88 Sushi Bento Bar @ Andaz Xintiandi, Shanghai
What: Modern, high-end sushi, sashimi and bento using premium ingredients
Where: 88 Songshan Lu, near Taicang Lu. Tel: 2310 1769. Web: www.shanghai.andaz.hyatt.com
Why: To eat beautifully fresh Japanese dishes, whilst enveloped in a steel cocoon
The first thing that strikes you about the restaurant upon entering is the artistic and modern design. Situated in a futuristic-looking cocoon floating above the hotel’s lobby, the interior decoration was aptly the brainchild of internationally renowned Japanese design firm Tofu Inc. and their lead designer, Yoshifumi Tanaka. As is the Japanese way, the attention to detail is obvious from the gold leaf paintings on the pillars, the stacked sake cup instillation and the expensivelooking, long wooden bar, where the accomplished team of chefs prepare the dishes.
Japanese Chef, Takayuki Takeda, runs a tight ship in his kitchen and he hand-selects the finest seafood and ingredients. He is on a mission to show the world the finest in Japanese cuisine, and has been doing so for more than 30 years. However, he is not a traditionalist and is happy to allow modern and fusion elements of Japanese cuisine slip into his dishes. After all, he says, “It’s what the customer wants”.
The restaurant is perfectly located in the middle of the city near a bustling business district and is therefore ideal for business lunches with friends or associates. The restaurant caters to this crowd with their signature bento boxes and sushi sets, which start from RMB 138. We suggest trying a customised bento box consisting of a two-tier wooden container showcasing the finest sushi, sashimi, house-made bean curd, pickles and cold dishes along with a bowl of rich tasting, homemade miso soup.
Apart from the set lunches, the menu at 88 Sushi Bento Bar consists mostly of cold items created with fresh fish and seafood selected daily by the chef, along with a set dinner menu. Highlights of our visit was the homemade tofu, so rich in flavour that it was almost pudding-like, scallops seared with a blow torch in front of our very eyes and, our favourite, uni that was so fresh, it was the sweetest we have ever tasted. All the other Japanese staples are also available such as sushi, nigiri, maki, temaki, pickles, salads and Japanese-themed deserts.
This is an extremely refined restaurant, which has thought of everything a customer might want before they have even arrived. For instance, we didn’t even know that we needed the option of three different flavours of salt; grapefruit wasabi and matcha, but now we can’t live without them. Furthermore, their beverage menu provides the perfect accompaniment to fresh seafood, with five signature cocktails using Japanese ingredients, plus a select offering of sakes, plum wines, Japanese whiskeys and Japanese draft beer.
