TIDEZINE CATEGORY
Food
Upstairs FLAIR Steals the Spotlight, Downstairs AURA Quietly Holds Its Own with an 888RMB Seafood Tower
On the 52nd floor of The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong, AURA Lounge lives in the shadow of its sister bar FLAIR—but carves out its own presence with a seafood tower, champagne pairings, and live jazz.
Mermaid Shows, Mughal Tents, Century-Old Houses: Six Phuket Restaurants Turn Setting Into the Main Course
Phuket's top-tier dining isn't just about sea views and ingredients—it's about how far a restaurant is willing to take its story. From underwater mermaid shows to Mughal-inspired rooftop tents, six restaurants each commit fully to a single concept and let the menu follow suit.
From 280 Bottles to a 450-Bottle Wall: Juniper Turns a Warehouse Into Shanghai's Biggest Gin Den
Banu left the corporate world and moved her 280-bottle gin collection into an old Suzhou Creek warehouse. Now Juniper's bottle wall has grown to 450, making it Shanghai's largest gin bar and a global-flavor restaurant to boot.
Durian Youtiao's Revenge: TonAri, the Bar in a Jing'an Alley That Doesn't Want to Steal the Spotlight
Tucked away on Wuding Road in Jing'an, TonAri is a French-Chinese fusion bar built by the original team behind Voisine. Owner Zita Hu is on a mission to hold ground in a shrinking natural wine market. But the biggest surprise on the menu? A durian and cheese youtiao.
Shanghai's Natural Wine Landmark SOiF Shuts Down: This Isn't the Death of Natural Wine — It's the Bubble Bursting
SOiF on Wuding Road quietly closed its doors in late June, marking the end of an era for Shanghai's natural wine wave. But global data shows the natural wine market is still growing — the real issue is that China skipped straight past understanding and went right to consuming the symbolism.
How to Eat Your Way Through Shanghai in 30 Dishes: From Crab Roe Devotion to the Great Sheng Jian vs. Guo Tie Debate
A local food writer has put together a definitive 30-dish must-eat list for Shanghai, complete with specific restaurant picks for crab roe noodles, sheng jian bao, and scallion oil noodles — and even walked food YouTuber Joshua Weissman through two of the stops in person.
Shanghai Lawry's Launches BBQ Brunch, But the Real Star Is That Crispy Pork Belly
Lawry's Shanghai has rolled out a new summer BBQ brunch — ¥398 gets you unlimited grilled bites and a salad bar, plus a four-hour ¥188 free-flow option. But the signature dish ended up getting upstaged by the roasted pork belly.
The Sign Says French, But the First Bite Says Asia: Pepite's Unguarded Seafood on Donghu Road
Alexandre Marchon, head chef of the Blaz and Babar team, has opened a new spot called Pepite on Donghu Road, billed as French coastal seafood — yet it opens its story with a raw tuna dish, a move more intriguing than the signage suggests.
The Shanghai Napoli Pizza Joint That Sands Down Its Crust With a Power Tool Now Has a Huangpu Location
Uncle Beam started out as a home operation in Minhang, building a following on fermented dough and near-obsessive quality checks fresh out of the oven. Now it's opened its first downtown location in Huangpu, focused on delivery and takeout.
Bangkok Bars' New Gimmick Is Class: Seven Bars Where You Sip While You Learn
From Bar Thakatha's red-neon lecture nights to Wasteland's sustainability R&D lab, seven Bangkok bars are pairing their cocktail menus with lecture themes. Here's a rundown of each one's signature topics, drinks, and addresses.
Using Spaghetti for Pad Kra Pao Pad Thai, This Thai Restaurant Tucked in a Changning Alley Is Not Playing Around
Akanee swaps out the rice noodles in Pad Thai for orecchiette. Chef May Phannita, a Le Cordon Bleu grad, is bringing Bangkok's hottest Modern Thai trend to life inside an old house in Changning—charcoal grilling and plating included, no shortcuts taken.
"I'm Back": Chef Carlos Sotomayor Returns to Shanghai, Taking on Two New Kitchens at VICE and Pony Up
After some time off, Chef Carlos Sotomayor is stepping into the kitchens of both VICE and the new Pony Up bar at the same time—while, in that very same month, the 18-year-old Maya and all Xiao Nan Guo locations quietly shut their doors for good.
