Shanghai favorites served up in style

Shredded beef with scallions. Photos by Bidisha Bagchi/for China Daily

Tai Sheng Yuan is a renowned Chinese food restaurant in Shanghai that serves Shanghai, Sichuan and Canton cuisine.

It first started with a restaurant in Huanghe Road and a second outlet followed in the expat neighborhood of Biyun Road.

The restaurant is huge - set up like a banquet hall with chandeliers and glass walls. Only a few attendants spoke English, but the menu is written in English. It's quite elaborate and pretty long, so come hungry.

For cold appetizers, the list starts from the simple peanuts sauteed in vinegar and coriander. Roasted pork, ribs, goose liver and beef tongue are among the meaty cold appetizers.

We chose a spicy yet smooth shrimp dish that came with a small bowl of soy sauce. The shrimp was a little slimy in texture but tasted good. Shanghai-style deep-fried fish is our all-time favorite, so it was a must on our table.

Beef, pork and chicken are all served in various styles, and we chose all three.

Shredded beef cooked in spicy sauce and green onions was wonderful, and it can be a whole meal by itself if accompanied by buns.

Then we chose diced chicken cooked in soy sauce, garlic and bell peppers - a colorful dish that tasted heavenly. The meat was soft and fell off the bones with the smallest of bites. My favorite, though, was the pulled pork, cooked in spicy sauce and green scallions - served with one helping of sweet buns. Those looking for more exotic meat dishes can opt for a deep-fried pigeon or a Hong Kong goose.