Forum FAQ

Preferences

Watched Topics

Watched Forums

Great Breakfast places

Goto page 1, 2, 3 Next

Shanghai Expat Forum Index » City Living Forums » Questions and Answers

Author

Message

donald_china

Talker

Joined: Oct 08, 2005
Posts: 105

Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 03, 2006 - 11:30 AM
Post subject: Great Breakfast places

If you are from an English speaking countries, Brits, Canadians, Ozzies, Kiwis,US etc you may, like me, have a need, particularly at the Week -nds, for a good old fry-up breakfast.
Where would you recommend ?

My own choices---
1.Malones Buffet, great buffet, good price (and they have Black pudding) 70RMB with coffee.
2. Moon river dinner-- benedict B/F, bottomless coffee, the best hash browns--- 56RMB

bellabella

Gypsy Queen

Joined: Aug 03, 2004
Posts: 14989
Location: London
Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 03, 2006 - 11:41 AM

I don't agree with you about MR for a good british fry up (which I haven't found yet in shanghai). Their breakfasts are pretty good (although their hash browns are really not great, just underseasoned fried grated potato) but they are not up to the standard of an english breakfast. I can't put my finger on it but they just don't get it quite right.

Arch is really good for brunch (actually it's good anytime!)
Azul has a really good brunch deal as well but not a lot of choice.
Recently went to Mexico Lindo for brunch which was pretty good actually. and I have heard good things about Kommune but I'm yet to try it.

armie

Barker

Joined: Sep 22, 2005
Posts: 181
Location: Shanghai, PRC
Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 03, 2006 - 12:43 PM

Hmmmm... No proper English fry-up in Shanghai? No big loss IMHO. While I fully support the English habit of eating breakfast at all hours of the day, they include far too many wierd things in their "breakfast". Kippers? Yeech! Black pudding? Blood pudding? What the hell is the difference and why would anybody eat this stuff? Limp, soggy fried tomato? O.K. I can live with this if fried in enough butter but it's not really a plus. All right.... I expect some pushback from you Brits on this one. My top three in Shanghai would be:

Azul - Awesome! Scones and muffins - bring it on. Never had a bad thing off their menu. Also - they serve brunch until something like 4pm.

Rendevouz Cafe - Great American style breakfasts for small kuai.

Arch - Sophisticated brunch fare that's relatively easy on the wallet. Only problem with this place is the seating. Not enough of it and built for dwarves.

bellabella

Gypsy Queen

Joined: Aug 03, 2004
Posts: 14989
Location: London
Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 03, 2006 - 12:52 PM

black pudding is the same thing as blood sausage and i've never eaten it - it's a weird scottish thing that is just gross. But you've clearly never had a decent fry up, it doesn't have to be weird just eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, some kind of potato, plenty of toast and a mug of tea - yummy!

mat

Board Royalty

Joined: Apr 26, 2004
Posts: 6937
Location: Loooooooooooose!
Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 03, 2006 - 12:56 PM

Kommune leaves them all for dead. Cooked up on the BBQ, served with a great coffee from my mate the coffeeologist there in Jamie.

Ours is good as well of course, but we don't do it on the BBQ. Our chefs would get pneumonia.

_________________
www.justbeer.cn Get Loooooooose!

bellabella

Gypsy Queen

Joined: Aug 03, 2004
Posts: 14989
Location: London
Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 03, 2006 - 01:08 PM

well Kommune is definitely on the list for brunch soon then!

DragonAss

Fire-eater

Joined: Apr 25, 2005
Posts: 2566

Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 03, 2006 - 02:47 PM

I love Azul's brunch, never liked scone before dining there.

Henry_Chinaski
Board Lord

Joined: Aug 16, 2003
Posts: 5025

Posted: Jan 03, 2006 - 02:49 PM

Kommune is excellent, Mat is totally right. They do have good breakfast and the BBQ makes all the difference. Their coffee indeed is super, never realized it's because of their coffeeologist.

RC Cafe used to be very very good. Had the real maple syrup in soft pancakes, soft like babies feet know what i mean? Lately the pancakes are too thick and they changed the maple thing for some sort of watered down pancake dressing. Hepatitis pee I guess. Dont know how to say it in English, but it is far from what it used to be. Bacon is crispy and crunchy though. Their omelet (option B in the breakfast menu) used to be megaton super special, with cheese oozing like a broken dam.

I've been once to Vienna Cafe (Shaoxing Lu) and liked their stuff a lot. They know how to make good, strong coffee.
Havent tried the pies but they look amazing. Definitely worth a try someday. Or?

DragonAss

Fire-eater

Joined: Apr 25, 2005
Posts: 2566

Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 03, 2006 - 02:52 PM

Pie in Vienna is nice, not as rich I would expect... but still nice enough, consider the great atmosphere en coffee

Last edited by DragonAss on Jan 03, 2006 - 02:55 PM; edited 1 time in total

mat

Board Royalty

Joined: Apr 26, 2004
Posts: 6937
Location: Loooooooooooose!
Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 03, 2006 - 02:53 PM

Actually yeah, Vienna Cafe is awesome. Nice couple own it as well.

The coffee is great, but i don't like having to ask them not to put milk froth in my espresso. The cakes are so damn good.

_________________
www.justbeer.cn Get Loooooooose!

MaomingMaster
Board Legend

Joined: Feb 03, 2004
Posts: 11059

Posted: Jan 03, 2006 - 03:03 PM

Commune is good, RendezVous used to be good , Malones can shove their breakfast <tried it once, thought it was average, unlike the price>.

