David Laris To Open... a Chinese Restaurant?

This just in. David Laris, the self-proclaimed king of Shanghai's restaurant scene is expanded his empire to local food. That's right. He has decided to open up Le Sheng, a Shanghainese restaurant and teahouse. In Shanghai. Yeah. That's what we thought too.

In his defense, Laris is doing the conceptualizing himself and David Laris Creates, his consulting firm, will  handle the operational set-up and project management. He's sourcing out the heavy lifting to Shanghainese cooks. According to the press release:

"A team of local Shanghainese chefs will cook authentic local dishes, reflecting the recipes and flavors that have made Shanghainese cuisine famous. But the presentation and styling of each dish have been reinterpreted by Laris and will be done in a way that is modern, artistic and a bit unexpected."

They also plan on having a teamaster on staff for tea ceremonies.

The restaurant is slated to open next month in Anfu Court, but it's not aiming for the expat market despite opening up on a street that often looks more like America than China.

"Our focus with this concept is really on the local Chinese market. These are the guests we would love to impress with what we are doing. My hope is that local Shanghainese will come dine at Le Sheng, order dishes that they know and love, food they grew up eating...but will be surprised and truly delighted when they actually experience our interpretation of their food."

Only time will tell...