Grab Your Fork: A Sydney food blog: February 2010 Archive #navbar-iframe { display: none; }

Thursday, February 25, 2010

New Shanghai, Ashfield



"All I want is crab."

There is only one dish in Suze's mind when we head to New Shanghai in Ashfield for a spur-of-the-moment dinner. It's the crab cooked in salted egg yolk. "Mmmm..... salty....." she whispers in anticipation when we place our order.


Famous New Shanghai steamed mini pork bun $6.80

But first, we must have xiao long bao. It's not a proper visit to a Shanghainese restaurant without a steamer of these delicate soup dumplings.

The glass windows into the dumpling making station give a preview of the dumplings that are about to arrive. The dumpling makers, women dressed in cute red-and-white checked aprons with matching hats, fold the delicate pleats with eye-watering speed and military precision.

Biting into the freshly steamed xiao long bao requires an element of care. The skins are thinner and more delicate than Shanghai Night next door, and the puddle of broth inside is sweet and flavoursome.


Green bean starch sheet $7.80

Anticipating the richness of crab, I also order the green bean starch sheet, a clear noodle that is usually served at room temperature and dressed with soy sauce, vinegar and garlic. It's a cool and refreshing dish, especially with the shards of cucumber, but I don't expect the accompanying peanut sauce, which unfortunately seems to overwhelm everything in its path.


Mini pork wonton soup $4.80

Simon orders the mini pork wonton soup, a simple dish of pork and prawn parcels in a clear soup.


Deep-fried crab with yolk of salt egg $38.80

The main event is the crab. Simon is feeling under the weather so the two crabs are left for exclusive demolishment by Suze and I.

The deep-fried crab with yolk of salt egg is a dish that must be savoured slowly. First you must lick and scrape every surface of the crab shell, delighting in the salty grains of egg yolk that are so addictively good.

Once the shell is clean, we prise open the body, using teeth and fingers to extract the crab meat. It's a slow process, but an enjoyable one.



Beneath the crab is a bed of deep-fried vermicelli but it's the debris of egg yolk smithereens that we both want most. Luckily with only two people sharing, there's plenty to go around.



View Larger Map
New Shanghai Chinese Restaurant on Urbanspoon


New Shanghai Chinese Restaurant
273 Liverpool Rd, Ashfield, Sydney
Tel: +61
(02) 9797 7284

Open 7 days 10am-10pm

Also at
Chatswood Chase - 345 Victoria Road, Tel: +61 (02) 9412 3358
Chatswood Lemon Grove - 427 Victoria Road, Tel: +61 (02) 9415 3536


Related Grab Your Fork posts:
New Shanghai, Ashfield (Oct09)
New Shanghai, Chatswood Chase
New Shanghai, Chatswood Lemon Grove

Dumplings - China Grand, Haymarket
Dumplings - China Noodle King, Haymarket
Dumplings - Chinese Noodle Restaurant, Haymarket (Jun07) and (Oct04)
Dumplings - Daniang Dumpling, Haymarket
Dumplings - Dynasty, Belmore
Dumplings - East Ocean, Haymarket (Oct 08), (Aug 06), (Aug 05) and (Oct 04)
Dumplings - Hung Cheung, Marrickville
Dumplings - Palace Chinese, Sydney CBD
Dumplings - Shanghai Night, Ashfield (Jul 08) and (Mar 06)
Dumplings - Uighur Cuisine, Haymarket
Dumplings - Zilver, Hyarmket (Jan 07) and (Feb 06)

Ashfield - Ashfield Hotel
Ashfield - Crocodile Farm Hotel
Ashfield - Polish Club
Ashfield - Shanghai Night (Jul 08) and (Mar 06)
13 comments - Add some comment love

posted by Helen (Grab Your Fork) on 2/25/2010 06:26:00 am


Monday, February 22, 2010

Stomachs Eleven: Mussel mania



It started at Bathers.