I agree with Bella - Shanghai needs a really good caff to serve fry-ups <full english breakfast? I should coco!>. In fact Shanghai needs an Ian Beale style caff serving fry ups with baked beans and big mugs of tea you could strip paint with. Plus a decent chip shop. And a real pub called The Nags Head too.

bellabella

Gypsy Queen

Joined: Aug 03, 2004
Posts: 14989
Location: London
Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 03, 2006 - 03:09 PM

Man there is nothing like a good greasy spoon on a sunday morning to blast the hangover away!

DragonAss

Fire-eater

Joined: Apr 25, 2005
Posts: 2566

Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 03, 2006 - 03:16 PM

Where can I find nice thick en rich black forrest??? It may sound weird for brunch, but weekend I love some indulgement... Very Happy

aquagirl
Veejay
Veejay

Joined: May 02, 2005
Posts: 2094
Location: in a gumdrop house on lollipop lane

Posted: Jan 03, 2006 - 05:46 PM

mat - why would they put milk froth in espresso? i know the coffee wenches there, and they certainly would never put milk of any sort in an espresso unless you ordered it.

that just doesn't sound right.

anyway, rendevouz has good onion rings and steamed milks. the pancakes look like pancakes. the potatoes are ok. the rest i really can't comment on. except that their pancake syrup sucks.

arch, i am sorry to say really sucked the last time i was there. my friend's food had obviously been slapped together out of cooled ingredients and then thrown under the broiler to heat up. my french fries looked and tasted like they were frozen (which is normally ok, but not for their prices. sorry, but they are overpriced).

kommune is a great place, but never had brunch there. was kind of bummed that they took beans off the menu. sorry, but there has to be a supplier for beans (veggie, please!), jamie.

_________________
deliciousness and exciting life go hand in hand

armie

Barker

Joined: Sep 22, 2005
Posts: 181
Location: Shanghai, PRC
Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 03, 2006 - 11:26 PM

Damn you all. I deliberately left Vienna Cafe off my list in the hopes of avoiding a stampede over there on weekend mornings. Sigh..... I've tried a couple of their cakes and they are astounding. Anyone had their actual breakfast yet?

Arch overpriced? Depends on your viewpoint I guess. Like most other western expat haunts it's definitely overpriced by local standards. Given the overall excellence of their food however, I'm pretty happy to pay what they're asking. It's cheap in comparison to Europe, N.A. Sorry to hear about your bad Arch experience Aquagirl, they must have had a bad day. I'm also a big fan of their free wireless and the great views down Wukang and Hua Hai.

Rendezvous' pancake syrup does suck, but the pancakes themselves are good. Maybe if enough people complain they'll switch back. They still get my vote in the burger warz. It's something about the way they combine their bun with the extra thick Kraft Cheese slice. Yum!

mat

Board Royalty

Joined: Apr 26, 2004
Posts: 6937
Location: Loooooooooooose!
Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 04, 2006 - 01:30 AM

OK Aquagirl, sorry for letting the cat out, but Kommune is the real deal.

Seriously, order double espresso all the time at Vienna, of course never ask for milk yet it comes with milk froth on top. Not right for a double e obviously, but that is how it has ALWAYS come for me.

_________________
www.justbeer.cn Get Loooooooose!

donald_china

Talker

Joined: Oct 08, 2005
Posts: 105

Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 04, 2006 - 09:11 AM

I am pleased that my thread has raised a little passion---of course British Breakfasts are something that you cannot be indifferent about, you either love them or despise them. Black pudding, my British mother had them smuggled into Canada, until she found that French-Canadians had an equivalent. By the way it is not Scottish it is from the North of England, rarely see it in London.
In my original I meant O'Malleys for their B/F buffet. Must check out Kommune it has so many supporters, where is it?

bellabella

Gypsy Queen

Joined: Aug 03, 2004
Posts: 14989
Location: London
Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 04, 2006 - 09:27 AM

well Scotland, North England, it's all the same isn't it? At least that's how we southerners see it! Wink

BaoLe
Raver
Raver

Joined: Aug 13, 2005
Posts: 493

Posted: Jan 04, 2006 - 11:21 AM

You can't beat eggs benedict with smoked salmon for just 23rmb at Arch. The downside is that they aren't always on the ball and sometimes I've found a limp lettuce leaf instead of baby spinach and last time I was there the egg yolks were hard. I guess when the boss is away the staff don't really care how it's put together. Has anyone tried Mesa on Julu Lu for their weekend brunch?

_________________
www.derryckmenere.com

donald_china

Talker

Joined: Oct 08, 2005
Posts: 105

Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 04, 2006 - 11:50 AM

Drifting away from the subject--- lettuce, spinach. I think we are talking BRUNCH now,nutritious food etc not B'fast, . B'fast is about grease it should bea real challenge to your coronary arteies.

kanasai

Reacher

Joined: Dec 07, 2005
Posts: 227

Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 04, 2006 - 11:55 AM

For a while there, I thought Arch meant Mcdonalds.

bellabella

Gypsy Queen

Joined: Aug 03, 2004
Posts: 14989
Location: London
Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 04, 2006 - 12:16 PM

^ha ha ha ha!!!

Arch is so far removed from maccyds it's not even funny!

DrMike

Reacher

Joined: Aug 18, 2005
Posts: 344

Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 04, 2006 - 02:32 PM

I had another British treat, Kidneys, somewhere, perhaps at the Bulldog. really great, wash well (to get rid of any residual urine,) slice thin and fry, yum.

DragonAss

Fire-eater

Joined: Apr 25, 2005
Posts: 2566

Status: Offline

Posted: Jan 04, 2006 - 03:21 PM

Mesa is way too overpriced for such a small dosage, I was still hungry after the meal.... 100RMB for 2 slaps of thin smoked salmon, 1 slice of bread en half roasted tomato. 50RMB for tea... ouch... it's hurting... Please... give me some more for the price...