Dumplings and hairy crab roe galore

Caught up on some sleep last night, but woke up at a pretty reasonable hour.  B has limited time in Shanghai, so we left our service apartment mid-morning to walk around town a little.  But first, we needed to add some fuel for the rest of the day, so breakfast was in order...

Linlong Fang (麟笼坊特色小笼包) is a good walk from where we were, and it was time to go downmarket today.  Xiaolongbao for breakfast doesn't sound like a bad idea when you're in Shanghai...  As we weren't far from lunchtime, I decided to stick to just a dozen of these babies for the two of us.

Pork and crab roe dumplings (鮮肉蟹粉小籠包) - not bad at all.  The sweetness from the pork mixed in with the delicious crab meat and tomalley.

My favorite braised pork in Shanghai

Today was the highlight of my trip: 2 meals at my favorite Shanghainese restaurants in Shanghai.  Honestly, I wouldn't come to Shanghai to eat much else... and I always return to my handful of favorite places.  There just aren't any new places that can do better!

As I walked up to the door at Jesse Restaurant, I was surprised that they had changed the name from 吉士酒家 to 老吉士.  I guess they just got tired of the confusion with Xinjishi (新吉士), which nowadays is probably more well-known to tourists thanks to the branch in Xintiandi.

My friend decided to order up a storm, even though there were only two of us for lunch.  Her excuse was that she could always pack the leftovers, so I had no more complaints...

Cassoulet in Shanghai

I'm in Shanghai for a short weekend, just to hang with B and showing her some of my favorite places in Shanghai.  The point was to have proper Shanghainese, but I have one free meal and felt like something a little different.

I had heard about Mr. and Mrs. Bund some time ago, and after a little research I realized that the chef used to be at Jade on 36.  My good friend Dr Poon used to rave about the restaurant at the Pudong Shangri-La, but I never got the chance to check it out before the chef's departure.  Now that Mr. and Mrs. Bund has been voted No. 7 among the Asia's Top 20 in the Miele Guide, I figured I'd give it a try.

I landed around dinner time, rendezvoused with my friends and headed to the restaurant for a late dinner.  I was thinking that the building looked familiar, when I realized that it sits just below Bar Rouge.  Memories of a few years ago...

Shame on you, woman!

LONG RANT WARNING

There has been a good amount of public furore during the last few days over a speech made on June 5th by Cherry Tse Ling Kit-ching (謝凌潔貞), the Permanent Secretary for Education for Hong Kong.  The speech was given at the graduation ceremony of a local school, and the fact that it was made just a day after the 22nd anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre obviously hit a nerve.

Yet ANOTHER fake from China

News surfaced over the last couple of days about yet another fake/copied product out of China, although this time I'm not sure it was done with the full knowledge and blessing of the officials.  I'm talking about the theme song to the 2010 Shanghai Expo - 2010等你來.

The song was supposedly rolled out to count down the last 30 days before the start of the Expo, and the video featured well-known celebrities such as Jackie Chan, Yao Ming, Andy Lau, Lang Lang and others.  The composer of the song is Miao Sen (繆森).  There was an earlier controversy where some members of the public questioned the similarity of the song to Welcome to Beijing (北京歡迎您), the song used for the 100-day countdown to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  Mou refuted that claim, saying he composed the song back in 2004, way before the Olympics.

Now it has come to light that the song is basically a copy of Sonno Mama No Kimi De Ite (そのままの君でいて), originally released in 1997 by Okamoto Mayo (岡本真夜).  There is enough similarity between the two songs to cause real embarrassment to the authorities, who have stopped using the song and removed it from the official website.

I've attached a video on YouTube, where someone has done a composite to show the similarities.  I invite you to see for yourself.



This is yet another egg on China's face, and will no doubt raise more questions about the authenticity of things coming out of China.  In the age where some Koreans seem to claim as their own everything/everyone from Confucius to Qu Yuan (屈原), the figure behind the origins of the Dragonboat/Tung Ng/Duan Wu Festival (端午節), this is the last thing we need...

Cowboys and French maids

I'm in Shanghai for one night, and I met up with a couple of friends to try out a restaurant.  I heard about Xijiao No. 5 (西郊5号) some time last year, and thought it was time to check it out.

The place was easy to miss, especially on a rainy night.  The place seemed hell bent on making an aesthetic statement of some sort, starting from the cowboy outfits of the valet, the butler/maid costumes of the wait staff, to the eclectic decor showing classical European as well as Gaudi influences.  The toilet bowl was literally on a wooden throne... whatever...

My friend and I debated whether to order a la carte or take one of the set menus.  I wanted to pick only the dishes I wanted to have; my friend thought it would be more economical to take the set menu; she insisted, and I relented.  Turned out to be a big mistake.

