[Shanghai] Hai Pai 海派 at Andaz Xintiandi
Hai Pai 海派 at Andaz Xintiandi 安达仕酒店 | Dianping
Address: 嵩山路88号安达仕酒店1楼(近黄陂南路) – 1F/Andaz Xintiandi, 88 Songshan Lu near South Huangpi Lu
Date visited: 2014.03 for weekday lunch
Total bill: RMB¥588 for four people (including 15% service charge)
Will return: Yes
What to get:
– Sizzling eggplant, minced pork, chili, soy sauce, vinegar 家常鱼香茄子
– Baked cod fillet, wrapped in spring onion 葱烤银鳕鱼
– Twice-cooked crispy duck, fragrant spiced, served with lotus buns 香酥小米鸭
Part of the Xintiandi Work Lunch Series
Hai Pai 海派 is a restaurant inside the Andaz Xintiandi serving up modern Shanghainese food. It is great and affordable hotel food without an expense account, which is so rare to find these days because my expense account is definitely linked to my wallet, funded by me, and reimbursed by no one. The only thing I am wary of is that dishes come out incredibly slowly every time I have been here so I have learned to come when I have ample lunch time at work. I kind of had an episode here once where I might have frightened one of the servers because of the wait, after which our dishes came almost immediately… all at once.
Please note there is a 15% service charge.
Sizzling eggplant, minced pork, chili, soy sauce, vinegar 家常鱼香茄子 (RMB¥42)
Recommend: yes
Great with a bowl of white rice.
Baked cod fillet, wrapped in spring onion 葱烤银鳕鱼 (RMB¥210)
Recommend: yes
Growing up and even now, I always have a difficult time eating Chinese fish dishes because Chinese people literally throw the entire fish into the pan and the fish that are typically used have a ton of tiny bones. This dish is the answer to enjoying Chinese style cooking and fish at the same time because it uses cod, which inherently has larger bones and is usually served as a deboned fillet. The cod is buried under scallions, whose flavor diffuses into the cod while cooking.
Twice-cooked crispy duck, fragrant spiced, served with lotus buns 香酥小米鸭 (RMB¥98)
Recommend: yes
Super crispy duck skin and incredibly soft meat. The duck is great with and without the lotus buns.
Seasonal vegetable fried rice, eggs, mushrooms 田园鸡蛋炒饭 (RMB¥32)
Recommend: maybe
We needed a filler rice dish so fried rice it was. The vegetable fried rice was fine I would suggest a different fried rice, perhaps one with some meat for more flavors.
Sichuan spicy wontons, sesame, peanuts, coriander, peppery chili oil 红油抄手 (RMB¥38)
Recommend: no
The wonton wrapping is too thick and there are definitely better wonton alternatives in the area such as at Crystal Jade 翡翠 and Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐.
Shanghainese pork dumplings 上海小笼包 (RMB¥60 for 6 pieces)
Recommend: yes
The xiaolongbao on the other hand had thin wrapping filled with soup. I don’t come here specifically for the xiaolongbao (I am here for the cod and duck mains) but while I am here, I will get these.
Shanghainese rice cake, XO sauce 松脆粢饭糕配XO酱 (RMB¥32)
Recommend: no
This is a Shanghainese snack that I prefer to get in local street shops (for around 2 kuai each!) and this restaurant interpretation does not quite match up. Hai Pai’s strong points are in its mains.
