Shanghai Love: Asian-Inspired Brunch & Free-Flow

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Jing’an restaurant and bar Shanghai Love has a new Asian-inspired brunch that’s all about turning your favorite Asian dishes into tasty brunch plates. Free-flow from ¥198.

Nomfluence Readers Deals below.

About Shanghai Love

Shanghai Love is a restaurant and bar in Jing’an brought to you by the beverage brand of the same name, founded by Kia Parsai. It’s located in Fengsheng Li on Maoming Bei Lu.

Come weekends, the whole strip turns into a pedestrian street, which can be quite busy, but still nice because there’s more space to stand about. Brunch at Shanghai Love has more of a party vibe, encouraged by a jivey retro playlist. From my experience, people that come for brunch usually stay through to the evening.

It’s great for day drinking, especially when the weather is nice. Plus, Shanghai Love also dog-friendly outdoors.

Asian Comfort Brunch

Brunch dishes are in line with their usual food offerings, which are twists on Asian favorites or with Asian flavors. Think bulgogi beef with Korean chili pepper spiked hollandaise as an eggs Benedict, ramen in the style of mac ‘n’ cheese, and chilaquiles doused in Thai red curry. A handful of dishes are also vegetarian-friendly.

Here’s what to expect:

First off, **fresh oysters** are ¥228 for a dozen during brunch, served with a shiso vinaigrette. A dozen oysters are usually ¥398.

**Son-in-Law Eggs (¥38)** – An ode to the Thai dish of the same name. Deep-fried hard-boiled eggs with sweet and sour tamarind sauce topped with fried shallots, dried chilies, and cilantro. A no-brainer starter dish.

**Korean Bulgogi Benedict (¥128)** – The hero dish in my opinion. Beef bulgogi with onsen egg, gochugaru hollandaise, kimchi, banchan, nori, on milk toast. It’s saucy, spicy, zingy and with a hint of sweetness and tons of texture. Very delicious and satisfying.

Shin ramen—yep, that one—mixed with loads of melted cheese and topped with fried shallots. Spicy, cheesy, gooey, and will pummel any hangover out of existence. Why use macaroni when you can use ramen. F-yeah.

**Thai Chicken Chilaquiles (¥68)** – Another dope dish. Thai-style red curry with shredded chicken tossed with fried corn tortilla chips, topped with onsen egg, cheese, pico de gallo, lime, and fresh herbs. Crunchy chips soaked through with a spicy, zingy curry. Yum.

**Prawn Cake Benedict (¥98)** – A Southeast Asian twist on eggs benny. A fried katsu tiger prawn cake served on milk toast topped with onsen egg, Thai hollandaise, fried shallots, and cilantro.

**Koo Koo Sabzi (¥68)** – An ode to founder Kia’s heritage, which is essentially a Persian-style egg frittata. Eggs beaten with parsley and dill then pan-fried, served with mildly tart barberries and feta cheese. A very tasty breakfast dish.

**Tokyo Egg Salad Sandwich (¥58)** – Classic Japanese style, just like in the convenient stores. Egg salad gelled together with Kewpie mayo plus a yolky boiled egg in the center in between milk toast.

**Fried Chicken & Waffles (¥138)** – A twist on the American classic but with Hong Kong-style egg waffles. Shanghai Love beer battered fried chicken with spicy honey-curry gravy on pandan egg waffles. It’s a hefty plate.

**Japanese Curry Poutine (¥58)** – Inspired by Canada’s comfort food, served with Japanese-style curry, diced vegetables, and mozzarella cheese. Sweet curry with melty cheese on fried carbs.

These three brunch items are also available on the dinner menu:

**Shanghai Love Signature Sando (¥108)** – Their take on a Japanese steak sandwich. It’s a 100g tenderloin katsu with tamarind glaze, cabbage slaw with milk toast. Can’t go wrong with this classic Shanghai Love dish.

**Spicy Beef Tartare (¥128)** – Hand-diced beef tartare with Thai chilies, cilantro, onion, fish sauce, and toasted rice powder, served with prawn crackers. It’s quite spicy, but the addictive kind.

**Tom Yum Mussels (¥138)** – A shareable snacky item. Mussels in tom yum broth served with toasted baguette. Savor that soup!

For dessert:

**Mango Sticky Rice Krispies (¥68)** – Cubed Rice Krispies with fresh mango and fruit, drizzled over with coconut cream.

**Chocolate Cinnabon (¥68)** – Fluffy house-made cinnamon rolls topped with Shanghai Love Chocolate Stout syrup.

Drinks Situation: Free-Flow

As for drinks, there are two options for free-flow, a pretty bountiful “entry level” drinks selection and a premium one. It’s ¥198 for three hours of free-flow draft beer and cocktails, bubbles, Spritz, and drinks with house pour spirits.

The premium free-flow is ¥488 for all of the above plus selected premium Chinese wines, Chandon sparkling and rosé, and selected premium spirits. Bottles of Pol Roger Brut champagne are ¥888 instead of ¥1,288.

**Signature Bloody Mary (¥68)** – A solid BM. Made with Nine Wild Tales, a chili-infused liqueur made in China, served with a spiced rim.

They also have fresh coconuts (¥48), juices (¥48), and coffee.

Nomfluence Readers Deals

The deal below is valid from now until May 28, 2023 for Nomfluence Readers when you book via the link below!

Complimentary selected drink* with brunch.

*Complimentary drink includes any Shanghai Love draft beer, house cocktail, soft drink, coffee, or juice. Limited one per person with purchase of a brunch dish.

Click here to book now!

Shanghai Love
Address: 221 Maoming Bei Lu, near Nanjing Xi Lu 茂名北路221号, 近南京西路
Tel: 62666517
Brunch, Sat-Sun, 12pm-3pm (last order 3pm)
Hours: Daily, 11:30am-midnight