NEW HEAVEN ON EARTH NOT FOUND IN THE BOOK OF REVELATIONS
(Part 2 of the Shanghai series)

Picking up where i left off in my previous post, my brother and i were at Xintiandi, this resto/commercial complex which literally means "New Heaven on Earth" in Mandarin.

This place is pretty popular, quite a tourist trap. What makes it unique is that it preserves the mid-19th century Shikumen-style buildings . . . think red and black bricks, gray flagstones, narrow lanes, etc.

We eventually decided on this fine-dining Italian resto named Luna. It has a live band (of course, it was a Pinoy band!) and bar area on the ground floor; and a more cozy, subdued lounge dining area on the second.




Check out the interesting mural on the wall, below:



And check out this porkchop with mushroom risotto i ordered, below:


Looks a little hideous, doesn't it? :-d But believe me, this porkchop was nothing short of fantastic! Not only was the portion quite generous, the meat was tender and didn't have that big slab of (admittedly) tasty fat on its side; and the accompanying sauce was sweetish, and perfectly counterbalanced by the mushroom risotto.

As i would say in my mangled Mandarin, "Wow!"


(The Xintiandi complex is at the Puxi side of Shanghai. Check out www.xintiandi.com for full details not only of the shops and restos, but also how the Shikumen architecture was preserved and redeveloped into what it is today)