On The Radar is a weekly SmartShanghai column where we profile 2-3 new venues that you might like to know about. Here are the facts and our first impressions.
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It's all you today Xixi Bistro. Welcome back.
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Xixi Bistro
Quick Take: Neighborhood Italian-Chinese fusion quasi-fine dining experience makes a comeback in Xintiandi after a dramatic shutdown last year, doing food that's just as weird as the original.
What It Is: After the kerfuffle surrounding the original, the crew behind Xixi Bistro have roped themselves a brand new spot in Shanghai's favorite old-men-with-expensive-cameras district, Xintiandi.
The bar's a plushy, busily decorated lounge with the odd homage to the fantasy 1930s version of Shanghai. The drinks menu features original cocktails in the 90-95rmb range separated into thematic sections. The barrel-aged Chinatown Manhattan (95rmb) off the "Asian Twist" portion, for example, replaces the usual vermouth with huangjiu.
Chinatown Manhattan (95rmb)
Upstairs, the dining area's done up like a loft apartment with lane-house detritus trappings. They've got paper-lantern style lighting overhead and cupboards and partition walls done up to look traditionally Shanghainese. Except you look closer and see it's 70s-tastic leopard print in some places instead of lacquered wood.
The menu's still Italian-Chinese-whatever-goes fusion, with much of the original menu returning. The focus is the long list of intriguing starters and appetizers. You've got normal-sounding things like Five Spice Pork with Shrimp Jiaozi (32rmb), and not-so-normal things like Jellyfish Salmon Tartar (62rmb). Most dishes sit solidly between 35-70rmb (some go higher), while the mains go from 100rmb to nearly 500rmb for the rib-eye.
Foie Gras Mousse With Spring Onion Pan Cake (68rmb)
First Impressions: Disclaimer; I never went to the original. I hear it was popular. Tried booking a table once for my sister's birthday and they were like "No way man, minimum three day's notice." People loved the decor, and either loved or hated the food. If you already know where you fall, Xixi Bistro v2.0 probably won't change your opinion much.
The cocktails are good. Expensive, too. 95rmb is pricey, even though they're creative and delicious. The Chinato Cup (95rmb) and the NY Geisha (90rmb) both did curious things to my taste buds, and the Chinatown Manhattan had a sweetness that coats your throat and smolders on the way down.
Basil Cheese Tofu with Tomato Salsa (38rmb)
The grub's divisive. Me, I liked most of it. The Sixi Kaofu (32rmb) was refreshing and juicy. The Foie Gras Mousse with Spring Onion Pan Cake (68rmb) was really good, light and flavorful. The Basil Cheese Tofu with Tomato Salsa (38rmb) was fluffy, but didn't carry much basil. Sometimes the dishes hit, sometimes they miss. The Grilled Short Rib with Osmanthus Sauce (240rmb) was tender, a bit sweet and aromatic, like a cow grazed exclusively on rose bushes, but didn't always play well with the charred potatoes and greens. Like the rest of the cuisine, some'll love it, some'll wish they'd just slathered it in regular old BBQ sauce.
Grilled Short Rib with Osmanthus Sauce (240rmb)
It's this exuberant madhouse slinging out wacky concoctions like "haha what do you think of this?" They're putting that Bolognaise Ragu inside that Spring Roll (38rmb) and daring you to take it too seriously. It can seem like it's asking a bit much price-wise for something you might wind up hating, but for the creativity and effort that went into these dishes, it's pretty affordable.
The music is still chilled jazzy hip-hop, the decor is still absurd and/or delightful. The TripAdvisor crowds'll be thrilled there's a Xixi Bistro next to that "old Shanghai" Starbucks. Long-timers might appreciate how "old Shanghai" manifests instead as bowls of sunflower seeds on the table (with separate bowl to discard the shells, savage). It still feels like a more upscale living room.
I liked it for being different and sort of goofy. From what I can tell, it's picking right up where it left off. Take a date, take some friends from out of town, take your little sister for her birthday but maybe book a couple days in advance.
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