Best Food In China

Location

A comfortable Italian eatery with a classy atmosphere offering good value set menus as well as a la carte in downtown Shanghai.

Simple, yet stylish, common, yet comfortable, familiar, yet romantic, Wu Ding Road’s Italian Lange Bar & Restaurant, its low lighting, cozy chairs, thick napkins, and Italian music, has all the fixings for your typical Italian restaurant that can be found anywhere in the world.

Italian food is often considered a comfort food to most, familiar, yet with a touch of class, atmosphere that is required for dining out, but a tab that will not leave the customers regretting they have.

And what’s Italian without wine: Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Pinot Grigio, Rosso, all the reds and whites available from all across the globe, old world to new, and economic enough for all levels of travelers and locals alike to feel comfortable in ordering.

With a nice glass of house red Sauvignon (25rmb), we were served complimentary fresh garlic bread, options of basil and chili pepper. We also had the treat of trying a chef creation, a crustini, a thin bread stick, wrapped in prosciutto, its salty sweetness wetting the appetite alongside chopped tomatoes on bread.

Our appetizer was the Antipasta Mistin All Italiana (58rmb), which included pepperoni, salami, prosciutto, local ham, artichokes, and wedges of parmesan cheese. Appreciating each separately, wrapped, and/or stacked as you like, all variations were excellent.

We certainly couldn’t miss on trying the pizza and ordered the Quattro Formaggi (58rmb), a classic four cheese pizza of mozzarella, feta, gorgonzola and parmesan, with spicy salami, the bow that binds all together. Thin crust benefitting the stone oven and the individual tastes of each cheese recognizable, a hard task with most cheese combos.

Two pastas were ordered, my partner sampling the Vongole Spaghetti, Clams with Olive Oil and Garlic in White Wine (30rmb) and myself the Arrabiata Penne, a hot and spicy sauce covering the hollow noodles (30rmb). The clams were plentiful, if the sauce simple, and the arrabiata’s flavor was rich enough to appreciate. The spicy chili taste warming the roof of your mouth but not leaving me unnecessarily struggling to wash down any flames.

The main dish was Pan Fried Lamb Chops with Red Wine Jus of Aromatic Herbs (118rmb). Four chops, each juicy and worth closing your eyes along with your mouth to savor both the Italian herbs and fiery black pepper sauce. The lamb was served amongst eggplant, but it was lost to the tasty chops.

Dessert was a Hot Chocolate Fondant Cake served with Vanilla Ice Cream (30rmb). With strawberry and kiwi sauces to choose from, a slice into the cake surprised us with a small pool of melted chocolate. It oozed towards the vanilla, insisting they should be paired. It was both rich and perfect in both the kiwi and strawberry. And, being Italian, we couldn’t forget the coffee flavored Tiramisu (30rmb), which was moist where need to be, creamy in between. An artfully crafted rose made from the dripping of kiwi and strawberry sauce gave the tiramisu that something extra to make it stand out from the rest.

This restaurant possessed all the traditional trimmings, from Pavarotti in the air to Prosciutto on the plate. Combined with the warm and hospitable ambience, Lange Bar & Restaurant is a great spot for a romantic date or pleasant evening with friends.

- by Kevin Smith

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