Shanghai – Ji Shi

The Chinese cuisine that most people all around are accustomed to is actually Cantonese style cooking. Since I was in Shanghai, I was extremely curious on how Shanghai cuisine measured up.  Compared to Cantonese cooking, Shanghai cuisine is more assertively seasoned and higher in fat content, thus generally higher in calories, but lighter and more mildly seasoned than Mandarin cuisine (excerpt from Shanghai Cuisine). Upon countless research on numerous blogs, I decided to try out Ji Shi for classic Shanghai food.

Ji Shi is a tiny two-storey restaurant which just has around 12-ish tables. It was completely full of Shanghai locals or expats who could speak fluent Chinese! They have another branch called XinJiShi which is bigger and caters for tourist but I like the authentic Shanghainese ambience of this place.

Cabbage and shredded tripe in garlic sauce RMB28 – This was served chilled. Crunchy veggies in a sour vinegar like sauce. It was extremely good and refreshing. The first time I tried out this type of flavors. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how the white cruncy veggies could be white cabbage but it is and I take their word for it.

Wine preserved chicken RMB32 – Drunken chicken served chilled again. Very good. Strong taste on the wine.

Fried River Shrimps RMB98 – One of the house specialities. Have you seen shrimps which look so tiny and so fresh? And peeled!!! I saw the neighboring table having this and pointed it out to our server to order.

Saute Shepherds Purse with shredded beancurd sheet RMB18 – Shepherd’s purse is a type of green leafy which we don’t have here in Manila. Light flavored and mixed with shredded beancurd.

Shepherds Purse Crab Meat and beancurd soup RMB28 – I liked how they put in crab fat (the orangey glob in the middle ) which I mixed up with my soup. Gave an extra dimension to the taste.

 

Fish Lip and Ham with chicken soup RMB48 – Better of the two soups we ordered. The chicken broth was extremely flavorful. Is it because it’s double the price of the crab meat soup? Hmmm…

Summary : I loved this place. It had a hole in the wall feel and I loved the black and white photos hanging on the walls. Don’t come here for the ambience, come here for the food. Classic Shanghainese food, clean and crisp flavours. I loved everything that was served.

Rating : Loved It
Food   : Fried River Shrimps

Ji Shi
41 Tianping Lu
Shanghai, China
Tel: 6282 9260

 

Shanghai – Whampoa Club Part II

This is the more expensive degustation menu.

Appetizers

Cuttlefish and wild vegetables roulade

Crispy sesame duck spring roll with chestnuts

Honey glazed wind dried pork liver sausage and gold coin pork loin – the sausage and pork loin are the jerky types you can buy in Bee Cheng Hang

The Mains

Stir fried shark’s fin and bamboo shoots with scrambled eggs, fresh mushrooms, salted pork soup – The scrambled eggs completely overpowered the sharks fin. I couldn’t taste the sharks fin at all. The salted pork soup was fresh and clear.

Pan seared king prawn in fresh chives juice served with sweet corn pancakes – I liked the corn pancakes. They were crunchy and sweet at the same time. The prawns were nicely seared. It was soft on the inside and had a nice burnt texture on the outside.

Twice-cooked spare ribs with roasted garlic, sugar cane spun candy – Nothing great about this dish.

Hot and sour minced fish tofu broth with hand spun spinach noodles – Chinese version of tom yum. Nice and sour bite but nothing great.

The Sweets

Almond and snow fungus papaya pudding, served with millet mousse cake – The clean taste of the pudding matched well with the millet mousse cake. The mousse cake had a grainy and creamy taste which was really good.

RMB 588 per person

Summary : Whampoa Club is an experience. The venue is stunning, and the Chinese food like you have never experienced. Fresh, creative, elegantly presented. Very good food but not exceptional food. However, well worth the time of any food obsessed person visiting Shanghai.

Rating : Love it
Food : Shanghai style braised pork

Whampoa Club
3 Zhong Shan Dong Yi Rd (Fifth Floor, Three on the Bund)
Shanghai, 200002
China
Tel : +86 21 6329 1003

Technorati Tags: Chinese,Shanghai,

 

Shanghai – Whampoa Club Part I

The Chef – excerpt from Three on the Bund – Whampoa Club

“Founding Chef Jereme Leung, started his career in Hong Kong at the tender age of
13, he has since worked his way up to be one of the most prominent Chinese chefs
in the international market, renowned for his immense talent and creativity.
Chef Leung was awarded the Five Star Diamond Award as one of the “World’s Best
Chefs 1999 “ from the American Academy of Hospitality Science. He was also the
recipient of the prestigious Hennessy X.O. Culinary Award in association with the
Peak magazine Malaysia that recognizes chefs from five-six star hotels in Malaysia for
their creativity in developing gourmet culinary trends.
In 2001, he was voted the “Rising Chef of the Year” by the world Gourmet Summit
Awards of Excellence”. Chef Leung, probably one of the youngest master chef in
Asia, has contributed to the success of more than eight Chinese restaurants in
Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. Prior to joining Three on the Bund,
he was executive chef for Jiang Nan Chun, flagship restaurant at Four Seasons Hotel
in Singapore.

