Summer Break in China - Day 10

 

June 22, 2024

Today we have to pack up from our hotel of 4 nights and catch the train to Shanghai. Shanghai is one of the biggest cities in the world and is by far the most foreigner friendly city in China. We had breakfast at Mango Hotel again.

Last breakfast at Mango Hotel

I really enjoyed the breakfast here everyday. We had our daily coffee at Luckin Coffee, then checked out of the hotel and headed to the train station. I still can't believe you can take a train from Tianjin to Shanghai in less than 5 hours now. That's CRAZY fast. It's over 1000 km between the two cities (almost 700 miles), just to give you an idea.

Waiting for the train

Girls on the train

The train ride was pretty comfortable, and the view was pretty nice sometimes. The train also has a cafeteria. You are allowed to get off at the stops along the way but just remember it doesn't stop long at all. 

View from the window on the train

After arriving in Shanghai, we checked into our hotel. Our hotel for the next 4 nights is the 5-star Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund. We booked 3 rooms for the 6 of us. 

Lobby of Waldorf Astoria

The feeling is immediately different here - everyone at the check-in counter was speaking English. It's after 6pm now so we planned on dinner at the hotel. The hotel has quite a few restaurants to choose from. We decided to go with Wai King Kok, a fancy Chinese restaurant that used to be on the Michelin recommended list. Wai King Kok has a big menu, with tasting menus available. Teddy and I decided to do the tasting menu while the rest of the table ordered a-la-carte. 

Wai King Kok 

Credit: Restaurant Management

Wai King Kok is one of the restaurants located in Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund hotel. The Bund is a famous area in Shanghai that has a very long history. It's next to the Huangpu River. The Huangpu River divides Shanghai into two parts: Pudong and Puxi, which literally means East of Bank and West of Bank. The Bund is located in the west part, along with old Shanghai and many attractions. East of Bank has famous landmarks like the Oriental Pearl. When you visit Shanghai, visiting The Bund is a must-do. 

Wai King Kok was a Michelin recommended restaurant in 2019 and 2020. The restaurant was beautiful and there were plenty of servers. The dishes were presented beautifully but our experience was somewhat mixed, although they were quick to make remedies. The price is high here - about 4 times the price of a typical Chinese fine dining. They have multiple tasting menus and a-la-carte menu, and they don't require the whole table to order from the same menu, which was nice. We chose the 2 person tasting menu, which was ¥468 per person (roughly $60 per person). There is a 3 person tasting menu for ¥2358 total (roughly $328 total). All menu prices will have a 15% gratuity charge added. Following are the courses we received from our tasting menu.

Amuse Bouche

The amuse-bouche was a lychee course and a pickled tomato course. They were pretty good. Kind of interesting little bites.

First Course: Appetizer Trio

From left to right: Cane Shoots w/Shrimp Roe, Boiled Salted Goose, and Pork Trotter Jelly. Not bad, but nothing memorable. 

Second Course: Drunken Crayfish in Moutai

The flavor of Moutai was quite strong, which I kind of liked. The crayfish was cold but tasted good.

Third Course: 

Double-Boiled Sea Whelk Soup w/Winter Melon and Tuberose. I love winter melon soup. However, this winter melon was just a tad undercooked if you ask me. But the presentation was beautiful and I loved the little tea light under it to keep it hot.

Fourth Course: 

Wok-Fried Wagyu Beef Cubes w/Sichuan Pepper and Garlic in Clay Pot. This was very good. Wagyu beef is a common item we see on Michelin tasting menus. 

Fifth Course: 

Wok-Fried River Shrimp w/Lotus, Water Chestnut, & Sweet Peas. I'm not a big lotus root fan, but they are known for their health benefits, so there's that. 

Sixth Course: 

Poached Daylily w/Salted Egg & Preserved Egg  in Superior Soup. Yum!! I love Salted Egg AND I love Preserved Egg but I never thought of putting them together. Hmm... It's really good! I also love edible flowers!

Seventh Course: 

Hsinchu Rice Noodles w/Clams & Scallop in Sour Soup. Wow. They are lucky I like soups so much. Because it's been a lot of soups! I guess I'm lucky too! This was super yummy!

Eighth Course: 

With the dessert course, we were given a choice. Either Snow Peach Puree w/Peach Gum & Fresh Peach (above), or Chilled Waxberry & Lychee Jelly (below). 

You can't go wrong with either option, although if you've never had waxberry before, then you may be surprised by its flavor. It tastes like cranberry but there's something unique about it. 

This was a very fun tasting menu to do. The pace was very good and the price was great compared to the a-la-carte pricing. I was impressed with the variety of unique Chinese ingredients, beautifully presented to predominantly foreign patrons, which made it exciting. After dinner, we went to our room. The view is magnificent!

View from our window