Keven's Thai, a perennial underdog, has turned into the second location of Neopolitan restaurant Bella Napoli. It now serves pizza, unlike its Xikang Lu progenitor. The few seats in the secluded laneway garden remain. The Pourcel brothers and their moneymen have decided on a name for their off-Expo French restaurant, in the historic Hong Fangzi: Maison Pourcel. The sixth floor wine lounge will be called Vintage. Both are now expected to open in early June. Suzhou's Blue Marlin chain, a family-friendly casual Western enterprise, will open in Pudong. Location is Jinqiao's Lantian Lu, between Yunshan Lu and Hongfeng Lu. They are like Big Bamboo, Blue Frog, Malone's, and other places that peddle beer and burgers and expat comfort and sponsor local sports teams. May 15th is the projected opening date.

Jiashan Market, a new boutique development, is in its finishing stages. It's a small expat cluster down a Shaanxi Nan Lu lane, comprised of an old factory compound redeveloped into 20+ mod loft-style flats (designed by BAU) and a few F&B venues. The first to open will be Melange Oasis, an eco-conscious cafe/restaurant from the folks of Vienna Cafe. Their decor is primarily bamboo, the toilets will flush with rainwater, the roof is grass and eventually an herb garden, the casual Mediterranean food will be organic or sustainable or local (or as close as you can get in China; relative virtue), and the goal is to become a green community hub. They are practical and unpreachy and readily admit the limitations of organics in China, which satisfies the skeptic in me. They're open about this being a learning exercise, and, as such, will host green lectures, green presentations, green movies, green love-ins, etc. Their contribution will be in providing a platform for The Green, and the hummus, tzatziki, and free-range chicken around it. Melange Oasis will make a reluctant debut at this weekend's Eco Design Fair, which is being held at (the unfinished) Jiashan Market. They will then retreat for a week or two while they work out the details, and re-emerge in early May. There is a courtyard. The other confirmed tenant in Jiashan Market is a new project from Beijing's Cafe Sambal & Bed Bar people. The Shanghai iteration, spread over two floors, will fall somewhere between the owner's bohemian, Malaysian Cafe Sambal and his bohemian, layabout Bed Bar, which is likely to mean scruffy antiques, pillows on the floor, char kuay teow, and cocktails. The name is undecided, but according to the owner, will be "Sambal something." Late June or early July delivery.

Shanghai now has a casual Swiss restaurant, an Italian-American joint, and a Russian donut takeaway. That's just since February. Where do we go from here? A three-story Belgian bistro with six kinds of mussels and 18 kinds of beer: Chambar. I would call this Tier Four cuisine, to borrow a China naming convention. Chambar, the moniker, is "inspired by" from this rather high-profile Vancouver restaurant (no relation), but the similarities end there. Shanghai's Chambar will be a casual bistro with lots of imported mussels (cooked in Hoegaarden, cooked with herbs, cooked Provencale, cooked with white wine, cooked naked, etc.) and an owner who likes to speak in definitives. "It will be the first Belgian restaurant in Shanghai" (if you don't count this one); the menu will be "30% mussels, 30-40% lobster & fish, and 30% steaks -- beefsteaks, chicken steaks, fish steaks"; Chambar's picture beer menu will have "the most Belgian beers in Shanghai" (18); and "You cannot leave here hungry. There will be a lot of bread with the mussels, too -- 250 grams." Settled. The mussels will be served for two people or four people only, and will be 110rmb and 170rmb, respectively. Belgian beers from 60-80rmb. Chambar will be in the three-story villa that once housed Trattoria Isabelle at 139 Xing'an Lu, a quiet side street one block south of Huaihai Lu. Opening scheduled for first week of May.

The Bonito guys are coming back, minus Bonito. Alberto and Ferran have taken a villa on Fenyang Lu and will convert it into a new Spanish restaurant, name withheld. The 1930s property will have a little more charm than their previous location -- "No more shopping mall!" -- with terraces on the second and third floors and a nice garden. Other details are scarce, except that they intend to reprise "the spirit of Bonito" with a friendly, unpretentious restaurant and "not scary prices." Chef is a new import from Spain. That's a start. This one is aiming for a debut in the first or second week of May.