法式蛋卷 Chocolate Covered Meat Floss Sushi

Pinyin: fǎ shì dàn juàn


This dish was a calculated risk and I gotta say we came out on the losing side. My interest was piqued and then the waitress told me that the brown sauce was chocolate I couldn't resist. I wanted to know how scrambled egg, meat flosh, cucumber, and chocolate combined to make a sushi like appetizer. The answer unsurprisingly was not very well at all. Meat floss in any dish is always a bit awkward, it's a bit sweet, but also a bit savory, it's meat but doesn't feel like meat, very strange stuff indeed. It wasn't helped at all by the chocolate.

No worries though for the average diner, I'm guessing that only this one tucked away restaurant in Jing'An District in Shanghai serves this dish. The real moral of this story is that you should try new and interesting things, including food, even when they might not seem all that great. There's always a chance you'll be pleasantly surprised. This wasn't one of them, but maybe I'll have better luck next time.

素八仙 Snow Peas, Sesame Oil, and More

Pinyin: sù bā xiān

At one time I really was not a fan of sesame oil, but those nutty flavors have really grown on me. Sesame oil is used a fair bit in Chinese food so you have the opportunity to encounter it in a variety of dishes.

In this case the dish is primarily fresh uncooked snow peas and a few other vegetables including green and red peppers and bean sprouts. It's an all vegetarian appetizer served cold and crispy. Sesame oil is really the primary spice added so it's got a strong presence in the dish but isn't overwhelming.

Overall I like it a lot. I'm trying to eat healthier and this is an excellent vegetarian dish to help that along. Snow peas are uncommon enough to add nice variety and get you warmed up for the rest of the meal.

干拌牛肉 Spicy Sliced Beef and Cilantro

Pinyin: gān bàn niú ròu

Sorry for the strangely colored picture, the dish looks much better in real life. This is one time where the beef in China isn't so bad. In general the beef dishes suffer from extremely poor quality beef that has been soaked in far too much tenderizer which I've complained about before.

This dish on the other hand contains decent quality meat that is fairly lean and not too chewy. It's a spicy appetizer that feels very fresh on the tongue. The spiciness real bites at your mouth, but the cilantro just makes it feel so nice and clean. The peanuts add a little crunchiness and manage to mask the spiciness.

This is really a great way to open up a meal. The explosive pepper flavors open up your eyes and really get you craving relief from what is to come, yet all that meat feels so good in the mouth you've got to keep going back for more.

臭豆腐 Stinky Tofu

Pinyin: chòu dòu fǔ

A common street food in Shanghai that you may not be able to see, but you can certainly smell from a mile away. The premise behind the dish is that the tofu has been aged much like say brie cheese. The moldy tofu is then deep fried and served. Dipping sauce, almost always spicy and often times sweet is provided. When served on the street it cost a couple of Kuai for about four pieces, restaurants are of course more expensive.

The key to this dish lies in the name though, because it is stinky, stinky and nasty smelling is more accurate. Think rotting gym socks, or boiling sewage, or very strong well aged cheese. If you aren't careful and can ruin your appetite. Shanghai locals rave over the stuff, in my opinion it's just OK. If you are in Shanghai it's a must at least once, but eat it fast and then get it off the table so you can enjoy the rest of your meal.

白切肚头 Pork Stomach with Soy Sauce

Pinyin: Bái Qiē Dù Tóu

Startling in its appearance I was surprised that this dish actually tasted not bad. Warning bells usually go off in my head when people start talking about eating internal organs, but I'll give most things a try. The meat was actually served chilled, not just room temperature and soy sauce was provided for dipping. The meat was tender albeit the texture was a bit odd, but it tasted clean, a little like ham but definitely not overwhelming. I kept going back for more throughout the meal as it provided some nice contrast to the other dishes. I can't say I'd recommend it, but I wouldn't avoid it either.

海蜒花生米 Peanuts with Spicy Anchovy Oil

Pinyin: hǎi yán huā shēng mǐ

Peanuts a simple food, yet add some spicy oil and a dash of dried fish and you've created a rather tasty Chinese appetizer. The spicy oil added most of the flavor and I'd swear they mixed in a fair bit of white pepper that really livened up the first dish on the table. The peanuts were roasted till they were crunchier than normal which I've become a fond of. As with any dish involving lots of peanuts it always goes better with beer and I think that is doubly true for this one since you'll want something to quench that burning sensation tingling your mouth alive.