As we slurped and scraped our way through the bowl of mussels on the table, the G-man suddenly asked "Do you remember the time we had the all-you-can-eat mussels at Bungalow 8?"

I nod, ruefully.

"We had four pots!" Gun declares proudly to the assembled throng. "Four kilos! Each!"

Heading shaking, I make a wan sort of smile. Oh yes, I remembered. I had eaten about ten mussels since then. In total. In three-and-a-half years. Gluttony has a way of getting back at you.

"Forget about all-you-can-eat," said Pig Flyin. "Mussels are easy. We should just cook our own."


Pimms with lemonade, mint and cucumber

This is why I love Pig Flyin.

Two days later, we are congregated at his place. M&L arrive with a styrofoam box filled with mussels from the fish markets--pre-washed to make the job easier--and once again we lay witness to the carefree but inmistakeable expertise of Pig Flyin in his element in the kitchen.


Kinkawooka Shellfish live pot-ready mussels

There are ten kilograms of mussels. It doesn't seem much, until we look around and realise that once again, Pig Flyin has prepared plenty of other dishes.

"Wait until you see dessert," says Mrs Pig Flyin with a wink. "I think we went a little overboard."

The G-man and I just look at each other and grin, our eyes sparkling with delight.


Cleaning the mussels

There are pots and pans, mis-en-place and herbs. Whilst Pig Flyin gives the mussels a quick scrub down in the kitchen, the G-man and I are sent off into the backyard to forage. "I need cucumber and mint and basil leaves," Pig Flyin says, and I trot out obediently before whispering to the G-man "what on earth do cucumber leaves look like?!"

We find them eventually. It's a garden that's filled with so many good things. I asked him for a list of what he grows in his garden - this is what he came back with:

  • habanero chili
  • jalapeno chili*
  • bay leaves*
  • Thai basil*
  • sweet basil*
  • bush crop cucumber *
  • dwarf beans*
  • mint*
  • cos lettuce
  • coriander*
  • flat leaf parsley*
  • Hungarian yellow pepper*
  • perilla (japanese basil, shiso)
  • lemongrass
  • rocket/arugula
  • eggplant
  • strawberries (very unsuccessful - as it should be)
  • zucchini
  • red mignonette lettuce
  • beetroot
  • "beauty heart" radish - a Chinese radish that Americans call Chinese watermelon radish
  • oregano
  • thyme*
  • French tarragon
  • broad beans (harvests much earlier in spring time)
  • cherry tomatoes
  • Burke's Backyard tomatoes
  • curry plant (my latest addition...)
  • fennel
  • kaffir lime
  • rosemary
  • rainbow chard - silverbeet with colourful stalk.
*Used in our mussel dinner tonight


Pan-roasted homegrown Hungarian yellow peppers with garlic cloves and salt

As we loiter in the kitchen, admiring the cooking show, we're plied with appetisers. The homegrown Hungarian pepers are not as lethal as they first appear. Simply pan-fried with whole garlic cloves and sea salt, the chillies take on a beautiful burnished colour, tasting more like yellow capsicums, sweetened by garlic.


Bagna cauda with homegrown vegetables

Bagna cauda is a warm Italian dipping sauce of anchovies, garlic, olive and butter that is perfect for dipping in raw or blanched crunchy vegetables. Most of the vegetables have come from Pig Flyin's garden and it's interesting to see how each complements the sauce. We're also quite greedy in trying to capture as much of the anchovy and garlic debris as possible. My favourite combination is the celery top, the leaves more sweet than bitter, and, coincedentally, a perfect vehicle for catching the anchovy and garlic smithereens.


Mussels in the pot

Clang! Clatter! Bang!

The sound of mussel shells hitting the bottom of a pot is magic. We're told that we're having mussels five ways tonight. I'm incredulous but salivating at the thought.


Mussel dish #1: Teochew-style with basil, garlic and chilli

There's a mass exodus from the kitchen when the chilli gets added to the frypan. Coughing our way back to the dining room, the fumes of chilli have dissipated by the time the dish is placed on the table. Our first mussel dish is Teochew style, served with garlic, fresh basil leaves and lots of finely sliced chilli.