We had a few starters to begin with:

Crispy skin marinated chicken (脆皮咸鸡) - this was totally not what we expected.  The chicken wasn't fried at all...it was steamed.  The chicken was then dunked in ice water (or put into a freezer) so that the skin and the meat became very crunchy.  I commented that the skin had the consistency similar to jelly fish (海蜇).  There was a salad of shredded chicken and radish at the bottom.  I thought this was interesting, but it wasn't a crowd pleaser.

Homemade bean curd noodles (自制回味干丝) - much chewier than the 干丝 I find at most restaurants, which makes it interesting.

Chrysanthemum greens salad (生拌茼蒿菜) - this was very nice and refreshing, tossed with a vinaigrette that was just yummy.

Deep-fried fish in soy sauce (扬帆熏鱼) - nice presentation, with the fried tail curve upwards like a billowing sail (hence the name 扬帆).  Nice and crunchy on the outside, while the fish was moist and juicy (almost dripping) on the inside.  One thing that detracted from the experience was the soy sauce at the bottom of the plate, which was pretty salty.  This was almost the same as the version at Fu 1088, but loses out because of the salty soy sauce instead of sweet soy.

After this, the mains started to arrive in quick succession...even before we finished the starters.

I didn't want to eat raw oysters in China, even if they were imported from France...so I took the roast New Zealand leg of lamb (新西兰小羊腿).  This was huge... and the smell of cumin hits me immediately.  I must say that the meat was pretty nice, but there was just way too much cumin...I couldn't even figure out what the sauce was made of.  Needed to rinse my tongue with tea afterwards for fear of destroying my taste buds.

Stewed beef steak with pear (5号牛排) - this was the famous steak at the restaurant, which  is not cheap as an a la carte item.  My verdict?  Well... the beef itself was nice and tender, but that is because of this particular cut, and plenty of others do it just as well or better - 台塑王品牛排 for example.  But the sauce was a little weird to me... The poached pear was OK, and a refreshing balance to the rich beef.  There was a little bit of pear-flavored foam on the side...and a hint of molecular cuisine.

Peeled Risling shrimp (雷司令蝦仁) - this dish gave me a good laugh, and pretty much sounded the death knell of this restaurant in my book.  The shrimps were OK, although I thought there was a hint of baking soda - commonly used to make the shrimps crunchier to the bite.  There were some red "pearls" in a spoon, and I immediately thought of my disastrous meal at Tang in Dubai.  I tasted wine in the pearls, and asked the waiter what they were made of...

"This is molecular cuisine (分子料理).  This is made from Riesling, a type of red wine."
"Riesling?! But Riesling is a white grape!!!"
"Oh...I'm sorry..."

Boiled wild duck in soup (江鸭腌鲜汤) - not bad, but I was already pretty full at this point.

Steamed Hilsa herring with rice wine (糟香鲥鱼) - Hilsa herring is another name for Reeve's shad.  There is no way that the fish should be shared by the three of us...it's just too huge.  I had a piece from the belly, and it was pretty nice.

Braised mushrooms with honey (香蜜百灵菇) - they looked like stacks of rice cakes, but these were mushroom slices.  I took one slice, as it was all I could manage...

Stewed rice with sea cucumber and fish lips (海参鱼唇捞饭) - Actually the rice wasn't stewed in the claypot with the rest...you just add steamed rice into the pot.  This was one of the signature dishes of the restaurant, and I did like it.  The varied consistency between the soft fish lips and the slightly crunchier sea cucumber was kinda interesting.

Steamed veggie with soy sauce (豉油芹白) - not sure what this veggie was...looked like a cross between bean sprouts and yellowed chives.  But the taste was definitely celery.

Dessert was snow frog in pumpkin purée (南瓜露雪蛤) - I'm not normally a fan of this stuff, but it was OK tonight.

We were waaaay too stuffed, as the set menu just gives you too much food.  But maybe this is how Chinese people entertain these days... ordering too much food and pay for an expensive meal.  There were definitely a few tables of nouveau riches around us...showing off by talking about Ferraris.  I'm also turned off by the decision of the waiter not to allow me to take pictures of the menu.  I do it so I remember the dishes I had, not because I want to copy or steal any secrets from the restaurant.  While it was nice of him to deliver a full list of our dishes for me to take home, the overriding attitude of the restaurant bothers me.  These guys are just too full of themselves.

Well...now that I've been here and checked it off my list, I don't need to come back again. Most of the dishes can be found elsewhere, with similar or better quality and at cheaper price points.  That leaves very little reason for me to return...especially given the out-of-the-way location.

