Shanghai taste: Sautéed gorgon fruit with asparagus and sautéed carrot and potato. [Photo by Xu Xiaomin/Shanghai Star]

Another signature dish is the braised vegetarian ribs with rice cake, pai xiang nian gao. Braised with soybean sauce, the "rib" tastes a little sweet and is very Shanghai in style. Wrapped with gluten, the lotus inside tastes crispy and fresh which is a good balance with the heavy-taste of the wrap. The rice cake is very sticky and chewy. I think it tastes much better than the real braised pork with rice cake, which is a classic Shanghai dish.

One of the best sellers in the restaurant is the eight treasure sauce with steamed corn bread, ba bao la jiang, another common dish in Shanghai. The dish contains eight ingredients such as bean curd, peanut, mushroom, carrot, potato and rice cake which form a texture somewhere between sticky and crispy, soft and fresh. I never eat the corn bread which is supposed to go with the eight treasures, I’d rather take it in a traditional way from my childhood, with a bowl of rice.

The kitchen insists on not using MSG and cooking with purified water instead of tap water. Its professional and pleasing service is truly a value added element which makes me want to visit the place regularly, as it is hard to see a true smiling face among restaurant staff in this busy city.

The restaurant has recently started a delivery service from its Huaihai store and Yuanshen store in Pudong.

IF YOU GO

Huaihai Store:

Address: 77 Songshan Road

Tel:021-6384-8000 Jiangning Store Address: 258 Fengxian Road

Tel: 021-6215-7566 Yuanshen Store (Pudong)

Address: 3/F,Star Fitness Club,Yuanshen Sports Center, 1458 Zhangyang Road, Pudong 

Tel: 021-5821-9979