UP Shanghai X TAIGA Wednesdays for Slavic Food & Shisha (Closed)

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From the team behind UP Shanghai comes TAIGA, a new Slavic restaurant and bar due to open later this year.

As a pre-heat, they’re taking over UP Shanghai with TAIGA Wednesdays for the next couple of months. Russian and Eastern European food made chic, infused vodkas, premium Russian shisha, and Slavic vibes all night.

The Food

Currently, they're serving a small menu of five dishes, but that'll increase over time as they fine-tune new dishes that'll be scheduled for TAIGA.

The food is Eastern European, mostly Russian-influenced. They've taken traditional dishes and given them a little spin. For example, they've cut back on the mayonnaise—not babushka-levels of mayo overload—and modernized the plating. It looks…polished.

I'm not an expert on Eastern European food, but I can say what I had was tasty, and if I had my way, I'd have the Shuba on a regular basis. This is excellent news for the Slavic community who miss the taste of home and for people looking to try something new.

Shuba (¥68) aka "herring under a fur coat" - Shuba is a traditional Russian layered salad with pickled herring, beetroot, grated boiled eggs, carrots, onions, mayonnaise, and sour cream. This tastes as good as it looks and has a good balance of flavor. You have to like pickled seafood to enjoy this. My favorite of the five.

Olivier Salad (¥48) - The famed Russian salad. Made with potatoes, peas, carrots, and chicken, doused in mayo.

Pelmeni (¥58) - Russian meat dumplings finished in the pan with butter, dusted with a dash of paprika. Served with sour cream and a touch of pepper. Juicy and flavorful.

Grezotto (¥68) – Buckwheat is a staple in Slavic countries, plus it's arguably healthier than rice or pasta, and has versatile source of fiber. This dish is a playful take on a risotto, as buckwheat is cooked with butter and cheese and sautéed mushrooms. Good for sharing.

Oladi (¥38) - Pancakes with jam, berries, and sour cream.

Of course, it would not be complete without vodka. Head bartender Jackie Dmitriev has fashioned three infused vodkas for the occasion: raspberry, horseradish, and lemon & cinnamon. UP Shanghai will also be serving their full drinks menu.

Single shot (¥30) or a flight of six for ¥150. And yep, you can mix and match.

The lemon & cinnamon is sour-forward, the raspberry leans sweet and is probably the easiest to drink. The horseradish vodka, something I experienced for the first time recently, packs a hell of a punch. It's very spicy (traditionally so according to Jackie) and will definitely put some hair on your chest.

They also have Russian-style shisha. (There’s more than one kind of shisha?) According to them, the Russian designed shisha pulls more smoothly and cleaner, meaning you won’t be caught off guard by a rouge coughing fit. The shisha is ¥230 a pop, which includes enough tobacco for 2-3 people; add ¥50 for Russian tobacco. There are more than a dozen flavors available.

Deals on shisha coming in the near future.

TAIGA Wednesdays starts from 7pm at UP Shanghai. Food last order is 1am or until sold out. Tunes will be Slavic vibes. UP Shanghai is also dog-friendly until 10pm!

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TAIGA Wednesdays @ UP Shanghai*
Every Wednesday from 7pm (last order 1am)
Address: 2/F, 688 Shaanxi Bei Lu, near Kangding Lu 陕西北路688号2楼, 近康定路
Tel: 15026421873
Hours: 6pm-2am*