老坛酸菜鱼

our return flight to singapore at 1235am

we still have some time to kill so we walked around and decided to have dinner at 万蓉城老坛酸菜鱼 at L4 of crystal galleria, before going back to puli to collect our luggage & took a cab to the airport. ^^

万蓉城老坛酸菜鱼32 mins queue no A33

every restaurant at the different floors have long queue.

we took a queue number for 2pax table A33 & waited 32mins.

万蓉城老坛酸菜鱼

万蓉城老坛酸菜鱼 was of course super crowded. 🙂

menu @ 万蓉城老坛酸菜鱼

we were attracted to the signature 老坛酸菜鱼 salted vege toman (snakehead)黑鱼 fillet soup.

free sour plum drink

we got a free jug of sour plum drink, but it was sweet sugary, quite undrinkable so we just took a few sips.

黑鱼 aka snakehead, toman fish

luckily the dish was served quickly….

the 黑鱼 阿 aka snakehead, toman fish was just super!

老坛酸菜鱼

老坛酸菜鱼 

fish was rmb49.8/斤(500g)..i asked for the smallest fish, but restaurant said smallest fish 2.8斤(1.4kg)..whatever!

they didn’t cheat it was a monster pot & serving for 2pax..

not complaining really…1.4kg for 2pax and we ate everything! ^^

super delicious la!

凉粉

凉粉

凉粉 

we didn’t need other food really so just try the 凉粉 …

it was very good too, as expected..

老坛酸菜鱼

really shiok!

my son later told me the 4 of them went to another restaurant & took the same thing & they all loved it!

xintiandi 新天地

we had late check at puli out till 4pm on 17.6.2018. ^^

so stayed at hotel room, away from the afternoon heat, rested, chilled, watched movie, eat peaches etc, then after checking out puli & keeping our bags, we took a cab to 新天地 with WT.

S Engine=best coffee in shanghai

unfortunately S Engine which has the best coffee, had a very long snaking queue so we gave the best coffee a miss.

xintiandi 新天地

xintiandi 新天地

xintiandi 新天地

xintiandi 新天地

we strolled along the streets of xintiandi 新天地. good ambience… 🙂

taipingqiao park 太平桥公园

taipingqiao park 太平桥公园

taipingqiao park 太平桥公园

& strolled through taipingqiao park 太平桥公园 next to xintiandi 新天地. 🙂

madanglu 马当路

then walked along madanglu 马当路 where there are nice shops. 🙂

korean embassy @ madanglu 马当路

saw korean embassy from the outside along madanglu 马当路

after that we entered xintiandi 新天地 mall where the metro station is located.

had the best durian dessert at honeymoon dessert 满记甜品 inside xintiandi 新天地 mall 👍. wife’s steamed egg 蒸蛋dessert also super nice..

walking street along nanjing west road

after that WT left..we took metro to nanjing west road & walked back to hotel puli.

passed by 南京路步行街（Nanjing Road Walkway).

along nanjing west road 

and we passed by one of the oldest restaurants in shanghai, 梅龙镇酒家. wife & i ate there like 15yrs+ ago, they served us a cold steamed fish, not great!

along nanjing west road 

a pleasant walk, weather was cooler in the late afternoon.

we still have some time to kill so we went for dinner before going back to puli to collect our luggage & took a cab to the airport.

c.h.e.f andy

 

steamed egg 蒸蛋@ honeymoon dessert 满记甜品

after strolling at xintiandi 新天地, taipingqiao park 太平桥公园 & madanglu 马当路, we entered xintiandi 新天地 mall where the metro station is located.

went to honeymoon dessert 满记甜品, a hong kong chain.

i had this 2 times at hong kong langham mongkok, and once in shenzhen. not going to miss it if there is one here la…

wife took the steamed egg 蒸蛋 dessert. very nice! ^^

unlike hong kong where double scoop durian was in the menu, and at shenzhen, where they were flexible to offer us double scoop, here in shanghai they very rigid and refused.

