I took this picture at the bund right before I was about to meet my friends for brunch. Last year, I met our friends Kin and Alina for brunch at Shook! It’s definitely one of my favorite places to eat in Shanghai and I have to say that the price is excellent, considering that it’s on the bund!

This new year’s day, I met with them again. It was so nice to do this two years in a row and Alina’s parents joined us this time. It was a joyous time to celebrate 2013 and the fact that Alina is also pregnant! She’s about 6 weeks behind me so it’s fun to compare and rub each other’s bellies. 

This year Shook didn’t have a new year’s menu. But they did have their standard 88RMB business lunch and it was EXCELLENT. I had the beet salad, black pig sausage and a fruit cobbler for dessert. Everyone else’s lunch also looked and tasted amazing. I had a bite of everyone’s but Alina’s dad. He had delicious steak that was really rare, oh how I miss rare steak and sushi. 

I see this as a New Year’s tradition for us, next year with our babies. Sadly the hubby had to work both years but it was nice to spend new year’s day with people. 

I think about how different 2013 will be. We will be parents and our lives have been changed forever. 2013 is the year that my wishes came true. 

The only resolution I have this year is to better myself (emotionally, physically, mentally) everyday for my son. I want him to see that even at 33, (or 60) we can always be a better us. I hope that he knows how much we love him, I can’t wait to meet him in May.

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Shook! 
The Swatch Art Peace Hotel
23, East Nanjing Road
(Bund 19)

I’m feeling better today, I just took my last dose of antibiotics and I’m so glad that is DONE. My face and neck have cleared up but left scar marks, I wonder if those will go away on their own. I knew I shouldn’t have scratched them. But anyway, I’m back to myself today and all it took was a good night’s rest. And now… onto some delicious eats!

The first night that our friends were here we ate at Shook!. Wendy emailed us prior to coming and asked if we would like to eat there. I immediately replied that it’s one of my favorites. This was the first time we ate there at dinner, we usually go for brunch. Dinner was nice, we got the set for two and got to choose from a list of dishes and dessert. We tried everything since Wendy and Mike ordered the opposite of what we did. We were stuffed!

We had the rack of lamb and it was moist and tender. Before Shanghai, I didn’t like lamb at all. I can’t tell if my taste buds have changed or if it’s not gamey here. Either way, yum! It’s located near the bund and I suggested (no matter what time you’re there) to walk along the bund. Take pictures, take in the beauty of Shanghai.

What is your favorite place or meal to eat?

My favorite has to be simple NYC pizza. Thin crust and gooey cheese. That is all I want to eat when I go back home!

Happy new year everybody! I am so glad that it’s 2012 and 2011 is now behind us. 2011 was such a terrible year and I felt like the closer we got to 2012, the worst it got. Of course, with the exception of my beautiful niece being born, my BFF’s baby being born and of course us moving to China. I’m ready for 2012, I have a feeling it’s going to be a great year.

Kin, Alina and I had brunch at Shook! and it made me so happy because it is one of my favorite places to eat in Shanghai. Sadly W couldn’t go since he had to be at work. The last time I went there was with him and he wanted to be there today so badly. 

This was the palate teaser and it was tasty. The oysters were just warm enough to melt in your mouth, the salmon and duck/turkey pâté were delicious with the crostini. I didn’t realize you were supposed to take off the layer of fat on the duck/turkey pâté and Kin took it off and it made total sense. It was so good.

I had the brunch special which had eggs, three ways: eggs Benedict, slow soft-boiled egg and a quail egg with smoke salmon. Absolutely divine. 

Kin had steak and eggs with baked beans. It looked so good and I can’t figure out how to rotate this picture so forgive me. I wanted to have a few bites but I was too full from my meal. 

We got the Crêpe Suzette, which they made in front of us with flame and all. It is really rich, so if you don’t like sweets…. don’t get this! I loved it though, it was so buttery and the orange cut through all the richness. It’s perfect to share!

I got out my wallet to pay and Kin told me he already paid! He’s like a Chinese ninja, I had no idea he had paid. Kin and Alina have been so generous and so thoughtful, we are so blessed having them to help us and hang out with us. 

