Dinner at Mercato, Shanghai- 11/3/2023

Tonight we are taking Kevin and Kristie to dinner at Mercato, an Italian restaurant by Michelin starred Jean-Georges Vongrichten.

The bund at night.  The Bund is a famous waterfront on the west bank of Huangpu River and regarded as the symbol of Shanghai surrounded by dozens of historical buildings.

In the background you can see the famous Oriental Pearl Tower (TV tower) located on the banks of the Huangpu River.

The restaurant is located on Three on the bund, a 1916 historic building, famous for its elegance.  The restaurant is located on the 5th floor with great view of the Bund.

We are now inside the restaurant.

This is the view of restaurant from our table.

View of the Oriental Pearl Tower from our table

Passion fruit cocktail and Campari cocktails.

Starting our meal.

Risotto croquette, courtesy of the house.  Really delicious.

Starting the meal with a trio of appetizers.

The first appetizer is a spicy Tuna.

Spicy Tuna, cucumber, puff rice.  Very tasty and a great starter to wet your appetite.

The 2nd appetizer is a salmon Carpaccio with a neat presentation

Very light and very flavorful.

The 3rd appetizer is a char grilled Octopus, caper, garlic dressing with warm potato salad with green olives and fennel

Assortment of bread with our 3 appetizers.

Cheers to a wonderful meal in Shanghai.

I ordered the pan seared Cod, sautéed broccolini, mushrooms with a creamy corn sauce.

So tasty!

Kristie ordered the porcini crusted salmon, warm leek vinaigrette and herb.

It was delicious so we asked our waiter how it was prepared and she told us that they take the porcini and sautéed them with shallots and garlic and then purée them. Then it is rolled out on parchment paper, cut in a rectangle, put it in the fridge so it’ll stick together, and then put it atop of the salmon, as a crust. This gets sautéed, and you really taste the mushrooms. Then there’s a leek fondue, which is just chopped leeks and spring onions served with a lemon vinaigrette.

Mercato is famous for their pizzas.  We ordered a mixed vegetable with a runny egg in the center.  Nice crust and we also enjoyed the topping.

Kevin ordered a Red wine braised beef short ribs with carrots, whipped potatoes and herb

Delicious!

The portion was huge!

Group picture!  Enjoying our meal.

For dessert, we ordered 3 types of gelato

Raspberry panna cotta with gelato and crispy tuile.

Beautiful presentation!

Both of our desserts.

We were lucky to get a table next to the window.   The view here is so beautiful.

Kevin and Kristie had a great meal!

Cheers to a great evening/

Afterwards we took Kristie and Kevin to rooftop so they can enjoy the view of the surrounding.

The view up here is really spectacular!

Next...Cocktail at Epic