Meet the Bund BFC 遇外灘 外灘金融中心店 (Shanghai, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Last week, the award ceremony for Asia’s Best 50 Restaurants was hosted for the first time in Hong Kong. There was one slight surprise, as Meet the Bund (遇外灘) appeared to come out of nowhere and claimed the No.6 spot over a slew of restaurants who have been in the top ten of the list for quite some time (to their credit, they were No.14 last year). 

Although I have already made plans for all our meals for our upcoming shanghai trip, I was more than happy to re-arrange our schedule to fit this highly regarded restaurant in. 

Apart from being the highest-ranked restaurant in Mainland China this year (according to the folks behind Asia Best 50), Meet the Bund is also a Michelin starred restaurant for five consecutive years and has been elevated to a Black Pearl 3-diamond one (黑珍珠三鑽) rating in 2026 💎💎💎.

We chose this branch of Meet the Bund at BFC (外灘金融中心) largely for its partial view of the Bund although, to be brutally honest, the table we were given didn’t offer any view whatsoever.

Meet the Bund is an upscale Min cuisine (閩菜) restaurant known for its modern interpretation of traditional Fujian dishes. The restaurant is helmed by Chef Yoda Chen Zhiping (陳志平), who has earned numerous accolades internationally. A Fujian native himself, Chef Chen blends traditional — often rustic — Fujian techniques with a more modern, refined presentation.

The food menu here features a number of exciting Fujian classics including the house specialty, Xiamen steamed glutinous rice with mud crab (廈門紅蟳蒸米糕) but since none of us were big fans of crabs, we decided to go with some of the simpler dishes this afternoon.

We started with the house snacks — some peanut cookies.

And cherry tomatoes while we were studying hard on the food menu.

Wuyi rock tea smoked horse mackerel (武夷岩茶煙燻馬友魚) (¥168) — Our meal started off with some tea smoked horse mackerel (馬友). I have never been a huge fan of horse mackerel but I am now. These were beautifully cooked with lovely smoky flavors. The fish fillets were best enjoyed with the shredded ginger on top to balance out any fishy notes. Very very tasty (that said a lot from a non fish lover).

Fujian five spice rolls (福建五香卷) (¥68) — Crisp on the outside, with minced pork, water chestnut, and onion inside, topped brilliantly by a small dab of chili sauce for a sharp little kick.

Steamed handlined large squid with premium nori seaweed (頭水紫菜蒸手釣到大魷魚) (¥299) — This dish came in two different sizes and in order to sample more dishes, I decided to get the smaller one (despite I am a sucker for squid).

The large squid fillets were superbly cooked into an unbelievably tender texture. But what made the dish extra special was the dashi-cooked nori seaweed underneath, which acted like the “noodle” for a perfect pairing with the crunchy squid. In my view, this was the best dish of the afternoon, with the smoked mackerel and tea panna cotta closely behind as second and third.

Crispy Duck with taro paste (芋泥香酥鴨) (¥108) — An interesting spin on the traditional crispy duck with taro. 

These were shaped like deep-fried taro balls, with a layer of taro paste and diced duck hidden at the centre. However, what I appreciated most about the dish was the shaved parmesan cheese, which added a nice East-meets-West flair.

Red shallot infused oil and pork gravy baked Li Pu taro (原創蔥頭油肉汁焗荔浦芋頭) (¥98) — Another one of the restaurant’s signature dishes. This thick sauce made from the meat, taro, red shallot oil and dried shallot gave the baked Li Pu taro plenty of flavors to work with. That said, aside from the sauce, I expected the taro itself to be a bit more fluffy and refined.

Quanzhou rice noodles with cornstarch broth (泉州麵線米粉芡) (¥138) — This turned out much soupier than I first expected. The broth was a bit porridge-like (糊), and after simmering in the broth for a while, the rice noodles became very, very soggy.

I usually hate soggy noodles but not this time. Yes, they were soft but they soaked up the fish broth brilliantly, and the essence of the broth worked wonderfully with the shrimps, fish, and gourd. It was a hearty, homestyle dish that brought the meal to a comforting close.

Wuyi Mountains Da Hong Pao Tea jelly (武夷山大紅袍茶凍) (¥48) — Dessert was a refreshing panna cotta flavored with Da Hong Pao tea from the Wuyi Mountains, with small cubes of tea jelly scattered around the centre. It was a delicious sweet finale — an exclamation point to an excellent lunch.

This was the second year in a row that we decided to explore a Mainland city during the Easter holidays. Last year, we visited Ningbo, then Hangzhou (杭州), and had an amazing dining experience at Jiexiaolou (解香樓). Not to be outdone this year, the meal at Meet the Bund reminded us just how many wonderful restaurants are tucked away across Mainland China. We feel truly blessed to be able to build them into our travel plans.

Food Rating: 7.7/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Shop S301, Level 3 BFC, 600 East Zhongshan Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai, China

上海市黄浦区中山东二路600号BFC外滩金融中心南区三层S301

Tel: +86 (021) 6377-7668

Website: https://www.instagram.com/meetthebund_sh/

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 2:00pm, 5:30pm - 9:00pm daily

S. Pellegrino Asia's 50 Best Restaurants: 6th (2026)

S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants: 94th (2025)

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/d7/yYhM

 

Onjium (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★★☆

I had the afternoon off from babysitting, and I’ve already made plans for a special treat for myself right in the heart of Seoul's Jongno district.

