News
Monday, 22 February 2010 08:02
Written by Justin Fischer

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He's opened up so many new concepts in the past year that it was bound to happen. But we didn't expect his flagship restaurant to go Tango Uniform. That's right, Vargas has sold his pin-up plastered, self-title Vargas Grill on

News
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 08:02
Written by Justin Fisher

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It all started during the Qing dynasty with General Li Shunqing, chief of the palace guards in the Forbidden City. His charge was to protect the royal family. But also under his jurisdiction was the kitchen of Empress Dowager Cixi, where team of chefs prepared a treasure trove of meals deemed suitable only for royalty. Li smuggled the recipes out of the kitchen by painstakingly memorizing them and then dictating them to his secretary once outside the palace walls. Since then, they have been jealously guarded and passed down for four generations, surviving three Chinese revolutions: the Republican, Communist and Cultural.

News
Tuesday, 02 February 2010 08:02
Written by Cordelia O'Hare

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We say ‘Westin’, you think ‘Brunch’. And you are right. But you should also be thinking ‘Thursday night all you can eat amazing Italian food with 2 free drinks for RMB100.’ Did you think that? Thought not.

Prego, the Italian restaurant on the second floor above the atrium, is lorded over by the genius of Chef Stefano. Every Thursday Aperitivo at Prego offers diners a sumptuous spread. From 6.30pm – 9.30pm you can gorge on perfect roast veggies, tomato and mozzarella salad and bruschetta slathered in olive tapenade. Move on to gloriously cheesy lasagne and gnocchi. Take your pick of the thin or thick pizzas with every conceivable topping. Every week they have a different made to order saled. We had a delicious olive, sun-dried tomato and pecorino creation. They do the same with pasta  - we enjoyed carbonara so fresh and with so many crisp bacon bits we had seconds. Washed down with 2 glasses of sparkling wine (a multitude of other options are available to you too) our meal was finally finished at about 9pm. Well we thought so, until the jovial Stefano came round tables bearing delectably delicate tiramisu. We of course ate that too.

Be sure to book as space is limited and demand high. We only wish we had found out about this sooner.

Call 6335 1786 to book. 

News
Monday, 25 January 2010 06:01
Written by Cordelia O'Hare

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If you haven’t heard of it - where have you been? If you have and haven’t been - what on earth have you been doing! The Westin doesn’t hold the much sought after accolade of ‘World’s Best Brunch’ for nothing. Assuming a few of you haven’t been – allow us persuade you…

Bacon so thin and crisply perfect with made to order eggs so edifyingly good you have remind yourself of courses to come. Smoked salmon sprinkled with dill that is dark and sweet and never oily - perfect on the freshly baked rye bread. Sea-fresh halved crayfish and firm chunks of tuna sashimi. Pasta made to order with whatever toppings or sauces you so desire. A glorious Greek spread with tabouleh, hummus and lean, mean kebabs with chive infused sour cream. Cumin, coriander, cayenne and chilli fusion curries from around the globe. Beijing roast duck wraps and steamed, fried and every other sort of dumpling imaginable. Succulent roast beef with herb roasted potatoes and Yorkshire puds. Or have the roast chicken instead – equally as delicious. And the puddings – Oh! The puddings. Cheesecake unlike any we have had in years. Chocolate brownies that are delightfully dark and dense. Homemade ice creams and mousses that titillate the taste buds. If you have space, tackle the truffles, fudges and chocolates galore.

News
Friday, 18 December 2009 08:12
Written by Justin Fischer

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Today, David Laris' consulting firm David Laris Creates has announced that it has officially severed its ties with the up-market deli chain Slice. Laris himself was unavailable for comment, but he provided us with this lovely bit of press release boilerplate:
 
"It has been a joy and a wonder to create this unique landmark brand in  Shanghai. I sincerely hope that Slice continues to flourish and I wish to personally thank all our guests and supporters over the many years of my involvement with Slice."

As much as we like a little bit of juicy gossip about these things, we're sad to report that given what we know, it was a purely amicable separation. To quote Slice general manager Fergus MacDougall, "I've worked with David for about 10 years and we still have a great relationship, but some business relationships change. At this point, my only mission is to maintain the same standards of quality that David had."

Should the claws come out at some point, we'll be sure to let you know...