Drunken Crab at Jesse, Shanghai

RAW CRAB. It sounds a little frightening even for someone like me who consumes a large amount of raw fish, uni and shrimp. But there are these horror stories of crab handlers who have died from a flesh eating disease, so the idea of raw crab scares me a little.

Here at Jesse, the drunken crab, is a Shanghainese favourite. The spotted sea crab is marinated in a shao xing wine marinade, (alcohol kills germs right?), served cold is insanely delicious, and it doesn't look that scary.

Jesse
41 Tianping Road
Xuhui, Shanghai, China
Tel: 86-021-62829260

Hairy Crab Happy Hour – less mess more flavour

It was October when we were in Shanghai and it was (still currently) that time of the year again when 大闸蟹/Da Zha Xie (hairy crabs) plump up and are perfect for savouring their roe and oil. They were everywhere. We stayed along Wulumuqi (middle) street and the streets were lined with stores selling these compact roe bundles in abundance.

Hairy crabs are a food that I associate to Shanghainese food but on our hunt for Tu An Xie Wei Guan - that a local recommended to us, I soon realised that feasting on this delectable delicacy that not everyone in Shanghai gets to enjoy. Two locals, the lady whom recommended us to the restaurant and another whom we asked for directions had never even tasted it because it too expensive. So, I’m very grateful that I have had the privilege.



This year in my hairy crab adventure I’ve found different and easier ways of savouring the hairy crab. Nothing beats using your ten fingers to rip apart the crab, then dipping the roe in vinegar and eating off the shell and licking your fingers and finally proceeding to pick of the remaining flesh but this processing is sometimes a very messy and tedious affair.

These are my newly discovered ways of eating hairy crab (hassle free) in no particular order of preference:

1. Braised Shanghainese noodles with hairy crab cream, Liu Yuan Pavilion, Hong Kong



2. Hairy crab xiao long bao, Ding Tai Fung, Shanghai



3. Hairy crab and roe with mung bean sheets, Jesse, Shanghai



4. Hairy crab roe with tofu, Liu Yuan Pavilion, Hong Kong & Tu An Xie Hui Guan, Shanghai


Hairy crab roe with tofu, Tu An Xie Hui Guan, Shanghai


Hairy crab roe with tofu,Liu Yuan Pavilion, HK



Liu Yuan Pavilion
3/F The Broadway
54-62 Lockhart Road
Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Tel: 852-28042000

Ding Tai Fung
Second floor, South Block,
Xintiandi, Shanghai, China
Tel: 86-021-6385837

Jesse
41 Tianping Road
Xuhui, Shanghai, China
Tel: 86-021-62829260

Tu An Xie Hui Guan
1 Gao'an Road
Xuhui, Shanghai, China
Tel: 86-021-64451206

Pu Dong Kitchen

Pu Dong Kitchen
271 Bukit Timah Road
Balmoral Plaza, #B1-02
Tel 6732-8966

I have driven past this building so many times and have never really thought about it as a dining destination. On ground level, that is what is visible as you drive by are: Waffletown, Big Bird Chicken Rice and Spizza, what is invisible and in the basement is this little Shanghainese restaurant called Pu Dong, where the food is piping hot, tasty and of course, oily.



We were seated next to a family of mainland Chinese whose shoulders we kept peeping over, hoping to catch a glimpse of what they were eating and perhaps what we should order, but it appears that this place is a favourite with locals and those who come for a taste of home. From our neighbouring table, we gathered that the braised pig leg in brown sauce looked like a sure winner and with the reassurance of the waitress we ordered that along with several others.

We started with a cold appetizer of chicken “pu dong” style with special sauce, which was a concoction of vinegar, soy sauce, chopped ginger and sliced spring onions. The cold pieces of chicken had to be dipped in to the sauce, and the first hit of favour was salty and then a little sweet, a good way to whet your appetite, but the breast meat of the chicken was a little dry and powdery.



Next up we had a duo of dumplings, xiao long pao and the pan-fried meat buns. With the first, I had success in keeping the sweet broth in the delicate skin, which performing the delicate operation of dipping my dumpling into the vinegar and topping it with ginger, but with the latter, my first bite into it witnessed my pan-fried meat bun squirting its tasting juices unto the table, nonetheless, it was still all good and delicious.

