Say Uncle
As the city's first (and only) Caribbean eatery, our expectations for Uncle Mike's were high. Everything seems right on the surface: the chairs are green, alternating Bob Marley and Jamaican tourism posters line the walls, and smooth reggae rhythms play in the background. It wouldn't be much of a Jamaican restaurant, though, without decent jerk chicken and thankfully theirs is tender, juicy and perfectly spiced. The jerk can be ordered individually (￥20) or as a set meal (￥23) served with steamed vegetables, chicken soup and a delightful side of coconut-infused red beans and rice. Uncle Mike's signature Jamaican patties, flakey samosa-like pastries filled with curried meat and / or vegetables (￥8-10) are also worth ordering. The saffron flavored Reggae rice (￥5) and sweet potato chips (￥8) were less inspiring, but good enough to order as sides. Their non-alcoholic ginger beer (￥7) is a popular choice, but is perhaps too strong for some palates. The location, in a Pudong mall's food court, is far from ideal, but the food is so outstanding and the prices are so conspicuously inexpensive that it would still be worth visiting at twice the distance.

Derek Sandhaus

Add: 2/F, 601 Zhangyang Lu 张杨路601号2楼
Tel: 5137-9848