2007年7月26日 星期四

La Aroma de Vida - vintage cafe serving western and Chinese set business lunches

This new little cafe/restaurant is located on on AnFu Rd near the Center office building. It looks like a vintage home decor shop from the outside. The owner, a Shanghainese girl, has created a funky but homey space with her collection of vintage furnitures, complete with an antique barber chair and a birdcage with live chirping birds. What's really impressive is that the set lunch menu changes DAILY. There are both Chinese and Western set menus in the $25RMB range. It comes with a soup, 2 main dishes of your choice (they come in petite bowls), as well as a icy dessert of some sort. It's a relaxing place to have lunch or take a break from the office.

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Arch Cafe Bar - the best non-hotel brunch deal in Shanghai

This is their 2nd cafe on Changshu Rd., not the original Wukang Rd location, and it's in a much bigger 3-story glass building. In my opinion, it's MUCH nicer than the original one, although it's not much of bar/night lounge as the original one seemed to have been. I was really happy when it opened, because it's close to where I live, and has by far the best brunch deal around. Free wifi internet is also available, along with all the free English magazines such as SH, City Weekend, Shanghai Talk, and That's Shanghai, etc. Ranging from $80-90RMB, you can choose between Italian (my favorite with salmon filet, salami, prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella), Scandinavian, American, Mexican, and coffee (espresso drinks included) or tea is included. The price is a bit on the high side, but with ingredients they put in there, it's a far better value than some of the other places I've been to. The burger is pretty good too, while the other selections are more standard fares. A nice French manager who was working there gave us free refills on espresso drinks but he's gone now... It's interesting to see that these western restaurants start off using Filipino waiters but later switch to local staff -- to save some money?

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2007年7月25日 星期三

Embre Cafe - sandwiches with a twist

Cafe serving yummy sandwiches, steaks and other creative dishes..

This cafe used to be on ChangShu Rd hidden in a cute courtyard. I guess it was too hidden so it was shut down and moved to the current location on Julu Rd near Fumin Rd. Embre joins a group of chichi restaurants-hidden-in-old-houses on this stretch of Julu Lu, including Velvet Lounge/Casanova, People 7, Shintori, Nepali Kitchen, etc. The new place is in a 3-story non-descript building, with minimal deco and no trees. There's a small garden out front, although it's a bit close to the sidewalk so not very private. The wait staff doesn't appear to be carry-over from the old place and doesn't seem to know about the old place. The menu is the same as that at the old location, which has a similar look as those of a Future Perfect and Arch. I usually get the sandwich set (~$60-70RMB), which comes with a soup and a nicely dressed salad on the plate. My favorite is the caviar with eggs on Italian bread. The bread is done less crunchy than at the old place (hmm, I just really miss the old place...) The breakfast can be order a la carte, but I find the pricing to be on the high side if you starting adding everything you want up. The meat and fish entres are done with an interesting tangy twist in the sauces; prices are reasonable for the taste and portion you're getting. The juices are way overpriced -- they should consider giving drink discounts to people who are ordering meals.

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Cafe Montmartre - French bistro with crepes and authentic baguette sandwiches

French cafe that serves crepe in Shanghai...

This location on the corner Urumuqi Rd and ChangLe Rd just opened in July. I used to go to their XiangYang Market location until the Market was shut down June last year. This old cafe was more "frenchy", crowded tables, full of smoking foreign tourists, and served crepes from the crepe station. This new one as well as their two other branches in HongQiao and north JingAn's TongLe Fang (Haifang Rd), are more like full-range restaurants than casual cafes. I'd say that with the spanking new furnitures and decor, the casual romantic French feel is lost somewhat. Also, they need to beef up on the waitstaff and turn that thermometer way down! The Mon-Fri business lunch for $55RMB was a pretty good deal. You have a choice of pastas, sandwiches, or quiche to go with a soda or coffee/tea. They also write their daily specials on a chalkboard and bring it to your table. Brunches are $125RMB. At the moment, they have not set up the crepe station, so there's only one kind of sweet crepe you can order. I'm looking forward to being able to order savory crepes again soon. I will also check out another crepe shop, La Creperie, which is not far down on near DongPing Rd. Why aren't there just little take-out shops that sell crepes on the cheap?? No need for fancy deco...

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