The zha jiang mian here is slightly different from the version that I usually have at crystal jade, instead of mince meat, luncheon meat is used, it is slightly spicier and I really liked the texture of the noodles.

Then came the pièce de résistance, braised pig leg in brown sauce, where the meat was tender and gently pulled away with little resistance. And our last dish was braised eggplant with shredded pork in chilli sauce, which looked to be first fried in the wok for a slightly charred flavour and then braised. Both were delicious and fabulous with white rice.

It’s good, a great discovery hidden in the basement, maybe that’s good too, less obvious to the public that drives by, less hassle in trying to get a table.

Suburbia Eating: Vine Pavilion Tea Restaurant

Vine Pavilion Tea Restaurant
126 Casuarina Road
Tel: 64598891


Lion's Head

We stumbled upon this place when we were driving looking around for dinner. The original plan was to head to Botak Jones, but it was a Saturday night and the wait was “half an hour…at least” and so we decided to drive around instead to find some other chow.

I don’t really recall how we ended up here. I cannot remember if we came here with the intension of eating prata and then got sidelined or that we decided to see if there was any interesting food places next to the prata shop. Surprisingly, this strip is crowded! For me, Casuarina Road = Crispy Prata Shop and nothing else and so I was intrigued that there was active food scene along this street and was even more delighted to we managed to uncover another decent inexpensive eatery.


Drunken Chicken

The Vine Pavilion Tea Restaurant is a no fuss, no table cloth eatery. On my first visit, because there were only the two of us, we only sampled 3 dishes: drunken chicken, si zi tou (literally lion’s head), which is large meatballs stuffed with a salted egg yolk and covered with a rich dark sauce, and sambal fried rice. The dishes, however, were rather outstanding and very economically priced. The drunken chicken was served at a good chilled temperature and was liquor-laced meat was delicious. The sambal fried rice also followed the same note, simple and delicious with a good wok-hei flavour.


Crab and Duck Claypot

On our return visit, we came in a larger party and sampled more of the menu. Other specialities that they recommend was their crab and duck claypot, which soup tasted like a less salty version of a salted vegetable duck soup, but with a touch of sweetness from the crab, deep fried eggplant and fish wrapped in bean skin, deep fried as well. And as with out first visit, the food was still good and the bill was still easy on the pocket.

Yanqing’s Shanghai Kitchen

Yanqing’s Shanghai Kitchen
791 Bukit Timah Road #01-01
Tel: 64632989




Traditional stewed meat in earthen pot with steam buns

First and foremost, I have never been to Shanghai so I don’t know how authentic Shanghainese food taste like. The common response I receive when I ask about the food from people who have been to Shanghai is, “oh it’s very oily and very salty.” Even the owner, Yangqing, agrees to this fact and has set out to dish out tasty home-styled Shanghainese food that both reminisce of her home city with a modern and healthier-reduced oil and salt approach.

Other than the husband and wife team of Wang Yanqing and Wang Li, head chef Jin Hao used to cook at Ye Shanghai, lending some weighty credibility of authenticity. The prominent taste in Shanghainese cuisine as I found out through my meal, however, is still an overtone of saltiness. Not an over powering saltiness, but a rather distinctive savoury taste that is bold and complex. This distinctive taste is achieved through the delicate balance of soy sauce and sugar, and the cooking methods such as “red cooking”, where meats are braised in a combination of soy sauce, sugar, spices and wine.


crispy radish

We started off with a few cold nibbles of cold drunken chicken, crispy radish and cold tofu with century eggs, which were all well executed. The most surprising of the three would be the crispy radish that might be more accurately termed as crunchy radish, was crunchy and had a good savoury feel, which is what I guess you can term as umami.

Following that, our onslaught of dishes included some house specialities such as bean curd with fresh crab meat, traditional stewed meat in earthen pot and steam buns, traditional Shanghainese fish soup with snow vegetables and bean skin and stir-fried Shanghai mustard greens. The traditional dish of stewed meat was “red-cooked”, breaking down any form of tough muscle tissue and infusing flavour into the alternating layers of sweet flesh and fat and the fish soup was milky and scented with Shao Xing wine.

