The Place

After taking over the old Bubba’s haunt round the back in Shankang Li, Matty Waters (of Smoke KCQ, and menu design for The Hai, The Smokehouse x The Camel) soft opened Parlay at the end of last month with an entirely revamped look, concept, and menu.

READ MORE: BBQ King Ken Walker On Hanging Up His Spurs After 2 Decades

So, what’s in a name?

In gambling terminology, the word ‘parlay’ means placing the stake and winnings from a previous wager on a further bet to make even greater riches; or, when spelt parley, refers to a meet-up and talk, as made famous by everyone's favorite rum-soaked pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow. 

The space boasts an elevated sports bar vibe – think pool tables, darts boards, wraparound high top seating, and a flashy new repurposed bar – with premium pub grub to match, not to mention the freshest daily BBQ in town (hosted via outdoor smokers as the weather warms).

It is basically bringing together the best aspects of the old Camel (RIP) and Bubba’s into one meat-centric mecca for all things BBQ, sports and ‘Murica. 

The Food 

Following the Bubba’s legacy, the menu still focuses on BBQ – but a stronger emphasis on freshly done daily Kansas City-style BBQ – plus a Combi oven, a new cold room for salads, and a broader spread of starters, sandwiches, burgers, and entrées for a balanced bar and grill menu. 

Everything that can be homemade is – bacon, pastrami, sausages, BBQ sauce, and even pickles – with the added bonus of KC-style dry-rubbed meats.

On the appetizers front, there’s ample sharing options, like the Loaded Nachos (RMB68) – a heaving plate of tortilla chips swaddled in cheese sauce, diced tomatoes, pepper relish, cilantro, refried beans, sour cream and Valentina’s hot sauce – plus elective add-ons of 100 grams of Smoked Brisket (RMB48), Chicken (RMB20), or Beef Chili (RMB25).

We suggest bringing friends... unless your evening plans include laying on your couch with a food baby. 

Tempura Spare Ribs (RMB148) – Smoked pork spare ribs, tempura battered and fried, sauced with ranch, KCQ BBQ Sauce, dry rub, scallion, pickles and onions

There’s a robust set of chicken bites – from the boneless Furikake Fried Chicken (RMB68), slick with sweet and savory soy glaze, furikake seasoning, scallions and ranch dressing…

… to a wide range of wings, where diners can choose from the Pitmaster's Special (RMB48) – smoked, fried, and dry-rubbed served alongside pickles and onions... 

... or the Smokey Adobo (RMB58) – smoked, fried, sticky adobo-glazed wings smothered in pepper relish and served atop puffed shrimp crackers...

... or the Smokey Buffalo (RMB58) – smoked, fried, buffalo sauced and strewn with parmesan cheese and scallions, presented with the customary buffalo wing accoutrement of celery and carrot sticks plus blue cheese dressing. 

Can’t decide?

Well, you don’t have to – you can get a 'parlay' of all three flavors for just RMB158, with optimal sharing portions. 

On the fresher side of things, there are currently three main salads and three side salads (with more on the way), like the Southwest Chicken Salad (RMB78) – a bed of mixed greens covered with tomatoes, tortilla chips, a sprinkling of cheddar, black beans and pepper relish, with your choice of spicy southwest ranch or cilantro lime vinaigrette.

The Chopped Spinach Salad (RMB88) sees cured and five-hour smoked salmon belly resting on baby spinach, along with marinated and roasted tomatoes, pecans, goat cheese, red onions, sliced green apples, and a tangy pomegranate vinaigrette. 

Onto all things sandwiched between pieces of bread: the Southern Fried Chicken Sandwich (RMB78) is a slow-smoked and battered “well-endowed” chicken breast, deep-fried to seal in all of the juices that are unleashed with every crunch-filled bite. 

A play on, and inspired by one of Matty’s guilty pleasures at the famous Gates BBQ in Kansas City, the Double G Combo Sandwich (RMB98) is a behemoth, layered with thick chunks of USDA smoked brisket, house-cured sweet and smoky ham, pickles, bourbon butter onions, zippy horseradish Dijonnaise (reminiscent of Arby’s horsey sauce – if you know, you know), and more of that KCQ BBQ sauce.

Piled between three pieces of toasted white bread, this one requires you to unhinge your jaw just to take it all in. 

Bonus: the textbook steak cut sweet potato fries that come on the side are hands down the best of their kind in Shanghai. We challenge you to find a worthy contender.

No sports bar menu is incomplete without a Pastrami Reuben (RMB98), a sandwich we at That’s Shanghai have just a wee bit of a thing for...

READ MORE: Shanghai’s Best (& Worst) Reubens for St. Paddy's Day

A prime example of this American institution of a sammy showcases 150 grams of thinly sliced house-smoked pastrami, thick with creamy coleslaw, a lashing of Russian dressing, and a smarmy Swiss beer cheese sauce in place of the conventional melted Swiss, nestled inside sourdough toast. 

