With Noma in mind – one of the world’s top restaurants, as well as one of Denmark’s most intriguing concepts that has inspired chefs around the globe – Shanghai’s two newest Scandinavian restaurants, Promise and EHB, boast dishes that are in line with the New Nordic movement. This movement emphasizes celebrating the seasonality of ingredients and the ultimate goal of eating more sustainably.
We recently visited both venues (in the same week, nonetheless) for a side-by-side comparison and to share which splurge-worthy dining experience is worth springing for.
Promise
Stockholm native chef Jim Löfdahl studied under the renowned chef Björn Frantzén at the three Michelin star-awarded venue Frantzén before opening the first international Frantzén outpost, Franztén Kitchen, in Hong Kong. There, he eventually launched his own restaurant, the equally lauded Embla, but his first foray into the mainland came only this March with the opening of Promise, in the Donghu Lu Grand Mansion.
Chef Sebastian Carl Johan, Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Here, the everyday kitchen operation is helmed by chef and sommelier Sebastian Carl Johan, the previous Head Chef of Embla. Together, the duo is leaving a noteworthy Nordic footprint on the Shanghai dining scene – reaching beyond the plate to drinks, décor, service, and the entire holistic experience.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Designed by Nothing Studio in true Nordic fashion, the interior is minimalistic, blending the Scandinavian world of hygge (or comfort-driven) aesthetic by integrating light wood tones and cobalt-hued velvet barrel seating contrasted by an off-white Bulgari stone countertop and contemporary artistic touches by modern art aficionado and restaurant manager Shirley.
Image courtesy of Promise
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
The eye is drawn from lattice wood paneling at the entrance to a cerulean blue accent wall acting as a viewing platform for brines, pickles, and Nordic spirits that make a showing at routine intervals throughout the night – think wine made from fermented milk whey, Finnish potato vodka, Swedish fermented birch sap wine, and the like.
Main Dining Room, Image courtesy of Promise
Private Dining Room, Image courtesy of Promise
Take a seat at the open kitchen counter, with space for just eight diners per night (or reserve the six-seater private dining room ahead) and get ready to be intimately immersed into New Nordic cuisine – one that utilizes established techniques like smoking, salting, marinating and fermenting of local products to pay tribute to the rich customs of the Nordic region, at once reviving and adapting.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
The Set Menu (RMB1,788 + 10% service fee) will rotate seasonally – with the current summer menu focusing on forest and sea – beginning with a slew of Nordic snacks.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
A plump Gillardeau French Oyster is warmed at 63.4 degrees for one hour – aka ‘cooked beyond the perfection of raw – allowing the protein to settle whilst still maintaining the flavor intensity of a fresh oyster. Presented above toasted juniper cream and dribbled in spruce fir tree oil, the velvety mollusk is finished with a heaping spoonful of punchy Perseus No. 5 caviar for the utmost sultry, melting morsel.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Chengdu Dry-aged Trout 'Gravlax' is prepared using the time-honored Japanese iki jime method, affording it the most tender flesh. Aged for three weeks and cured like gravlax, the fish is chopped, mixed with zippy horseradish and seaweed dashi broth-washed Danish trout roe, and scooped into a dill tartlet.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
A savory spin on an aebleskiver – a spherical Danish pancake that’s been around for over a thousand years – the Yellowtail Aebleskiver is swollen with a creamy salted seaweed and yellowtail emulsion that explodes upon impact, similar to a Japanese takoyaki with its molten center. The yellowtail itself aged via wrapping in salted seaweed, a traditional Nordic method of curing that’s been around for roughly as long as the pancake.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
And if all that isn’t enough to whet the appetite, the Gubbröra (RMB900 + 10%), or Gentleman’s Delight as it translates from Swedish, is an optional add-on, a festive dish customarily enjoyed as a pre-meal snack. While every family has their own recipe, chef Sebastian employs a twist on his father’s cooking, the previous chef for the Swedish royal family, who has an equally impressive pedigree in the Swedish restaurant world.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
