[Shanghai] Capo
Capo | caposhanghai.com | Dianping
Address: 北京东路99号益丰外滩源5楼(近圆明园路) – 5F/Yifeng Galleria, 99 Beijing East Rd near Yuan Ming Yuan Rd (黄浦区 Huangpu District)
Date visited: 2014.03
Total bill: RMB¥3,138 for 3.5 people (one person joined us halfway through the meal)
Will return: Yes
Following a successful Shanghai Restaurant Week meal (2013.09 edition), I have been wanting to return to Capo for a proper meal. I happen to have a friend who has eaten just about everything on the menu so Capo with her it is. Whenever I go to restaurants, most of my friends don’t even bother opening the menu and ask me to order for the whole table. Once in awhile, I meet a soul who is not only happy to but also capable of ordering without my input. Dining with the Capo expert was nothing less than stellar.
Capo serves Italian food. Before you think pasta and pizza, Italians are also known for their steak and Chef Enzo’s kitchen is a shrine to the cows. A better description for Capo would be an Italian steakhouse. When at Capo, eat as the Italians eat. The Italian meal structure in the most general sense includes antipasta, pasta, meat & fish, and dessert so of course, we followed this with a dish to fulfill each requirement.
To enter Capo, there is a private entrance outside the building next to the Bottega store or you can be like me during Restaurant Week and wander through Muse. Once you make your way up, Jesus can be seen eating a Capo Last Supper. Well, if Jesus approves.
When we arrived, we took seats at the bar for some pre-dinner drinks. The mixologist seemed to know what he was doing judging by my tasty drink. I wouldn’t mind partaking in this pre-dinner ritual more regularly.
I defaulted to a Maple Old Fashioned (RMB¥88). The maple added an extra bit of sweetness that I liked over other Old Fashions I have had. Very nice.
After a very satisfying drink, we moved to the dining area when our table was ready.
We got two giant loaves of bread with whole roasted garlic (complimentary) and atone point my friend started forking out the garlic and eating it alone (glad I didn’t sit across from that one). I pulled the brakes on the bread early and had the server remove them to make room for our proper Italian feast. Sorry, ladies.
A bottle of Casa Lapostolle Cabernet (RMB¥408) to accompany the ladies for the evening.
Tartar of yellow fin tuna (RMB¥98) with misticanza of fresh organic vegetables crudités
Recommend: yes
We started with the tune tartar, which was composed of large cuts of fresh and tender tuna sprinkled with rock salt, minced onions, and sesame. One of the more quality tuna tartars I have had. I also recommend their beef tartar, which I had during 2013.09 Restaurant Week.
Buffalo mozzarella salad (RMB¥128 for half/RMB¥198 for full) with red, yellow, black cherry tomato with extra virgin olive oil and garden basil
Recommend: yes
Next, we got our cheese on with some buffalo mozzarella drizzled in olive oil. I am generally not a fan of tomatoes but the orange ones were better than the red ones. Refreshing.
Tagliolini (RMB¥98 for half; RMB¥128 for full) cacio e pepe with butter, parmesan, smoked cheese and black pepper
Recommend: yes
We especially liked the smoked cheese for a subtle lift. Eat this as soon as you get it before the cheese sauce begins to coagulate.
Next, we had a warm plate change for the fish and meat, which was a minor but necessary detail.
Orata (RMB¥289) whole jet imported Dalian sea bream cooked in Sicilian sea salt crust for two
Recommend: no
This was possibly the only thing on the menu that my friend had not tried yet so we ordered this. The fish was taken off the bone table side by a fellow from the kitchen.
To be honest, this didn’t leave an impression on me. The fish was soft and tasted very similar to typical Chinese steamed fish dishes, which I am not too fond of in general. I am more of a buttery, flakey, fatty cod person. There is a slow roasted Alaska black cod (RMB¥228) on the menu, which I will try next time.
Now we get to my most anticipated part of the meal: steak. Chef Enzo basically goes to the farm he partners with, picks his cows, and they become Capo cows. Therefore, a few of the steaks on the menu are exclusive to Capo. In addition, the beef is aged in-house. There are importing restrictions on aged beef due to bacteria so Enzo’s farm partner flew to Shanghai to teach Enzo’s kitchen posse how to age the beef properly so they can do it all in-house and run the kitchen if Chef Enzo is not there.
CAPO Fiorentina (RMB¥988) 3 to 4 week home dry aged wagyu bone-in ribeye – 450 days grain fed – marble score 6+
Recommend: yes
The Capo Fiorentina is one of the steaks on the menu that came from a Capo-exclusive cow. It sure tasted like a pampered cow. Aside from Roosevelt Prime (which is a USDA Prime steakhouse), the caliber of steaks offered in Shanghai are not impressive by any means, anywhere. But this steak has given me hope that somebody in Shanghai still knows what he is doing with his steaks. If I were to recommend a steak outside of Roosevelt Prime, Capo is the place and this is the steak.
Another fellow from the kitchen came over to carve up the meat table side. Most restaurants have servers cut up the food when presenting it but I think it is a nice touch that Capo sends out cooks to do this.
Beautiful, medium-rareness surrounded by a thin layer of fat just inside the crust. No sauce, just the cow in its own glorious flavor. Impressive in appearance and taste. The menu says it is for one or two people but I think it can feed two people generously or three people sparingly.
Some token vegetable sides, which are pointless when there is meat in front of me.
Cafe Latte (RMB¥48)
Dessert time is something I look forward to at the end of every meal. Apparently so does this girl.
Wild forest berry creme brulee with chocolate lollipop and strawberry sorbet (RMB¥68)
Recommend: no
The creme brulee part itself was great but I didn’t like the layer of mushy strawberry and strawberry jam at the bottom. I prefer a few pieces of fresh fruit with my creme brulee. I am also not very into fruity sorbets as well so this dessert really wasn’t my personal cup of tea.
Hot Venchi chocolate soufflé with coconut ice cream (RMB¥78)
Recommend: yes
The souffle oozed chocolate sauce in the center but tasted slightly overcooked towards the outer edge and my friend who has eaten this a few times confirmed it is usually not overcooked like this. I always thought souffles tasted slightly too light and airy for me; perhaps the reason why I liked this one was because the thickness of the batter tasted closer to a fondant than a souffle. All the right chocolate flavor were there. The coconut ice cream was really good by itself and with the souffle.
Traditional tiramisu with crumble and espresso cream sauce (RMB¥68)
Recommend: yes
Delicious stacks of ladyfingers and cream. I really liked the espresso cream sauce for dipping.
A round of Amaro for digestion.
A round of The Don (RMB¥78) for a nightcap before heading home.
