My family is from Shanghai. It's a big city by the eastern coast of China and it is growing at a substantial rate. As usual, when cities modernize and develop, some of their cultures are left behind and fading away. More of the cuisine become infused with western cultures. One of my favorite breakfast/snack item is the Jian Bing, and sadly the Jian Bing makers: "The street crepe makers" are disappearing.
It's a common street food in China and I had them when I went to Shanghai to visit my family there. Basically it's a light salty crepe filled with scallions and cilantro, egg, sweet Hoisin based sauce and crunchy bean curd sheets. It's a common breakfast in Shanghai. Locals would wait in line at a small stand. The smell from a Shanghai food mart is amazing. The chinese get up pretty early, so it's hard to find brunch. Also a chinese breakfast is more "Salty" than "sweet". The only sweet items I can recall are sweet soymilk and a sesame pancake stuffed with brown sugar. It's not exactly the most healthy but it hits the spot.
Lunch: Shabu Shabu with Fresh Seafood, Vegetables and Fresh Fish Balls
Shabu Shabu is HUGE. HUUGE!! We love sea food, Shanghai dishes are often made with a lot of seafood. They also like to sweeten their dishes. We went to a neighborhood local favorite near my Aunt's house and it was a popular Shabu-Shabu place.
What's Shabu Shabu?
Similar to Korean barbeque concept, you cook your meal over a simmering pot of stock. In Shanghai, the chefs prepare the stock, there is a seafood Shabu Shabu or a meat (lamb) Shabu Shabu. The stock is flavored with various herbs and spices like anises, ginger, scallions and spices. Usually you have a choice between spicy or plain. In this particular restaurant, we picked the Seafood Shabu Shabu with fresh live fish. The Shabu Shabu came with 5 choices of vegetables and two side dish. We opted for stuffed dates with a sweet sticky rice filling and fried tofu squares in a soy glaze.
You go to the fish tank and pick out your fish. They debone the live fish, strip all the meat and grind it with corn flour, flour, seasonings and roll it into little balls. It's a meatball, but made from fresh fish. The freshness is KEY. It cooks in 30 seconds from the hot simmering broth. This is why you can't find it elsewhere. Trust me, I've looked everywhere in New York and it's not the same. We seasoned our Shabu Shabu with our choices of vegetables and once the fishballs were ready, it was lunch time. The fishballs are so tender and silky after simmering in the broth. You taste the natural sweetness of the fish and the stock becomes even more delicious with the fish oils. It's really a meal you can't miss!!
Dinner is AWESOME. It's not usually AL LA CARTE, but I guess you can. If you want the best bang for your buck, opt for the pre-fixes! Each restaurant has specialized menus, for small groups to large groups. You can get a meal with 5 dishes to anywhere between 15-20 dishes. You get to choose the side dishes, soups, protein, dessert. It's amazing! Most restaurants have smaller individual rooms for your own party and there is often a waitress assigned to your room. Talk about service!! I decided to post a few of my favorites: Shanghai style ribs, Sweet and Sour Fried Whole Fish, Yellow Corn Flour Fritters Filled with Cream Sauce, and a seafood soup with fishballs, prawns and clams.