so WT took the durian & vanilla.

durian & pulut hitam @  honeymoon dessert 满记甜品

i took the durian & pulut hitam.

durian ice cream was so good, out of this world la! pulut hitam not really ice cream just a dollop of pulut hitam…

durian & vanilla ice cream @ honeymoon dessert 满记甜品

satisfaction guaranteed! ^^

c.h.e.f andy

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

满记甜品(新天地时尚店)

Address:

电话： 021-63130563

Opening Hours:

营业时间：周一至周日 daily 10:00-22:30 

thai durian ridiculous price

this our last day in shanghai, flying back to singapore past midnight flight ie 18.6.2018. 🙂

after a great breakfast at puli hotel, went with wife to the supermarket at kerry centre across the road.

saw thai durians at ridiculous price..you can see these too along the roadside stalls also all split open & zero flavours!

thai durian ridiculous price

the thai durian were selling ridiculous price (who eats thai durians?) like S$18 for 3 seeds.

white peaches 水蜜桃

wife later bought some white peaches 水蜜桃 to bring back singapore.

苏小柳 dimsum at basement of crystal galleria mall 晶品

wife meeting son for lunch.

WT arranged to meet our OPS schoolmate LH & her hubby P (working & living in shanghai) 11.30am for dimsum lunch at 苏小柳, basement of crystal galleria 晶品.

place was packed at 11.30am, and WT came earlier to get a 4pax table. 🙂

pig trotters

pork trotters the best perfect texture..superb = best dish for me….

pig trotters

i must try making that..

garlic ribs蒜香骨

garlic ribs蒜香骨

pork rib 蒜香排骨good but usual standard. 🙂

小笼包

小笼包excellent! soup so very tasty among the best i had.

guotie锅贴

锅贴 also very good..got soup inside also very tasty.

drunken crab 六月黄

drunken crab 六月黄

drunken crab 六月黄 was incredible for the price = 3 for 2 promo so 3 crabs for RMB30!

how to beat that?

黄鱼春卷springrolls

黄鱼春卷spring roll is their signature dish. it was very good indeed, very sweet 黄鱼fillings & crispy skin…still a spring roll is a spring roll for me…

fried vege

nice vege, not sure what it was…like heng chye…chinese spinach?

葱油饼-waste of time

葱油饼-waste of time

葱油饼-for me a waste of time la…

RMB246 for 4pax dimsum lunch @ 苏小柳

RMB246 for 4pax dimsum lunch @ 苏小柳…

very good price i would say for the food..

刘长胜故居

sculpture

after lunch LH & P went to 朱家角, WT & i walked around went to 刘长胜故居..a very good historical display👍

after that we went back to puli hotel drink coffee & watch movies..

wife had lunch with son & they came back to puli shortly.

we rested & chilled, then 3 of us took a cab to xintiandi.

c.h.e.f andy

++++++++++++++++++++++++

蘇小柳点心专门店(静安寺店) 

Address：

电话： 021-62400077

Opening Hours：

营业时间：周一至周日 daily 10:30-22:00

joel robuchon le salon pastry shop

there are 3 malls next to our hotel puli at jingansi station. ^^

reel mall is right by the hotel, and it connects underground past the metro station to crystal gallery. lippo centre is across the road.

after a good hotel breakfast, we walked over to reel mall. joel robuchon is located here, and le salon, joel robuchon’s pastry shop, was the first shop as we entered reel mall..

JR just closed shop in sentosa..chinese much richer & prices no doubt higher than singapore!

