cues from Hong Kong's infamous, now-demolished Kowloon Walled City, the restaurant strikes us as a Canto version of Liquid Laundry.

The Food

It's a brave man who tinkers with dim sum recipes. More often than not, rejigged versions of classics can just end up making you wistful for the original. However, some at Daimon Bistro are more than capable of holding their own.

We're talking about the chilli crab xiaolongbao (RMB38). Properly made with thin skin and delicate top knot, the inside flows with spicy crab and pork abundance. It's criminally good, and we almost feel guilty for liking it so much.

Next the humble siu mai gets a makeover. Served skewered like those found at Hong Kong street food stalls, these chewy little parcels are filled with pleasantly bouncy cuttlefish and drizzled in an unusually vibrant kaffir lime leaf mayo (RMB38).

But it's not all a bed of roses. Blood red xiaolongbao filled with lamb and Sichuan pepper soup (RMB38) cut more of a Gothic appearance than we'd anticipated, the lamb flavor frankly overwhelming. Though the crunchy exterior of the BBQ pork buns (RMB32) were a delight to bite through, the overly sweet filling was a bit much for us. Daimon Bistro

Enough with the dim sum.

Our absolute favorite main is the sweet and sour ribs (RMB188). I'm getting hungry even just thinking about these guys. They arrive in a Jenga-like stack, each covered with a sticky, almost crunchy outside that gives way to superbly luscious and tender pork meat, countered by a fresh, gingery slaw. After rib one, you're in heaven; two, and you're starting to reflect on your life choices; after three, you'll feel like you need to do a walk of shame out of this crazy restaurant. Daimon Bistro

They might be the best ribs in town, and a late contender for our favorite new dish of 2016. Order these at all costs.

Also catching some love is the chicken and waffles (RMB138), served with dry chillies, crunchy Hong Kong-style 'egg waffles' and a sweet, gingery caramel drizzled over the whole thing. Daimon Bistro Shanghai

The waffles aren't as doughy as their American counterparts, which works since the chicken is fatty enough to make Honey Boo Boo's mother blush. Needless to say, it's very delicious and highly recommended you don't eat the entire portion by yourself.

Assuming your usual dietary restriction is a distant memory by this point, you would also do well to order the 'cherry roast duck' (RMB158) with pancakes, scallion, cucumber and beetroot(!) slivers. It's a pretty generous portion for the price; you'd be looking at RMB268 for a similar creature at Michelin-starred Da Dong.

Daimon Bistro Shanghai

More delicate flavors are found in the Thai-style 'Mandarin' fish (RMB128). Although also deep-fried, the zesty grilled lime, fresh scallion and cilantro salad and fish sauce dip deliver a fantastically fresh flavor.

Daimon Bistro

We liked it better than the cornflake-scattered 'Under Bridge' squid (RMB118), a kinky nod to Hong Kong's famous 'typhoon shelter' style crab, normally under a deep blanket of crunchy garlic chips. What can we say? Garlic chips > cornflakes.

If you've any room for desserts, you should probably be ordering the corn bread waffle with brown butter ice cream and 'drunken' strawberries (RMB68). Probably followed by a nap.

Food verdict: 2/3

The Vibe

Despite a swanky Bund address, lots of effort has gone into giving Daimon Bistro an edgy persona. Think in-your-face graffiti murals by HK-based artist Catherine Grossrieder, waitresses in leather jackets and black eyeliner (gasp!), and VERY LOUD MUSIC, another thing this place has in common with Liquid Laundry.

Daimon Bistro

Service, while generally polite, has the tendency to be on the slow side, especially since the place is often a full house on peak nights. Then again, if you're enjoying the company of friends and not miserly counting the minutes on your watch like me, chances are you won't notice.

Vibe: 0.5/1

Value for Money

Based on its triumphs, all of which we've detailed here, Daimon Bistro is absolutely worth a visit – we'll be back just to eat ribs and chilli crab xiaolongbao alone. Other dishes let the place down, we reckon they could do with trimming the long menu down to just the all-stars.

Most of the dishes and cocktails are fairly priced, and there's no annoying service charge that usually accompanies Bund restaurants, meaning you too can unleash your inner food beast.