Eating out

Last week I tested four new restaurants: new cafe from where to pick great paninis, pieces of pizza or sets of tapas for lunch (I actually tested all the before mentioned, and went there four times in a week! Well, we decided to be supportive for the new entrepeneur. And it is inexpensive, 50 RMB for luch set, including soft-drink).

Then I went to an Indian restaurant Indian Kitchen with friends. Earlier, I've been restricting myself to Vedas, 'cause I like their food, even the restaurant itself is a little cold. I mean the decor isn't their strong suit. We often opt to eat on the lounge side, it has got loads of more atmosphere and character. But I found Indian Kitchen to be worthy of a new visit, soon. I LOVE Indian food. And Indian Kitchen was much more affordable than Vedas.

Thirdly, on Satuday night we went to Chartre. Kind of French restaurant, but, which is quite common here, not purely French, as they also had French fries, potato skins, rice curries and bunch of other stuff available. Chartre is located in an older building, and I, no, all of us, found the atmosphere and milieu really nice. We ate upstairs, which was more quite and private than sligthly noisy downstairs. All the dishes were reasonably priced, and manu was extensive. There were couple of bummers, though: three of us ordered grilled leg of lamb. It had not been grilled, and it was not a leg of a lamb. To be honest, it had an "earthy" taste in it, so it wasn't very good. But fillet of beef was, or so was reported. Another bummer was desserts: four of us ordered chocolate mousse, and they only had one left. Three of us then had to change, but they were also out of couple of other dessert options. But we got our desserts ordered. When they brought them up, they only had one piece of Very chocolate something something cake left, even though two of us had ordered that. I was one of the two, and luckily for me, the other person was a gentleman and let me have the last piece: it was very chocolate, and very good. But the said gentleman was then left without dessert at all. But very nice atmosphere, maybe we'll try them again sometimes.

And lastly, we also went to Mesa/ Manifesto. I've been trying to go there for some weeks now, but always end up somewhere else. I have no idea what is up with that. But now the important first step has been taken, and I will be returnig. I think. I try, anyway.

Okay, what is the point of this lengthy narrative of what I have gulped down during the past week? The point is, that this city is so full of amazing restaurants, where you can eat with remarkably less than in Finland. But with this remarkable restaurant-scene two things follow: at any given moment I could think of at least 5 restaurants I have not been to, and would like to try. Most of the time it is closer to ten, than five. (Like now: one Japanese, its name escpaes my mind at the moment, beed-place Moon's, Italian restaurant Casanova, and I want pizza at Velvet Lounge (some say it is the best of the city), Whisk, acclaimed for its chocolate cake, Vue, a high-end place with gorgeous Bund views and House of Hamilton and... about 1000 Chinese restaurants. I could go on and on, you know.) At the same time, I would also like to go to the places I have already been to, and that I liked. Or loved. Or drooled at.

But biggest problem of them all: I have no idea how, after Shanghai, I am going to be able to go back to living in my hometown Tampere, which, with love, and all, has only a few decent places to eat, and even fewer of them have any distinctive character! Well, I have more than a year to enjoy Shanghai.