Warm yourself with roast duck, succulent crab and sizzling steak this holiday season

As the Year of the Rat approaches, people are looking forward to a happy gathering with warm and delicious dishes. Here are some of Shanghai's choicest feasts, which are sure to delight your senses during the Spring Festival.

Sifang Sanchuan

The Chinese restaurant on the second floor of Mercedes me Store, The Bund, has launched Lunar New Year packages priced at 1,588 yuan (US$232, for 2-3 people), 3,188 yuan (for 4-6 people) and 4,688 yuan (for 6-8 people). They are available through January 31.

Each set begins with appetizing cold dishes, followed by a slow-simmered nourishing soup. Based on recipes from the royal court, the chef makes the soup base with Pudong chicken, pork bones and other ingredients, and then adds Australian scallops, shrimp balls, flower mushrooms and fish maw.

Sifang Sanchuan's roast duck is highly recommended. Each duck weighs from 2.3 to 2.5 kilograms. Traditional Beijing hanging-oven techniques are used to ensure that the ducks are bright in color, crispy and tender in taste.

Ti Gong

Ti Gong

After the big feast, you can’t skip dessert: sweet pea purée specially made to celebrate the Year of the Rat. The dish is created with carefully ground peas, and the precise seasoning makes the mouthfeel delicate and sweet.

Mercedes me is a "lifestyle house and experience shop" from the revered German automaker. The idea is to provide a holistic lifestyle experience with its high-end restaurant, café and bar, as well as a swanky car showroom.

Opening hours: 10am-10pm

Address: Bldg N3, Bund Finance Center, 600 Zhongshan Rd E2

Tel: 6033-5833

Tailong Fat Kee

Mouthwatering chili crab claw, fried shrimp with cereal, deep-fried crab topped with homemade black pepper sauce: the newly opened Tailong Fat Kee in Minhang District offers seafood lovers authentic Cantonese cuisine and a relaxing dining experience.

The restaurant imports Sri Lankan crabs each weighing over 800 grams. The key to the crab dishes is the house-made sauce, made of eight spices including ginger, citronella and garlic from Sri Lanka.

Ti Gong

Ti Gong

Diners are also recommended to try Cantonese dishes like tiger prawns covered with salted egg yolk, roasted duck, rice in lobster broth and sliced roasted pork.

The winter special offers stewed lamb pot cooked with medicinal ingredients and vegetables like mushroom, bamboo shoots, fungus and Chinese water chestnut.

Opening hours: 11am-2:30pm, 5-10pm

Address: Rm 103-106, Bldg 3, 99 Wanyuan Rd S.

Tel: 6288-1866

Jyun Shin

When preparing high-quality meat, it's equally important to use high-quality charcoal. Jyun Shin at Mixc in Minhang District is upholding this ideology. To guarantee the perfect flavorful experience, this yakiniku (Japanese grill) and omakase (chef’s selection) restaurant uses only the finest-quality materials.

In regard to beef, Australian Wagyu beef ranks in quality from M4 to M14. Typically, M4 beef requires between 200 and 350 days of cow feeding whereas Grade M14 beef requires a minimum of 800 days of feeding. M14 beef is extremely exquisite and only about 5 percent of beef can be classified in this category. Here you can choose the M7 sirloin, beef short rib, ribeye and beef steak. The beef melts upon contact with your tongue, yet retains all of its pure and flavorful elements.

Ti Gong

Ti Gong

For seafood lovers, the chef makes tailor-made sushi and presents the freshest in front of you. The assorted sashimi features imported salmon, seabream, yellowtail, flatfish, tuna, clam, oyster, live urchin and scallop.

Opening hours: 11am-2pm, 5-10pm

Address: L608, 1599 Wuzhong Rd

Tel: 5439-6569

The Nine

In the Green City Community of the Pudong New Area, The Nine offers signature Huaiyang cuisine with a twist. Huaiyang is one of the four great cuisines in China. It is derived from the native cooking styles of the region surrounding the lower reaches of the Huaihe and Yangtze rivers.

This season, the chef prepares high-quality shiyu (Reeves’ shad) for freshwater fish lovers. The fish becomes particularly tasty this season. Unlike most other fishes, Reeves’ shad is cooked without removing the scales, as they are edible and quite delicious, and also protect the tender flesh.

Ti Gong

Ti Gong

Highlights of the menu also include fish maw in chicken broth topped with truffle. Fish maw, for many Chinese, is considered a natural form of Botox for its collagen-boosting properties.

Covering an area of 1,000 square meter, the restaurant has nine private rooms with capacity for six to eight people. There is also an 18-person dinning room for family reunion dinners.

Opening hours: 11am-1:30pm, 5-9:30pm

Address: 186 Biyun Rd

Tel: 5030-5757

Wolfgang’s Steakhouse Shanghai

Wolfgang’s Steakhouse Shanghai, located in the North Bund area, keeps serving up fresh surprises for diners. In honor of the upcoming Chinese New Year, the restaurant will offer free dry-aged beef dumplings for each table.

The steakhouse features a menu which includes three types of USDA Prime cut steak, fresh seafood, succulent bacon and hearty salads. There are also lunch specials, a weekend brunch and a bar menu for late happy hour.

Before starting dinner, you can order a seasonal cocktail and start with the popular seafood platter of Boston lobster, shrimps and unshelled crab meat.  After that, you can order the signature salad with fresh baby spinach, green peas, corn and red sweet pepper topped with feta cheese and homemade vinaigrette. The chef selects the freshest vegetables every morning. If you are a meet lover, don't miss the sizzling bacon (extra thick).

Ti Gong

Ti Gong

Here comes the main course. If you come as a couple or a group of friends, it's recommended to order the USDA Prime Porterhouse with baked potatoes, creamed spinach and sautéed mushrooms. Finishing the dinner with chocolate mousse, and apple strudel also won't disappoint.

Every weekend from 11:30am to 3pm, you are invited to enjoy a brunch menu featuring waffles and pancakes, eggs Benedict, smoked salmon platter, steak and egg and omelette.

Opening hours: 11:30am-10:30pm (11:30am-4pm for lunch specials, 8:30-10:30pm for late happy hour)

Address: 1/F, 588 Dongchangzhi Rd

Tel: 5582-9715