马兰头香干 Minced Tofu and Vegetables

Pinyin: mǎ lán tóu xiāng gān

A classic Shanghainese style dish. Tofu, and a green vegetable minced together, throw in a bit of sesame oil, and presto, a pretty decent vegetarian dish is created.

Every time I've had this it's always been served cold, and is one of the first things out on the table. Also most of the time they serve it molded into some shape, either a cup or some fancy bowl.

It's quite a kick to actually watch somebody mince vegetables. I've often seen young chefs standing outside of a restaurant with a big plastic bowl full of vegetables and two butcher knifes just whacking away at the vegetables in the bowl. Seems to work better than a blender, lol.

Oh ya BTW, this is one of the few vegetables I haven't figured out the English name for. It's something that's native to Shanghai, but that's about everything I know about it.

蒜泥白肉 Sliced Pork with Garlic Sauce

Pinyin: Suàn Né Bái Ròu

What a salt filled delightful dish, an American meat eaters dream come true. Sliced steamed pork, served cold, almost like cold cuts for a sandwich. The dipping sauce is what really makes it great though. It's simply sesame oil, salt, and minced garlic. Combined together it fully flavors the pork and is one of my favorite dishes to have on a Friday or Saturday night with friends while drinking a beer or two, damn salt and beer go together so well.

I've never seen this anywhere aside from the local Shanghainese restaurant that I frequent, but it's certainly easy enough to reproduce at home if you ever felt so inclined.

富贵卤三样 Soy Sauce Soaked Tofu and Quail Eggs

Pinyin: Fù Guì Lǔ Sān Yàng


There's a lot of tofu here, and that's great if you are a vegetarian. Of course you don't have to be a vegetarian to enjoy this dish, and eggs are included to spice it up a bit.

With that in mind though, those chunks of tofu, lean on the large size, which can be a little daunting. Luckily this isn't the mushy tofu you might be used to, rather it's the rubberized version that is the primary component of fake meat.

I know you might not be thrilled about this dish yet, but really it isn't too bad. The tofu is a bit salty flavored thanks to the soy sauce and the quail eggs are fun just cause they are a bit unusual. If you weren't aware quail eggs are also a little chewy.

The chewy eggs and rubbery tofu all soaked in soy sauce end up making a decent but not great appetizer.

富贵丁香鱼 Straw Mushrooms and a Dash of Dried Fish

Pinyin: Fù Guì Dīng Xiāng Yú

A fine appetizer this dish douth make. Simplicity is the key to so many Chinese dishes. Primarily composed of straw mushrooms that have been cooked/marinated in soy sauce, the soy sauce isn't overwhelming but just adds a nice mild flavor that complements the mushrooms.

This dish can't be called vegetarian, because just a bit of fish has been added primarily to enhance the taste. In fact as I devoured more than my fair share of this plate of goodness I never once spotted even a bit of fish.

香菜云丝 Tofu Skin with Cilantro

Pinyin: Xiāng Cài Yún Sī

Sesame oil is one of those things that can make or break a dish with just a drop or two. It's amazingly potent stuff and should be used with caution. But damn when you mix it with Cilantro it just becomes friggin great.

The cilantro sort of balances out the sesame oil and then the tofu skin adds the substance. Since I've never seen tofu skin in America the closest thing I can relate it to would possibly be a crepe.

Oh ya this is an appetizer, and it's neither served hot or cold, just sort of room temperature, and it's vegetarian, and it's got tofu in it, so it's "gasp" healthy for you.

手播笋 Sweet Pickled Bamboo

Pinyin: Shǒu Buō Suǎn

China is known for their bamboo, it really does permeate all aspects of life and as pictured it permeates into food as well.

You are looking at pieces of bamboo that have been sweet pickled, or something pretty close to that. I ate this at a Shanghainese restaurant and I have reason to believe it is in fact a Shanghai food. As most Shanghai food goes, it is a little sweet. This isn't like an American sweet pickle though, it's not as sweet and of course the flavor is a bit different, better, honestly.

Served cold as an appetizer, you only eat the insides, the hearts, so to speak. Everything that you see in this picture, you don't eat. The stuff you are looking at is tough, and as soon as it is in your mouth you know it isn't for eating.

Oddly enough I went to the grocery store last night and found this same stuff for sale in the refrigerated section.

