Best Food In China

Location

Within the heart of Hongqiao, if you are looking for a reliable establishment that serves up an international spread at reasonable value, then walk straight into Café Bistro in the Sheraton Shanghai Hongqiao Hotel. Reliability is the cornerstone of this hotel, being one of the first deluxe five-star hotels in the city. Formerly known as the Sheraton Grand Shanghai Tai Ping Yang Hotel, the Sheraton Shanghai Hongqiao continues to attract a loyal following of business travelers and expat residents from the Hongqiao area.

At first impression, the Café Bistro presents a totally different image from the jazzed up interiors of attention seeking luxury hotels. In contrast, Café Bistro behaves like an old friend, giving guests a warm welcome to its cozy environment. Set in a circular fashion, the Café reminded me of being in a classic ship’s galley with its end-to-end windows wrapping around the restaurant, allowing every guest to savor the serenity of the landscaped Japanese garden, which is especially beautiful with the outdoor lighting on. With two boat-like serving stations, adorned with brass railings, guests may feel that they are dining on a cruise liner.

The great thing about buffets is that there is no one fussing over you and it seems like a green-card for severe indulgence. Like a kid in a candy store, I just choose whatever looked appetizing and simply doubled up the portions. Heading for the cold section for starters, there was a spectacular spread of seafood, ranging from rock oysters and baby lobster to crabs and prawns. The fresh salad bar was also at hand for the self-conscious but I decided to get down and dirty with a dozen oysters and some chilled lobster. As long as the oysters are fresh, all you need is a squeeze of lemon and dash of Tabasco to do the trick.

Leaving some room for entrées, I swiped another warmed dinner plate like a skilled Frisbee player and descended upon the hot buffet section. Surveying the display, I was impressed to see a decent selection of Asian fare. There was traditional Shanghainese sautéed fatty [maybe don’t say fatty] pork and even Indonesian beef curry. For creature comfort, you will also find deep fried chicken available. Personally, I enjoyed the creamy garlic soup, which was a perfect winter warmer for this season.

One of the highlights for this winter season is the famous Shanghai Hairy Crab. Prepared at one of the live cooking stations, this local delicacy is presented in its glorious orange shell and is served with finely chopped ginger in sweetened Zhejiang vinegar. It is an acquired taste and crab-lovers will seek them out this season like pigs would a truffle. The quality of the crab was surprisingly good, where the premium roe was abundantly rich and thickly yellow. It is quite an art to consume the entire crab but patience is a virtue and satisfaction is derived from the sweet crab meat that is finger-licking good.

After the third crab, my waist-line was clearly bulging but just for good measure, I toured the live cooking stations situated in the entrance gangway. There was an impressive line-up, sufficient to feed a ship of hungry sailors, including a fresh pasta station, warmed rump of roast beef, and a Japanese sushi bar. At this stage, I was more tempted by the desserts and the cooking station offering sinfully fried bananas coated in batter drizzled with either vanilla or dusted with cinnamon sugar. There were more dessert offerings available but I just could not handle the black forest gateaux or cheesecake.

For the value price of RMB 198, I heartily recommend Café Bistro as a no-frills no frills is not good to say. Maybe change to “great value” option if you are in the Hongqiao neighbourhood, especially after a day of arduous shopping or if you are seeking copious nourishment on a winter evening.

by Brian Sun

To know more food lovers, please visit Bestfoodinchina community on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/pages/BestFoodinChina/25524727150

photos: 

photos: 

photos: