Year of the Rabbit Recap: New Shanghai F&B – Part 7

By Sophie Steiner, February 5, 2024

And so we bid adieu to the Year of the Rabbit – a wild ride of high highs and low lows. Yet, the show must go on, and that means enjoying it in the way we know best – through good food and plenty of drink.

Here's our A to Z recap of some of the major restaurants and bars that swung their doors wide open and bunny-hopped through into the Year of the Dragon.

See Part I here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here, and Part 6 here.

TonTon

TonTon opened in mid-September along the cafe-lined street of Yongkang Lu – a bakery and Euro bistro sandwich bar coming to us from the team behind Mavis.

Born out of a love for all things bread – after the team got into making the sourdough for Mavis – they expanded further into baked goods, and TonTon was the glorious offspring.

Downstairs is where the pastry magic happens – with the usual suspects like croissants, pain au chocolate, kouign-amann, cinnamon rolls, and – most importantly – donuts.

A lot of donuts.

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Despite their bulk, these yeasty bombolones are light as a feather inside, the majority of the weight owed to the filling, each one more spot on than the last.

Using only natural yeast in their bakery products, the dough's flavor is more complex, and it makes for easier digestibility without the "carb-crash," so you can feel a little less guilty for crushing that sugar-coated midday treat.

TonTon, 178 Yongkang Lu, by Xiangyang Lu, 永康路178号近襄阳路.

The Upper Room

Near the Bund, on the top floor of Shamei Mansion, The Upper Room has kicked off seasonal drinks designed by Mark Lloyd and backed by the Shanghai Oud Group (J. Boroski, Bistro 11, Most Izakaya and No Filter).

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A two-for-one concept, The Living Room offers diners a Western brunch, lunch and dinner menu on the first floor, while the seventh floor is all about the designer indoor bar and KOL-obsessed patio known as The Upper Room.

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The outdoor bar centers on rum drinks, while the indoor bar sees travel-inspired sippers, a rotating selection of seasonal inventiveness.

A hangout for cocktail connoisseurs and TikTok power users alike, The Upper Room boasts – not so surprising – some pretty impressive drinks (they are Mark Lloyd creations after all).

Read a full review here.

The Upper Room, 7/F, 190 Beijing Dong Lu, near Sichuan Zhong Lu, 北京东路190号7楼, 四川中路.

Xouk Pudong

From the Azul Group comes the expansion of their casual, international cuisine empire with another branch of Xouk, this time in Pudong, the first of their five brands to make it over the river.

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The restaurant offers family-friendly fare in a colorful, open-air space, with room for 80 people in the dining room, plus a spacious patio out front with seating for another 20.

The menu sees a vibrant mix of both Western and Asian dishes, classics and fun fusion by Chef Eduoardo Vargas.

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The newly opened location is buzzing and energetic, and for good reason; high quality ingredients coupled with value-driven prices – clocking in at less than RMB200 per person – make it a popular destination for people of all ages and walks of life.

Read a full review here.

Xouk, 82 Weifang Xi Lu, by Pucheng Lu, 潍坊西路82号, 近浦城路.

Yak & Yeti

After almost 20 years working in F&B (including 13 in Shanghai – from Italian fine dining to Bund-adjacent nightclubs), Anup Rajbhandari has made the leap into opening his own place, Yak & Yeti, bringing Shanghai a taste of his cultural heritage and upbringing in Nepal.

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Yak & Yeti’s chefs hail from Nepal and Yunnan; with the Tibetan Plateau and Indian Highlands connecting the two, the restaurant’s cuisine is all about the aromatic spices, fresh herbs and hearty protein-centric mains of the Himalayan mountains.

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The lounge atmosphere gives way to Afro beats after 10pm, around the same time you realize the teapots are actually used for pouring rice wine shots.

Get ready to tear it up Everest Base Camp style, sans the altitude sickness.

Read a full review here.

Yak & Yeti, 97 Xiangyang Lu, by Changle Lu 襄阳路97号, 近长乐路.

Yi Long x Madame Ching

Chef Dali (or Derek) Wang (Madame Ching) – an Australian born to Hong Kong parents – is serving up his whimsical spins on the Cantonese delicacies of his childhood with his newly launched contemporary Canto menu at Yi Long on Donghu Lu.

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What first opened as a luxuriously designed traditional Cantonese teahouse of sorts has continued to expand its offerings with a duo menu concept – there’s Yi Long for the purists, and Madame Ching for those who are looking to be surprised.

And surprised is what you will be, as Chef Dali has deconstructed, dissected, and dismantled his way through conventional Cantonese cooking, bending the rules to rebuild unbridled, Frankenstein-esque recipes that combine a Cantonese flavor base with Western techniques and plating.

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The shared kitchen epitomizes the symbiotic relationship between the two concepts; using the wastage from the established Cantonese side of the kitchen, Chef Dali reinterprets and repurposes flavors, resulting in unexpectedly intriguing plates.

Read a full review here.

Yi Long, 5/F, 20 Donghu Lu, by Huaihai Zhong Lu 东湖路20号5楼, 近淮海中路.

Yuan You Tao

Yuan You Tao (园有桃), or Where The Peaches Grow, as it's so poetically called in English – opened quietly on Xinle Lu last September.

It is the lovechild of five partners: Chef Holly Lian (Crave Café) and Ruomi Gan (Mimilato) on menu R&D and design; Lin Zhenyi (Mimilato) on branding; Xie Shu Yu on front-of-house management; and sommelier Yannick De Brouwer (previously of RAC, Crave Café) on – well, obviously wine.

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Half the team is Hunanese, while the other half attended culinary school in Paris; they decided to bridge the gap by embracing the flavors of their childhood, presenting them in a way that fits the modern lifestyle-centric Shanghai dining scene through hints of Western influence – via ingredients and cooking techniques.

The Hunan countryside offers abundant diversity – of ingredients, cooking techniques and flavor profiles.

The aim of Yuan You Tao is to dig deeper into that local tradition, honoring the dietary customs of Xiang cuisine.

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“Hunan food is a ‘countryside’ cuisine – one earmarked for its fiery, fresh heat. The spice helps workers eat more rice to fuel them for the day,” explains Ruomi, while slurping a handmade rice noodle from a chili oil fish head broth.

“We want to showcase the local xiangla (香辣) – savory spice – taste, yet in a healthier, practical form by balancing bites with pops of acid or smoked and preserved elements that are common in the mountainous areas of the province.”

Read a full review here.

Yuan You Tao (园有桃), 167 Xinle Lu, by Donghu Lu, 新乐路167号, 近东湖路.