And to finish off, like the Shanghainese, we had our dim sum--the ubiquitous xiao long bao of steam pork dumplings with fresh prawns and fragrant sesame pancake with meat floss--at the end of the meal.

All in all, the food is good though a little pricey and the service unfortunately is almost a disaster. The service was rather pushy about their specials, caused us to over order and left us with an assembly of dirty plates around our table.

Dumpling Delights

Qun Zhong Eating House
21 Neil Road
Singapore 088814
Tel: 62213060
Closed on Wednesdays


Chinese pizza

I was recently delighted when my brother led us to this under the radar hole-in-the-wall family-run restaurant. Lying on the fringes of the central business district area, the street was quiet except for this bustling joint. It was packed when we arrived with customers patiently waiting outside as directed by the captain of the service team. Thankfully we were a slightly larger group (by one) than the people that came before us, so the captain deemed us worthy to sit in the medium sized table right at the back of this small place.

Dumplings are the main order in this restaurant and so from the dumpling selection, we selected the traditional Beijing pot-stickers dumplings, Shanghainese xiao long bao and an unusual sounding dish, a Chinese pizza. Let’s start with the Chinese pizza, does it really exist? In this shop, a Chinese pizza is more or less a more contemporary and flatter version (imagine a flat pie) of the pot-stickers. Stuffed with the same scrumptious filling of minced pork and chives as the pot-stickers, the Chinese pizza is made from a rolled out sheet of dough, its edges crimpled with dexterity then deep-fried until its pastry turns a crisp golden brown, producing something tasty, crunchy and interesting. And the xiao long pao were pretty parcels that burst with tongue-burning flavoursome juices.

To fill up and finish off, we had cha chiang mian (peking meat sauce noodles) and a crispy pancake filled with red bean paste. The cha chiang mian was good but nothing much to scream about and the crispy pancake (topped with sesame seeds) oozing with the sticky sweet red bean paste was a satisfying way to end. The best part of the meal: a satiated appetite and a bill under $50 for four.

My Short lived Hairy Crab Season

I was 7 when I had my first taste of crabs. I had a pincer of a flower crab. A few hours later I broke out in hives and never touched a flower crab again. Thankfully, mud crabs, snow crabs, Alaskan crabs and my recent venture with Hairy crabs have not left me with red patchy blotches on my skin.

The hairy crab starts 10 days after the Mooncake festival. Starting from September through most of autumn, the gourmands come out with their mean crab scissors and crab meat pickers looking for the pregnant female hairy crab and the sweet fleshed male. I had my first “snip and pick” at my first hairy crab at Lei Garden during a dim sum lunch last week. Having shared the crab with a few others, the rich lava like roe only whet my appetite for more of those little crustaceans and so agreed to sign up for a special culinary class on authentic Shanghainese cuisine at the Raffles Culinary Academy by Chef Calvin Soh – Combination of Shanghai Cold Platter(Drunken Chicken, Herbal Tea Egg and Marinated “Fen Pi”), Steamed Shanghai Hairy Crab, Herbal Shanghai Hairy Crab and Tong Tsui (Double Boiled Hashima with Chinese Angelica and Red Date) roe enriched Shanghainese Hairy Crab – featuring the Shanghainese Hairy Crab.



Although the hairy crab season only ends in December, after that culinary lesson and dinner, my hairy crab hunting season has been abruptly cut short. On the 5th November, 2005, after a grueling 1 ½ hours of snipping legs and pincers, I devoured two whole hairy crabs by myself – a steamed Shanghai Hairy Crab and an Herbal Shanghai Hairy Crab. I was so clumpy with the scissors and the crab eating apparatus, such that as they announced, “ok, finish up your first crab because the second one is on its way”, I had only finished picking the meat from ¾ of my crab and I had to snip of the plates onto the second plate of crab. The meat was sweet and the roe was rich, but it took too much from me, I’m retiring from this hairy crab season.