Christmas in Shanghai day 4: crab roe OD

I was hung over this morning, and woke up a little later than usual. After cleaning myself up in slo-mo, I went off in search of more xiaolongbao.

Linlong Fang (麟笼坊特色小笼包) is a copycat Jiajia (佳家湯包) – the layout of the whole place looks just like the Jiajia outlet on Huanghe Road. I placed my order for two baskets, and they arrived a bit more than 15 minutes later.

The egg yolk and pork dumplings (蛋黃鮮肉小籠) were pretty good. This combination seems popular with some xiaolongbao specialists (and customers of course!), and I can see why. The salty flavor and powdery texture of the yolk contrasts with the smooth, naturally sweet pork. Lots of soup inside the nice, soft skin.

The pure crab roe dumplings (純蟹粉小籠) came in two baskets, and were about double the size of the regular dumplings. There was so much steam coming from these baskets I could even see it on the pictures I took. A little bit of the yellow crab oil had already oozed out. I picked up the first one, and decided to shove it whole into my mouth. Maybe it’s a little too much, but I wasn’t given a spoon and was too lazy to ask for one. Very rich with lots of crab roe chunks inside. Yummy.

I devour the dumplings one after another in quick succession. As I got to the second basket, I started to find pieces of shell in the crab roe filling. Aaaarrrrggghhhh!!!! This is so annoying! Occasionally one will find small pieces of shell in the crab roe, because the maker of the stuff wasn’t very careful. But the pieces I had in my mouth were pretty significant in size, and tells me that the source of their roe isn’t very good. So even though the dumplings here were bigger compared to Jiajia, I still have to put Jiajia as my #1 for crab roe dumplings.

Two dozen xiaolongbao was definitely too much to eat on my own, especially since one basket was filled with rich crab roe, and those were double the usual size! I started to feel a little nauseous towards the end, but I didn’t want to waste food… I left the restaurant and decided to walk a little to settle my stomach.

I met up with the sisters again for dinner, this time at Sophia’s Restaurant (原创私房菜). It’s a cute little place not far from the house, and the food turned out to be pretty good.

Starters:

Beancurd roll (素鵝) – this was actually pretty good. Nice flavors without being overly smoky.

Hot pickle (宮廷榨菜) – also nicer than expected for something so simple. Actually a little bit sweeter than usual.

Bean paste with egg (三色豆瓣酥) – I guess I’m just not a fan of 豆瓣酥… The presentation was pretty, with the bean paste sandwiched between layers of egg yolk and egg white. Taste was a little bland, which is why it needed a sweet and fruity sauce.

Given our experience yesterday, we tried not to over-order main courses.

Prawn and crab meat with pancake (金菊蟹蝦夾餅) – this was kinda interesting. River shrimps are stir-fried with some crab roe and meat, then you wrap it in pancake along with some julienned cucumber and yellow chrysanthemum petals.

Sophia’s Kungfu chicken (別有天功夫雞) – I know it’s the signature dish that has been cooked for 2 hours with 28 types of herbs and spices… but to me it’s just a decent chicken with some subtle herbal flavors on top of the sweet soy sauce.

Meatball on seashell (蛤蜊獅子頭) – very interesting take on the traditional meatball, made with clams and apples. Presentation was very pretty and they were encased in open clam shells. The flavor was definitely sweeter than the normal meatball, which probably came from the apple. Very nice.

Stir-fried greens with winter bamboo shoots (塌菜炒冬筍) – I’ve been dying to have this veggie and finally got it. Love that very mild bitter aftertaste along with the sweetness.

I was happy…a simple, casual yet delicious Shanghainese meal, and I didn’t feel stuffed at the end!

Christmas in Shanghai day 3: classic Shanghainese

I had planned to go hit another xiaolongbao joint for lunch today, when my friend Julia suggested that we go to Fu 1088 (福 1088) instead. Turns out this is just on the block next to the house…and I didn’t even know it! This is the big brother of Fu 1039, with much the same menu but supposedly more upscale, so I was happy to have a chance to try it.

We were typically Chinese and wanted to order half the menu. Fortunately the waiter suggested that they set us up with tasting portions of the cold starters, which can accommodate up to 5 different dishes per plate. This turned out to be a really good idea, although this convenience comes at a premium. The 5 starters were:

Deep-fried fish in sweet soy sauce (老上海燻魚) – this came out warm instead of the standard cold version, so that the texture of the black carp was soft and silky inside while the outside was crispy. Very yummy.

Tea smoked egg topped with caviar (黑魚籽煙燻溏心蛋) - this was served cold instead of the lukewarm versions I’m used to in Hong Kong. As a result the outer edges of the egg whites were a bit harder and “rubbery” to the bite.