Chef Leung now heads up the team at Whampoa Club, Three on the Bund,
introducing his own contemporary interpretation of Shanghainese cuisine, using only
the finest ingredients and presenting in a modern and clean style.”

The Restaurant

Whampoa Club is located at 3 Bund Street. Entering the main door, it has distinguished neighbors such as Emporio Armani and Hugo Boss at the ground floor. Taking the lift to the 5th floor, we were welcomed in a small reception area and after confirming our reservation, were led inside. The hallway was very very impressive. Inlaid panels lined up the long hallway with a magnificent chandelier reaching from ceiling to the ground at the end.

 The Menu

My mom and I opted for the two kinds of degustation menu. Part I  shows the cheaper menu of the two. Enjoy!

Amuse Bouche

Appetizers

Cherry radish pickled with crispy anchovy

Crispy sesame duck spring roll with chestnuts – I love taro duck. This was an interesting variation. Having duck with mashed chestnuts. The chestnuts gave a sweeter taste than taro.

Marinated wild mushrooms with mineral tofu

Chef’s Mains

Lobster soup with fresh lily bulbs and “Ji Cai” vegetables – Fresh and clear with lobster taste in the soup.

Shanghai style braised pork in Chinese spices, served with spinach mantou sticks – Perfect balance between the soy and sugar. The braised pork literally falls apart on the fork. I loved how the mantou bread looked like a breadstick and it’s deep fried crunchiness.

Five-spiced lamb chop served with duo of jasmine and wild rice – Nothing great with this dish.

Sweets

Home-made banana sorbet and chocolate oatmeal pudding – The banana sorbet gives a nice flavor to the chocolate oatmeal pudding. This was comfort food and I finished the whole plate up.

RMB 488 per person

 

Shanghai – Wang Bao He

Mom, sis and I were in Shanghai for four days and when you’re in Shanghai, you should try Shanghai’s culinary delicacy which is hairy crab. Wang Bao He claims to be Shanghai’s oldest restaurant dating back to 1744. It also claims to be the best place to feast on Shanghai’s famous hair crab. Crab dominates the menu, of course, from dumplings and soup to the whole hairy monster, which is typically steamed and eaten with a dipping sauce of ginger, soy sauce, and black vinegar. Be prepared though as the bill can easily skyrocket with the 50 or so crab dishes that can be ordered.

Stewed crab meat with clam in thick soup HKD70 – Clam-based broth with crab meat.

Sauteed Crab Meat HKD300 – Good but expensive. A lot of crab fat and meat sauteed together. The crab fat giving the dish it’s tasty flavor. Go easy on the serving as it’s a high cholesterol dish. I got lightheaded after having this.

Sauteed scallop with crab meat HKD168 – Typical scallops with crab meat. Too cornstarchy for me.

Sauteed seasonal vegetable HKD22 – People say that when in China, you should always order the veggie dishes as they are really good in preparing them. I definitely agree. This is the best dish we ordered. The vegetables were simply sauteed but the taste and freshness of the green leafies shines through. The vegetable hearts were small and it’s my first time to try it.

Steamed dumpling with crab meat and minced pork HKD18 – I had much better. The wrapper was tough and I couldn’t even taste the crab meat inside.

Shanghai Hairy Crab HKD378 – I felt we got shortchanged on the crabs. The meat wasn’t sweet at all! My mom said that the smaller hairy crabs are much sweeter.

Summary : Wang Bao He is a place to go to just to try Shanghai Hairy crab. The list of crab dishes is impressive. The cooking is typical big Chinese restaurant style. You can’t go wrong bringing visitors here. I personally think I can eat in this type of restaurants in Manila.

Rating : Chance Visitor
Food : Shanghai Hairy Crab

Wang Bao He
603 Fuzhou Lu, Shanghai
Tel : 011-8621-6322-3673.