In-house pickled herring and smoked eel serve as the base, tossed with chopped eggs and crème fraiche. Adorned with verdant dots of smoked dill purée and chives, a generous 50 grams-worth of Perseus schrenckii caviar No. 3 alongside a shot of Gustav dill vodka elevate it to its loftily indulgent status.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Based on one of Sweden’s most popular dishes, the Smoked Shrimps Skagerrak is a shrimp salad of sorts, with the bouncy texture like blue lobster tails. Sauced in a shrimp shell emulsion with toasted shitake, dry-aged bottarga, and shaved tonka bean, the quenelle is capped by a kohlrabi disk and flanked by a tuft of aromatic pear espuma.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Cured and lightly touched with heat, the pan-seared Dalian Scallop floats in a fermented white asparagus bouillon, studded with dozens of hand-peeled daily fresh and fermented teardrop peas. A true taste of nature’s bounty, the fresh peas are blanched just 15 seconds right before serving to preserve their innate sweetness, augmented by housemade pea oil.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
To illustrate chef Sebastian's passion for baking, the Promise Bread is a sumptuous milk bun dusted in Nordic spices like fennel pollen and caraway seeds. Peel each steaming segment apart and slather it with cultivated applewood smoked butter for a carb deserving of its own course.
Pan-fried Alfonsino – Mushroom purée, grilled maitake sea buckthorn oil, lemon thyme velouté. Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Seven day dry-aged Chongming Island BBQ Pigeon is presented two ways: first the breast is roasted and finished on the binchotan grill, enhancing the fowl’s naturally gamey flavors, while the thigh is deep-fried and glazed with black garlic and toasted fennel seed, best enjoyed when eaten with your hands, bone gnawing encouraged.
A veritable pairing of tart preserved Arctic lingonberry and candied pine cone gastrique plus pickled pearl onions caramelized in chicken jus act as the ideal foil for further amplifying the bird’s flavor intensity.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Nutty yak yogurt and Rapeseed Oil Sorbet perches atop poached rhubarb and rose petals while crispy batons of pink peppercorn-flecked meringue add a necessary crunch.
The meal concludes with fermented garlic fudge and juniper berry-infused white chocolate bonbons filled with Ragnarok Swedish gin.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
This intimate dining experience exemplifies where global fine dining is headed – approachable, unpretentious and exemplifying restrained elegance – resulting in a dinner that is more like eating in chef Sebastian’s living room than a soon-to-be Michelin starred restaurant.
To make a reservation (a must to snag a coveted seat), call 187 2108 5833.
Promise, 7 Donghu Lu, by Huaihai Zhong Lu, 东湖路7号近淮海中路.
EHB
Chef Esben Holmboe Bang of Oslo-based three Michelin Star-restaurant Maæmo opened his first restaurant abroad, right here in Shanghai, in the old Green & Safe spot on Dongping Lu a little over a year ago. And in that year, the restaurant has already donned its first shiny Michelin star, no easy feat to say the least.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Called EHB – after his initials, of course – the venue is split across a bar and afternoon tea lounge on the first floor and a set menu dinner space on the second and third floor.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
The kitchen is helmed by Michelin’s 2024 Young Chef Award winner, Viviane Mello, serving up strong farm-to-table vibes coupled with Nordic flair from the two menus on offer – the original Tasting Set Menu (RMB3,688 per person) that spans 22 petite courses; and the newly released Memory Menu (RMB2,288) for 12 courses.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
There’s also a stellar wine list featuring prestigious labels from around the globe making it well worth the splurge, with wine pairing options ranging from RMB1,288 for the Memory Menu Wine Pairing to RMB1,688 for the EHB Wine Pairing, to RMB5,888 for the Prestige Wine Pairing, all curated through blood, sweat, tears, and a whole lotta sipping by sommelier Richard King.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
We sprung for the just launched Memory Menu, one that traverses the seasons to showcase the highlight plates from each of the last four temporal menus.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
The set begins with a series of sips and bites, customarily served in the dimly lit third floor living room whilst reclining on plush velour chairs. Halfway through the meal, guests are ushered to the second floor dining room, a space that can hold roughly 30 more diners, plus a private room with seating for 12.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
