60 People, 60 Stories

Sweet Shanghai

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-30 10:23

Restaurants in Shanghai are like the city's beautiful girls - trendy, whimsical and often unpredictable.

Whatever their style, most Shanghai restaurants put up their best to entice potential patrons. As such, they are not merely places for eating, but also for entertainment, relaxation and socializing.

Foreigners always marvel at the delicate presentation and appealing taste of new Shanghai cuisine. They are also impressed by the elegant and responsive service of the waiters and waitresses at top-ranking eateries.

This was not always the case. Restaurants here used to be quite different. Old Benbang restaurants made eaters feel like eating in large canteens that were noisy and dirty, with the air fouled by cigarette smoke and the prevailing smell of overused cooking oil.

The restaurants in Shanghai have grown up with the burgeoning economy in terms of quantity, variety and quality over the past decades.

But the cuisine has not changed much as consistency is an essential element for cooking. The Shanghai cuisine is a mixture of flavors across the nation, but characterized by astrong taste of sweetness.

When you talk about food in Shanghai, you cannot ignore the hairy crab that is the craze of Shanghai diners. Harvested in neighboring lakes, the hairy crabs are at their prime in the spawning season throughout the autumn months.

The most sought-after variety comes from Yangcheng Lake in Jiangsu province, about an hour's drive from downtown Shanghai. So many of the crabs in that lake are consumed by the big spenders in Shanghai that only the smaller and weaker ones are left for the locals.

Hairy crabs are an expensive delicacy valued mainly for their roe, which, to many foreigners, is an acquired taste. Many foreigners prefer the crabmeat cooked with vegetable or tofu.

We are not all that crazy about the crabs and other expensive Shanghai dishes such as the sea cucumbers or fish maw served in opulent restaurants. What we would like to see are more mid-priced restaurants serving basic Benbang cuisine with little fuss.

Emmanuel Souliere is executive chef at Hilton Shanghai and vice-chairman of the greater China Ordre International des Disciples d'Auguste Escoffier.