The chilli kick to the mussels is a great way of awakening our tastebuds and getting our appetite going. The G-man, a chilli fanatic, declares this his favourite of the evening.


Hoegaarden Belgian wheat beer

Can you have mussels without beer? Our next course transports us straight to Belgium.


Cooking the mussels with garlic, cream and beer


Mussel dish #2: Belgian-style with garlic, cream and Hoegaarden beer


Mussels in Hoegaarden cream

Our second serve of mussels is a richer dish, bathed in a cream sweetened by garlic and the addition of Hoegaarden wheat beer.

Is it a winner?


The boys drinking up the cream sauce

Oh yes it is.


Mussel dish #3: Thai-style with green curry

There's a tangle of lemongrass stalks on the next interpretation. We jet back to Asia for the fiery spiciness of mussels served Thai-style with green curry.


Thai green curry mussels

The green curry paste has come from a can, but the flavour is phenomenal. There's plenty of backburn in the coconut sauce, but the shallots and lemongrass create an undertone of freshness. I also quite enjoy sucking on the lemongrass, much like a stalk of sugarcane, relishing the hit of lemongrass flavour as well as the green curry sauce soaked within.


Mussel dish #4: Italian-style - Mitilo alla Puttanesca

Puttanesca is said to have come about as a dish made quickly from larder staples and served to the women working in brothels. Puttana is the Italian word for whore, although others say the name origin comes from puttanata which means rubbish or leftovers.

Here, the thickened tomato sauce, rich with anchovies, olives and garlic, is a good match with the mussels. The highlight is the serving of garlic croutons on top, a spur-of-the-moment addition made whilst Pig Flyin waited for the last guests to arrive. I'm glad they were late. The sourdough bread cubes have been deep-fried and scattered with incredibly fragrant caramelised garlic.


Mussel dish #5: Mussels with shellfish bisque

Our mussel finale is the most decadent of them all. We conclude with mussels served in a shellfish bisque, made from prawn heads and scampi shells that Pig Flyin had been saving in the freezer. The bisque is rich and buttery, a deep shade of sunset yellow that glides down the throat.


Twice-cooked chips

And to mop up the sauce? We have thick slices of crusty sourdough but all the attention is on the twice-cooked chips. The potatoes have been par-boiled, spread out on a tray to dry in the fridge and then fried twice, once to cook and then a second time to crisp. They're amazing. The outside is beautifully golden and makes a mouthwatering audible crunch with every bite. Inside, the potato is soft and fluffy. It's a dish worthy of being served on its own.


The damage - 10kg of mussel shells

"So I hope you're ready for dessert," says Mrs Pig Flyin. "I think we probably made too many..."

"I was bored," says Pig Flyin apologetically.


Dessert #1: Strawberry balsamic granita
with macerated strawberries and fresh blueberries

The strawberry balsamic granita, Mrs Pig Flyin says, was apparently inspired by my strawberry balsamic cupcakes. The granita, made from a strawberry puree frozen with balsamic, is a lovely palate cleanser, especially enhanced by the macerated strawberries and plump blueberries.


Desserts #2 and #3: Burnt mango cream two ways
  • With coconut and lime sago cream
  • With coconut jelly and gula melaka caramel
There's an appreciative hush when the next dessert arrives. The burnt mango cream is beautifully presented in squat glasses, presented two ways because there had been leftovers so another variation was created. There's an Asian theme to both, the coconut jelly and mango cream offset by the slight bitterness of the gula melaka caramel. I relish the plump pearls of swollen sago in the other version, a little chewy and so light they're almost floating in the lime cream.


Dessert #4: Noble One jelly with poached white peaches

Noble One jelly with poached white peaches has an alcoholic kick, the soft-set jelly served in exquisite gold-tipped glasses brought back from Venice. Noble One is one of the most awarded desserts by De Bortoli. The bortrytis semillon is fragrant, sweet but complex and pairs well with the gently poached white peach, tinged with a blush of pink.


Poached white peaches


Dessert #5: Chocolate labneh cheese cake

Dessert number five looks rich and inviting. "It's not labneh is it?" I ask Pig Flyin, remembering a conversation I'd had with him last time.

He just smiles.


Chocolate labneh cheese cake
with freeze-dried raspberry and dark chocolate sorbet

Labneh is a style of Lebanese cheese made by straining natural Greek yoghurt overnight. It's easy to do and creates a thickened curd that's great on beetroot salads and more. Incorporated into a dessert, the chocolate labneh cheesecake is incredibly light but still possessing the depth of cocoa. Freeze-dried raspberries are crunchy puffs of tartness and a quenelle of chocolate sorbet provides an icy contrast.

"I am really sorry about force feeding you guys with desserts," Pig Flyin says again.

Oh no, the pleasure was all ours.


Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Stomachs Eleven: Christmas 2010 (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Teochew feast (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Mole poblano and pulled pork tacos (Me)
Stomachs Eleven: Pizza and friends (Miss Rice)
Stomachs Eleven: Ten kilograms of mussels (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Shanghainese banquet (M&L)
Stomachs Eleven: Wagyu shabu shabu and dessert sushi (Silverlily)
Stomachs Eleven: Stuffed deboned pig's head + nose-to-tail eating (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: French feast (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Whole suckling pig and Chinese banquet (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Hotpot night (M&L)
Stomachs Eleven: Crackling roast pork and black sesame cupcakes (me)
Stomachs Eleven: No ordinary steak dinner (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Polish feast (Miss Rice)
Stomachs Eleven: Christmas 2009 (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Char siu and Hainan chicken (me)
Stomachs Eleven: Amazing impromptu dinner party (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Dumplings and Shanghai soy duck (M&L)
31 comments - Add some comment love

posted by Helen (Grab Your Fork) on 2/22/2010 06:00:00 am


Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Bathers Pavilion Cafe, Balmoral Beach



The best thing about a restaurant no-bookings policy is that impromptu plans can be easily made, even though it's late on a Friday afternoon.

The Bathers' Pavilion Cafe is the casual but more budget-friendly side to Bathers' Pavilion. Patrons enter the same glass door at the front, a view of the sand and crystal blue waters of Balmoral Beach beckoning on the other side. On the left is the blue-and-white schemed crisp linen restaurant, on the right is the haphazard collection of chairs and tables that make up the cafe.


Sea salt

A wicker basket of cutlery and napkins is delivered to our table. It's almost like having a picnic indoors, and the multicolour striped napkins bring an immediate sense of cheer and a smile to my face.


Whole wheat fougasse $24.50
with taleggio cheese, asparagus and pancetta

Eight of the Stomachs Eleven crowd have gathered tonight, and we start with a pizza to share. The whole wheat fougasse is thin and crispy, topped with spears of asparagus, strips of pancetta and melted pocked of taleggio cheese.


Steamed black mussels with cream and garlic, chips and leaf salad $30.50

We also shared the steamed black mussels that arrive piled high in a deep white bowl. The mussels are just cooked, and we dunk them generously into the bowl filled with a garlicky cream sauce. The chips are fat and crunchy wedges, and an accompanying salad surely helps offset any calorific indulgence.


Steamed black mussels

We don't have to wait too long for our mains and a procession of food photos follows, everyone obligingly passing their plates over to the best-lit spot on the table. The last-minute dinner plans mean I'm using L's camera tonight, a Canon which this Nikon-user is befuddled by. However eating-wise, I'm consoled by finding my plate piled high with samples from everyone for "research purposes" (thanks guys!).


Peppered beef fillet mignons $33.50
with French style peas and potato gratin

Peppered beef fillet mignons are delicately thin, mouthwateringly tender and served with a tower of potato gratin on a splay of peas.