Two-Michelin-Star 102 House Goes Dark, Leaving the Bund to Small Shops This Month
Shanghai Bund institution 102 House has closed after its lease expired, with Soif and EPIC shutting down the same month. Taking their place: sourdough bread, thick-cut popcorn, and French-Chinese fusion wine bars.
Tom Holland Was Interviewed Making Pizza, But Ended Up Endorsing This Kingston Thai Pub Instead
To promote "The Odyssey," Tom Holland and Matt Damon made pizza on camera for The New York Times, but the conversation shifted to his go-to restaurant back home—The Cocoanut, a Thai pub in Kingston upon Thames that's been open for over a decade.
Kaneko Hannosuke Skips the Tendon This Time: Its Overseas-First Tempura Counter Lands in Xinyi
Taiwanese diners know Kaneko Hannosuke for its tendon rice bowl, but the brand's Taipei debut is actually a different Nihonbashi lineup — "Tenpura Meshi." With just 20 counter seats and everything fried fresh in front of you, the standout is a 30cm conger eel and soft-boiled egg rice combo.
Thai Star Chef Pam Heads to Australia: Khao San Sek Transplants to Perth As-Is, Sydney Gets a Brand-New Concept
After completing a full renovation and menu overhaul at POTONG, chef Pichaya "Pam" Soontornyanakij has announced her Australian expansion for 2027 — signature Khao San Sek moves into Crown Perth, while Sydney gets an entirely new concept called Sek.
From Chinese Family-Style Feasts to Nobu Bar on the 57th Floor: Five Bangkok Tables Worth Booking This Week
32 handmade dim sum items at Conrad, five-sense cocktails at Nobu on the 57th floor, a seasonal menu from three chefs at SOMA, a two-night Phuket pop-up at Carlito's, and ingredients flown in from Tokyo's Toyosu Market at KAYAKI—Bangkok's tables this week each carry their own story of origin.
HK$558 Brunch with a 50th-Floor Infinity Pool Thrown In — Here's Why This Tsim Sha Tsui Weekend Deal Adds Up
Swim Club at Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui has launched Baja Brunch, and booking a table gets you access to the 50th-floor infinity pool and 11th-floor spa facilities — turning a meal into half a day of resort-style downtime.
Ex-Tattoo Artist Opens Restaurant: GEN Brings Guizhou's Sour and Spicy to a Jing'an Alley, Paired with Natural Wine
Guizhou native July went from tattoo artist to chef, chatting up the idea for GEN with neighbor Dali during lockdown. Using fermented sour-spicy flavors to create quirky East-meets-West dishes, paired with a full natural wine list, the tiny doorway hides a lively scene all night long.
On Fumin Road's Bar Strip, Laizhou Bar Earns Its Stripes with a Bone-In Pork Cutlet
Fumin Road is packed with bars, and Laizhou Bar is often treated as just a place to grab a quick bite between drinks. But a bone-in Iberian ham and cheese pork cutlet is enough to make you reconsider what this kitchen is actually capable of.
Deng Huadong's Two Restaurants: Grand Spread at Nanxing Yuan, True Sichuan Flavor at Deng Ji Shi Yuan
From cooking for Joël Robuchon, to Deng Huadong at Black Pearl restaurant Nanxing Yuan, to Deng Ji Shi Yuan where you can eat for 200 RMB a head — same chef, three price points, one Sichuan flavor.
7 New Bangkok Spots to Try This Rainy Season: From a 200-Year-Old Milanese Café to Royal Thai Cuisine
Ankle-deep water floods Bangkok streets, but the dining scene shows no signs of slowing down. Cova sets up shop at One Bangkok, Mezzaluna flies in a ninth-generation sake brewer from Fukui, and Wisetwiso crafts royal Thai dishes from post-rain ingredients — here are seven spots worth getting your feet wet for.
Carlos Finally Has His Own Restaurant: VICE Shanghai Opens in Xuhui
Chef Carlos Sotomayor has spent years making a name for himself in Shanghai's dining scene, always as the headline act in someone else's restaurant. That changes with VICE Shanghai at No. 128 Yongjia Road — his first real stage to call his own.
Easter Comes Early, and The Portman Ritz-Carlton Is Anchoring Its Whole Brunch Spread with Brazilian-Style Roast Lamb
Easter falls on April 5 this year, and Portman's Restaurant at The Portman Ritz-Carlton Shanghai is rolling out a Brazilian churrasco-style roast lamb leg alongside a full carvery spread, with Peter Rabbit and hoop games on hand to keep the kids entertained.