URA: When Contemporary Chinese Meets Basque Influences
URA is a contemporary restaurant that combines Chinese cuisine with Basque influences, located within United Valley on Changle Lu. Seasonal set menus curated by Andalusian consultant chef Borja Sanchez that pushes the limits of marrying the two food cultures.
The Space
It’s a small dining room tucked away on the upper floors of United Valley, a somewhat quiet complex that’s finally done with its near-endless construction. The building’s entrance is no longer marred by scaffolding and workman’s signage and is rather inviting with a garden walkway.
The humble restaurant also has a small outdoor seating area, more for the enjoyment of wines and simple bites. On wines, they have a small cellar out front that leans towards a more natural and organic selection. The dining room is simple, if not a little bare, with seating for 16 at a cozy fit.
The kitchen is opposite the dining room, separated by the hallway. It's a tight looking galley kitchen. And I have to say, they do a lot in a small space. Kudos.
The Food
The current menu is called Menu 1 – Artisans of the Land, and it seeks to create a connection between food from Basque country and Zhejiang province, ¥750 per person for the 9-course dinner. There’s a lot of story-telling during the meal, as staff convey snapshots of each dish's origin story.
Homemade sheep’s cheese on Inés Rosales tortas. A crumbly olive oil torta with a light cheese spread.
5J Croqueta with 5J iberico ham. Super light and fluffy runny filling that’s not too heavy feeling nor rich. Careful, it is molten! Excellent little bite to start.
Homemade black tofu with wild seasonal mushrooms and freshly shaved white truffle. Fresh black beans transformed into a firm block of tofu with vegetal textures. Slightly earthy in flavor with a light mushroom broth. A delicate dish.
Black chicken and Chinese medicinal soup with morel mushrooms stuffed with black chicken mousse, and pickled lotus root tips. A soup to replenish the humors, herbal but not overpoweringly so, and well-balanced. Contains a whole host of TCM ingredients like ginseng, angelica root, kelp, astragalus, and red dates.
Grilled silver scabbardfish, ginger and yellow miso butter, ginger and scabbardfish jus, smoked snow peas. Featuring scabbard, a flaky fish from Zhoushan with a soothing ginger broth.
Grilled wild scampi, Longjing tea gel, scampi coral emulsion, and a Longjing tea flavored dressing. The gel was a little lackluster, but the sweet scampi made up for it. Personally was not a fan of the dressing, for it engulfed the sweet scampi flavors.
The Land Workers Sequence (A) – A two-part tribute to oxen. This first part is inspired by the oxen’s grazing grounds, cereal and oats cooked in cream then wrapped in cabbage leaves, served with cucumber flowers and broccolini. A tasty dish that could use a bit of tweaking, to increase the mealy cereal texture.
The Land Workers Sequence (B) – Guizhou ox tenderloin with a buttery jus and ox fat emulsion. The meat is naturally sweet, a little fibrous but very flavorful.
New York cheesecake mousse, three-year honey, roasted hazelnuts, raspberries.
In Summary
An interesting journey with quite a bit of story-telling. Good for those seeking a bit of food exploration. Favorites from the meal include the black tofu, soup, scabbard, and ox.
URA
Address: 303-304, 3/F, United Valley, 462 Changle Lu 长乐路462号集社3楼W303-304号
Tel: 18717959294
Hours: Daily, 6pm-midnight
About Rachel Gouk
Founder & Editor, Nomfluence
Rachel Gouk is a seasoned dining journalist based in Shanghai with over a decade of experience covering food culture, restaurant developments, and the Asian culinary landscape.