Duck confit and roast onion pizza $25.50
with baby beetroots, spinach and ricotta

Duck confit and roast onion pizza doesn't have a lot of duck, but it's a winning combination of flavours with chunks of sweet beetroot, dollops of ricota and velvety leaves of baby spinach.


Chicken involtini $32.50
with white bean puree, baby zucchini with tomato sugo

I don't usually order chicken at restaurants, but Pig Flyin's chicken involtini makes me wish I'd reconsidered. The stuffed chicken breast is surpisingly succulent, plated on a smooth puree of white beans and a tumbled of roasted zucchini and tomatoes.


Seared fillet of market fish $31.50
on parsley risotto with lemon and virgin olive oil

Seared fillet of market fish flakes with the touch of a fork, seared on the outside to a pleasing crust. The parsley risotto wins me over, the small grains plump and toothsome, with a welcomed grassy flavour flavour from the parsley.


Seared veal cutlet $33.50
with kipfler potatoes, garlic spinach and salsa verde

Everyone's dish so far has been cooked to perfection, so I'm disappointed that my seared veal cutlet is cooked to a well-done state of dry. A pot of salsa verde is served on the side, but I end up relishing the cream from the mussels instead. Discs of kipfler potatoes have a melding softness, and a mound of wilted spinach leaves are sweet and cool.


Linguini with cuttlefish and prawns $28.50
fried breadcrumbs, lemon and squid ink

There linguini with cuttlefish and prawns comes in an appealing shade of blackish grey but it doesn't have as strong a flavour of squid ink I'd hoped for. Cuttlefish and prawns are fresh tasting and tender, a sprinkle of fried breadcrumbs providing textural contrast.


Fish croquettes $24.50
with prawn and calamari, eggplant and fennel salad

Fish croquettes are significantly delayed for some reason, arriving some ten minutes after everyone else's. They're like a fancy gourmet version of fish fingers, the minced fish shaped into croquettes and deep-fried until golden. The tartare sauce is piquant but I love the eggplant and fennel even more, especially the crunchy slivers of anise-flavoured fennel.


Real hot chocolate

Dessert? Of course we did. Pig Flyin notes my eyeing of the real hot chocolate on the menu and orders one before I can protest (weakly). It's not overly bitter or rich, but more of a smooth concoction that is creamy and mildly sweet.


Peach crepes, caramelised roast peaches and vanilla ice cream $15.50

We share three desserts between us. The peach crepes are soft, but I'm left wanting more of a sticky sauce for them, even though they're filled with poached peaches.


Lime creme brulee with citrus sable biscuit $15.50

Lime creme brulee arrives in a large oval ramekin covered with only a thin veneer of toffee. The custard has the zing of lime but I'm a little confused by the accompanying sable biscuits which only seem to add more buttery richness to an already decadent dessert.


Chocolate brownie, peanut butter parfait and chocolate ganache $15.50

On the other hand, the chocolate brownie, peanut butter parfait and chocolate ganache is all kinds of sublime. We'd all been expecting a brownie slice, but the brownie comes as a base to a layer of fluffy peanut butter parfait that is light on the tongue but nuttily sweet. Fresh figs add extra sexines to the dish, but really the peanut butter parfait is enough to get anyone into a dreamy state of bliss.

We finish with a walk along the promenade and even get a chance to gaze at the stars which twinkle even more brightly over the water. The gentle lapping of waves in the distance have a soothing effect and there's a faint tingle of salt in the air. Sometimes last-minute plans are the best kind of all.


View Larger Map

The Bathers' Pavilion Cafe
4 The Esplanade, Balmoral Beach, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9969 5050

Opening hours:
Breakfast: Monday to Sunday 7am-12pm
Lunch and dinner menu: Monday to Sunday 12pm til late
Afternoon tea: Monday to Friday (exl public holidays) 3pm-5pm


Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Bathers' Pavilion Restaurant (Jan17)
19 comments - Add some comment love

posted by Helen (Grab Your Fork) on 2/17/2010 06:00:00 am


Monday, February 15, 2010

Stomachs Eleven: A Shanghainese Banquet



The best kind of meal? One cooked by Mum and Dad.

