Food For Thought

Each month, our dining columnist gives you all the news that’s fit to dish. Find out the newest hotspots and the latest closings, as well as the tastiest events in town for August.

In a surprising (and disappointing) turn of events, Larder Bar & Grill announced their sudden closing in mid-July via email, blaming “unforeseen circumstances”, just a week after they opened Larder Laneway on the street level of Taikang Terrace and launched their new happy hour. We hope they’ll find a new spot for their Aussie-inspired cuisine soon.

Fans of the roasted pork short rib at Scarpetta (33 Mengzi Lu, near Xujiahui Lu. Tel: 3376 8223) will also be disappointed to hear that this restaurant is shutting operations for a renovation project - but they’ll be back up and running in early September. In addition to expanding the simple Italian joint to 60 seats, owner John Liu will also be opening a Vietnamese-French bistro next door. Tentatively named Coquille, expect the menu to be heavy on the seafood (and opening in October).

If you’re craving Italian in the Xintiandi neighborhood and missing Scarpetta, try newly-opened Cin Cin (Unit 106, 9 Jinan Lu, near Chongde Lu. Tel: 5386 5123). Chef Steven Luo, whose resume includes the Italian Embassy and Casanova, helms the homestyle restaurant. Also new on the Italian front is deCanto (4F, 6 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, near Guangdong Lu. Tel: 6346 3686), a fancy new spot on the Bund serving a bulging menu with ingredients either imported from the motherland or made in-house.

Everyone’s new favorite salad joint Sproutworks has opened a bigger second location in Superbrand Mall (B2F, 168 Lujiazui Xi Lu, near Lujiazui Huan Lu. Tel: 6890 5966), so the financial district’s worker bees can fill up on superfood salads chock full of quinoa and kale. There’s also a new vegetarian cafe in Puxi for the herbivores. Chakra (242 Julu Lu, near Ruijin Lu. Tel: 138 1635 1255) produces gourmet twists on crunchy standards like salads and pastas.

Saving for that final summer vacation? Hit up these newly-opened budget options. The Boiling Crab (131 Maoming, near Huaihai Lu. Tel: 6466 5898) offers a low country seafood boil for RMB 35-45 served up in brown boxes with corn and Cajun spices - perfect for a takeout picnic at Okura Garden Hotel’s grounds just up the road. If you prefer cuisine from south of the border, Chipotle-esque Mex & Co (B1-02, 1818 Nanjing Xi Lu, inside EcoCity) started serving assembly-line Cali-Mex favorites like braised pork burritos and chili con carne tacos for less than RMB 35 this month.

Looking a bit to the future, Shanghai’s got some big openings and events coming up toward the end of this year, so start getting excited now. Chef Guillermo Trullas Moreno - better known as el Willy  (5/F, 22 Zhongshan Dong Er Lu, near Xinkaihe Lu. Tel: 5404 5757) - is opening a new bar and restaurant on Taixing Lu, right around the corner from former food street-turned-shiny commercial center Wujiang Lu. He will be joined at the new complex by Brian Tan of hoF (30 Sinan Lu, near Huaihai Zhong Lu. Tel: 6093 2058) and a new Taphouse (74 Yongkang Lu, near Xiangyang Nan Lu).

Dashu Wujie, the four story upscale vegetarian eatery looming above Xujiahui Park (392 Tianping Lu, near Zhaojiabang Lu. Tel: 400 690 5577), has opened a second location. They're trading up to Bund 22 (4F, 22 Zhongshan Dong Er Lu, near Renmin Lu. Tel: 6375 2861), where their meat-free sustainable Chinese fusion dishes will showcase the beauty of eating seasonally green.

Chef Stefan Stiller has been busy in Zhejiang since the closing of his namesake restaurant in Cool Docks. He’s put some gourmet touches on new seasonal degustation menus at Naked Retreats’ Kikaboni restaurant (www.nakedretreats.cn) and opened up La Cocotte (7/F, Block C, 230 Huancheng Bei Lu 0571 8768 7171) in the new Hangzhou Tower. He’ll be busy in town later this year with several concepts in the soon-to-open lofty Shanghai Tower.

And just in case you haven’t already heard, The Pantry by the co-op’s (205 Wulumuqi Lu, near Jianguo Xi Lu. Tel: 138 1871 9543) new location is up and running with all their usual homemade products from Strictly Cookies (www.strictlycookies.com) to Amelia’s Marketplace jams and sausages (www.ameliasmarketplace.com).