B2 food hall of reel mall

there was a food hal at B2 of reel mall, with good standard food specialty stalls..

braised goose @ B2 food hall of reel mall

braised goose @ B2 food hall of reel mall

the teochew braised goose stall looked good.

payment at the mall are mostly by QR scanning no cash. this stall didn’t know how to use the credit card machine for foreign cards, so we were not able to buy.

cake shop @ B2 food hall of reel mall

cake shop @ B2 food hall of reel mall

cake shop @ B2 food hall of reel mall

thee are interesting cakes, tiramisu etc at one cake stall..

piccolo latte

seesaw cafe @ L5 reel mall

on the higher floors there are restaurants & cafe..we had a good piccolo latte at seesaw cafe (a chain) at level 5….

it was pretty good, though not better than tiong hoe in singapore.

cafe at L4

there was a spacious open area, so we sat there to sip our coffee.

cafe at L4

there were restaurants at every level.

on L4, there was a place for painters/artists to practice on their palette, and sip coffee.

view of jingansi from reel mall

this photo of jingansi was from i think level 4.

bought sashimi & unagi etc from reel mall

we went to look around at crystal galleria which is connected underground to B2 of reel mall past the jingansi metro station.

after that we bought sashimi & unagi etc from reel mall & went back to our hotel room to enjoy the food. 🙂

sashimi RMB118

the sashimi rmb118 were relatively ex..2 botan ebi were good..the others hotate, salmon, atlantic surf clam below par can get better in singapore supermarkets like donki!

sashimi RMB118

other than the 2 botan ebi, sashimi was otherwise mediocre = hotate ok but not as good as the ones we bought from donki singapore, and salmon was not the better belly cuts.

grilled prawns

grilled prawns also so so.

bought sashimi & unagi etc from reel mall

the live unagi 河鳗 – really good whole unagi kebayaki for rmb108.

excellent! top draw, the best! ^^

live unagi

these were live river eel in the tanks.

unagi kebayaki RM108

they grilled on the spot…quite fabulous unagi kebayaki!

bought sashimi & unagi etc from reel mall

we decided to relax & chill at our hotel room, drink coffee & watch movie.

weather was hot, and we were meeting WT & GY later at nanjing donglu station to go to 外滩, and then to 陈记for dinner. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

puli hotel corner room weekend package

wife booked online a weekend package corner room with puli hotel located at jingansi station 15-17.6.2018. 🙂

it’s expensive but package was good. ^^

puli hotel corner room weekend package

a very large quite luxurious well appointed room.

puli hotel corner room weekend package 

very spacious walk in wardrobe & toilet bath areas.

and the minibar items were free – beer, soft drinks, mineral water, nespresso, snacks like tablone & cookies.

and we had welcome fruits & some pralines.

and we were given late check-out till 4pm, and later we got a free moet champagne courtesy of hotel…

reception + bar 

the lobby reception is very nicely appointed.

the check in/out counter service, concierge etc were integrated with the bar area, double volume ceiling & great ambience.

bar & reception

nice bar with great privacy bar counter table layout.

bar counter with swimming pool as backdrop

swimming pool 

and  swimming pool as backdrop.

puli hotel breakfast buffet spread 

hotel semi buffet breakfast was very good & included in the package. ^^

pancake 

the semi buffet included ala carte orders of cooked breakfast dishes.

the pancake was the best, served with very nice smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, ikura (salmon roe) & poached egg top.

that was the best dish.

egg white omelette

egg white omelette 

the eggwhite omelette was usual ompetent dish, came with choice of cheese & mushrooms etc..

egg benedict 

egg benedict was good but not as good as the pancake.

croissant, salad, smoked salmon

croissant, salad, smoked salmon

cheese, salad, bread, smoked salmon

we didn’t take the chinese dimsum both days.

the bread, croissant, cheese, smoked salmon, salad etc were all good.

portuguese egg tart, cheese 

& there were portuegese egg tarts etc..

fruits 杨梅

& nice fruits. 杨梅 especially juicy & sweet, were in season, and white peach too 水蜜桃！

fruits 杨梅

pancake

it was a wonderful breakfast!

