One Week in Shanghai: A Culinary Takeover at El Fant🍜🍹

📍 El Fant – Katariinankatu 3

🍜 Lunch: May 12–18, 11:00–15:00

🍸 Night Bistro: May 16–17, 18:00–01:30 / May 18, 18:00–00:00

What does a city taste like — when it’s far from home?

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From May 12 to 18, El Fant will host a one-week project with Lacey, a Shanghai-born home cook living in Helsinki. For one week, our lunch menu will shift into the rhythms of her kitchen: scallion oil noodles, crisp pan-fried pork buns (生煎馒头), and sticky rice shumai (烧麦). Simple, fragrant, precise. Nothing fancy — but everything done with care.

That week, Lacey’s mother will also be visiting from China for a few days. The two of them will work side by side in our kitchen, quietly preparing each component by hand. It's not a story of nostalgia, but a real-time collaboration — two generations, cooking with gestures and timing shaped by years of domestic routines. It’s rare to see a mother-daughter kitchen team appear in Helsinki. This time, it happens.

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From May 16 to 18, El Fant will also open in the evening as a night bistro. Dimmer lights, slower pace. Small dishes draw from the rhythm of a Shanghai night table: Shaoxing-marinated edamame, tea eggs, chicken feet, sweet rice soup with jujubes. Food to nibble, to share, or just to sit with.

A guest bartender — a Shanghai-born mixologist now based in Antwerp — will join us for three nights. Her cocktails respond to flavors from the East: red dates, rice wine, floral teas, and sweet bean paste. Playful but layered, aromatic and sharp, her drinks are designed to pair with our food. We’ll also serve mocktails and cold-brew Chinese teas — floral, light, and easy to sip all night.

This is not fusion. This is not a theme.This is a temporary kitchen of attention. A shared week of scent, steam, and collaboration.

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一周上海｜一间异乡厨房的短暂开放

📍赫尔辛基 El Fant
🍜 午餐｜5.12–5.18｜11:00–15:00
🍸 夜间食堂｜5.16–5.17｜18:00–01:30
🍸 夜间食堂｜5.18｜18:00–00:00

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当你远离家乡，家乡的味道对你来说是什么？

这个五月，在赫尔辛基的老城区，我们尝试把一个并不热闹的上海，临时搬进 El Fant。

这次 pop-up 的起点其实很普通。主厨 Dwight 那周休假，店里的午餐档期空出来了。我还没想太多，就和 Lacey 随口说起这事，她说可以来做一周午饭，做葱油面。我当时就答应了。前几天我们在厨房试菜、拍素材，那锅炸葱油的香味一出来，我整个人像被拽了一下。不是“想家”的情绪，而是某个被味觉唤醒的身体反应。

午餐主菜是葱油拌面，手工做的面条，偏细、柔韧，挂酱的力度刚好。配固定三款浇头，搭配生煎馒头和烧麦。生煎小只、底脆、肉馅有汤。烧麦包的是糯米、猪肉和香菇，清早蒸起时，厨房里是糯的香气。

那一周 Lacey 的妈妈也从国内来探亲，会和她一起在厨房里备菜、调馅、煮面。这不是关于“妈妈的味道”的叙述，而是一个家庭在异乡临时重组的厨房结构：两个人，一些经验、直觉、带来的习惯。母女做饭时很多交流不靠说，厨房的语法比语言多，节奏比情绪清晰。

在这个城市，异乡厨房很少出现“母女组合”。那一周，我们让一个完整的厨房关系真实地进入这座城市的食物节奏。

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每次关店后，如果朋友留下来喝杯酒聊几句，大家总会说：“你们晚上不开真的太可惜了。”我们原本就为夜晚留了空间。El Fant 开业初期也做过夜市，开到十点十一点，卖小吃和简单的酒。但那条街太安静，来客太少，人力撑不住，三四个月就放弃了。

那次停掉夜市，其实一直有点遗憾。夜晚的 El Fant 本可以是另一个样子。只是我们这些年太忙，白天撑着，晚上一直空着。

Lacey 说她的朋友——一个住在安特卫普的上海女生，是专业调酒师，愿意来坐三晚夜市。我听完就决定，再打开一次夜晚。她会带来四款特别设计的鸡尾酒，用米酒、红枣、花茶、豆沙等味道调制，一半可做成不含酒精版本。Lacey 会准备几样小吃搭配：茶叶蛋、绍兴毛豆、酒酿圆子、心太软，还有些临时想做的。

就这样，一个异乡厨房会在赫尔辛基老城区开七天，亮三晚的灯。不知道这三晚会发生什么，但希望厨房和吧台能并存，让味道在夜晚的空气中流动一会儿。哪怕只有三晚，也足够为这个地方留下一点新的记忆。

欢迎你来。中午吃碗面，或晚上喝杯酒都好。