Onjium is far more than a typical dining destination. It’s a “culinary studio” housed within a prestigious cultural institute. Set between the historic Gyeongbokgung Palace and a lively modern residential neighborhood, the restaurant feels like a seamless bridge between Korea’s royal past and its contemporary present.

My journey began as soon as I was guided to a counter table directly facing the open kitchen, where I could see the chefs at work (including Chef Park Sung-bae himself) through the glass walls.

The kitchen here is helmed by Chefs Cho Eun-hee and Park Sung-bae, who treat the menu like an edible storytelling of Korea’s rich culinary heritage. Onjium meaning “creating in the right way”, reflects their belief in revisiting centuries-old recipes to bring back flavors that were once lost. Drawing on seasonal ingredients and re-imagining traditional dishes through years of careful study, the team behind Chef Cho and Chef Park reworks traditional dishes with modern refinement, so the spirit of the past lands perfectly with diners today.

Newly crowned No. 14 on Asia’s Best 50 Restaurants list and No. 57 in the world, Onjium offers one tasting menu — and one only — built around seasonal ingredients and the team’s creative minds.

Corn porridge — The porridge features different kinds of corn, peas and seafood. The seasoning is next to non-existent here to let the natural flavors of the ingredients to shine.

Summer cucumber dumpling — The mandu (만두), shaped like sea cucumber, came stuffed with sea cucumber, beef, and mushrooms. 

Again, the seasoning was very light, allowing the ingredients to carry the dish on their own.

Next up was a platter full of one-bite items.

Potato rice cake — Soft and packed with potato flavors.

Abalone jelly — Brushed with sesame oil.

Korean white melon — In-season Korean white melon with savory tofu sauce for a nice savory-sweet balance.

Corn chip — Who doesn't like Korean corn, raise your hand!

Steamed eggplant — Decorated with five-colored vegetables on top. I was told by my server that this used to be a snack served inside the palace walls. Very nice crunch.

Cherry jelly, crab meat, pine nut sauce — A mille-feuille of crab meat and cherry jelly, layered with summer vegetables and watermelon, served on a chilled pine-nut sauce blended with sesame. I didn’t expect such a lovely symphony of flavors and textures — refreshing yet comforting. Easily the best dish I had this afternoon.

Deep-fried sweet fish, Gochujang pancake — A chili-paste-and-soy-marinated pancake made with summer vegetables, served with a deep-fried sweet fish topped with a vegetal cucumber sauce. Not bad.

An off-menu seasonal fish platter came next. This was not on the original lunch menu.

Local red snapper sashimi with sesame oil — Came with some serious crunch.

Deboned Herring with fresh chives — Surprisingly fatty resulting in a nice, velvety texture.

Three-year-old kimchi — Another one that was crunchy and satisfying.

Sweet shrimp — This came with some really serious extra kick thanks to the homemade gochujang. 

Muneo-jeolyuk — Pressed octopus and beef. Thought this was a thin slice of blood sausage at first glance. Pretty nice.

Crispy pork belly — Topped with some shredded spring onion. The amaranth was pretty spicy.

I got the chance to enjoy a small cup of tea before another wave of dishes arrived.

Traditional cold soup — The soup came with acorn jelly, kimchi, pickled cucumber and clam. 

Grilled eel and beef — My main dish was inspired by the American surf and turf style.

The thin grilled beef patty was actually topped with smoked eel to resemble a slice of steak. It came with green pepper and deep-fried garlic on the side, with an umami-rich shrimp-head sauce providing the finishing touch. 

The texture pairing of beef patty and smoked eel worked surprisingly well.

There was a side dish served with my main dish: a piece of perilla leaf with pear purée and juice.

Cold marinated noodles, summer vegetables — The cold marinated noodles were served with thin strips of summer vegetables, beef and pear. Pretty refreshing.

The palate cleanser was a peppery bean sprouts soup with small pieces of squid.

Peach punch — I was admiring the orange-colored container when they came over and started pouring the peach punch into it.

Peach punch is all about peach. It was based on Sujeonggwa (수정과), a traditional Korean juice made with cinnamon stick and herbs. 

Inside were fresh peach slices, dumplings flavored with peach flour, and jelly made with different types of peaches. It was a very refreshing reset after the meaty main course.

A pair of traditional Korean snacks as mignardises following my dessert.

This looked like the palm of a hand. 

A pot of hot bamboo shoot tea to wrap up the meal that lasted just a little over an hour.

So this was the semi-private dining room featured in the photos posted on Asia’s Best Restaurants’ website.

This was a relaxing meal that felt just as much like a story about Korean heritage as it was a culinary experience. There were intriguing Korean dishes reinterpreted through the lens of modern cooking, and I felt genuinely entertained by the learning process. It’s just that there were way too many local ingredients I hadn’t tried before, and I needed time to process and get familiar with. So it took me a while to finally finish this write-up after the meal.

Food Rating: 7.2/10

Price: ₩₩₩₩

Address: 4/F, 49 Hyoja-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Closest Metro Station: Gyeongbokgung

Tel: +82 02 6952-0024

Website: https://www.instagram.com/onjium_restaurant/

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 10:00pm (Tue - Fri)

S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants: 57th (2025)

S. Pellegrino Asia's 50 Best Restaurants: 14th (2025)