pancake was specially good. 🙂

顺风港湾level 37 reception

GY arranged for 4pax dinner at 顺风港湾 this evening on 15.6.2018. ^^

this a great restaurant spanning 3 levels L37-L39 at (兰生大厦店) Lansheng Mansion near 大世界.

food was good class, refine, & tasty. we had a wonderful time.

my host had some problems with the reservation though, and it tokk like 15mins to resolve. the restaurant gave away the table WT & GY came down personally to reserve, and they try to wriggle out & put the blame on us.

in china, sadly one still need to be pushy to get results…so WT & GY got us a 4pax table on L38, not the best view by the window like the one they came here to pick at L37 because restaurant claimed L38 was full, but a table next to the the aisle on L38, but L38 & L39 are rotating, L37 is not. there were several empty tables on L38 though the huge restaurant was quite full…

鲥鱼

鲥鱼 (shad) is very expensive in china/shanghai, i think ridiculously expensive.

this 1/2 fish is like RMB360 (S$75). it was excellent fish, very very sweet though lots of tiny bones tricky to eat. they always say fish with tiny bones are very sweet! the steaming sauce was fantastic, very tasty, flavourful shaoxing wine taste.

i saw the look alike in sheng shiong 沙捞越“鲥鱼”刺壳鱼. not sure if it was so did not buy & anyway, all the gills were dark brown not fresh…when i googled, it seems that this is in fact one of like 30 types of 鲥鱼, so maybe if i find a fresh one i will try cooking it la..

ice veg 冰菜 & crab 六月黄

the ice veg 冰菜  was quite exquisite, frozen, crunchy & importantly sweet. i tried a chinese lettuce in singapore, freezing it before serving, didn’t work the lettuce was slight bitter not sweet like this.

ice veg 冰菜

we liked it so much we ordered a second helping! 🙂

crab 六月黄

the crab 六月黄 was also marinated in shaoxing wine. a small crab with good amount of roe, quite like a hairy crab, meat was firm & filling the shell and quite sweet.

roast pigeon

the roast pigeon apparently a popular dish here, saw on some reviews, skin was crispy & overall good taste…wife & i don’t particularly fancy roast pigeon though, and these also not the best i had,  like say in hong kong…

french escargot 法国蜗牛

GY asked if we wanted french escargot 法国蜗牛 or beef. wife didn’t want beef so she ordered the escargot.

it was very well done though i could also do without this dish, would rather have more 本帮菜. GY herself didn’t take much of this.

tiny cucumbers

the tiny cucumbers very interesting too, not as stand out as the ice veg 冰菜, but intriguing too – crunchy, sweet & very 爽口。i like this!

黄鱼羹yellow croaker thick soup

黄鱼羹yellow croaker thick soup

the黄鱼羹yellow croaker thick soup was very tasty, looked wonderful & refine.

some fish meat fried pancake

the fish meat pancake was very good too.

葱油面

葱油面

WT ordered one 葱油面 for us to try…it’s a simple dish. noodles was done well, qq, and the scallion flavours were very “pang” ie flavourful. a nice noodles, good to try if not particularly a carb dish i would order usually.

complimentary fruit plate

dinner ended with a complimentary fruit platter from the restaurant.

顺风港湾 level 38 dining

GY went to settle the bill, & the restaurant gave 20% discounts (they don’t usually so i guess this was for messing up our reservation & a good strategic pushy quareling by GY earlier. lol!

the service culture will level up in due course, but today shanghai, hong kong etc not too bad already.