Make that a meal cooked by any Mum and Dad because tonight Stomachs Eleven have descended on the home of L&M. M's parents, who are in town for the week, find themselves with a whole hoard of eager extra mouths to feed. We'd been promised a Shanghainese feast and we could barely get there fast enough.



It's hard to fathom the number of dishes already laid out on the table when we arrive. There will be sixteen of us tonight and the cooking commenced yesterday, we are told. Most of the dishes have already been done - the dumplings are all the remain and we pitch in obligingly when summonsed.

We are a happy huddle of friends gathered around the bowl of pork mince glistening with fat chunks of prawn. There's good-natured jostling as we try to reach for the dumpling wrappers and plenty of friendly teasing as we critique each other's folding methods. "There's no way you can put that much filling in there!" and "That dumpling is so fat it's gonna burst for sure!"

It doesn't take long for eight people to make 120 dumplings and soon we're shooed out of the kitchen and straight to the dining table for our waiting feast.


Drunken edamame (糟毛豆 Zao Mao Dou)

Sure we've all had edamame boiled soy bean pods at Japanese restaurants, but this is the first time I've tried the drunken version. The soy beans are boiled and then marinated in a spiced Chinese cooking wine. It's amazingly good, the edamame soaking up the wine flavoured with fennel seeds and cassia bark. This flavoured rice wine can be bought in a bottle straight from an Asian grocery store, just as M's parents did. It's an elegant idea for the next dinner party methinks.

And before I proceed, the Chinese characters and phonetics come courtesy of Pig Flyin'. He is also a font of knowledge when it comes to the preparation and background to each dish. Thanks Pig Flyin'!


As you wish (如意菜 Ru Yi Cai)

Sauteed soy bean sprouts don't seem that interesting until you find out the story behind them. Soy bean sprouts are said to look like a ruyi or ceremonial scepter, a symbol of good luck and good fortune. This dish is hence given the grander name "as you wish". Whilst Cantonese tend to eat more mung bean sprouts, Shanghainese have a particular affection for the firmer sprout of the mung bean.


Drunken chicken (醉雞 Zuiji)

Drunken chicken is heady with alcohol, the white poached chicken marinated overnight in Shaoxing Chinese rice wine until the flesh is plump and juicy.


Shanghai soy duck

We'd enjoyed Shanghai soy duck cooked by L via telephone instructions once before, but this time we're enjoying this dish cooked by consummate professionals. The duck has a sweet glaze, a deep brown shade generated by its slow simmer in soy sauce, star anise, shallots and ginger.


Duck in saltwater (鹽水鴨, Yan Shui Ya)

The poultry-fest continues with more duck. Duck in salt water has been poached in a white master stock of star anise, cloves, ginger and salt. Pig Flyin says this is a typical dish of Nanjing, and that many of the master stocks used in famed Nanjing restaurants are reputed to be decades, if not centuries, old.


Four ingredient gluten sponge (四喜烤麩 Si Xi Kao Fu)

Four ingredient gluten sponge is probably my favourite dish of the night. Gluten sponge is a vegetarian gluten dough that has been fermented until it is filled with air bubbles, then steamed to maintain its sponge-like texture. I love its bouncy soft chewiness and the way the gluten absorbs the sauce. This is a typical Shanghainese ingredient and can be purchased fresh or dried from large Asian grocery stores.

The four ingredients in this are daylily buds, black fungus, peanuts and bamboo shoots. It's a delightful combination of textures and flavours: chewy, crunchy, creamy, sweet. The daylilies are literally lily flowers, small unopened flower buds that are called golden needle vegetables ( 金針菜 Jin Zhen Cai) in Chinese because of their delicate strand-like appearance.


Smoked fish (熏魚 Xun Yu)

Smoked fish is the most complex dish of the evening to prepare. It is not smoked in the Western definition of the term. The dish is usually made with grass carp or pomfret, neither of which are easily available as live seafood in Australia. Instead a snapper was cleverly substituted, the fish marinated in Chinese cooking wine, soy sauce and ginger and then deep fried until crisp and almost dry.

