Café Gray Deluxe
Sharing the same name as sister restaurant, Hong Kong's iconic Café Gray Deluxe, Shanghai’s iteration is housed in The Middle House hotel.
The restaurant and lounge bar is lauded for its numerous outdoor areas, including a spacious terrace that overlooks Nanjing Xi Lu.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
With more than 10 years of culinary experience at Shanghai institutions like Sir Elly’s at The Peninsula Shanghai and Le Comptoir de Pierre Gagnaire at Capella Shanghai, joining the team last summer was Chef De Cuisine Anthony Wang.
And he has revamped the entire menu, adding in seasonal classics that play on tastes from the Middle Kingdom.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Starters begin with Citrus Yellowtail Crudo (RMB158), dressed in a Japanese ponzu glaze, finished with torched orange.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Equally supple, the Moroccan-spiced Seared Scallops (RMB188) rest on ginger carrot purée, adorned with crunchy fennel salad and fried guanciale crisps.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
A spring garden in a bowl, the Green Herb Mushroom Soup (RMB98) sees white mushrooms simmered in white wine, and blended with coconut cream.
Poured deftly over celery, green peas and plush potato gnocchi, the soup is robustly herbaceous, earthy and slightly grassy, finished with bread crumb croutons.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Inspired by Hong Kong char siu, but interpreted through Western culinary techniques, the Spanish Crispy Suckling Pig (RMB288) is first marinated in fennel and juniper berries, before being slow-cooked for 12 hours until tender and lush, with a glassy crust that crisps off like a chip.
Anchored to the plate by garlic mash, the dish is augmented by a lashing of bigarade – or bitter orange – that releases a pop of acidity and a welcome bitterness, cutting through the lasagna-like layering of crackling into melting fat stratum.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Roasted Sea Bass Mediterranean Style (RMB188) flakes off in buttery hunks, revealing an heirloom tomato and abalone salsa below.
A gasp of scorched lemon and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt being the only accoutrement necessary to allow the fish’s delicate sweetness to shine.
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While the menu is all about demure, clean tastes, the Black Sesame Ganache & Cocoa Nibs (RMB78) is the exception; robustly nutty sesame cream is piped in curling ribbons atop a butter biscuit, contrasted against zippy house-made raspberry sorbet.
Tart beads of apricot jam are dotted throughout to cut through the bold seed's earthiness, while a crisp onyx-hued branch adorns the top.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Alternating hexagonal cells of honeycomb-shaped white chocolate are filled with Yunnan honey, balancing on a mandarin compote Kalamansi Cream (RMB78).
A quenelle of biscuit crumble-dusted matcha ice cream adds a hue of brightness – as well as grounding grassiness – to juxtapose the dessert’s sour elements.
In addition to the a la carte selections, there’s also a Lunch Prix Fixe Menu (RMB218/two courses, RMB258/three courses) with starters like Eggplant Salad, Scallop Carpaccio and Sous-Vide Asahi Japanese Egg; mains including Charcoal Argentinian Grain-Fed Beef Filet, Ethiopian Spiced Braised Chicken, and Tomato & Olive Halibut; and sweet endings spanning Mixed Berries with Mascarpone Cream, Poached Green Apple and Custard Foam, or Caramel Nut Brownie.
Café Gray Deluxe, 3/F, The Middle House, 366 Shimen Yi Lu, by Wujiang Lu, 石门一路366号上海镛舍三层, 近吴江路.
Anarkia x Madame Ching (Joye&Sam)
Located in Joye&Sam lifestyle hub (in the Hengshan 8 Complex), Chef Gabo's Anarkia Craft Kitchen is a brand cooperation with Madame Ching.
A contemporary Chinese concept, it is backed by self-trained chef Derek Wang – an Australian born to Hong Kong parents – who is serving up playful twists on the Cantonese street food flavors of his childhood, paired with natural and Chinese wines, soju and a highballs.
Prices are beyond reasonable – for the portion, ingredient combinations, and absolute wizardry that goes on behind the scenes to create these inimitable dishes.
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A classic item from the ol’ Anarkia days, the Smoked Watermelon & Burrata (RMB118) sees a whole brined watermelon roasted in the Bertha smoker for hours, resulting in a smoke-imbued, flame-licked fruit that resembles pudgy tuna belly in both color and mouthfeel.
A marriage between Josper oven-scorched kale leaves and a luscious dab of burrata cream is transformed into a veritable ménage à trois when finished with quick-pickled ribbons of watermelon rind.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Easily the best green vegetable we’ve consumed all year, the roasted Broccolini (RMB58) is truly something special.
Chef Derek first blanches the greens in his own lushui recipe, a Cantonese braising liquid used commonly for marinating meats in Guangdong style cooking (it’s a master stock of sorts, combining a slew of aromatics, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar – and so on – giving the beloved Cantonese roasted meats their signature essence).
The crucial component in Derek’s lushui is nanjiang – or “southern ginger” as it directly translates – an ingredient he describes as a cross between turmeric and ginger. When combined with star anise, cinnamon and his proprietary spice blend, it creates a depth of flavor we didn’t know broccoli could take on.
The broccolini are served over a velvety seaweed powder-speckled labneh, dribbled with XO oil and an herb oil made from sage and coriander. Crunchy, fried shallots bring the entire bite together.
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Stuffed with a mix of acorn-fed Chinese larou (cured pork), pork fat, and – curiously – an eggplant aioli, the Croquetas de Jamon (RMB68) are beyond lush, despite having absolutely zero potato nor bechamel – the conventional elements that make up Spanish and French style croquettes.
The result is a crackly panko crust, giving way to a smoky, buttery and oozing molten core... a textural bomba!
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Whitebait (RMB78) are coated in seasoned flour and deep-fried, flecked with equal parts sweet and savory furikake seaweed powder and dunked in tangy XO aioli – the ideal drinking snack.
Hummus (RMB68), Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
As for the heftier plates, there’s the Please Curry Me (RMB98) – a play on Cantonese beef brisket curry, with the brisket shredded and rolled intro fried spring roll cigarillos with Comte cheese, resting atop a thick, sludge-like stew.
The broth sees Japanese curry mix, shachajiang from Fujian, coconut milk and condensed milk topped with crushed peanuts, fiery chilis and fresh herbs – a dipping sauce that should be referred to as 'rice killer,' because we would crush a mountain of rice (or any carb for that matter) swaddled in it.
Hongshao Beef Shank (RMB138), Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
The pièce de résistance... the most underrated bite of pork in Shanghai... the swine that could convert even the most devout of Jews... is the humbly named Roasted Pig (RMB118).
Guaranteed to be younger than three months old – ensuring the supplest of flesh – each pig is first smoked in the Bertha oven, and then marinated in a confidential five spice-like blend, before being sous-vide with green grapes for another 24 hours.
It’s a labor of love – one that has brought in diners from near and far just to taste this particular dish, and one that will bring us back time and again just to hear that crackle of skin tearing; just to see that shred of meat pulling; and just to taste that explosion of fat-meets-flavor.
Move over Beijing duck, there’s a new emperor in China.
Joye&Sam, 8 Hengshan Lu, by Wulumuqi Lu 衡山路8号锦和越界, 近乌鲁木齐路.
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[Cover image by Sophie Steiner/That's]
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