Yong Yi Ting inside new Mandarin Oriental Hotel Shanghai was our 1st official meal in Shanghai together as a group of traveling Foodies/Media/Bloggers. It is headed by Chef Tony Lu, who also runs Fu 1015, the No. 16 Top Best Asia Restaurant on the Top 50 Pellegrino’s list. His other ventures are at Fu1088, Fu1039 and Fu He Hui, which some of us later on decided to split the decision and went on to try another two of them side by side. The food here at Yong Yi Ting is mostly based on local regional food from Shanghai and neighbouring provinces, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiang Nan cuisine of Southern Yangtze River region. Although these regional foods are usually grouped into one nowadays, they do all have their minor regional differences and are transitional…
Wine Pairing tonight too -
Mostly French but appropriate. This meal we look forward to so much for its regional tastes nearby. Yet hard to distinguish sometimes due to the micro-regions.
The Chinese Name is Kind of Poetic -
But don’t let this deter you from trying out here. It was re-defining Shanghainese and surrounding Regional food stuff good.
Fried Lychee with Grapes -
Appetizer or like an Amuse Bouche. Wasn’t expecting this summery variation dish as an opening starter… Smart but it’s calculative. ~ 8.5/10
Crispy Pomfret Fish in Sweet Soy Sauce,
Drunken Duck Foie Gras with Green Beans and Gorgon Fruit,
Wax Apple filled Truss Tomato in Sour Plum Sauce,
Vietnamese Vegetables Rice Roll with Sliced Spicy Lobster & Caviar -
My menu description is slightly different from the official version because I think this describes the recipes better. All done pretty decently, look I have high expectations with Hotel Food and I think this was meaningful, I mean how many chefs in this world could think of stuffing wax apples into truss tomatoes and then soak it in sour plum sauce? In comparison the pomfret fish was more expectable and normal. ~ 8/10
Minced Chicken Congee Soup with Bird’s Nest, Yin-Yang Herbs, Fried Dough Twist -
To me this is actually a very local Shanghainese dish, but up-scaled to include Birds Nest and that Tai-Chi white on green look which is probably Chiu Chow cuisine inspired. Although I am not Shanghainese, this is actually the food I grew up with when back then everything in HK was Shanghainese or Chiu Chow before they one by one closed down. I even attended a JiangSu Zhejiang school and learned Mandarin when young. Even the narrower fried dough tonight is the correct style up here. So Nostalgic. Very well done dish… ~ 9/10
Crystal King Prawn with Sea Urchin Sauce and Fried Spanish Jamon Ham -
Totally a clap. The prawn was sliced to maximize it’s crunchiness, and this cooking method is also prevalent in Cantonese cooking where the prawn must be washed with running water for a long time - in Hong Kong Tim’s Kitchen is also famous for this prawn dish. Here it upgraded it with a sea urchins sauce and a Spanish ham to replace the normal Yunnan Chinese ham. I wouldn’t call this fusion, it just realized Spanish ham is really better for the purpose. ~ 10/10
Braised Baby White Eel with Sauteed Baby Lotus Root -
To me this reminded me of the above Pomfret Appetizer fish dish too. I think I might be biased as a Cantonese person when this is chopped horizontally rather than thinly sliced. The Baby Lotus roots are cute and what you find in Vietnamese/Thai cuisine too. For me this was a bit 1 Dimensional and perhaps can handle some more garlic, alcohol, chives, etc. ~ 6.5/10
Stewed Pork Lion Head with Fresh Cattail veggies, Yangzhou style -
This is a recipe usually associated with Shanghai but it’s actually from Yangzhou nearby. I love both the clear-soup or red-braised versions, here it was done with flying colours with many layering from broth to lion head taste plus pillowy texture. ~ 9/10
Mandarin Fish 2 Way -
Sauteed Slice with Pickled Cucumber,
Fried Fish Roll with Almond Slivers coating and Melon stuffing..
2nd Course -
Fried Fish Roll with Almond coating and Melon stuffing. Both dishes were executed well knowing this is a local fish variety, although more bred than wild-caught these days.. ~ 7.5/10
Soy Braised Water Bamboo, Shrimp Roes and Green Peas -
This has always been one of my favourite dishes but this time it differed in that it was a much Thicker rather than the Thinner Water Bamboo Stems I am used to. I thought the Prawn Roes taste could be even more prominent or toasted, but it was still a very local dish done Classy. ~ 8/10
Red Amaranth Mushrooms Dumplings, Black Truffle Shanghainese style Sumai,
Hairy Crab Meat Puff -
These to me are all Shanghainese influenced but with a micro smart twist to the recipes. In Hong Kong side slightly similar but not totally the same recipes can be found - as I have always said along, there is a Shanghai-Hong Kong Bank existing for a reason but semi-controlled by the British Shareholders. A lot of what is available in Hong Kong nowadays were shaped by the influx of migrants down South in HK during the post WWII Days from Shanghai and Cantonese regional regions, plus many more. This to me was done very loyal yet inventive to Shanghainese and nearby cuisine. ~ 9/10
Glutinous Rice Dumplings with Red Date Ginger Syrup (Top Left),
Lotus Seed Pastry Puff (Top Right), Walnut Shaped Puff (Bottom Left),
Chrysanthemum Shaped Spring Roll (Bottom Left) -
This was rather technical and precise. Look, some people found this to be a bit expected as I asked around but from a Pastry Chef’s point of view I think these were done quite precise and also locally inspired. ~ 9/10
Glutinous Rice Dumplings with Red Date Ginger Syrup -
The skin was a little too thick to my liking, but they did tried to add in stripes. It did split a bit in the end and fillings were leaking out… But that all happens when you try to push the edge and try to re-define the next stage of Shanghainese and nearby cuisine. ~ 7/10
The Night View -
Good Night beside the Bund and the Pearl Tower. Nice bed and room to rest finally. It was only like 11pm.
Dinner Price: RMB $1380 with Wine
Food: ♕♕♕♕ 1/2 to ♕♕♕♕♕ 1/2
Address: 111 Pudong Road (South), Pudong, Shanghai 200120, China
Ph: +86 (21) 2082 9888
have never heard of fried lychee before!
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