Afterward we ate, Alina and I went shopping and I had so much fun. I can’t tell you how today has lifted my spirits. I’ve been pretty down with all the stresses that 2011 dished out and hanging out with such wonderful friends made my first day of 2012 a perfect one.

Alina had a dream the other night that I got pregnant this year and she was playing with my daughter! When she told me I was beaming with happiness because it would be nice to get pregnant and start a family. I had two dreams recently… one where I had a little boy about 5 years old and it was in the future, I looked much older. Another was where I had a little baby girl and we look the same as we do now. I don’t know if dreams are connected with the future but I really hope so. Maybe 2012 will be our year? Let’s hope!

I sincerely hope that all of you have a blessed 2012. 

Shook! Shanghai

 This past Wednesday the hubs was off and we wanted to have a nice brunch. We called our friend Kin, who always has amazing suggestions for anything and everything. We told him we wanted a delicious, elegant brunch and of course he knew the perfect place. He recommended Shook! in the Swatch Art Peace Hotel. 

It is a very elegant, modern and chic environment. As we walked in we saw the Chef and he kindly greeted us, then we were seated and the director of Food and Beverage greeted us as well. I can’t say enough, personal touches like this really add so much to the dining experience. From where we were seated, we could see across the river to the Pudong skyline. I wanted to take a picture but it was raining and it was difficult to see, please forgive my inexperienced photography from my iPhone.

We decided to go for the 3 course brunch with tea and coffee at the end. I strongly suggest Shook! for not only romantic brunch but I can totally see my friends NCMC coming here in a gigantic group (like we did in NYC) and having a fabulous meal together. They seriously need to visit, as do you.

The views of the skyline were beautiful but I also loved the open kitchen. I love hearing all the cooking, frying, seeing them hard at work reminds me of an orchestra. Every instrument plays it’s part to create beauty. It smelled glorious in the dining area and W and I had fun watching them cook.

W got the green papaya salad was super spicy with crisp, fresh papaya, cucumbers, dried and fresh shrimp and a few baby tomatoes. I couldn’t help but take a few bites from his plate as it was addictive and mouth-watering.

I had the Egg Benedict. It was the most adorable, delectable eggs Benedict I’ve had. I always seem to have a problem with Hollandaise sauce when ordering this dish. I had absolutely no problem here, it was light, flavorful and just the right consistency. The poached egg was perfect, the yolk inside was extra creamy and paired well with the parma ham. 

W had the Phad Thai and he did enjoy it. The dish was inside of a bowl made of a thin fried egg that reminded me of the egg that goes in kim bap. I had a few bites but in all honesty, I really can’t tell the difference between this phad thai and ones I’ve had before. I don’t really know what makes a good, excellent and gourmet phad thai. It was delicious but I would recommend getting something else unless you simply love pad thai more than anything else in the whole world.

I had the pan-fried Sea Bass and when it arrived at my table, it had a bamboo steamer cover! I wonder if it was also steamed? The sea bass was perfectly cooked and I could taste slight sweetness from the palm sugar and it complimented the slightly spicy tomato sauce. I highly recommend this dish, the skin was crispy and the fragrance from the spices were heavenly. 

W had the “Dessert of the day” which was a chocolate tarte with peanuts. The tarte shell was especially delicious, that’s another thing I am extremely picky about. No matter how delicious the filling is, if the tarte shell was made poorly, well… it just ruins it. This was excellent and I honestly thought I wouldn’t like the peanuts but it was actually really nice. It was really silky and the crunch from the peanuts and pastry shell was enough to make me smile! Not to mention the creme sauce that was so rich and was perfect for the tarte. 

Brace yourselves. I got the chocolate sundae and there is no need to explain what goes in this. You should already know! It was the fanciest sundae I’ve had and the ice cream was delicious and not too rich (which I love) and the sauce… well, you know, homemade sauces are unbeatable. Delicious.

We’ll be coming back here for brunch for sure. I think we found our favorite brunch place (so far) in Shanghai. What are some of your favorite brunch places? (Shanghai or anywhere in the world really!) In NYC one of my favorite spots was Alice’s Tea Cup.