It's the end days for Charmant. The Taiwanese institution is closing on Thursday, but tables are all booked up for that night, so if you want one last chance at Taiwanese sausage, Taiwanese braised pork, Taiwanese fried chicken, Taiwanese ice desserts, Taiwanese peanut ice cream-like thing, Taiwanese everything, then you've got about 48 hours to fit those into your schedule, because come Friday, everything is off the menu, including the menu itself.

*** I myself am particular to the pudding ice, which is two flan custard plopped on top of a bed of shaved ice, drizzled with condensed milk and caramel, and hits that wonderful zone of alternating between creamy and crunchy, fatty and icy, sweet and watery. It's probably the girliest thing on the menu. I had it twice last week. The short story of the closure is that the government is taking back the building. The bigger picture is that this part of a wide-reaching redistribution of usage rights all across Shanghai. It's the same wave that took down JZ Club and much of the business on Yongfu Lu, and will no doubt re-shuffle the deck for many other restaurants in the city. Charmant plans to come back though after 14 years in its current location, whatever is next will certainly feel different and new. Go down and celebrate what they have while we can.