New Shenzhen Bars & Restaurants: July 2016

By That's PRD, July 7, 2016

Here are all the new restaurant and bar openings we featured in our July 2016 issue:

New Restaurants

Le Poulet Rotisserie Bar

Located just a two-minute walk from Taoyuan station, this new eatery has cozily nested amidst milk tea shops and welcomes passers-by with a humble sign and a much more forward aroma of sumptuous, herb-infused birds. While you may expect a typical rotisserie to be a simple two-chair, two-table joint, Le Poulet is not your typical anything. The restaurant’s interior designer flew all the way from Shanghai to create a space that is hip and modern. Despite the fancy decor, when it comes to food, the restaurant excels in exquisite simplicity – its name is just French for ‘the chicken.’ An order of a whole roasted fowl (RMB158, includes three sides) is more than filling and definitely meant for sharing – as are quite a few menu items.

Price: RMB158 for a whole chicken dinner with three sides
Who’s going: rotisserie appreciators, lovers of tender white breasts and thighs
Good for: wining and dining, chicken (obviously)

Read our full review here. See listing for Le Poulet Rotisserie Bar.

Lin Lang

While quite unremarkable on the outside, Lin Lang wins over with its personality. This small dessert shop is fun, playful and has a good sense of humor – a pretty nifty combo for the place of its size. A good way to start your visit is to test your luck with the qiuqi Swiss roll (RMB25/30), which literally means ‘random Swiss roll.’ Random, because once you order it, you have no control over the flavor that arrives at your table: ours was salty cheese and we consider ourselves pretty lucky. Lemon cheesecake (RMB16) stores no surprises and goes really well with mint with double lemon (RMB15), a natural cooler in scorching weather.

Price: RMB50
Good for: cooling off with natural teas, stuffing down cake
Who’s going: dessert lovers, people who like hidden gems

Read our full review here. See listing for Lin Lang.

Mr. J Diner

Mr. J is one of the new restaurants in KK One mall. Sporting a softened industrial interior, it’s made to attract and intrigue. As we venture further into the restaurant, the design takes a turn towards the classic – and there is even a large screen in the corner showing black-and-white movies. The establishment focuses mainly on fusion, with a sprinkling of a few traditional Taiwanese dishes like pork belly buns (RMB28), a common sight in the capital’s night markets. Other menu items tend to target local tastes. You have your seafood in a variety of lobster dishes and your staple meaty Western sidekicks: beef burgers (RMB68). The restaurant even serves lobster burgers, inexplicably disguised on the menu as “lobster salad and lobster soup,” for RMB128.

Price: RMB200 with lobster dishes
Good for: milk tea, fusion food, celebrity sightings
Who’s going: young professionals, KK One mall shoppers, Taiwanese pop music fans

Read our full review here. See listing for Mr. J.

New Bars

Cheeky Monkey

Feel like grabbing a quick drink and some food as you watch the game? There are lots of bars in the Shekou Rose Garden neighborhood that offer just that. Cheeky Monkey is the newest addition to the troop. While Cheeky Monkey is definitely a bar, the sports part takes over – you probably won’t be comfortable here indulging in a glass of red. Instead, it's just the right place to stop by for a pint with the lads. Beer definitely dominates the scene and you will have a wide choice of all the popular brands. Cheeky Monkey does not have an extensive food menu — in fact, it’s concise enough to fit onto half an A4 sheet. A mix of Western and Indian, the bar focuses on what’s fast and snack-like – think an assortment of meats to pair the game with. Monkey kebab (RMB58) is a large serving of your choice of beef, lamb or chicken with vegetables and sauce between two fresh breads plus a side of fries.

Price: Approx. RMB100 (with a cocktail)
Who’s going: sports fans, Rose Garden residents
Good for: watching the game, having a pint, the best chicken wings in Shekou

Read our full review here. See listing for Cheeky Monkey.

Venga

Although Venga is still in its soft opening phase (formal opening on July 10), it’s been wide awake until 6am every night recently in order to let football fans catch live broadcasts from the ongoing UEFA Euro Championship. What do avid fans get to snack or slurp on as they cheer on their favorite players? A fairly broad selection of beers, from Portuguese to Mexican to Spanish. Alongside the more conventional bar food and drinks, there’s also a small tapas menu. A definite seafood theme is detectable in the offerings, which include shrimp and tuna canapes (RMB30) as well shrimp skewers (RMB70). A word to the wise: everything on the menu is written in Spanish or Chinese. However, those not fluent in either language can still resort to the old point-and-choose method, as most of the food and all of the drinks are helpfully accompanied by pictures.

Price: RMB80-150
Who’s going: football enthusiasts, Spanish speakers
Good for: kicking back, exotic international beers

Read our full review here. See listing for Venga.