Shanghai: Xian Qian Fang
Sepia-tinged dining with a side helping of opera
Perfect for: impressing clients
4/F & 5/F, 600 Jiujiang Lu 九江路600号4楼和5楼
6351-5757
Food: 3
Decor: 5
Service: 4
As most Shanghai residents will tell you, the city's old-world glamour is usually channeled through properties on the Bund. The new XianQianFang restaurant behind Nanjing Dong Lu, however, loosens the riverside stranglehold on stylish, sepia-tinged dining. The restaurant sprawls across 5,000 sq meters of the historic YongAn Building; exploiting the 88-year-old structure's authentic art deco details to summon the tired spirit of Shanghai's jazz age. The grand penthouse ballroom, for example, could have been snatched off the pages of a Fitzgerald novel, with its crystal chandeliers and alcove balconies. Alas, the ballroom is reserved for private functions and events only. Luckily, however, XianQiangFang has other charms such as a nightly Chinese opera performance. Its classical aesthetic and traditional menu (sea cucumber, various fungi and cow's tongue)- at modern prices (meal for two ?00)- has been patented by owner and fashion designer Wang Xingzheng; who is behind the esteemed YongFoo Elite. Wang's latest and biggest venture is therefore likely to attract the same clientele - expense account diners and design tourists - that made YongFoo Elite such a success. By the same token, seasoned Shanghai diners may be less enticed by YongAn XianQiangFang's novelty. | Joon Ian Wong
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XianQiangFang does match the style, charm, and quality of YongFoo but falls short in one critical area: service. Where the staff at YF are almost magical in their ability to sense when you need service, the same is only true of the XQF staff's ability to vanish. This is perhaps a result of the spacious art deco wonderland in which they are free to frolic and play.
Our party of 10 sampled all the available Shanghai cuisine, from the staple cold starters to the slightly adventurous papaya laced sweet and sour chicken. Excluding alcohol the price per head came in around 200RMB. Not bad for a time travel experience and a great dinner.