Flaming feast

By Zhao Dan Source:Global Times Published: 2014-4-21 17:43:01

As one of the eight famous cuisines in China, Hunan cuisine is known for its spicy, sour and aromatic flavors and is a favorite of many gourmets. Mao Zedong, the late chairman of the Communist Party of China and a Hunan native, loved the cuisine of his birthplace all through his life. Hunan restaurants usually make an impression with their bustling environments and oily tables, but there are also some non-traditional Hunan restaurants in Shanghai that add a foreign twist, providing guests not only with satisfying food, but also a novel dining experience.

A chef sets fire to food on the iron griddle at 57 C Xiang.





57 C Xiang

57 C Xiang does teppanyaki in a Hunan-style: grilled meat, shrimps, and even vegetables are spiced up with chili powder, pepper, onions and all kinds of spices.

The place is pleasantly noisy and bustling. Guests sit around a huge iron griddle where a chef cooks items to order and serves it direct to your plate. Some may even joke with you as they show off their cooking skills by swirling food and laughing when guests are taken aback by the plumes of flame.

At around 7 pm every day, the restaurant has a tradition in which every chef sings and dances to the background music, further adding to the revelry and marking a high point in the evening for many.

Grilled shrimps are spiced up at 57 C Xiang. Photos: CFP





One of the signature dishes is steamed egg custard. It's neatly contained in a cracked eggshell, is topped with beads of fish roe, which provides an interesting contrast to the silky and tender texture of the custard.

Add: Room 401, 4/F, 138 Huaihai Road Middle

Tel: 5677-5777

At Spicy Moment, food is creatively arranged in a fashion more often seen in Western restaurants.





Spicy Moment

The old lanehouse-turned-restaurant in the tranquil former French concession has adapted the spicy and chili flavors of Hunan cuisine to make for a milder taste, catering to those not used to a tongue-sizzling experience. Some of the dishes are even slightly sweet, a taste that might be welcomed by diners who have a typical Shanghainese palate.

When you step into this small restaurant, you may feel more like you're entering a café, as it is designed in a modern and minimalist way.

Wood and bamboo chairs and tables, soft linen cushions and fresh flowers provide a cozy and homey atmosphere for guests.

A huge, curved abacus-like screen shields a small room at the back of the restaurant, providing a relatively private place for a relaxed time with friends.

The restaurant is quite expat-friendly, with a manager who speaks good English, and a touch screen menu on the wall with vivid pictures and bilingual descriptions.

The dishes come in relatively small portions, compared with traditional Chinese restaurants. Meat, vegetables and other ingredients contained in a dish are creatively arranged in a fashion more often seen in Western restaurants.

Recommended dishes include fish heads in chopped chili, bullfrog in sour soup, and sticky rice balls fermented in rice wine in a hollow pumpkin.

The place also serves as a bar in the evening, with a wide range of drinks including cocktails.

Add: 71 Wuyuan Road

Tel: 5403-0775

Mi Casa's interior design retains its typical Spanish style.



Mi Casa

Originally opened as a Mediterranean cuisine restaurant in 2012, Mi Casa is hidden away in a corner of the seventh floor of Takashimaya, the Japanese department store in Gubei area. The restaurant recently switched its focus from European dining to authentic Hunan cuisine, though the interior design of the restaurant retains its typical Spanish style.

Blue and yellow sofas bring to mind the seaside, and the green plants that hang from the ceiling give the air of a European garden.

Mi Casa specializes in Liuyang cuisine, a branch of Hunan cuisine that usually steams rather than stir-fries food. The restaurant uses their secret recipe special sauce, making their dishes aromatic and tasty. Although the restaurant sticks to authentic flavors, guests can also request the level of spiciness they would like.

Add: No.10, 7/F, 1438 Hongqiao Road

Tel: 6233-7062



Posted in: Food, Metro Shanghai

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