马桥香干吊锅 Spicy Smoked Tofu

Pinyin: mǎ qiáo xiāng gān diào guō


I've raved and raved about tofu before, so it should be obvious that I dig it. I know lots of people say they don't like tofu but seriously there are hundreds of kinds of tofu out there, something for everyone so to speak.

The smoked tofu in this dish has a unique flavor, earthy and wooden, it reminds me of a deep dark dank forest which is a pretty unique flavor. A fair number of spicy peppers were added that give it a bit of bite, and like all good Chinese dishes a fair variety of vegetables and a few mushrooms were added for good measure.

I believe this is a Hunan style dish and is common throughout those Chinese restaurants here in Shanghai. Smoked tofu can be found in a number of dishes, again primarily coming from Hunan province or nearby areas. It's a unique flavor and might not be for everyone, but it's different and worth trying at least once.

苔蘑真菌烩豆花 Mixed Mushrooms and Tofu

Pinyin: tāi mó zhēn jūn huì dòu huā

Two of the most widely used and staple ingredients of Chinese cooking come together in this dish to form a savory dish great for a cold and blustery night.

Everyone knows about the relationship between Chinese and tofu, it's a huge thing here and comes in all shapes and sizes. In this case it's a very very soft almost pudding like substance that has a very mild flavor. The other major ingredient used here are mushrooms. The Chinese, no doubt through trial and error have discovered hundreds of kinds of edible mushrooms and this dishes uses at least three varieties, all of which you aren't likely to see at your average American grocery store.

This dish comes together nicely, it's fairly mild in taste, neither the mushrooms or tofu come on too strong and a bit of salt/MSG was added for flavor. The sauce/broth was thickened up quite a lot and really holds the heat nicely so it's sure to keep you warm throughout your meal. It's vegetarian but your carnivorous friends are likely to enjoy it equally well.

香辣八爪鱼 Sweet and Spicy Octopus

Pinyin: xiāng là bā zhuǎ yú


I love octopus and this was a surprisingly great dish. It was sweet but not startling sweet like your average sweet and sour dish, and it wasn't sour it was spicy and balanced nicely against the sweetness.

The chef added sauteed onions which I always love and add great flavor. Also added were mushrooms of varying varieties that are another one of my favorites. Me and my dining partner were both sort of surprised that the octopus in the dish were absolutley huge and you can see that in the picture here to some extent. Normally baby octopus are used and generally fit in your mouth in just a single bite, not the case here each piece was several bites.

As a fan of octopus I had to give this dish a try and I wasn't disappointed. The flavours were unique and fit my palate quite well. I think most people would like this dish once they get past the slightly odd sight of seeing tentacles in their food, which if you've been in China for any amount of time shouldn't be too hard.

烟笋腊肉 Spicy Smoked Pork

Pinyin: yān sǔn là ròu

This spicy smoked pork is to die for. It reminds me a lot of dried beef (it is in fact basically dried pork), it's salty and has a nice cured meat flavor to it. I'm sure it's incredibly unhealthy for you, but hey you only live once right?

The dish is composed of slices of this smoked pork, a rather strange kind of dried mushroom and of course peppers that give it that added kick. The pieces of pork are really half meat and half fat, the fat is what adds the most excellent flavors to the dish and if you want to be healthy it's easy enough to avoid eating.

This style dish/meat is quite often served at Hunan style restaurants. There are many dishes available that use the 腊肉 and you really should try it. Again probably isn't the healthiest, but if you like smoked fish, or beef jerky and can stomach spicy things this is the dish for you.

玉米烙 Fried Corn Pie

Pinyin: yù mǐ lào

For all the corn lovers out there this dish is a must try. It's quite simple as you can see. The corn is fried somehow that it sticks together and turns out a lot like a cookie. A few peas are added just for good measure and the chef tops it off with a little mayonnaise or salad dressing.

The dish is most certainly vegetarian but its hard to say it's healthy. It's not really an appetizer but its not really a complete dish either. I order it from time to time just cause I like it. Its got the sweetness of the corn with a rather unique form factor.

I highly recommend this dish if you've got company coming from out of town who might not appreciate some of the more authentic Chinese food but still want local food. It's safe both cause it's vegetarian and you can see it's only corn and it's sweet so most Western palates will appreciate it. It's also relatively easy to eat with chopsticks, or even hands if chopsticks prove too difficult. I'm guessing kids will love this one too!