And just like Katz’s Delicatessen in NYC, you can make it a fat stack of 300 grams of meat for an extra RMB38.

Yup, just a casual third of a kilo of beef to get your day going. 

Pimento and Bacon Jam Smash (RMB78) – Two beef patties smashed and seasoned on the flat top grill, pimento cheese, bacon onion jam, and house tangy and spicy burger sauce, with homemade pickles on a brioche bun

An homage to the KC BBQ classic, the Burnt Ends Burger (RMB88) acts as a topping on another single patty smash burger, tucked inside a brioche bun.

A copious drizzle of BBQ sauce rounds it all out, a thick dribble oozing down your chin, while addicting pepper relish lends a fiery honeyed contrast to cut through the fat-dripping meat.

Other sandos and burgs span *deep breath* Hot Ham & Cheese (RMB78), BLT (RMB78), Smoked Porchetta (RMB88), Fried Mushroom Burger (RMB88), Matty’s Smash Patties Classic Smash Burger (RMB68), Smoked Veggie Burger (RMB88), and finally The Parlay Burger (RMB88) – sporting a 200-gram patty!

Onto the main event, the reason we are all here – the apple wood-smoked meats scorched by fire and heat in a custom-built smoker. 

The menu is divided into à la carte meats and sides, BBQ plates, sharing platters, and – Matty’s pièce de résistance – the Parlay Double Wager Pork Belly Rib Combo… but we'll get back to that later.

All of the meats are first dry-rubbed with a recipe created and only known by Matty himself, then slathered in an equally secret complimentary BBQ sauce, for the ideal balance of sweet and heat. 

Like your standard American South BBQ joint, individual meat orders come in 100-gram portions – with 6+ hour-smoked USDA Beef Brisket (RMB48), USDA Pork Spare Ribs (RMB48), Char Siu Smoked Pork Belly (RMB38), and homemade Pork Sausage (RMB38/120 grams).

Or, you can upgrade to larger portions as the BBQ platters, that come with your choice of two sides, and span USDA Beef Brisket (RMB128/250 grams), USDA Pork Spare Ribs (RMB148/3 pieces, RMB288/6 pieces), or Half Spring Chicken (RMB98).

Sourced from just an hour away from Matty’s hometown of Kansas City, the USDA pork spare ribs are KC cut (from the ends of the rack) rather than the commonplace St. Louis cut (from the middle of the rack) that you’ll find around town.

These beastly bones house meat that slides right off the bone in one fell swoop, yet is still meat, not mush. 

The ribs are painted with a lick of apple cider vinegar-forward BBQ sauce, before being charred again on the grill to intensify the flavor and crisp up the outer flesh.

A touch of heat from chili and cayenne catches in the back of your throat in a satisfyingly spicy way. 

A lot of grub chocking up a lot of value, the Sharing Platter (RMB488) sports 250 grams of beef brisket, three pork ribs, pork sausage, and half a spring chicken, plus three sides and toast – a gluttonous amalgamation of everything BBQ goodness in this world. 

Available only on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, Parlay’s answer to all the dinosaur-size beef short ribs around town is the aforementioned Parlay Double Wager Pork Belly Rib Combo (RMB218). 

A massive 1+-kilo portion of a two-bone pork rib with the belly still attached is dry-rubbed and smoked five hours until fall-apart tender, then sliced to order.

Pleated with melting fat and surrounded by a smoky, charred bark, it truly is the best of all BBQ worlds. 

Sides range from coleslaw to potato salad, mac’n’cheese to baked beans.

And, as if all that were not enough, Matty has a slew of new entrées, spreads (sports pun intended), dips, and veg-friendly options in the works as the BBQ season unfolds. 

The Vibe

Every college boy’s man cave dream incarnate, Parlay also plays host to live music on the weekends, sports event screenings, and a sprawling terrace for summer barbecues – the ultimate American-style backyard BBQ environment with service to match. 

Grand opening is slated for this weekend, with the awaited brunch menu also launching, fueled by an outdoor smoker and seating for 50 people on the terrace – in addition to the 85 seats inside – for the ideal schmoozing in the sun vibe.

All that is to the backdrop of Shanghai’s most well-curated 90s and 2000s gangster rap playlist – Wutang Clan, Busta Rhymes, N.A.S., Notorious B.I.G, throwback Snoop Dogg, and more

Just banger after nostalgic banger. 

Parlay isn’t your typical, run-of-the-mill sports bar we’ve seen so far in Shanghai; it has carved its own path, and has already created a loyal following in just the few short weeks it has been open.

The team still plans to hold many of Bubba's legacy events – like the Hot Sauce Festival and annual Chili Cook-Off, one of the city's longest running food festivals – while concurrently making a name for itself as Shanghai’s hippest sports bar and grill.

Parlay, Shankang Li, 808 Shaanxi Bei Lu, Bld 18, #103 陕西北路808号陕康里18幢103室.