Hearty winter warming dishes from seafood stew to beef bourgignon, revisiting one of my favorite yakiniku restaurants, and a festive afternoon tea.

Here are some new winter dishes at French restaurant Cuivre, Peruvian restaurant Colca, and High Yaki, plus a winter wonderland teatime at Highline.

Cuivre

Address: 1502 Huaihai Zhong Lu, near Wulumuqi Nan Lu 淮海中路1502号, 近乌鲁木齐南路
Tel: 64374219
Hours: Mon-Sun, 11:30am-2pm, 5:30pm-9pm

Cuivre, one of the best French restaurants in Shanghai.

If you haven’t heard of Cuivre, you’ve been missing out on some truly unadulterated French food.

Behind the food is chef Michael Wendling, one of the old guard Shanghai chefs. He’s been here for over 15 years, and pre-Cuivre was stationed at Le Royal Meridien. The food he serves is rustic, homey, and comforting, and the sauces are unapologetically rich with butter. I’ve been a fan for years.

Cuivre, an excellent French restaurant in Shanghai.

Cuivre just celebrated its 10-year anniversary. That in itself is worth praise—it is no easy feat to a run a consistently good, high-caliber restaurant for 10 years in Shanghai, in the same location no less! (It’s located in Xuhui, right outside Ambassy Court.)

There are plenty of signatures, but chef likes to rotate dishes pretty often, keeping things fresh. Without further ado, here are some winter dishes at Cuivre.

Cuivre, one of the best French restaurants in Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence
Le Poulpe (¥208) – Roasted octopus leg with charred bell peppers, chervil oil, and garlic aioli.
Cuivre, one of the best French restaurants in Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence
Tartiflette (¥198) – A potato casserole traditionally eaten during winter in France. Cubed potatoes with onion and house bacon roasted with a ton of creamy reblochon cheese.
Cuivre, one of the best French restaurants in Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence
Boeuf Bourguignon (¥188) – In my opinion, this is the best beef bourguignon in Shanghai. Thick chunks of beef slow-cooked in a buttery, heady red wine sauce with mushrooms and house bacon. A reoccurring winter dish.
Cuivre, one of the best French restaurants in Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence
L’agneau (¥258) – Also a reoccurring winter special. I first had this lamb shank tajine in 2016 and the memory of it has stuck with me since. Fork-tender lamb shank is stewed with bell peppers and eggplant in a tomato-based sauce seasoned with cumin, among other spices.
Cuivre, one of the best French restaurants in Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence
Served with a side of fluffy couscous.
Cuivre, one of the best French restaurants in Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence
Volaille (¥198) – High-quality “yellow chicken” in a cream sauce with morel mushrooms and penne pasta.
Cuivre, one of the best French restaurants in Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence
If you want to double up on carbs, there’s the penne pasta (¥218) with black truffle, shaved Parmesan cheese.
Cuivre, one of the best French restaurants in Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence
Salade de Chèvre Frais (¥108) – This isn’t a new dish, but it’s a golden oldie. Great as a starter. Arugula and spinach salad with homemade bacon and stick of honey-crisped goat cheese on soft bread.
Cuivre, one of the best French restaurants in Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence
Terrine de Foie Gras (¥158) – Also a signature is the foie gras, marinated with port wine, served with bacon jam.Be sure to order this, too.

The desserts are also really good. My favorite is the apple tart (¥68). Wines by the bottle from ¥380, glass from ¥65.

Colca

Address: 199 Hengshan Lu, near Yongjia Lu 衡山路199号2楼, 近永嘉路
Tel: 54015366
Hours: Mon-Sun, 11am-3:30pm, 5pm-midnight

Colca, a Peruvian restaurant in Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence.

Peruvian restaurant Colca has been a crowd favorite since it opened in 2017. It’s part of the Azul Group, serial restaurateur and F&B veteran Eduardo Vargas’ restaurant group. There are two locations of Colca, one at Yongping Li on Hengshan Lu and another at Sinar Mas Plaza. Some dishes lean towards traditional Peruvian while others are a touch more contemporary, but all consistently enjoyable.

Colca, a Peruvian restaurant in Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence.

The Hengshan Lu location has some new dishes, including an addictive fish stew with rice that’s perfectly comforting for the winter season, a trio of tiradito, and a showstopper of a short rib with Nikkei-inspired flavors.