4pax dinner was like RMB800nett, pretty ok for the standard of food & ambience.

c.h.e.f andy

+++++++++++++++++++++++

顺风港湾(兰生大厦店)

Address:

油爆虾

GY brought us to a nice restaurant 胖胖河畔小吃 by riverside looking out at fangsheng bridge 放生桥.

weather was hot & one easily tires so it was good time to relax & chill & have lunch.

we sat at level 2 aircon by window..unfortunately next table was smoking like chimney right before a large no smoking sign..lots of progress in shanghai in terms of cleanliness, spitting, smoking still room for improvement

menu

GY ordered 2x the food we needed as usual in china..food was good, especially 油爆河虾，扎肉， 马兰头.. wife liked the 河鳗 braised eel dish as well.

i thought price was a bit expensive at rmb490 for 4pax lunch..

lotus @ pangpang restaurant

the lotus root was well done dish..a bit sweet not my favourite though.

油爆虾

油爆虾 was good.

it’s a dish i had many times previously. always good, and a common favourite dish served at many eating places, even at street stall.

and it was very good here. we all liked it! you can literally eat everything shells & all, very fresh & sweet. just be careful with the shells a bit la…

扎肉tied pork

the 扎肉tied pork was better than i expected.

it was a very good braised fatty pork, tasty & quite tender, though some parts were “older”..

白斩鸡

the 白斩鸡 not to singaporean taste. i didn’t mind it but wife & i prefer the singaporean style smooth 滑白斩鸡.

here they prefer the tough texture, and this first preparation did not satisfy GY so she asked to be changed for a tougher 白斩鸡…

i actually quite like the tough, sweet chicken, and in swatow & chenghai when i visited my relatives, they actually purposely went to buy 老鸡母, and it was sweet & tasty..this one here…i didn’t think much of it…

lala

lala or 蛤蜊 was done well. a great dish! fresh, succulent, just the right timing…

马兰头

马兰头 is a bit bitter 涩 a cultivated taste. i like this dish..

luffa gourd ?

the luffa gourd? dish was ok, not bad…

bamboo shoot

bamboo shoot is the sweet sticky sauce preparation, ok for me, not my favourite..

红烧河鳗

the braised eel 红烧河鳗 was good. wife liked it..i didn’t mind it too.

an immensely enjoyable lunch thanks to my good friends WT & GY. ^^

c.h.e.f andy

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

胖胖河畔小吃

• 地址：朱家角北大街186弄2号(美周弄新风路)
• 021-59248034

char kuay teow

wife arranged a last minute weekend trip to shanghai 15-17.6.2018. ^^

there was a 30% discount for SQ biz class redemption, so it was 49000 miles instead of the usual 70000 miles.

carrot cake

our first choice lounge usually DBS asia treasures T3 lounge (for SQ departures) because more quiet.

however food offering had been deteriorating.

this evening worse than meagre, no smoothies & only char kuay teow & carrot cake..nothing to talk about lor…

krisflyer gold lounge

SQ biz class ticket also allow one to enter the krysflyer gold lounge opposite asia treasures.

krisflyer gold lounge food

krisflyer gold lounge nuts

more food choices like 6 dishes or more & there were nuts & crisp…all not available these days at asia treasure.

so in a sense asia treasure is now like any priority lounge & in fact the SATS priority lounge at T2/T3 connection is much better in terms of food offering.

braised belly pork – SQ Silver Kris Biz lounge

this evening, SQ biz lounge had much better food offering.

there was the excellent braised belly pork first time i see here.

SQ Silver Kris Biz lounge food

SQ Silver Kris Biz lounge food

& there was mee soto, which was good..

since having biz ticket, no harm to look see, never know what you may find la…

lobster thermidor

we were on the 1.15am flight, arriving in shanghai 6.35am.

about SQ served the meals about 1+ hrs into the flight. there was book the cook, so i ordered lobster thermidor. usually it was very good.

garlic bread was good.

lobster thermidor

lobster thermidor

lobster thermidor

unfortunately today the lobster thermidor was almost not edible, such a waste of good ingredients..

lobster was “nua nua”, not bouncy & fresh & sweet. the concoction was somehow unappealing visually & taste wise.

used to be excellent not so long ago…won’t order this again..go for the chilean seabass

c.h.e.f andy