Shan Kang Li is Jing'an's latest lifestyle and dining hub
Shan Kang Li, the latest lifestyle hub in Jing’an District, is bringing new life and delicious cuisine to the Shaanxi Road North area.
The commercial zone for office space, dining and retail is run by Golden Union. It has a similar vibe to Xintiandi and Fengshengli and offers a delightful outdoor experience where visitors can enjoy drinks and food while viewing the area's well-preserved historic architecture. Offices will be mostly housed on the second floors across Shan Kang Li.
At the moment, there are quite a few great restaurants to explore in Shan Kang Li, including new outlets of famous Shanghai franchises as well as new concepts.
Alimentari Grill
This is the fourth installment of Alimentari in Shanghai. Its concept of combining Italian grocery store with kitchen has been very successful and previous locations are often packed at night. Alimentari Grill is placing an emphasis on charcoal grill in addition to Alimentari’s signature cured meats, Italian pickles, cheese and traditional menu.
From the grill, recommended dishes include grilled chicken served with fries, grilled cauliflower and, of course, the steaks.
Alimentari Grill has an outdoor dining area in the courtyard of Shan Kang Li, and it's open till midnight. The décor has a similar style to the other Alimentari outlets, and it’s also a great place to shop for imported grocery items from Italy. Some of the cured meats and cheese products are very good bargains.
KESSHŌ
KESSHŌ is a specialty boutique chocolate concept and brand founded in 2019 by the owner of Pantry’s Best, producing single-origin chocolates from raw cacao.
It’s not only a chocolate and dessert shop, but a mini chocolate factory where customers can also take part in chocolate making classes.
The award-winning chocolate brand has created an extensive chocolate menu for the store, from creative chocolate beverages to delicious cakes and pastries. A must-have is their cacao and jasmine tea, available both cold and hot. Tiny bits of cacao beans are placed in a coffee filter and the server pours hot jasmine tea to make the drink. The chilled version is made by cold brewing the cacao in jasmine tea.
For desserts, KESSHŌ has a nice chocolate orange cake which is richly flavored but not too sweet. If you are just looking for some chocolates, the sea salt black chocolate is a winner. There’re also creative chocolates like goji berry chocolate sold in bar form.
Tap House
Tap House, founded by Deane Lin, has opened its third outlet in Shan Kang Li with outdoor seating. The brand is among the first to take the lead in China's craft beer market.
The new brewery has selected a wide array of fine craft beers, and a professional beer sommelier can guide customers to find their ideal drink. The store has a 20-square-meter cold storage to ensure freshness of the beers.
Azul
This flagship brand by Peruvian restaurateur Eduardo Vargas has returned with an exciting Latin American inspired menu, stunning cocktails and energetic dining experience.
The décor of Azul is influenced by South American culture with a splash of Mediterranean. It has an intimate and cozy indoor dining space with a long bar, and relaxing seating in the courtyard where people can enjoy the view of red brick houses.
The kitchen at Azul is now headed by Venezuelan chef Willmer Colmenares, who was the culinary director of Char Bar & Grill before joining AZUL & COLCA as Executive Head Chef in 2020. He spent six months developing the all-new menu to highlight traditional Latin flavors and ingredients in creative ways.
One of the signature dishes is Betun De Foie, served in a special “shoe polish box.” Inside there’s freshly baked bread with nuts, while the smooth foie gras mousse with charcoal dust is camouflaged as “shoe polish” in a small tin, and the apple chutney is presented as “a tube of shoe cream.”
For cocktails, don’t miss the Pink Lollipop, a refreshing vodka-based cocktail with raspberry, lime, cranberry syrup and ginger ale, and Purple Love, which blends cachaça, a distilled spirit made from sugar cane juice, with citrus juices of grapefruit, lime and yuzu.
Next door to Azul, there’s a new sports and fitness apparel store, Global Fitness, which carries three professional brands: Better Bodies, ICIW and Gasp. Customers can select, try on and find the right sizes of their favorite products at leisure -- in a shopping exercise that can’t be done online.
RIINK
RIINK is the only venue in Shanghai that rounds up food and beverage, events and roller-skating. The space has a vivid pink-disco style with a vintage atmosphere that brings customers back to the 80s. The founder of RIINK, Ting Ting, has loved roller-skating since she was a child.
The roller-skating rink in the venue is well-protected to prevent customers from getting hurt. The space is perfect for hosting parties and events.
Bubba’s Food Co.
This American Texas-style restaurant is located in the very back of Shan Kang Li, offering a relaxed dining experience. It specializes in barbeque and grilling, and blends Tex-Mex elements in the traditional Texas barbeque.
Top items on the menu include tender grilled chicken, beef brisket taco and cheeseburger.