Highlights of Pigging in Shanghai (Part 2)

Day 2 of Shanghai was full of smiles & happiness as it was complete feasting on delectable Shanghainese Cuisine & with a sprang of surprise which was Japanese Cuisine in the Xin Tian Di area, a remotely more hip & Western area filled with restaurants & bars. The happiness was due to the fact that our pre-wedding photoshoot was now over & we can literally just stuff our faces with some serious good food which is what we came to Shanghai for as well. Shanghai really is a big big city, a city whereby food is everywhere with some serious hidden gems which is un-noticed by the public.

First of all is this rather interesting restaurant which I have no idea on how we encountered because it was in the middle of nowhere but looked half decent on the exterior front - 金錨傳菜 (Jin Miao Shanghai Cuisine & if you read the Chinglish name card, it says Jin Miao Coffee & Bar) located on 新华路 Xin Hua Road. This was the 1st meal after our pre-wedding photoshoot which lasted a gruesome 8 hours in the rain & cold therefore a proper feast was much required. We arrived around 2130pm & with the last orders looming,unexpectedly, all the usual dishes such as Pan Fried Dumplings, Braised Pork were lacking in action which was disappointing but nonetheless, a right feast was awaiting. Some of the rather special dishes we had on the evening:

Pork Ear 豬耳 (Cold Dish) - Name off-putting but the Chinese eat anything with 4-legs & any part of the body counts. Delicious cold dish this was with a crunchy & fun texture. Treat this as a slice of gelatine with pig’s ears in it, doesnt actually taste foul with the pork ears thinly gelatined mixed with pork. Not your usual type of cold dish to kick start the meal & a recommended starter!

Shanghai style Smoked Fish 上海燻魚 (Hot Dish) - Your regular smoked fish is served cold & to my knowledge, this is my 1st ever Shanghai style smoked fish eaten as a hot dish. The fish itself was full of flavour with heavy doses of smokiness combined with the fresh flavour of the fish, unlike the quality of fish you get in Hong Kong. What was special about the dish was purely the fact that it was served warm & was very unique. Top marks for this dish!

Hua Diao Infused Chicken 花雕雞 (Hot Dish) - Lacking in serious Hua Diao Wine flavour was a major disappointment but what was bonus about this dish was the natural flavour & the chicken is so incredibly tender that it melts in your mouth. It bedazzles me on how the quality of chicken one can get from Hong Kong & mainland differs to such extent, this was unlike any chicken which I have tasted in Hong Kong. Too bad the Hua Diao flavours were missing in action!

Stewed Crab Meat with Tofu (蟹粉豆腐羹) - Natural flavours of the crab meat brings out the flavour of the dish. Shanghai is renowned for crabs & the crab meat stew with tofu is creamy & best served with a bowl of hot rice! I managed 2 bowls of rice with this dish – that says it all despite that I never eat rice in my normal diet!

Braised Shanghai Eel with Eggplant  - Massive lover of eel I am & a dish like this is not to miss out on. Again, best served with rice with the soya sauce which the wonderful texture of the braised Shanghai Eel carries natural sweetness. Only slight comment towards the dish will be the eels & eggplants were completely drenched into the soya sauce making it rather salty but still a very pleasant & tasty dish!

Above were my recommended dishes in Jin Miao Shanghai Cuisine & to be honest, we were bloody starving & thank god that the dishes were decent but not spectacular. For 11 dishes + drinks + rice, for 6 people, the bill was RMB600 – average of $100 per head, what more can you complain?

Rating: 3*

Address: G/F, Xin Hua Building, 543 Xin Hua Road (新华路543号新华大厦1楼 – 021-52581097)

Next Day in Shanghai was a nightmare, cold & pelting down with rain once again! Wanted to check out the Shanghai Expo area but the rain stopped us from doing so & being a tourist, you just have to cab it & check out the touristy restaurants in Xin Tian Di, a relatively more hip & cultural area of Shanghai featuring Western style bars & restaurants. They even have a Paul Patisserie (www.paul-uk.com/content/food-patisserie.php) which was a surprise! Wandering around Xin Tian Di was a nightmare as there are so many restaurants to choose from & we asked our local friend of whom recommended us to check out 小山 (English = Little Mountain), an authentic Tatami style Japanese restaurant on the 3/f of the Xin Tian Di Mall for lunch.

For a Tuesday lunch, the place was packed & we had to wait for 20 mins to be seated – good sign of a successful restaurant. Flipped through the menu & the lunch sets were not cheap, on par prices with Hong Kong averaging between RMB100 – 120 per lunch set.

Sashimi Don- Slight disappointment was the salmon which was not fresh at all & just look at the pale orange colour. But for RMB110, this was an extremely filling set lunch with a big bowl of sashimi rice, Japanese style boiled egg & Miso soup! The sashimi mix wasn’t anything spectacular but the biggest props of the sashimi don must go to the Japanese short grain rice, moist & sticky, its perfect condition to be eaten!

Beef Sugiyaki- Priced at RMB150, this beef sugiyaki set was a monster with way too much food! 4 generous slabs of beef on one side & the otherside with generous amount of tofu, leak & shiitake mushroom topped up with a bowl of rice, miso-soup & Japanese style boiled egg. Beef was of good quality & the sweet soya sauce & mirin combined very well. A pleasant choice for our set lunch for sure!

Japanese style Deep Fried Chicken – The best dish & a special highlight of the meal, althought a snack only but completely stole the spotlight of the lunch-sets. So ridiculously crunchy & crispy that it was simply a stunning appetiser. I have always thought the Deep Fried Chicken in 888 Ramen in Causeway Bay was one of the best in Hong Kong, this was at a different level with the batter was a lot more crispier!

If there was one dish that you can forget about ordering in 小山, my word of advice, do not order the Uni-Don (Sea Urchin Set). The colour of the sea urchin was not appealling with a nasty yellow colour unlike the normal fresh coloured uni which should be a mix between orange & yellow. Very much doubt how “fresh” the uni really was & how can they even serve this to the paying customers??

小山 is a typical Xin Tian Di restaurant whereby I will only go for lunch but not dinner due to high inflated prices. A Salmon Hand-roll will cost you around RMB45 per roll, which is again on par prices with some of the Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong with poorer quality. How does the restaurant survive the night business, I don’t know as the wages in Shanghai are not that high comparatively to Hong Kong & to have a decent dinner, you will have to blow your wallet. No wonder half the restaurant at lunch were filled with expats but not the local citizens.

Shame that I didnt have enough time on this trip nor luck as there were 2 ultimate Japanese restaurants which I wanted to try – one is called 魚藏 (Fish Gut in English as direct translation) which our friend raves about as well as Shintori (http://www.smartshanghai.com/venue/442/Shintori_shanghai). If you have ever eaten in these 2 restaurants, drop me a note & let me know if it’s really worth a visit as I heard Shintori is more for the interior design & question marks over the food?

Rating: 3*

Address: 3/f Xian Ti Di Shopping Centre (卢湾区兴业路123弄新天地南里广场6号3楼(近马当路) – 021-53821125)

Stay tune for our Part III of Pigging Out in Shanghai, coming real soon!

Happy Eating!

Geoff