Colca, a Peruvian restaurant in Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence.
The Broken Tiradito (¥138) – Three kinds of tiradito; seabass in a traditionally citrusy leche de tigre, yellowtail with yellow chili cream, and tuna in a red pepper and coconut sauce. This is a great appetizer to share.
Colca, a Peruvian restaurant in Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence.
I lean towards the punchy citrus version.
Colca, a Peruvian restaurant in Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence.
Pastel de Choclo, Peruvian Corn Pie (¥148) – Lamb shank braised with herbs, red wine, cumin, and chilies, served atop a corn cake with lashings of red wine jus and fresh pomegranate. The corn cake is fluffy, edges crisped from being brûléed with sugar. It’s a hearty dish.
Colca, a Peruvian restaurant in Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence.
Ceviche de Pato (¥138) – A citrus marinated crispy duck with chili, spice, and purple potato hash.
Colca, a Peruvian restaurant in Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence.
Nikkei Short Rib (¥398) – I love it when short rib is done well. A whole short rib’s worth meat glazed in black pepper citrus, served with wild mushrooms and crispy quinoa.
Colca, a Peruvian restaurant in Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence.
The short rib is served with a side of quinoa chaofan.
Colca, a Peruvian restaurant in Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence.
Pan-Seared Halibut “Sudado” (¥158) – “Sudado,” a seafood-rich broth made with fish head, spices, fresh peppers, clams, and tomatoes is poured over creamy rice, topped with a piece of pan-seared halibut. Stuffed as I was, I couldn’t stop spooning mouthfuls of this tasty dish into my mouth. Definitely a must-order.
Colca, a Peruvian restaurant in Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence.
Get a pisco sour or two while you’re there! Pisco cocktails from ¥68.

High Yaki

Address: 481 Jianguo Xi Lu, near Yueyang Lu 建国西路481号, 近岳阳路
Tel: 17701743405
Hours: 6pm-10:30pm

High Yaki is a yakiniku restaurant that does copious amounts of high quality, marbled, dry-aged wagyu beef, grilled on binchotan. Meat is the star here, and it’s supplemented by yakitori and some delicious side dishes. I’ve written about it here, which is basically a love letter on why it’s such a great restaurant.

If you’ve been through recently, you might have noticed chef Carlos Sotomayor behind the open kitchen. He’s been with the team for a while now and has just added some tasty new dishes for the season.

One dish noting in particular is the Yaki Curry, an unconventional Japanese curry with chocolate, banana, chili, and dashi. It’s one of the best things I’ve eaten this year. The flavors are complex, if not, a bit unusual (in a good way), with bittersweet, char, spice, and savory all mixed in. New dishes below!

Crab Salad Tamago (¥88) – A cold starter of egg roll with crab salad dusted with shichimi seven spice powder.
Cured Salmon Pancake (¥75) – Salmon on a hot pancake with wakame seaweed salad and chili oil.
Grilled Octopus (¥98) with kimchi crumbs and silken tofu sauce.
Grilled Baby Potatoes (¥68) with salmon roe and truffle yogurt.
Yaki Curry (¥58) with onsen egg. It’s a mildly spicy vegetable curry atop cheese-capped rice.
The curry is made with 74% dark chocolate, curry paste, dashi stock, and banana. It’s complex, enjoyable, and unique.
I can never resist ordering A5 Wagyu Rib Eye (¥158/piece).
Get some other cuts of beef while you’re there.
And try the M5 Wagyu sandwich (¥148/2 pieces) with truffle sauce.

Highline

Address: 6/F, 282 Huaihai Zhong Lu, near Huangpi Nan Lu淮海中路282号雅诗阁公寓6楼, 近黄陂南路
Tel: 63330176
Hours: 11am-midnight

Highline Shanghai turns their terrace into a winter wonderland for Christmas.

After a successful run last year, Highline brings back their winter wonderland on the terrace. It’s Christmas in overdrive with more than two dozen snowy, baubled trees, snowmen, and fake snow. It’s soooo festive.

Festive afternoon tea at Highline Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence.

There’s also a festive afternoon tea set, available on weekdays from 2:30pm to 5pm. The set is ¥298 for two to share and includes a selection of sweet and savory bites, plus one coffee or tea per person.

Festive afternoon tea at Highline Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence.

On the savory side, there’s roasted chicken sandwiches, citrus-cured salmon with avocad and sour cream on crackers, smoked duck breast toasties, and wagyu beef sliders.

Festive afternoon tea at Highline Shanghai. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence.

On the sweet side, there’s cherry mousse with vanilla sponge cake, chocolate chestnut verrine with coco-crumble and caramel, strawberry cheesecake, apple caramel puffs, and orange-ginger macarons.

Highline Shanghai turns their terrace into a winter wonderland for Christmas. Photo by Rachel Gouk @ Nomfluence

Should you desire to join the droves of KOLs for a postcard picture for the folks back home or for a square on the ‘gram, the decor will be up from now through Chinese New Year.