The Bad: Went to the wrong airport, missed our flight.
The Good: Stranded for another night in Shanghai, another restaurant to try.
Ain’t life grand.
A quick google on the best restaurants in the city and I find ourselves the perfect place for a very light late night dinner.
Located on a quiet and beautiful street in the French Concession, The YongFoo Elite has been many things over the years. It used to be the Vietnamese Consulate, the Russian Consulate and the British Consulate. It was also a private members only club before it finally opened its doors to the public as a Shanghainese restaurant serving Qing Dynasty-era dishes.
Sautéed fresh river shrimps – fresh and crunchy little things in a sweet, dark sauce
Steamed mandarin fish – soft and tasty but quite ordinary
Red date pastry – hot, sweet and flaky
The food in YongFoo Elite is not at all bad, albeit not as spectacular as its price tag suggests.
What I find really striking is the place. The old villa filled with antiques and curios, the leather chairs, the dramatic wallpaper, the lovely garden and the romantic lighting, all reminiscent of Shanghai’s elite lifestyle circa 1930’s.
So this is how they roll back then.
The entrance
The main dining room
Second floor dining room
Chinese villa
Four-poster bed in the middle of the garden
Marvelous, isn’t it?
Now if only YongFoo Elite could improve on this signage I found in the restroom:
“Please don’t throw bump into the closestool”
Toink!
The YongFoo Elite 雍福会: 200 Yongfu Road (near Hunan Road), Xuhui District, Shanghai, China. 上海市徐汇区永福路200号 (近湖南路). Tel: +8621-5466 2727
