Finally, some time to write about my trip to Shanghai!
This pretty much tells you not to mess with the wrong service.
On my first night in Shanghai, i got acquainted with my room mate who happens to be a local. Well, local in the sense that he's from China but otherwise, he's as foreign to Shanghai as i was. But heck, we're professionals so nothing could get us down. And since i got there kinda late, it was time to grab some grub for the night. Having the company pay for meals definitely helped to up my choices. Now, it was rather early so we tried to find a faraway place for a meal because my room mate, Yang Yong, decided to bring me to town.
All hopes were dashed when we got to the railway station however, as there were no trains to our designated area. How shocking and thus, that meant we walked an hour to the station for naught. Alas, being trusty steads, we decided to try somewhere else when we were again plagued by the extremely cold weather (2-10 degrees) to seek refuge somewhere close. And thus, the meal was had at an extremely downtrodden and smokey restaurant who's name i've forgotten.
All hopes were dashed when we got to the railway station however, as there were no trains to our designated area. How shocking and thus, that meant we walked an hour to the station for naught. Alas, being trusty steads, we decided to try somewhere else when we were again plagued by the extremely cold weather (2-10 degrees) to seek refuge somewhere close. And thus, the meal was had at an extremely downtrodden and smokey restaurant who's name i've forgotten.
Wang Lao Ji (Basically a herbal drink) and some peanut paste
The first thing i noticed was how smoky the place was followed by the horrid service. Well, i wasn't going to let that ruin my first day in a foreign country now am i? After all, i flew 5 hours on a plane (which incidentally, i am scared to death after a previous encounter but have somehow forced myself to go through it again) to get to this place. Another thing of interest is how much i told myself i'll never come to the country due to misinformation and horrible misconceptions. Anyway, everything i've come to believe about the place will be seriously revoked in a big way. You, who reads, will get the idea in time to come.
Back to the food, my jovial friend decided to order a 'cooling' drink to start the day which was called Wang Lao Ji. This turned out to be the exact same thing as Singapore's very own Herbal tea in a can. So its in no where unpleasant which was a relief to me. The peanut paste is something new, it tastes like salty peanuts with sourish vinegar, which is the red portion. Not too bad but not something i grew to like after a few dips.
Back to the food, my jovial friend decided to order a 'cooling' drink to start the day which was called Wang Lao Ji. This turned out to be the exact same thing as Singapore's very own Herbal tea in a can. So its in no where unpleasant which was a relief to me. The peanut paste is something new, it tastes like salty peanuts with sourish vinegar, which is the red portion. Not too bad but not something i grew to like after a few dips.
Greens, wanton and vermicelli
Frozen beancurd, golden mushrooms, dao ki and shan yao (mountain medicine)
Hotpot with Black trout
What started out as a simple meal for 2 grown men turned out to be a feast fit for 4 to 5 people. And thats after what we both call, 'conservative ordering'. Look at the pictures above and hazard a guess on the price we had to pay for this meal. In Singapore, based on the amount of fish in the pot, the pot was HUGE by the way and the amount of items we called. This is easily $50. And yet, this meal costs only *****drum roll***** $15 bucks!!
Oh yes, thats the difference, friends and countrymen. That is the reason why i thought $15 can get me a darn crab instead of the flaming claw. I was more then shocked when presented with the tab and honestly, this is value for money even if i disliked the food.
I'm getting ahead of myself so lets get back to the food. Greens are greens no matter where you get them but there is a difference when the greens are picked from pretty much the back yard. And yes, these are fresh. Very fresh. I don't feel much for the vermicelli which tastes about the same, but the wanton is oh so filled with meat and shrimp its sinful. In terms of taste though, i didn't find it much but volume wise, it doesn't disappoint.
The new things i had were the frozen beancurd and the shan yao. The beancurd had to be cooked first of course and according to my friend, by freezing it, its supposed to change the structure of the molecules and thus exude a different taste (he's a graduate from majoring in nutritional studies). I have to agree because it tastes like a cross between normal beancurds and the drier version of dao ki. Interesting but once again, not something i could live everyday with. The Shan Yao or mountain medicine is another interesting first time. It has a weird medicinal taste with a crunchy texture which isn't too far from fishcake. I actually took to the taste quite abit on this one.
Finally, the black trout hotpot, the one thing you notice immediately is the thick layer of oil present in the pot. Its enough to deter healthy eaters immediately. The next thing you notice is the abundance of fish in the pot. Its astonishing to say the least. There must be a fish trouts in the pot itself and the meat is definitely fresh. I don't care about the oil or the service much but the fish itself is good. Thick slices which tremble in your chopsticks but won't break into tiny little pieces due to its firm texture. Sweet and obviously fresh meat. This is something you won't find in Singapore even if you paid $50 for the pot. Something the food industry in Singapore really needs is to really buck up and start doing good fresh food like this out of the way restaurant in Shanghai.
Overall Score: 5.5/10 (7/10 for the fish alone)
Last Word:
And that concludes the first night in Shanghai and what i had. Its not excellent but very interesting nonetheless. The least it shows is how much more Singaporeans are forced to pay for things that come naturally and abundantly for others. Well, 'the grass is always greener on the other side' i suppose. We can't win them all. Cheers people. Life's great!
Oh yes, thats the difference, friends and countrymen. That is the reason why i thought $15 can get me a darn crab instead of the flaming claw. I was more then shocked when presented with the tab and honestly, this is value for money even if i disliked the food.
I'm getting ahead of myself so lets get back to the food. Greens are greens no matter where you get them but there is a difference when the greens are picked from pretty much the back yard. And yes, these are fresh. Very fresh. I don't feel much for the vermicelli which tastes about the same, but the wanton is oh so filled with meat and shrimp its sinful. In terms of taste though, i didn't find it much but volume wise, it doesn't disappoint.
The new things i had were the frozen beancurd and the shan yao. The beancurd had to be cooked first of course and according to my friend, by freezing it, its supposed to change the structure of the molecules and thus exude a different taste (he's a graduate from majoring in nutritional studies). I have to agree because it tastes like a cross between normal beancurds and the drier version of dao ki. Interesting but once again, not something i could live everyday with. The Shan Yao or mountain medicine is another interesting first time. It has a weird medicinal taste with a crunchy texture which isn't too far from fishcake. I actually took to the taste quite abit on this one.
Finally, the black trout hotpot, the one thing you notice immediately is the thick layer of oil present in the pot. Its enough to deter healthy eaters immediately. The next thing you notice is the abundance of fish in the pot. Its astonishing to say the least. There must be a fish trouts in the pot itself and the meat is definitely fresh. I don't care about the oil or the service much but the fish itself is good. Thick slices which tremble in your chopsticks but won't break into tiny little pieces due to its firm texture. Sweet and obviously fresh meat. This is something you won't find in Singapore even if you paid $50 for the pot. Something the food industry in Singapore really needs is to really buck up and start doing good fresh food like this out of the way restaurant in Shanghai.
Overall Score: 5.5/10 (7/10 for the fish alone)
Last Word:
And that concludes the first night in Shanghai and what i had. Its not excellent but very interesting nonetheless. The least it shows is how much more Singaporeans are forced to pay for things that come naturally and abundantly for others. Well, 'the grass is always greener on the other side' i suppose. We can't win them all. Cheers people. Life's great!
No comments:
Post a Comment