DI NING Shanghai alleyway. Floor-to-ceiling, gold-painted panels by the window filter the gleam of the retail realm outside. Tables of friends and family talk and clink glass as the aroma of XO swirls around their heads, each group negotiating multiple plates of dim sims. Clearly an Urbanspoon winner for Brisbanites. If you’re down to dine in peace, the eightperson private dining room waits in the back corner. Given its hollow interior and awkward acoustics, however, I’d stay in the main room where the action is. I’m getting the vibe you want to start at the dumplings, known as Xiao Long Bao. Servings arrive as eight nestled in a steaming basket, rich in ricey fragrance and twisted on top, like the topknot of a Youxia warrior (or a New Farm hipster). The vegetarian dumplings of carrot, tofu, vermicelli and greens are simple yet moreish, whilst the lamb and leek dumplings yield a richer, more mouth-filling texture in pools of soy. Along with the crispy-bottomed, fried pork dumplings, other Shanghainese street foods ensue, including mini pork short soup, deep fried pastry filled with shallot, ham and sesame and a battery of Chinese pork buns in various combinations. Did we mention the average Chinese person eats 39 kilograms of pork per year? But to prove their flair outside the pen, New Shanghai also dishes out some addictive vegetarian and seafood, with a special nod towards the prawn wonton tossed in peanut butter and red chilli oil, the wrappers viscid, spicy and warm from the steamer. How do you take your jellyfish? At New Shanghai it will come chilled, sliced and tossed with radish, sea salt and light soy. Though alarmingly cold, the flesh is delicately salty from the soy and sea, which neutralises the palette between dishes. The shredded kelp with carrot, a tangle of black and orange, provides an unrivalled ocean taste with a tang like salt and vinegar chips. This isn’t an ultra-hip tapas joint offering edible art, so stop searching for microherbs. At New Shanghai, the entrees and dim sims are plainly garnished (return of the parsley sprig) but are substantial enough to be mains. Meanwhile, the mains are really just larger portions of street food, so prepare to share. Order the rainbow beef, for instance, a mountain of deep-fried, shredded beef tossed with sweet and sour sauce, and you’ll likely end up asking neighbouring tables for help. Overtly sweet, the heavily battered pieces of beef resemble moist pretzels that have been left in a jam jar. It’s not quite there, texture or taste-wise. Textural intrigue does triumph, however, in the deep-fried tofu coated with salted egg yolk. Pop one golf ball-sized cube in your mouth and enjoy the sensation of crunch-come-cream when the batter and silken tofu combine. Scoring on balance and oddness of ingredient are the stir-fried clams. It’s a very flavoursome dish, the caramelised shallot and fresh ginger reviving sweet-and-sour’s reputation in a sauce that puddles deliciously in the shells. No wonder they’re so damn happy. New Shanghai isn’t trying to redesign Chinese tradition, nor assume the role of Australian dining’s Next Big Thing. It simply offers traditional Shanghainese cooking in a casual Brisbane City dining. And hey, just because they’re more than one doesn’t dilute the experience. Rather, it means that New Shanghai have got the drill down pat. That is: walk in, sit down, order up and cheers. Sounds pretty exciting to me. pm New Shanghai Address L G23 Queens Plaza, Brisbane 4000 Phone 07 3108 7652 pindaramagazine.com.au Pindara Magazine 109
Pindara Private Hospital Magazine - Issue Five
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