The fried fish is transferred, still hot, to a sweet soy mixture containing star anise, ginger, shallots and Shaoxing cooking wine. "The act of dunking it hot into the flavored sauced is what they called 'smoking' in Shanghainese cooking," says Pig Flyin.

Personally I'm not so keen on this dish, finding it a little dry and salty, but it's easily the crowd favourite. Perhaps it's a dish you need to grow up with to fully appreciate.


Pork belly with bean curd sheets and black fungus
(百頁燜豬肉 Bai Ye Men Zhu Rou)

Braised pork belly is always a welcoming comfort food. The soft and tender pork belly is braised with crinkly bean curd sheets and crunchy curls of black fungus. This is a dish you could quite happily eat on its own with rice.


Gravlax with dill

Pig Flyin has contributed two dishes for the evening. Home-made gravlax with dill doesn't exactly fit the Shanghai theme, but we don't care, we scoff down the shimmering slices of cured salmon with deep appreciation.


Pigs ears

Pigs ears are his other homemade offering, the cartilage providing a delicious crunch against the jellied stock.


Oil-brewed prawns (油 爆 蝦 you bao xia)

The prawns cooked in their shell are more complex than they first appear. The prawns are cooked confit, gently stir-fried in a cup of oil until lightly coloured. Sugar, Chinese cooking wine and soy sauce are then added, creating a caramelised sheen. Pig Flyin says that cooking prawns with the shell on is a typically Shanghai style, although this dish is usually done with freshwater river prawns.


Stir-fried radish

The radish has come from Pig Flyin's garden, a Chinese variety known for its green circumference and a speckled red-and-white interior. Whilst occasionally I've thrown slices of radish into a stir-fry, enjoying it as a dish on its own is a revelation. The radish has a faint crunch with a mild peppery heat that makes it a gentle palate cleanser.


Pressed tofu with soy beans (豆乾毛豆 Dou Gan Mao Dou)

A stir-fried medley of pressed tofu, soy beans, capsicum and mushrooms is another personal favourite of the evening. I love the textural variation of this dish, especially the contrast between the firmness of the pressed tofu and the slippery soy beans.


Pork and prawn dumplings

We finish with seemingless endless plates of pork and prawn dumplings. The dumplings wrappers are like silk ribbons, enclosed around a pork filling chunky with prawn that is juicy, sweet and succulent.


Glutinous dumplings in fermented rice soup

After so much food, dessert is a simple affair. We finish with glutinous rice dumplings (store-bought) served in a fermented rice soup. It's not overly sweet but after a huge dinner like tonight's, we're happy with this traditional conclusion to our meal.

Heartfelt thanks to M's parents who cooked such a feast, and tended to us all as though we were their very own!


Dinner


Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Stomachs Eleven: Christmas 2010 (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Teochew feast (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Mole poblano and pulled pork tacos (Me)
Stomachs Eleven: Pizza and friends (Miss Rice)
Stomachs Eleven: Ten kilograms of mussels (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Shanghainese banquet (M&L)
Stomachs Eleven: Wagyu shabu shabu and dessert sushi (Silverlily)
Stomachs Eleven: Stuffed deboned pig's head + nose-to-tail eating (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: French feast (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Whole suckling pig and Chinese banquet (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Hotpot night (M&L)
Stomachs Eleven: Crackling roast pork and black sesame cupcakes (me)
Stomachs Eleven: No ordinary steak dinner (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Polish feast (Miss Rice)
Stomachs Eleven: Christmas 2009 (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Char siu and Hainan chicken (me)
Stomachs Eleven: Amazing impromptu dinner party (Pig Flyin)
Stomachs Eleven: Dumplings and Shanghai soy duck (M&L)
25 comments - Add some comment love

posted by Helen (Grab Your Fork) on 2/15/2010 06:00:00 am



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