• 4
• A bit hard to find, but excellent

Finding the Chaowai branch of Tianchu Miaoxiang 天厨妙香 was actually a bit tricky. I suggest you take the metro (line 6) and get off at Dongdaqiao 东大桥 station, exit D1 (exit D2 is under construction, once it is completed it will be even closer to the destination). Hujialou 呼家楼 and Jintaixizhao 金台夕照 (line 10) are also an option, but they are significantly farther. Once you exit the station, finding the Chaowai Soho building is quite easy, but finding the actual venue takes a little longer. We had spinach and mu-erh mushrooms (菠菜蘑菇), eggplants on an iron plate (铁板茄子), spicy fake meat and mushrooms in a pot (吊锅杏鲍菇) and deep fried battered mushrooms (善果因缘), with organic rice (有机白米饭) and bamboo leaf tea (青青子衿 or 竹叶茶). Everything was very good, especially the fake meat with mushrooms. I must say I am not fond of Shanghai-style cuisine (less spicy and more sweetish and delicate than Northern or SIchuanese cuisine), and I still prefer the food in Suhu (in Wudaokou), but the ambiance was cozy, the staff efficient, the food excellent, and (last but not least) the portions generous. Now to the Wudaokou branch! For those who can read Chinese, the restaurant website (you'll find the link in the presentation of the venue) is actually very helpful. It showcases the menu and activities organized or hosted by the restaurant (cooking classes, conferences etc. most of them Buddhism-related) and offers a lot of information about the philosophy of the restaurant, which is not that common for Chinese restaurants in general. Updated from previous review on Saturday November 14, 2015