The Place
Regardless of the food, Cantonese restaurant Sense 8 (Yu Baxian, ‘The Honorary Eight Immortals’) is unequivocally one of the highest profile Chinese restaurants opened this year, simply by virtue of its museum-like interiors.
Adorned with real antique Chinoiserie, much of it bought at auction and imported from Europe at a cost of over RMB20 million, the restaurant resembles an opulent teahouse of the past. With hanging birdcages, lacquered walls, tapestries, tiered lanterns and Chinese opera singing warbling in the distant background, the restaurant succeeds at bringing you back to the last century – not least to an era of racial stereotyping thanks to the South Asian doormen in red turbans who greet you at door.
The restaurant is a project of food guru Song Yuxin, who also owns celebrated Cantonese restaurant Loon Fung House and Sichuan restaurant Maurya.
The Food
Dim sum breakfast starts from 8am daily, and is arguably what Sense 8 does best. Barbecued pork (RMB158) is a must-order. Thick slices of sweet, juicy roasted pork, lightly charred and with an excellent ratio of fat to lean meat, will prove a worthwhile indulgence for carnivores.
Classic shrimp dumplings (RMB38) are also very good: enveloping two enormous prawns, each bite is succulent and flavorful.
Deep-fried milk custard rolls (RMB88) and deep-fried prawn toast (RMB138) can be combined onto one platter if you fancy a taste of both, although the former was an unpleasant combination of bland, flabby-textured batter and sweetness.
Wagyu beef and foie gras fried rice (RMB128) comes to the table with much promise and panache, sizzling enticingly like a showgirl warming up before singing a showstopper.
Disappointingly, the dish is for appearances only, and the flat, dull flavor was just a dose of oiliness. A bum-note and not an RMB128-worthy investment if you ask us.
Luckily creamy and pleasantly cooling chilled mango sago cream with pomelo (RMB38) served along with a macaroon, saves the show.
Food Verdict: 1.5/3
The Vibe
Despite its price (most dishes are over RMB100 each), Sense 8 reportedly has a month-long waiting list for reservations, and you can expect at least an hour’s wait for a table if showing up without. At least, that’s what our waitress tells us before, as if by magic, an empty table appears just five minutes later.
Maybe you caught the cynicism, but with all genuineness, Sense 8 is an admirable achievement, recreating a Chinese aesthetic that is fading all too fast from Shanghai. If the formality of the indoor restaurant isn’t for you, the patio is a gorgeous place to sip cocktails and partake of the bar menu. Word is there will also be a summer night market with a live DJ. Worth it for impressing visiting parents or business guests.
Vibe Verdict: 2/2
Total Verdict: 3.5/5
Price: RMB300 per person (less if only order dim sum)
Who’s going: Locals and expats, businesspeople
Good for: special occasions, Cantonese, big lunch/dinners
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