Villandry is a decadent, stuffy and expensive French restaurant nestled within the grandly refurbished Science Hall JE on Nanchang Lu. It fits in elegantly, like the dining room of an archaic five-star hotel.
Contrary to popular belief, good British grub comes in many guises. Shanghai is sorely lacking in strong offerings, and Mr. Harry does a fairly good job of representing the nation’s most classic dishes. If only the location, service and ambiance were in sync, it would deliver a more genuine experience.
Almost a Fenyang Lu institution, La Crêperie has made itself international in the last couple years and recently returned closer to home with a second location in the new Réel Mall. Now that the new-car smell is wearing off, we took a stroll over to see if their menu of galettes and crêpes are the order of the day.
As if going for the “What were you thinking?” award, Casamosaico offers high-end Italian on Yongfu Lu. Yes, where all those rowdy bars and night crawlers are. You can sit right in their window noshing on fine Italian while people stagger drunkenly past, chased by bouquets of badly drawn roses. You're a world away inside, but it feels a risky move and out of place as we duck behind our menus when people we know walk past.
In 2004 I visited Maui, Hawaii for the first time. Almost 10 years ago, the only good japanese food I'd eaten was in London. Experiencing the sea of good sushi counters across the island I was blown away. I was naive too; "what history do the Japanese have with Hawaii?" I asked our local contact. "It's because they like golf" was his reply.
Unprepared is how I felt getting off the plane in Taipei. I had one night to get to the hotel, build my prototype road bike (for the first time) and double check that I had everything. Not that it would've made any difference if I didn't - it was too late already. I guess that's why I slept so well.