Prada has brought a slice of Milan to Shanghai with the opening of Mi Shang, its first stand-alone dining space in Asia.
Launching on Monday at the brand’s restored historic mansion Rong Zhai, the restaurant showcases the culinary vision of the Michelin-starred chef Lorenzo Lunghi and master pastry chef Diego Crosara, who conceived a café and fine-dining space designed to deepen the brand’s connection with young, experience-driven consumers.
Conceived by the famed Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai, Prada transformed the second floor of the mansion into a cozy alcove that could be mistaken for a scene from the auteur’s most iconic films.
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Evoking a corridor scene from the film “In the Mood for Love,” visitors are then surprised with a graphic wooden wall mounting created by Wong in partnership with Duo Yun Xuan Art Center, a century-old art brand that specializes in Shanghai-style woodblock print series. Titled “Rising Clouds, Blooming Flower — Blessing Cloud,” the piece was inspired by Wong’s hit TV series Blossoms Shanghai and is now in the permanent collection of the Prada Group.
Breaking away from traditional dining concepts, Mi Shang is spread out across four distinctly different rooms, offering a blend of all-day breakfast, fine dining and confectionery retail.
Blending the best of both culinary worlds, Lunghi crafted a lunch and dinner menu that features the likes of classic Italian ravioli with classic Chinese dumpling filling, starters such as Pak Choi with cacio e pepe sauce, and Chinese mushroom with green salsa dressing.
“You see an Italian dish from the plating, but when you take a bite out of it, you discover the Chinese flavor,” explained Lunghi, who also pointed out that the tableware had taken its inspiration from delicate iris motifs discovered on the mansion’s restored tiles.
“We wanted the menu to reflect the very private setting of Mi Shang, but it’s also a space for a sharable experience. It’s just as important to feel like you are sharing a dish as you’re sharing a space,” Lunghi explained.
Decked out in pink and pistachio booth seating, mirroring walls and ambience created by Murano lamps, The Dining Room space easily provokes dining scenes from “In the Mood for Love.”
Moving toward the next wing, guests enter The Library, a serene lounge where antique Chinese and Milanese design influences merge and are accompanied by a collection of coffee table books that spans Chinese craftsmanship, decorative arts and Italian design.
The Caffè, the restaurant’s main gathering space, is anchored by an elegant bar counter, which was crafted by local artisans who restored the villa’s wooden elements, intricate turned-wood scrollwork and geometric murano lights, which whisk visitors right back to the high of Shanghai’s 1910s to 1930s social scene.
Nestled within The Caffè, which stands out with its vintage yellow wallpaper and walls of Qing dynasty ceramics, is The Study, an intimate space reserved for special occasions.
Rong Zhai’s backyard has also become a part of the dining experience. Dubbed The Terrace, it has become an al fresco dining space furnished with 1930s Italian bamboo tables and chairs.
Over at The Pastry Shop, which features vintage cabinet display reminiscent of Prada’s very first stores, The Pasticcini, a classic yet mignon Italian dessert is blown up in proportion and presented as a small cake, and joins other regional classics such as Cassata, Pasticciotto, Delizia al Limone, Panna Cotta, Tiramisù and a swan-shaped Bignè Chantilly, just to name a few, to round out the pastry lineup.
Confectionary goods, which includes a wide range of pralines, jelly candies and coated nuts, is wrapped up in biodegradable and plastic-free packaging new to the dining franchise.
Reservations for Mi Shang, which means “Milan meets Shanghai,” or to “be obsessed with” in Chinese, opened on Saturday via the eatery’s WeChat Mini Program. The café and the restaurant will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.