A refreshingly sweet French red Apple Broth is infused with herbal lemon balm oil and verbena, a sippable soup to open the appetite.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Next, a crispy mushroom tartlet is overflowing with finely chopped Beef Tartare, crowned by a trio of savory jellies – Chinese black tea, chicken stock, and onion.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Hay-smoked salmon belly is poached in a pickling liquid of white wine, vinegar, shallots and thyme, folded on a spongy Rice Pancake with a garden’s worth of ruby-hued oxalis leaves seemingly sprouting atop.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Supple King Crab leg meat is layered above a jelly made from smoked deer heart broth. A shmear of crème fraiche laced with hazelnut miso, a nip of heat from horseradish and that signature briny pop of salinity from EHB’s own Rossini caviar – Scandinavia’s leading producer of caviar – together culminate in a bona fide taste of Norway in one bite.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Akin to being dumped by an ocean wave, the Oyster course embodies tradition in that it has remain unchanged for 14 years since Maæmo’s opening in 2010. A juxtaposition of temperatures, a cold oyster emulsion is sheathed by an oyster water gel – a barrier that protects what 'swims' above: a warm dill cream-swaddled blue mussel. Silky, unctuous and tasting of the sea, diners can plunge their spoon into the cold depths, while still enjoying the warmth in the shallows.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Presented tableside by the meticulously choreographed and white-gloved service staff, the Roasted Scallop from Dalian is pan-fried in honey butter with lemon leaves, zest, and homemade XO sauce.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
A lemon cream and lemon peel marmalade are augmented by an Argentinian red prawn and citrus consommé poured tableside.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Firm-fleshed Fujian Sea Bream is grilled over charcoal, the taut skin puckering, shatteringly crisp. Surrounded by a moat of smoked mussel cream, curling tendrils of seaweed jam lend a honeyed saccharinity, balanced by a lashing of cordyceps oil.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
The star from EHB’s debut menu, the dry-aged Pigeon sees hay-smoked squab breast brushed with a mushroom glaze after being stuffed with chicken mousse and chanterelles.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Flanked by a crispy morel mousseline replete with the same filling, the luscious mushroom and Sichuan peppercorn sauce begs to become dipping fodder for fresh-baked daily brioche.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Sour on sour, a cultured yogurt ice cream rests above a mulberry and fig leaf oil jam. Pleats of saffron-hued sliced Gooseberry bring forth the warming flavors of the season, a welcomed contrast to temper the tartness.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
The dining experience concludes with a smattering of sweet surprises – a delicate Strawberry Tart dusted with black pepper;
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
Fluffy cinnamon Madeleines served still steaming with pleasantly crispy edges;
Image by Sophie Steiner/That's
And mini Brown Butter Ice Cream cones finished with hazelnut crumble.
To make a reservation, call 021 6445 8695.
EHB, 2-3/F, No. 11 Dongping Lu, by Hengshan Lu, 东平路11号2-3号楼, 近衡山路.
While both experiences warrant their exalted status (and matching price tags), minor differences may sway one diner to a certain venue while swaying another to the other, like:
service style (the former being welcoming and more casual, the latter more professional and formal);
meal pacing (adaptable versus rigid);
style of wine and spirits pairing (Promise offers more creative and unexpected pairings whereas EHB boasts a traditional, prestige-centric lineup);
design setup (subtly soft and playful compared to darker, heavier, and more serious); and
chef involvement (Promise is essentially an intimate chef’s table where you are engaging directly with chef Sebastian whereas at EHB the majority of the meal interaction is with the service staff).
We aren’t here to choose on your behalf, but are glad to assume the duty of providing the details so you, dear readers, can make an educated decision yourselves, choosing which (if not both) is worth your maos.
Read more Shanghai Restaurant Reviews.
[Cover image by Sophie Steiner/That's]
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