Although difficult for the uninitiated to find among the back alley lanes of Taikang Lu, Kommune is worth searching out for not only its simple, yet tasty food and drinks, but also for its unique setting at the epicenter of Shanghai's creative quarter. Outdoor seating is usually overflowing with artsy locals and hipster expats, but don't forget to check out the ample indoor and back courtyard space for a free table. The occasional summer BBQ and weekend brunch are an added bonus.
Thu Jul 6th 2006
Bananas BBQ at Kommune, Friday June 30, 2006
Summer means it's Barbeque time, and Kami and Strokes host a great BBQ dinner party at Kommune where getting there is almost half the fun.
BBQ is one of the things I really miss -- steaks and salmon, cold beer... I don't mean to get all sentimental, but I believe that senses such as taste and smell provide some very memorable trigger-stimulus that helps recount different times, places, and experiences in the past. Barbeques remind me of the very best times at home, classes are over and people are soaking up the sun. Needless to say, I was pretty stoked about this.
The flyer said to bring your own food for grilling, and I was feeling particularly homesick so I went to the City-store and got a whole bunch of steaks and shrimps to share with friends. So, it's 7:30 Friday night and there's a taxi queue 30 people deep at the Portman and it looks like I'm going to be much later than normal. Walk out to Nanjing Lu, and of course there are no taxis available anywhere. At that moment an oldish guy on a scooter pulls up and hands me a helmet! A bit of quick negotiation and I'm now darting through traffic, inches away from busses, cars, other scooters, and of course the other 18 million people of Shanghai that just so happened to be out that night.
So this is how it all ends, smeared across the sides of a bus and streets of Shanghai...
I thought to myself: Wow, what a great experience to see the streets and people of Shanghai at their busiest while on the back of this scooter, lets please just live a little longer so I can tell people about it. Yep, there's nothing like the odd near-death experience to help remind you of just how alive you are. If you time it right, it's actually good cheap thrill, and I'd recommend the scooter ride to anyone that wants to get a real flavor for the pace of the city.
We made it to Kommune in record time! Kommune is a cafe with a great open courtyard with tables and umbrellas setup for lunch and dinner. I'd been there once before for lunch on a weekday and they serve pretty good coffee. But tonight it was all about BBQ, and the Bananas guys with the Kommune staff figured it out right: Keep the wine chilled, the beer flowing, and the grill hot. Kami was there and began laying out the food and fixins that were included in the price, lots of beef kebabs, xinjang style, with or without the spices, rotini pasta salad, and some other veggies. I layed out the steaks and poured on the strange Japanese mystery sauce that I also picked up at Citystore, and put the shrimp away for later.
They've got a great grill, it gets really hot, so I'll work the thick cut NY strips next time, yeahhh... rob.r's already there startin the party and we get to talking about Canada Day and one question leads to another until we learn that we were infact neighbours and lived maybe 2 blocks away from each other in West Vancouver, same highschool and everything, ha! Annnnnd, never-to-miss a booze buffet, Drunklism personified, evil twin, partner-in-crime seachick arrives and guess what, she's got that thirsty look in her eye! BEER! Let them goodtimes rollz.
Get it while the grillins good.
My friend Cynthia, another Vancouverite, arrives and it's time to throw down those steaks! The place was filling up, I was cooking and there wasn't much real estate on the grill. At that moment it really felt great to hear the sounds and laughter, to smell the smokey teriyaki steaks, and to savor the all the tastes of summer again. It felt kinda like home I suppose, ya, a new home at least.
Skewer the shrimp and onto the bbq they go. A few minutes later we've got surf 'n turf! Dole it out, and lookit all the happy smilin people. The conversation spills from table to table like lava flowing from Kiluweia and it's a great chance to meet new people and talk outside the bar/club environment. rob.r joins another table -- it's Matsume and her 2 friends, all verrrry nice lookin! wooohooo. A++!
Meanwhile, the Germans are taunting the French on their preference of Rose wine, hahaha! All too fun. Me and seachick are like Switzerland sitting between Charles on the French side and the Daniel n Philip on the German side so we have to eventually take up sides. The heat makes drinking a chilled rose great sure, but I'm having steak, so pass that big bottle of red --it was a Montilpuciano d'Abrzzo. Savor it.
Finish up, cheers, toast, prost, skoal, gumbei...
