the restaurant in the french concession so on the second day we woke up and decided to start our day off with some brunch. we had planned to visit this resraurant in the french concession that we had read about in frommer's. it is supposedly pretty famous and has been frequented by both local and foreign celebrities.
pickled olives
we walked in at 11 sharp, just as they were opening. the whole area around the restaurant seems like this little chinatown that has been cordoned off. it definitely didn't look french at all. regardless, we entered the restaurant and upon ordering, were confronted by these things pictured above. i tasted it and thought it was horrible. it was bitter and sour at the same time. i think they give it to you so that when you actually eat some real food you'll think its really good. haha.. i cringed and d asked the waitress what it was. turned out to be pickled olives, served as an appetizer. i didn't take a second bite.
stir fried noodles with seafood in clear sauce - 8.5/10
the first real dish that came out was the stir fried noodles cooked with mixed vegetables and shrimps in a clear sauce. i know it doesn't look all too appealing. that's exactly the same thing i thought. it definitely wasn't what i had in mind when i ordered it. but then i took a mouthful and wow, was it good (maybe it was the pickles). this dish probably has the highest taste:looks ratio that i have ever eaten. it looks so bland and tasteless and kinda yucky and gooey but it was actually reallyyy tasty and full of shrimps and scallops and other goodies. the noodles were nice and springy and the clear sauce was surprisingly delicious. i hate peas though but even then i thought this was fantastic.
river shrimps sauteed with crab meat - 8/10
next came the river shrimps sauteed with crab meat. this is a variation of the river shrimps that we had the night before. instead of having it plain, they cooked this in a yummy crab meat sauce which blended perfectly with the crunch of the shrimps. it was mildly spicy but didn't overwhelm the taste of the shrimps at all.
xiao long bao - 8/10
next we had the xiao long baos. on a side note, no matter where we ate, the xiao long baos in shanghai had at least a decent standard. i presume its because its so commonly eaten there and that there is so much competition that you at least have to make a decent xiao long bao otherwise you won't be respected as a restaurant, especially since its one of the national dishes.
Braised sea scallops on a bed of asparagus - 8/10
over here we have some sea scallops with asparagus. these were done pretty well too. the scallops were cooked just right. my mum tells me timing is everything with scallops. cook too short and they come out tasting sticky and raw. but cook them a minute too long and they come out too hard and rubbery. well these were done pretty alright. braised lightly with oyster sauce which gives the dish its distict chinese taste.
Dumplings with shark's fin - 7/10
these were intesting. they were shark's fin inside a xiao long bao wrap. the juice was flavorful and you could taste the sharks fin. but somehow i personally prefer the taste of meat inside the dough.
pork pastry - 8/10
last but not least we have the pork pastry. apparently this is kind of meant to be eaten last. its supposed to be a favorite of president clinton when he dined here. its a very delicately soft pastry with a nice warm moist pork filling inside that really makes you feel happy after eating it. the meat is tender and slightly sweet, oozing with lots of flavor. yum. no wonder he liked it. (apparently these aren't the only soft things he likes though)
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