Shanghai's Best Ravioli
by jdelois | Posted on Dec 23 2011 | Shanghai Dining 3 Comments | 0 Bookmarked
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Cheesy, doughy, delicious. Ravioli are what we imagine God would use for pillows if he didn't have all those fluffy clouds up there. Here are some of the very best we've found down here:

Gato Mato | Delivery
The guys behind Shanghai’s best Venetian spot, Il Nascondiglio, also run an incredible delivery venture called Gato Mato. Their ravioli are handmade daily with eggs, drum wheat semolina and flour and stuffed with fillings made of fresh ingredients. Choices here range from pumpkin to fish to roasted veal, but we can’t get enough of their melt-in-your-mouth ravioli di zuccacon funghi (mushroom). Extra effort is taken to craft these pillowy pasta pockets filled with rich porcini mushrooms, and the effort pays off. It’s best served with melted butter and a little grated Parmesan—order in, boil them up and dinner will take only five minutes to pull together. They’re closed for December but will reopen in January.

Madison | American
There’s not much we don’t love about Madison’s dinner menu, but recently the restaurant’s pumpkin ravioli (RMB138) has had us coming back for more. Stuffed with velvety pumpkin purée, these ravioli also hide a little of Austin Hu’s secret ingredient (sweet potato), making these Italian dumplings delicious and maybe even a little healthy. Coated with browned butter and sage, the bowl of pasta is both comforting and warming, helping us forget for a moment that it’s getting downright chilly outside.

Va Bene | Italian
Sometimes the best things in the life are the simplest, and Va Bene reminds us that is the case with their ravioli (RMB158). The pasta is made in-house, stuffed with impossibly fresh Pettinicchio buffalo mozzarella, tossed with basil and served atop a tomato fondue. It all comes together as a delicate, rich dish that highlights the two quintessentially Italian flavors of basil and tomatoes.

Did we miss your favorite place for Ravioli? Leave a comment for us below!

3 Comments

While I love ravioli, any one has any idea of good (read non-MSG, fresh ingredient etc.) dumpling (hun tun 馄饨) soups here?

Posted by eddie10 5 m, 1 w ago
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Nice roundup. Eddie10 - have you tried the wonton soup at Tasty Congee (正斗)? its a chain from HK. They have a location in the HK airport food court also, btw. Shabby selection of beverages and dim sum overall not great. Great wontons and noodles, though. http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/shanghai/listings/dining/cantonese_dimsum/has/tasty-congee/

Posted by bill_greyskull 5 m, 1 w ago
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Thanks, Bill. Will have to go down iFC Mall one of these days. I had on my mental list a couple of shops that sells creative hun tuns -- e.g. salted eggs with meat + vegs, or chopped duck meat with chestnuts etc. etc. -- but after World Expo, these hole-in-walls shopped disappeared. Attempts to track down found msg-laden substitutes only. Best was a shop couple of parallel streets off Huai Hai Lu. Had to resort to purchasing the dumplings and bring back to match with my own simple stock (soup). If any of the folks here (re-)discovered some good shops, please give a holler. Cheers!

Posted by eddie10 5 m, 1 w ago
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