[Shanghai] Pirata 比拉达厨房

Pirata 比拉达厨房 | Dianping
Address: 新乐路136号(近襄阳路) – 136 Xinle Lu near Xiangyang Lu (徐汇区 Xuhui District)
Date visited: 2014.07 for dinner
Total bill: ~RMB¥1200 for four people including drinks
Will return: Yes
What to get:
– Iberico ham shoulder
– Foie gras toasts
– Steak tartare
– Suckling babi guling
– Spicy clams with Thai basil
– Grilled homemade chorizo

Update: please see second post for more dishes!

Literally never having been at the apartment all at the same time for a meal, the roommates and I got together for roomie dinner… outside of the apartment… at Pirata. And after this, we still have not accomplished being in the apartment at the same time for a meal. Purpose failed. But we had a great meal at Pirata. Simple, straightforward plates that pleased our palates. It was not a lost cause.

Sangria (RMB¥145 for half/RMB¥270 for full) with choice of white/red and warm/cold sangria. We went through two full sizes.

Iberico ham shoulder (RMB¥108)
Recommend: yes
Quality thin ham slices accompanied by warm tomato toast.

Foie gras toasts (RMB¥75)
Recommend: yes (must get)
This was our favorite dish of the night! Super creamy foie gras combined seamlessly with the garnishes.

Steak tartare (RMB¥58)
Recommend: yes
The beef was light and not gamey at all. Mix all the ingredients together and eat with accompanying toast.

Fried mini squid (RMB¥58)
Recommend: no
Mini squids were truly mini and couldn’t really distinguish the taste from the fried batter. Better calamari elsewhere (like at Scarpetta).

Steak gyros (RMB¥115)
Recommend: no
Didn’t like. The steak was tough and tasted quite gamey like lamb. The hummus and white sauce failed to pack a punch to flavor the gyro. The whole thing was quite bland.

There are also dishes on the menu that rotate daily such as seafood ceviche on Mondays, moules frites on Fridays, and paella on Sundays. Our Tuesday special was the suckling pig.

Suckling babi guling (RMB¥98)
Recommend: yes
Super crispy pig skin on soft pork meat. The rice was fragrant with a pleasant ginger taste.

All the dishes we ordered initially ends here. After we finished all of the above, we all said we could eat more. We kept seeing other dishes go past our table and proceeded to order whatever we saw and continued the meal.

Spicy clams with Thai basil (RMB¥68)
Recommend: yes
A surprise hit at the table as we passed on this during our initial order. Very hearty broth with good flavor. No fishy taste in the clam.

Grilled homemade chorizo (RMB¥85)
Recommend: yes
Thick slices of warm chorizo on a large warm toast, a different take from the usual thinly-sliced cold chorizo starters.

Ferrero toasts (RMB¥40) 
Recommend: maybe
A nice idea but honestly I have a tub of Nutella at home that I eat out of with a spoon. The chocolate is good but I think Nutella is slightly better. It does indeed taste like a Ferro Rocher. I would recommend this if you don’t have immediate access to a tub of Nutella.

Roomie!

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