Black fungus with sour chili sauce (涼拌木耳) – this was nice and pretty, as the fungus they chose were round and ball-like. A nice contrast came with a couple of small petals of lily buds as garnish – white in color – against a mound of black beneath.

Pea starch noodle rolled wild vegetable with sesame sauce (胡麻醬涼皮野菜卷) – kinda interesting and a little more modern. I didn’t get too much out of this one-bite portion besides the obvious sesame flavor, other than I think it was a bit spicy. Might have been some XO sauce on top?

Marinated jelly fish with cucumber in sour chili sauce (陳醋海蜇頭) – no cucumber here, just a bit of red chili as garnish. The “head” of the jellyfish was crunchier in texture.

I can’t walk into a proper Shanghainese place without ordering the braised pork with soy and rock sugar (香溢紅燒肉), so in came a nice collection of fatty pork with layers of skin and fat. Very nice…although it will always take its place behind the pork at Jesse (吉士酒家)...

The rest of the dishes came in quick succession – very Chinese style – which meant we didn’t have time to properly enjoy them before some of them got cold. I always forget to ask them to pace the dishes, and this is what happens.

The sautéed hairy crab meat, served with toast (清炒蟹粉伴吐司) was very, very good. The big plate of crab meat/roe combination came with long sticks of toast. I greedily scooped the orange paste into my bowl, dipped the toast in, opened wide and devoured it like it was manna from heaven. It was really yummy, and my friends weren’t eating their share…so guess whose belly it all ended up in?

I initially rejected the waiter’s suggestion of baked cod fillet with sautéed egg white and caramelized black vinegar, but went ahead and ordered it when we needed a fish course and my friends didn’t agree to the Reeve's shad (鰣魚). The presentation and cooking style was very modern. The bed of egg white at the bottom was surprisingly hard – I had imagined something like 賽螃蟹, another Shanghainese favorite. There were a couple of bits of unripened mango on top, which provided an interesting touch.

For veggies we had sautéed sweet pea with minced ham (火腿豌豆). This was pretty OK. The peas were tiny and sweet.

There was no way we could have finished everything on the table, so I packed away the leftovers – especially the pork! – and look forward to bringing them back to Hong Kong. This was an excellent lunch, and the food was definitely at the top level in Shanghai. I left the restaurant stuffed with lots of hairy crab meat and roe…

Dinner tonight was with Uncle Benny and his friends. We worked together a long time ago, and he’s my go-to guy in Shanghai for a lot of things. We went back to 1221. Benny knows the owner Michelle well, and he first took me here more than 10 years ago. I always thought the food here was pretty decent. And this is definitely a more laowai restaurant as a significant portion of the clientele is not local Shanghainese.

The starters:

Shredded chicken in sesame bon-bon sauce (棒棒雞) - OK

Mashed broad beans (雪菜豆瓣酥) – not a fan. It’s like taro/potato mash except that it’s cold.

Crispy eel (脆鱔) – pretty well done although it’s cold, not warm the way I prefer.

Shanghainese smoked fish (燻魚) – ho hum.

Mixed chilli with black bean sauce (尖椒泡豆) – not bad.

Braised beef tendon (拌牛筋) – pretty spicy, to my surprise, but very soft.

The mains:

Pan-fried chunky beef steak with garlic (蒜香煎牛柳粒) – ho hum.

1221 2-ways stir-fried shrimp (鴛鴦蝦球) – pretty disappointing, especially the plain ones…they were just bland.

Sweet and sour mandarin fish (松鼠桂魚) – my least favorite way to prepare fish…and the Shanghainese love it for some reason.

Crispy duck (de-boned, 香酥鴨) – probably the best main dish…nice and crispy on the outside, with a bit of fat in the middle.

Sweet and sour pork (咕嚕肉) - OK

Tofu with hairy crab roe (蟹粉豆腐) – I guess I’m jaded after having a ton of crab roe in the last few months, so this didn’t impress.  But upon reflection, this dish also didn’t cost an arm and a leg, and for the money I paid it’s pretty OK.

Stir-fried mushroom with XO sauce (XO醬百靈菇) – the slices were a little dry, but flavor was OK.

Pea sprouts in broth (上湯豆苗) – these sprouts looked tiny and really young, so why was the texture a little tough?

Won-ton chicken soup (餛飩雞湯) – the soup had plenty of chicken flavor, but fell just short of being really rich so it’s probably a bit healthier for us.

The complimentary dessert was made with pan-fried sticky rice that’s studded with some watermelon seeds, with some bananas in the middle.  The rice was pretty nice, although I can’t imagine why watermelon seeds were used…

It was still pretty early when we finished dinner, and although my face was already red from the yellow wine, we moved on to another round of whisky and pool to finish off the night.