Photo by J.B. Forbes (Post-Dispatch)
Private Kitchen
One of 2016’s standout cookbooks is “Land of Fish and Rice,” in which the noted Chinese-cuisine expert Fuchsia Dunlop focuses on the less-heralded fare of the country’s lower Yangtze region, which includes the city of Shanghai. Curious St. Louis diners have been heralding this region’s cuisine since 2015, when Lawrence and Emily Chen opened their tiny, by-reservation-only restaurant Private Kitchen. Shanghai and environs are the focus of the menu here, too: the city’s famous soup dumplings; whole fried freshwater fish; dishes that are, in general, remarkable for their lightness and balance. Remember: You must make reservations, and you should know what you want to order (the menu is on the restaurant’s Facebook page) when you call to make the reservations.
Hours: Dinner daily (closed Tuesday)
Opened: 2015
Must order: Xiao long bao (Shanghai soup dumplings, $6.50)