葱姜百叶 Onion and Ginger Tripe

Pinyin: Cōng Jiāng Niú Bǎi Yè

How the times have changed. There was a time where I wouldn't touch cow stomach in any form. I laughed at just the prospect of someone eating tripe. These days however I know that cows have several stomachs and depending on the stomach the meat is a little different. The tripe used in this dish according to the Cook's Thesaurus is called Honeycomb tripe and comes from the second stomach of the cow.

So here are the facts of this dish. It's a cold one, an appetizer of sorts, that mixes the tripe with spring onions and ginger, lots and lots of ginger. It's decent enough, not my favorite, but decent nonetheless, and the ginger is extremely strong so you better be a fan.

皮蛋豆腐 Tofu with Century Egg

Pinyin: Pí Dàn Dòu Fu

Raise your hand if you wanna munch down on six month old eggs, OK how about three month old? Well ya even I wouldn't raise my hand, but that's exactly what you get when you order this dish.

Century Eggs have been cured and aged for over one month, they've turned green and smell of ammonia. Wikipedia has an in depth article on them here.

Honestly in a dish like this they aren't all that bad. They add a slight flavor, but it's good, I usually steer clear of eating too much of the actual egg pieces and I thoroughly enjoy this dish.

It's an appetizer of sorts served nearly everywhere, it could be considered vegetarian, and asking a vegetarian to eat a three month old egg might be amusing. This dish is actually interesting because it's one of the few dishes actually served cold, the colder the better IMHO.

糟毛豆 Wine Soaked Soy Beans

Pinyin: Zāo Máo Dòu

This is a beer food if ever there was beer food in China. It's quite simply soybeans soaked in Chinese wine and then served up cold.

Now of course you don't eat the pods, you just suck out the beans inside and spit the pods onto the plate. Flipping them around with your chopsticks can be a challenging feat and fun too!

The term Zāo actually refers to foods being soaked in Chinese wine and is a traditional Shanghai style of cooking. It's also possible to find chicken, chicken feet, and sliced meat in this same style.

I've heard that people from outside of Shanghai aren't too fond of this style of cooking, and I must admit the first time or two I had it I wasn't impressed, but since then it's grown on me a bit and I rather enjoy it now.

凉拌金针菇 Golden Straw Mushrooms with Sesame Oil

Pinyin: Liáng Bàn Jīn Zhēn Gū

This one's good, but you've gotta know I'm a fan of mushrooms (even if they aren't magic).

I've only ever had this dish at one restaurant and I'm sure it's widely available. It's basically these long white stringy kind of mushrooms called Jin Zhen Gu (金针菇) with diced scallions and mixed cooked in sesame oil. The few times I've had it, it's always been served warm, not hot yet not cold. I'm not sure how they cook it, once in the morning and then left out all day or cooked on demand and then cooled before served or some other method.

I looked up the mushrooms on Google or Wikipedia and turns out they have several English names, but looks like the most common is Golden Straw Mushrooms. They may look like straw but are more white than golden. One thing they didn't mention on Wikipedia is that these things are stringy and a little chewy, more than once I've tried to eat them too fast and nearly choked on them. It seems to me the most popular place to find these mushrooms is either in hot pot or soup, actual food dishes seem to be rather rare.

香菜拌素鸡 Chopped Cilantro and Suji

Pinyin: Xiāng Cài Bàn Sù Jī

I've only ever eaten this dish once, but damn was it good. It's so simple its stupid. It amounts to sliced suji, cilantro, and sesame oil all mixed together, no cooking involved.

When I had it, it was served not cold, but not hot either, just sort of room temperature. It was one of the first dishes on the table and was just an appetizer.

Suji is something I've only ever seen in China and if you want it you'll probably have to hit up an Asian grocery store, or just come to China. It's a sort of tofu and you'll sometimes see it translate as vegetarian chicken or duck. Suji is made by tightly rolling layers of tofu film together and working a little magic (I don't know the full process and it's damn hard to find on Google).

酸辣黄瓜 Sour and Spicy Cucumber

Pinyin: Suān Là Huáng Guā

This is one variation of a classic Chinese dish which you can order at nearly every Chinese restaurant. It's simply chopped up uncooked cucumbers, but it's not just that, it's got lots of diced garlic and in this case lots of spicy oil.

Chances are if you've been in China very long you've undoubtedly eaten this particular dish. It's usually the first dish that comes onto the table and is eaten almost like an appetizer.