Well I've been home a few days now, in jet-lagged body if not in mind. It was a very enjoyable Fodorite GTG dinner, with the lovely Shanghainese and Mr. and Mrs. Nagiffag - couldn't have asked for a better welcome to Shanghai! Thanks to the Nagiffags for selecting the super cool Lost Heaven restaurant as well as the delicious dishes. I think Shanghainese wrote it all down so I look forward to her post and remembering what I ate In short, it was great meeting you guys and I'm so happy I attended my first GTG! Oh, and thanks to Fodors for the nifty logo gifts!

Pics posted!
http://tinyurl.com/37gdd5
http://tinyurl.com/3ct6v8

great pics....we all love seeing these....how about those bags!!

Thanks for posting!

Yes, the Lost Heaven was tre cool thanks to nagiffag's expert choice. It is mid-block of an upscale residential street in the old french concession area with an unassuming entrance. Upon entering the front door, the chicly attired greeters showed you to a lounge dimly lit with elongated red gauzy lanterns, deep chaises surrounded the walls with a few soft comfy chairs scattered around. It whispers of southwest China's exotic aura.

Fodorites can always spot each other, the delicious Nutella was sitting in the middle of the room, and shortly after the delightful mrs and mr nagiffag joined us and we were lead to the 2nd floor dining room.

Soft candlelight illuminated the lovely room artfully decorated with Yunan handicrafts. The polished wood tables and chairs were filled with happy chinese and non-chinese diners(some with children) who mostly seem to be frequent patrons. I think Nutella had a beer, I drank a chardonnay from Chile, can't remember what the nagiffag's ordered.

A bit under the weather, will continue with the menu later...

Now I know Shanghainese is a lady.

rkkwan -- was I unladylike at one time?! Don't remember, hee, hee ...

I wrote the menu down in chinese (write chinese quicker than english) so please chime in, nagiffag and nutella. Lost Heaven serves Yunan folk cuisine which is light with haunting flavors, blending hints of southeast asian spices.

Eggplant with tofu
Sauted garlic brocollini
Stirred fried green beans
Chicken Dali style
Fish cakes
Pork with Dali greens
Fried Rice with special Yunan ham

All the dishes were superb and couldn't believe time passed so quickly when you are having great fun with fellow Fodorites. I look forward to meeting you all again, and thanks to Katie for the goodies!

Thanks for posting the details, Shanghainese, I think you covered it all! The eggplant with tofu... yum!!!

The eggplant with tofu was my fav too, Nutella, I looked thru all my cookbooks' yunan recipes but couldn't find one. It was interesting to read that since Yunan Province is landlocked, salt was expensive so the locals used many herbs and spices, some from Vietnam and Thailand. They also used a vatiety of cooking techniques such us smoking the pork into yunan special ham.

nagiffag -- any idea how the eggplant with tofu is cooked?

I'm definitely going thru withdrawal from all the great food I ate there. This weekend I ordered Chinese takeout from my (formerly) favorite place here in town, and now that I've been spoiled, it disappointed. I think I need to find a Chinese cookbook (I'm craving a spicy tofu dish I had several times, but not sure of the name or ingredients) and pay a visit to the Asian grocery store...

2 spicy tofu recipes, 1 for regular tofu, the other for pressed tofu which is harder and chewier.

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/tof1/r/mapotofu.htm

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/tof1/r/spicytofu.htm

Hello ladies. Great to see you've made it back safe and sound! Hope you had a nice time in Shanghai. It was wonderful meeting you.

Thanks S! The photo in the first recipe looks very similar to a photo I took of a delicious dish I ordered somewhere during my travels. I had tried to replicate it from memory the other day - bought some jars of Lee Kum Kee sauces at the supermarket - but it didn't come out right. Will try again with the recipe!

Nutella -- Be patient, tofu takes a while to absorb flavorings.