Yunnan is a lush province in China’s southwest heralded for its countryside charm and border influences. It is endowed with a progressive cuisine full of produce variety and fresh flavors.
Five-star hotel restaurants have a tough time getting noticed in Shanghai; however, Calypso is a game changer. From a new mold of Shangri-La concepts, this privately-managed restaurant serves as a standalone centerpiece of the Jing An Kerry Centre. Unless they spot the golden lapel pins worn by select managers, customers could quite easily sit through a meal without knowing they were within the chain.
Jinqiao has almost every global cuisine represented in six blocks of expat zone. Kebabs on the Grille’s third location in Shanghai is the Indian representative in the Biyun Green Sports and Leisure Center. As it's located in a family-oriented community, things are slow at night and it took a while for our Kingfishers (RMB45) to arrive. Perhaps if we were here for Sunday brunch, they would've been here much faster.
Never before have we been so confused or conflicted by a restaurant. Haru Kitchen looks like the latest installment of a certain successful Beatles-themed yakitori chain in town, but it is actually something of a copy-cat. On our visit, the staff was intentionally vague when we asked about their relationship with Kota’s Kitchen. A statement issued on Kota's website, however, has denied any ties with this restaurant.
I've already fawned enough over the Zhengzhou Le-Mer. If you didn't read that post already then I gushed something about how the hotel represents the future of what a hungry re-emerging country can do with wealthy benefactors and good people.
1,000 kilometers inland from Shanghai is Zhengzhou, another of China's stinking huge and often downright stinking mega-cities. The 22nd largest in China, It homes ten million Chinese, ten thousand KTVs and as of recently, one massive Le Meridien Hotel. It's a pretty special hotel. The ZZ Le-mer represents China's hatchling hunger for quality and style.