Fine side of Shanghainese

It’s more than steamed dumplings and hand-pulled noodles at Dragon-i Signature@Pavilion. TAN BEE HONG has a preview of fine traditional Shanghainese dishes for a coming charity event

BEST known for its xiao loong bao (Shanghainese meat dumplings), la mien (hand-pulled noodlesand other Shanghainese delicacies, Dragon-i restaurant has ventured into fine-dining with the opening of Dragon-i Signature@Pavilion.

“While popular items synonymous with Dragon-i such as xiao loong bao and la mien remain an integral part of the new menu, customers at Pavilion will be able to order traditional delicacies seldom found outside China,” says Dragon-i CEO Henry Yip. “They can even order customised meals personally prepared by chef Man Fong Lam.”

Jiangsu-born Man, widely acknowledged as one of the best Shanghainese chefs in this region, heads the kitchen. To ensure authenticity and consistency in taste, most essential ingredients are brought in from China and Hong Kong. These include vegetables such as kailan (air-flown in daily from Hong Kong as the local variant does not have the sweetness and crunchiness) and flour for its buns, dumplings and noodles and condiments such as top-grade soya sauce, cooking wine and black vinegar.

To celebrate the official opening of the restaurant this Friday, the management will hold a Traditional Imperial Shanghainese charity dinner on Saturday and Sunday at RM2,000 per table of 10. The entire proceeds will go to a non-profit organisation for single mothers.

The 10-course menu features Shanghainese delicacies prepared by Man and his team. One starts with four appetisers comprising smoked fish, cucumber with garlic, wine-marinated chicken and honey-glazed crispy eel.

Except for the smoked fish, these are famous Shanghainese cold dishes.

An up-market version of xiao loong bao is next. Besides the meat filling, this one has crab roe in it too.

Refresh your palate with double-boiled chicken soup, with chicken cooked in a milky fish stock. Bamboo pith and a green vegetable provides plenty of crunch and texture.

Next are huge shelled prawns in a sweet and sour sauce scented with rice wine and a duet of fish — hilsa herring (shi yu) and mandarin fish (goby).

It’s my first taste of the famous hilsa herring, mentioned in Cao Xueqin’s classical novel, Dream Of Red Mansions. These high fin banded fish return from the sea in late spring to spawn in the Yangtze River basin.

Don’t be surprised to find the fish has been steamed with the scales intact. Apparently, this is the recommended royal treatment for this fish. Though the scales are said to be edible, it’s really an acquired taste, one I have yet to acquire, so I surreptitiously push them aside. But the flesh is sweet and the rice wine enhances its flavour. Be warned though — hilsa herring is a very bony fish.

If you don’t like dealing with bones, have the deepfried mandarin fish instead. The fish is cut to “bloom” like a chrysanthemum flower when deepfried and is served with a sweet and sour sauce.

There’s braised vegetables with mushroom and dried scallops followed by eight-treasure stuffed duck. The duck is deboned whole and stuffed with a combination of glutinous rice, mushrooms, lotus seeds, dried scallop, duck meat, dried shrimp, sausages and ham. The dish has to be pre-ordered, says Man, as it requires hours of preparatory work. It also has to be steamed for a few hours and then deepfried to a crisp just before before it is served.

Other dishes in the charity dinner menu include fried rice with scallops and crab meat, bird’s nest with egg white and waterchestnuts and honey-coated banana fritters.

“We are offering an opportunity for food connoisseurs to savour the finest Shanghainese cuisine outside of China and, at the same time, do their part for charity,” says Yip.

DRAGON-I SIGNATURE@PAVILION

1st Floor, Pavilion KL

Tel: 03-2143 7688