Chen Zhiping

Meet the Bund

Chef Chen Zhiping (Yoda Chen), a native of Quanzhou, Fujian, is the Executive Chef of Meet the Bund in Shanghai and a protégé of Master Wu Rong. With 17 years refining Min cuisine, he has become a leading force in bringing Fujianese cooking to global prominence. Since joining Meet the Bund in 2019, Chef Chen has led the restaurant to a Michelin star for five consecutive years, Black Pearl Three Diamonds (2026), No. 14 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants (2025)—the highest ranking for a Mainland China restaurant—and a historic No. 94 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants (2025), making it the first and only Fujianese restaurant ever to enter the global list. In 2021, he became the first chef in Shanghai to receive the Michelin Young Chef Award.

His philosophy is rooted in Fujian’s landscapes: “To master a cuisine, you must first return to its roots. Modern techniques are simply new brushes for painting tradition.” For Chen, each dish is a dialogue between ingredient and memory—the first bite should awaken the taste of home.

Meet the Bund Skyline comes highly recommended for its unique Bund views and modern take on regional flavors. The cold soup with sea cucumber, sea clam, and basil is clean and well‑balanced—the sea cucumber’s texture contrasts with the sweet sea clam, while basil adds a subtle herbal note. Serving it cold lightens the seafood’s richness and allows the purity of the ingredients to shine. What I appreciate most is the restaurant’s restrained approach to modern Fujian cuisine, letting the ingredients speak for themselves

Lai Lai Xiao Long is a small, affordable restaurant with consistently high‑quality food, offering excellent value. I especially recommend the crab xiaolongbao. The broth is rich and sweet, with prominent crab flavor but not greasy. The thin skin and generous filling make for a clean, satisfying bite

Da Hu Chun is famous for its shengjian—pan‑fried buns with a crisp bottom, chewy dough, and a juicy, flavorful filling. Prices are reasonable, quality is reliably consistent. A true taste of classic Shanghai

Rambu serves Southeast Asian flavors, mixing Thai, Malaysian, Singaporean, and Indonesian influences. Ingredients like torch ginger, laksa leaves, and calamansi make the dishes flavorful yet approachable

Chen Zhiping

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