Best Restaurant to Celebrate a Birthday, Shanghai, China, New Year

A birthday to remember, that’s for sure!  I wanted to get the whole kitchen team together for a big celebration for my 33^rd… How often do you get to spend your birthday in China with a bunch of locals, and of course a few X-Pats.

Our birthday traditions are quite different to the Chinese.  Celebrating here in China was more like a brutal night at a frat house with new found friends drowning you with beer and great food!  Not that I have any complaints with either of those two topics!

One of the traditions that was most memorable that evening (and the following morning….) was that anytime someone toasts you (as the birthday boy) you need to finish all the beer in your glass!  That sounds easy enough…but when you celebrate any event in China, plan on a large group… we had 18 people (and somehow everyone “forgot to say something” during their toasts…so had to raise their glass again…and again…and again…)

The girls in the kitchen asked me what I wanted to eat on my birthday- hmmm, tough decision.. I choose roasted duck.  So they quickly worked their magic, booked us a private room and preordered 3 roasted Beijing style roasted duck.  The Chinese say the best duck is prepared in Beijing (the capital city)-so that was the highlight of the dinner.

I had the girls order a whole bunch of other items, because this guy can only do the “point and order”, so why not leave it to the pros!