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SUN with AQUA Japanese Dining & Bar
by Ingrid Peterson
on Monday, January 21, 2008 12:00 AM
Like several of the seafood items on its menu, Sun with Aqua is something of a rarity. Witness: a Bund-based establishment where, one, prices are reasonable and, two, it doesn't matter if you're not sat next to the window. Oh, and there are sharks swimming behind the welcome desk too.
From the piscine welcome, Sun sucks customers down a stream-flanked walkway, past stone walls that-like a half finished game of Jenga-have bricks missing, and leads them, finally, into a sleek, stylish main dining room, complete with huge open kitchen. Usually markers of modernity-chrome and steel-are shunned in favour of dark woods. The result is hip, chic and thoroughly Zen: a space that, in spite of its size, feels romantic and cosy.
Sun's menu will satisfy those used to American-inspired sushi, as well as the Japanese traditionalist. The Dragon Roll (RMB 90) is a fantastic example of the former-crispy jumbo prawns wrapped in rice and rolled in avocado. The Sashimi Moriawase (RMB 200)-a huge ice-bucket of (largely) imported fish-represents superb value given the quality.
It's worth noting that the Sun bit of 'Sun with Aqua' stands for the less-than-hip Suntory, the F&B behemoth from across the Yellow Sea. Not only does Suntory bring a wealth of boring-but-kind-of-useful industry experience to the operation, it's buying power means customers get a cheap deal on everything from tuna to beer. The Aquarium Bar (the Aqua bit of 'Sun with Aqua'), next door, is one of the finest restaurant lounges in Shanghai. The 11-metre-long aquarium is as distracting as any of Lujiazui's overblown phallic totems. And yet a pint costs 45 RMB. Rare.
