Origin in Tianzifang

Among the numerous restaurants and shops in Tianzifang, Origin strives to set itself apart with "seasonally fresh cuisine." It sits along one of the busier lanes shooting off Jianguo Zhong Lu with two small outdoor tables on either side of the ground floor entrance on a nice day. The space is airy and bright making use of large exposure to natural light. There is a bar to sit at and few inside tables on the ground floor with more seating on the second floor as well as a small outdoor area. On the third floor, there is also a very small area that may be reserved or taken for a more intimate affair. On warm days, the windows are easily opened to allow for a natural circulation of air instead of cranking up the air-conditioning unit. The whole ambiance expressed the ideals of the cafe wanting to get back to the basics of what is fresh and natural.

Lunch time and brunch seemed busy with people passing through Tianzifang enjoying anything remotely relating to warm, temperate weather in Shanghai. The cafe was filled up quickly and easily. Service seemed to be a bit slow as the window into the kitchen revealed only one guy taking care of everything. The service staff at least tries to be helpful when they can.



Out of the sandwiches, the sweet potato and goat cheese sandwich (48RMB) on foccacia with arugula jumped out. It was a mix between sweet potato mash or really soft sweet potato on delicious bread and a thin, minute spread of goat cheese. This disappointed the expectation there would be a nice, thick layer of tart goat cheese to offset the sugary sweet potato. The fresh arugula and sliced tomato was not already in the sandwich, which was to be assembled at the diner's discretion. The continental breakfast was filling with its assortment of toast, eggs, roasted baby tomatoes, yogurt, cold cuts, jam, butter, and brie. The filling parts of the breakfast were the pieces of toast and large cup of yogurt and skimpy on the eggs and cold cuts.



Also unfotunately small was the sausage plate (about 98RMB). The link of sausage was unfortunately small (the photo may deceive you of its size) as well were the two weak slices of streaky bacon sitting atop some potatoes. The eggs were alright. The breakfast plate also lacked toast to carry the meat and eggs on. Its cost definitely did not match what was presented on the plate. The banana pancakes showed some promise with a full saucer of syrup. Each pancake was large and fluffy with bits of real banana in the batter (more would have been better!!!). The plate also came with a large serving of yogurt and a few pieces of fresh fruit. The smoked salmon eggs benedict (at a whopping 98RMB...It turns out the online menu has not been updated in any way to show price changes) showed some promise. The base bread was amazing, thick, soft, and crusty. If English muffins were not available, this bread would have been the next best thing. The servings of smoked salmon were on the skimpy side, but the addition of greens was much appreciated to bring a fresh zing as well as color to the dish. The eggs were nicely poached and gooey on the inside, though close to being set. The hollandaise sauce was buttery and on the thin side, leaving a small wet coating on the poached egg. Each eggs benedict had 2-3 capers on top. The dish has so much promise, but the let-down of a scant slice of smoked salmon and runny hollandaise sauce makes the smoked salmon eggs benedict fall flat.


The smoothies and freshly-made juices were very good. The pear juice was served cool and was not over-sweetened. The papaya smoothie (36RMB) was thick and large. The fruit was not underripe and the smoothie not too icy. In this regard, Origin is using the fruits of the season.

Origin in Tianzifang has a great atmosphere for a fresh bite to eat or drink. Like most places in the immediate vicinity, the prices are a bit high for the little that you get as rental prices in Tianzifang are on the rise.

Origin. House 39, Lane 155 JianGuo Zhong Lu (by RuiJin Lu), 建国中路155弄39号（近瑞金路）, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. www.originsh.com.

The Alchemist Brunch Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict

Brunching around Shanghai gives you an opportunity to see what is trendy and popular in main choices. The smoked salmon twist on classic eggs benedict is revealing itself as a hot brunch item.

A friend had recommended the smoked salmon eggs benedict at The Alchemist, so a visit was made for the sole reason of trying it. The smoked salmon eggs benedict (98RMB) came with asparagus and a roasted tomato half. However, as good as the eggs benedict looked, the overall execution fell flat. The base of the eggs benedict was not even an English muffin, but a piece of untoasted sliced bread cut into a circular shape. The smoked salmon atop the bread was well-portioned for the serving. The poached egg was slightly overdone to the point that the egg yolks were set, though not cooked all the way through. Actually, during this particular visit, all the eggs that should have ooey gooey centers had set yolks compared to the first visit for The Alchemist weekend brunch. The hollandaise sauce was lovely and light, though personal tastes for hollandaise in warmer weather would prefer a bit more lemon for a fresher zing. In any case, the smoked salmon eggs benedict showed promise. If only the disappointing cut-out of sliced bread was replaced with something more worthy of carrying smoked salmon, hollandaise, and runny poached egg.

