Dera, a new upscale Northern Indian restaurant, opens Thursday. It's on the second floor of this big ol' multi-concept project from the XY One people (more here), and it's vaguely themed like an outdoor Indian camp, which is what the name means. Xiangyang and Julu.

Chefs are from the Taj Mahal in New Delhi, manager you might recognize from Masala Art, shisha is in the back, and the menu just landed in my inbox. It's classic Northern Indian fare. Number one on their list of signature dishes is a 198rmb leg of lamb, the Sikandari Raan:
"Leg of lamb rubbed with a mixture of red chili powder, salt and fresh ginger garlic paste, then braised in a marinade of vinegar, cinnamon, bayleaf, and cumin, and barbecued in the tandoor."

Just in case you're having trouble coping with prices at Indian places in Shanghai, you know, mentally filing them into different prices categories, I've gone ahead and created the exceedingly technical SmartShanghai Naan Index (SNI). It's not perfect -- it'd lead you to believe Bukhara is not more expensive than Indian Kitchen -- but it works. Here it is:



Dera's on top. They open on Feb 4, this Thursday. Pronto, the "NY-Style" Italian restaurant on the first floor, is slated for a Feb 9 opening. Here's their listing.