Shanghai's best gourmet meal

Recommended: Howard's Kitchen

It might look like a plain ol' fish, but Howard markes sure it tastes anything but ordinary.

Howard's Kitchen is a high-end Chaozhou restaurant that quietly opened a few months ago in Changning District.

Proprietor Howard is ethnic Chiu Chow, but he has lived in America for most of his life. There he developed a serious passion for seafood.

At Howard’s Kitchen, chefs prepare seafood to Howard's exacting standards.

His restaurant has quickly become an exclusive spot to enjoy Chaozhou preparations of the freshest fish, mollusks and crustaceans.

Be forewarned: in exchange for exotic seafood like fresh giant sea snail and fresh lobster air-lifted from Chaozhou, expect on average to pay RMB 1,000 for dinner.

“The price is steep, but the raw ingredients are top-notch,” says Peipei Yang, "Tian Xia Mei Shi" magazine food critic.

Food personality Shen Hongfei calls Howard’s Kitchen the best restaurant he’s tried this year. He loves the care Howard puts into his deceptively simple preparations.

“All the cooking they do emphasizes the flavors of the fresh catch,” he says.

He also tipped us off to a great off-menu dish: a whole fish filleted into beautiful sashimi-like slices.

Shen also suggests the sea cucumber, golden bamboo clay pot (秘制金笋煲) and the su mei fish rice.

“Their sea cucumber in rich abalone sauce is one of the best renditions of sea cucumber that I’ve tried,” he says.

Howard's Kitchen, House 2, Lane 1829 Hongqiao Lu, near Shuichen Lu 虹桥路1829弄2号楼, 近水城路, +86 21 6275 7978, hours: 5:30 to 11:30 p.m.

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