ROWT Shanghai: Modern Chinese With Cantonese Roots

Located in Shanghai’s INS building is ROWT, a contemporary Chinese restaurant led by Executive Chef Sean Yue. Cantonese cuisine acts as the foundation for experimentation with modern cooking, and combines French technique and a hint of Japanese influence.

About Sean Yue

Sean Yue, chef at ROWT, formerly VO Shenzhen and Ensue Shenzhen

Chef Sean Yue (岳巍) was formerly the assistant chef and R&D chef at Asia’s 50 Best restaurant Ensue, and chef at contemporary farm-to-table restaurant Voisin Organique (Black Pearl awarded), both located in Shenzhen. He went to culinary school in Australia and worked at award winning Japanese restaurant Tetsuya in Sydney.

About ROWT

ROWT, which aims to preserve a farm-to-table ethos, stands for “raw, organic, warm, and texture.” The restaurant opened late 2023.

ROWT, a contemporary Chinese restaurant in Shanghai. Photo @ Nomfluence

It’s located on the second floor of the INS building within Fuxing Park. The space is modern with minimalistic décor. It’s austere yet grand. The main dining hall has a view of the open kitchen, flanked by a wine display. Additionally, there is also a large private room.

The Food at ROWT

The set menu is ¥1,280 per person plus 10% service charge. There are usually between 12-14 dishes, and the menu changes seasonally, save for a handful of signature dishes like the Crispy Braised Duck. The menu below will run until end of August.

Appetizers present a refreshing fresh and jellied white loquat, a green pea and pea shell with fava bean purée topped with bacon jam, and fried Bombay Duck (fish).

Next, a cashew milk fermented with house-made koji, spring peas, perilla oil, and oscietra caviar. The cashew milk is thick, almost like whipped cream, and has clean and fresh milky flavors that go well with the grassy herbs and sweet peas.

A highlight was the Qiongshan Tofu, a soft, silky pudding from Hainan. The Qiongshan Tofu is paired with seafood stock, served with fresh crab meat, shepherd’s purse, and water chestnuts. It is a splendid dish of light custardy tofu, crunchy water chestnuts, shepherd’s purse, and diced scallops.

Next, nodoguro (blackthroat sea perch) is served with a seafood stock and fresh, fermented, and aged radish. Then, a roasted chicken chicken, which was prepared similarly to their signature duck. The chicken was juicy, tasted good, and had a crispy skin, and was fine but lacked inspiration.

An off-menu dish surprises. It’s a lobster served with a fantastic sauce inspired by the current xiaolongxia (crayfish) season, made with the heads and peppercorns.

Next, a palate cleanser of sorbet made with Indian gooseberry, a hyper sour fruit with a mild bitterness and a dry finish, marinated honeydew slices, and fermented Indian gooseberry juice. The oils are made with a Chinese medicinal herb.

Finally, the signature Crispy Braised Duck. The duck is cold smoked, brined, then dry-aged for 14 days, and grilled over charcoal. The breast is dense in texture with a brittle, crispy skin, and has deep flavors. A highlight. It’s served with a duck soup, amplified with a garum made with duck and chicken.

Following the duck was rice with monkfish liver sauce and topped with tender fish maw. It was comforting and satisfying and loaded with flavor.

The dessert was truly memorable. The first was a crème brûlée of Longjing tea with seaweed ice cream and caviar. It is sweet and savory with toasted tea notes and the brininess of the ocean. I’m a huge fan of savory desserts and this one is ranks pretty high.

Then, a Perilla Seed and Mugwort cake. Inspired by a Hakka-style dim sum, one that’s lesser seen due to its complicated process. It’s made with clarified chicken fat, perilla seeds, and mugwort paste. It was fragrant, dense but in a good way, and had excellent texture.

In Summary

There are some very creative dishes at ROWT. like the cashew milk, Qiongshan tofu, and seaweed ice cream dessert. The duck did not disappoint as a signature. Some dishes could use some tweaking, like the chicken. Overall, it was an interesting menu that got me looking into a wider variety of Chinese ingredients.