Seasonal spring menus serving fresh flavors and fusion surprises
The aged Chinese vinegar in ice cream
The Xindalu-China Kitchen, at Hyatt on the Bund, is introducing chencu, an aged Chinese black vinegar, to the ice cream selection on its upcoming spring menu, joining the previous jiuniang (sweet fermented rice) flavor as the Chinese duo.
The chencu ice cream is a Chinese inspiration similar to the Italian style balsamic vinegar ice cream. With a tangy and bright flavor, this new creation balances the prominent vinegar flavor with sweet milk and cream and presents a silky and smooth texture. The ice cream is served with a crunchy sesame cracker on the side.
Known for its woody and smoky flavor, chencu is rarely used in dessert dishes in China. It is generally a condiment for making savory dishes or as a dipping sauce for dumplings.
The spring menu also highlights Chinese toon, a fresh and fragrant vegetable, only available for a very short period of time in spring.
The egg omelette with toon shoots and shrimp, as well as the spring toon salad with walnuts are classic dishes to enjoy the most of toon's aromatic flavor.
- Address: 199 Huangpu Rd
- Tel: 6393-1234 ext 6318
The chencu ice cream (top) has a creamy yet tangy flavor.
A little wasabi
Gao Xiaosheng, Chinese executive chef of Gui Hua Lou, at Pudong Shangri-La, has added a playful touch of wasabi into the hearty prawn balls, bringing an interesting spike in flavor when biting into the bouncy shrimps.
The sweet lotus root ball, a new dessert in the spring menu, is worth checking out. This traditional Jiangsu snack replaces the glutinous rice flour in the original tangyuan with a much lighter lotus root powder, which presents a less sticky and more refreshing taste.
The spring menu also features sea cucumber and glutinous rice braised in abalone sauce. It is served in a hot stone pot, braised crab meat soup with conpoy and wok-fried Angus beef cubes in black pepper sauce.
- Address: 33 Fucheng Rd
- Tel: 2828-6888
The sweet lotus root ball is a light dessert ideal for the spring season.
A splash of green
Steak tartare, made with hand-cut grass-fed beef and seasoned with shallot, capers and cornichons, is a classic French dish served alongside some bread as an appetizer.
Fifty 8° Grill, the contemporary French restaurant at Mandarin Oriental Pudong, Shanghai, has launched a seasonal menu that offers a very spring version of the steak tartare.
It layers the beef between pieces of sweet butter lettuce and crisp Iceberg, adding juicy, crunchy and sweet flavours to elevate the tender beef. The dish is served with some sourdough bread shavings to add an extra element of texture.
Other appetizers on the new menu include a spring duck salad with asparagus, raspberries and foie gras, or a tiger prawn cocktail with lemon mayonnaise, crunchy radishes and iceplant.
New main course options include a pan-fried red snapper with bamboo clams, new potatoes and a bouillabaisse sauce and a black truffle marinated “brick” chicken with fresh morels and frilled leeks.
The marinated strawberries with cheesecake ice cream and champagne sabayon are a highlight of the desserts, served alongside homemade Madeleines, this is spring in a glass.
- Address: 111 Pudong Rd S.
- Tel: 2082-9938
Steak tartare and butter lettuce
A tieguanyin pudding
Cantonese cuisine franchise Exquisite Bocuse has updated its popular tieguanyin pudding with a new recipe that highlights the season's strawberries.
Tieguanyin, or Iron Goddess, is an oolong tea, known for its exceptional and intense fragrance. The fruitiness in the tea pudding complements the sweetness from the strawberries.
Their new seasonal menu also includes classic Shanghai dishes in the spring season, like broad bean stir-fried with scallion oil, steamed spring bamboo shoots and salt-cured pork, yanduxian (a pork, ham and bamboo shoot soup), as well as braised spring bamboo shoots.
- Address: 3-4/F, Reel Mall, 1601 Nanjing Rd W.
- Tel: 6472-1717
Tieguanyin pudding with strawberry
