A Michelin-starred chef from France once told me he thinks Shanghai food is the most "feminine" cuisine he has ever tasted, and this was after his first bite of greasy, meltingly rich red-braised pork, the signature dish of the coastal city's fare.
It is these feminine qualities that came to mind at Yuan Lu, an unpretentious, chic restaurant tucked away on the third floor of a typical Shanghai old city lane house, steps away from the city's bustling Huaihai Lu (Road).
Like a well-educated daughter from an eminent local family, the two-story restaurant is not content with just the typical red-braised pork belly or smoked fish of its hometown. Co-founded by one of the city's most successful fashion designers, Ji Cheng (of La Vie), this all-embracing eatery would like to treat diners with a little bit of Cantonese and a little bit of Hunan cuisine - or, if you want to use the latest buzzword, "fusion Shanghainese".
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From top: "Three-cup chicken" and Hunan-style spicy pork bones are two signature dishes of Yuan Lu, known for "fushion Shanghainese" cuisine. Photos Provided to China Daily |
The beef tongue in black pepper sauce, as an appetizer, looks a little gimmicky, with piles of beef tongue shrouded in a "golden cage" made from hot toffee. But a bite of the paper-thin, foie-gras-tender beef tongue makes the diner realize the chef has put as much care into cooking this dish as he has its look.
The sweet-and-sour ribs are prepared to a classic Shanghai recipe. Orange juice has been used in place of the vinegar to make the meat not only sour but also more refreshing without the heavy sugar.
The chef, a chubby 30-something Shanghai native who used to work in five-star hotels' Western restaurants, has innovatively rethought traditional fried shrimp into a burger-like fried shrimp cakes. The green cowpeas around the cake contrast well against the orange-red shrimp, making the palm-sized little cake look like delicate jewels from a Shanghai ladies' jewelry box.
The Hunan-style big bones, however, paint a different picture. An arch of whole pork bones takes the shape of a bridge and the half-fat roasted pork sizzles beautifully with green and red peppers on the bridge. What a lovely rainbow!
xujunqian@chinadaily.com.cn