One item of note...With the higher cost of food in Shanghai, this dish has gone from 68RMB to 98RMB across the board ie in several other restaurants. What exactly is driving the price so high? Smoked salmon eggs benedict is definitely worth a weekend brunch indulgence, but for that high of a price tag?

The Alchemist. Sinan Mansions, Block 32, 45 Sinan Lu, near Fuxing Zhong Lu 思南路45号32号楼，近复兴西路. Shanghai, China.

Huevos Brunch at Maya

Most brunches in Shanghai run closer to the range of 100RMB per person. Maya advertises a "Huevos Brunch" with everything listed on the brunch menu under 50RMB. The deal sounds really good, especially if you are not in the mood for a pricey brunch buffet.

The free-range egg dish selected for this brunch was the Pan de Maiz Huevos Benedictos (50RMB) or poached runny eggs over chorizo with a corn muffin and red pepper hollandaise. The eggs had perfectly cooked egg whites and yolks that slowly oozed out. The corn muffin was an excellent vehicle to soak up the red pepper hollandaise sauce and egg yolks. The hollandaise sauce had a bit of a smoked tinge of flavor from the red pepper making it a good match for the chorizo and the heavy, filling texture of the corn muffin. The roasted potatoes were also a great match for the dish as its cut edges were caramelized, soft on the inside, and nicely seasoned overall. The dish looked small, but was incredibly filling.

The best looking dish - at least for value - on the brunch menu was the Huevos Divorciados, a vegetarian dish, with green and red chili sauce, refried beans, cheese quesadilla, sour cream and salsa (45RMB). The Maya Mary (50RMB) was served in a low ball glass with plenty of rice and little kick. The brunch also includes bottomless sangria and margaritas for 125RMB and 150RMB, respectively (to be sampled). Advertising menu items as 50RMB or lower is the hook, but with all the other brunch items such as drinks and perhaps even an appetizer of guacamole and chips (50 RMB) while you wait, the bill adds up fast.

Maya. 2/F, Grand Plaza Club House, 568 Julu Lu (near Shaanxi Nan Lu), Shanghai, People's Republic of China. 巨鹿路568弄 四方新城俱乐部2楼，近陕西南路. www.casanova.com.cn/maya.

Madison Brunch - A Locavore Delight

Brunch is a weekend institution. It is not breakfast and it is not lunch. It is a way to spend time free of work responsibility and sharing conversation with friends over a comforting meal. Brunches are best when lazy requiring no set beginning or end, though dimming light is an indicator that perhaps Sunday dinner should have already started. In Shanghai, brunch tends to span between the hours of 11:00 to 15:00 accommodating the late-risers, church-goers, and everyone else in between needing midday nourishment. The options in Shanghai are endless, with the hotel brunches pushing their more expensive buffets in every free expat magazine. The majority of other brunch options involve a set meal with 2-3 courses, coffee or tea, and a pastry. Seeing the menu at Madison, everyone who had not brunched there before was surprised to see that there was no set meal option on the menu. With a decent-sized group ordering a myriad of items off the menu, the cost per person was actually less than the set menus of popular brunch spots, like Azul, which is right downstairs. You would expect the complete opposite when ordering a la carte!

All the egg options had a great twist to them, though we neglected to try the deviled eggs. My indifference to the choice probably came from the fact that I know of university students who have made their own in their dining halls. The scotch eggs were completely devoted to duck. The duck eggs were encased in duck sausage and had a healthy dollop of whole-grain mustard and rocket on top. It was cut into quarters, which made it easy to share. The scrambled eggs were a favorite. The eggs were not dry nor runny with all sorts of mushrooms and served on top of a puff pastry round. Immediately when the server puts the plate down, you need to attack as the pastry would go soft from the wet egg on top. There was also a hint of truffle oil in the scrambled eggs. The eggs Benedict came out with a healthy serving of hollandaise sauce over pig trotters and muffin. The shredded pig trotters were compacted into a flat disk that flaked apart nicely when cutting into the egg and the bread it sat upon. The hollandaise sauce was thick and not too acidic, complimenting the pig trotter.


Other highlights on the menu included the incredibly creamy Chili Biscuits, house-cured pancetta, potato pancakes with sweet house-made catsup, and the breads (chocolate bun and cinnamon bun). One good thing about the rolls were that the buns were cooked all the way through and you were not left with a doughy mess on the inside. Not so impressive were the beignets, which were more fried donut holes than the pillows of dough doused with powdered sugar from Cafe Du Monde an American commonly associates with the word "beignet." Being an American fine dining establishment, a refined take on the classic donut with chocolate, berry, and cinnamon dips could be forgiven, but to call it a beignet is something I do not agree with. The French toast with yogurt and berry was good, but not an outstanding point on the brunch menu. To top off an already slightly sweet meal, we recieved a s'mores and pb&j trifle. The s'mores trifle had bits of chocolate cake, thick marshmallow creme, chocolate pudding, and a giant graham cracker cookie stick. The pb&j trifle had their wonderfully creamy and rich peanut ice cream, berry, and creme with toast sticks as garnish to complete the "sandwich concept." Sprinkled on top of both were what seemed to be crushed pistachios with a sort of medium-ball sugaring.




The brunch at Madison is really good, especially for the quality you get for the price. Taking into consideration the locavore trend in Shanghai is barely beginning, it is nice to see Austin Hu leading the pack. Madison is by far the best brunch in Shanghai when it comes to an American standard.

Madison. 3/F, 18 Dongping Lu, near Hengshan Lu. 东平路18号, 近衡山路. Shanghai, People's Republic of China.

Eggs Benedict at Osteria

After reading this article on eggs benedict on CityWeekend, I decided I must brunch at Osteria (another Vargas venture) to try their version of eggs benedict, available only during weekend brunch. It was also the cheaper option of the three. Since Greg Gilvison had me try his version of eggs benedict at Kabb, I have acquired a taste for those runny yolks.

For 58rmb, you can order the eggs benedict a la carte. The two poached eggs can come with either salmon, prosciutto (Osteria is Italian), or spinach (eggs florentine). The servers let you mix and match so I elected for the salmon and the spinach.


The plate came out looking impressive. Along with the eggs sitting on Italian bread, there was a small rocket salad with a few grape tomatoes and grilled potatoes. The eggs benedict were generously doused in a rich, creamy, deep yellow hollandaise sauce and sprinkled with freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt. The hollandaise sauce was just tangy enough from the lemon juice, but the citrus presence was not over-powering. The bread was already absorbing the bulk of the sauce. Peeking under the eggs, the salmon is cooked all the way through and still moist.

Cracking into the eggs, it was incredibly disappointing to find that the yolks were cooked all the way through and not gooey or oozing in anyway. Perhaps this was a good sign considering the bread was hitting its maximum absorption point from the hollandaise sauce and the slight fact that the eggs may not have been drained thoroughly enough. Otherwise, the bread would have turned into a semi-solid mushy mass. In any case, seeing that the yolks were cooked to a solid state decreased the excitement of the meal. The salmon not only did look moist, but indeed was and had a buttery smoked flavor. The spinach could have had a larger presence in the dish so each bite could be an even combination of egg, hollandaise sauce, bread and spinach. However, the portion of salmon was generous to go around. A few of the potatoes got hit by the hollandaise sauce, but were tough on the outside, which made each bite unsatisfyingly chewy.

Do classic eggs benedict have runny or solid egg yolks? My experience has seen more of the first than the latter. This should be confirmed...

I am not sure if I will go back to Osteria for their eggs benedict - though the hollandaise was nice - but I should try the oyster Tuesday special.

Osteria. 226 Jinxian Lu, near Shaanxi Nan Lu 进贤路226号, 近陕西南路. Shanghai, People's Republic of China

Kabb Revisited

Newly appointed head chef, Greg Gilvison, originally from the San Francisco Bay area in the United States, has taken on the challenge of the badly needed reform and refinement of Kabb's menu. The rather poor reviews of the quality and inconsistency of the food at Kabb means that Gilvison has a tough road ahead. He is up for the challenge. Already, he is revamping the seasonal menus before fleshing out the standard menu.


Saturday brunch time is still busy until about 15:00 packed with patrons for the weekend brunch or for the drinks. I asked Gilvison to make me whatever he wanted and let him have free range on my palate. For my brunch, he served eggs benedict on smoked salmon over dark bread, which was accompanied by a citrus salad and grilled tomatoes. The eggs were perfectly poached and the hollandaise sauce was not extremely acidic. The grilled tomatoes had nice grill marks and caramelization. This was quite promising compared to the disaster that was my first visit to Kabb.


Another highlight of the Kabb menu is the DIY Bloody Mary. The pint glass receives a generous pour of Skyy vodka and a row of horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and Tabasco sauce. Each bloody mary can be tailor-made by you to fit your personal taste. Now you cannot blame the bartender if the bloody mary is not up to your standards.

I am feeling quite optimistic for the new head chef. The character that Gilvison carries is open and bright, looking to keep negativity out of the kitchen. Discipline and firmness - yes. Negativity - no. The fare at Kabb is already looking up.

Kabb. Xintiandi North Block, Lane 181 Taicang Lu (near Madang Lu). 太仓路181号，新天地北里, 近马当路 Shanghai, China