Our good friend Arufa visited Shanghai.
One of his favorite dinner was at Family Li Imperial Cuisine (Reikasai
厲家菜) in Huangpu Park (上海灘 黄浦公園).
He sent us his dinner menu and a set of photographs.
10 SMALL DISHES 手碟
Stir-fried
fresh green bean paste with fresh scallops 翡翠豆腐
Deep-fried
bean cake炸咯喳
Sweet and
sour rib糖醋排骨
Stir-fried
mung bean paste with pork 炒麻豆腐
Crisp-fried
prawns wrapped with egg 鼓板大蝦
Beijing
smoked pork 北京熏肉
Boiled
Chinese cabbage with mustard seed 芥末墩
Fried beef
with chili sauce 麻辣牛肉
Deep-fried
duck meat and shrimps paste with sesame 芝蔴鴨子
Mixed
vegetable (Shredded carrot, pickled vegetable, bamboo shoot,
coriander) 炒咸什
6 MAIN DISHES 熱菜
Deep-fried
fresh scallops 青松鮮貝
Braised
abalone in sesame sauce & Julienned braised abalone and cabbage
& Braised abalone soup 麻醬鮑魚 + 鮑魚絲拌白菜 + 鮑魚湯
Steamed
snow frog with egg 清蒸蛤什螞
Fried
grouper with soy sauce 焌油石班魚
Stir-fried
eggplant with soy sauce and minced pork, served with white rice 小炒茄子 + 米飯
Double
boiled “fish lip” thick soup 三絲魚唇湯
3 DESSERT 点心
Baked fresh
milk 宮廷奶方
Walnut
kernel 琥珀桃仁
Fried egg
custard 三不粘
Five small
dishes (Clockwise from top):
· * Deep-fried
bean cake炸咯喳 – A
traditional Beijing snack.
·
* Stir-fried
fresh soy bean paste with fresh
scallops 翡翠豆腐 – Minced
fresh Australian scallop and green soy bean are mixed together and stir-fried; served
with red chili pepper specks.
·
* Sweet
and sour rib糖醋排骨 –
Tender and fat free, sweet and sour without the neon orange red sauce.
* Stir-fried
mung bean paste with pork 炒麻豆腐 – Another Beijing specialty; it is the left over after
separating the “milk” and “juice” from fermented paste of ground mung beans and
water.
·
* Crisp-fried
prawns wrapped with egg 鼓板大蝦 – Flaky crispy egg pancake wrapping around tender prawns.
The second round of small dishes (Clockwise from top):
· *
Boiled Chinese cabbage with mustard seed 芥末墩 – Crisp
Napa cabbage spread with mustard, rolled up into a cylinder and topped with
sesame seeds.
·
* Fried beef with chili sauce 麻辣牛肉
·
* Beijing
smoked pork 北京熏肉 – Pork
belly braised in special broth, colored with natural vegetable juice and slow
smoked with wood of fruit trees.
· * Deep-fried duck meat and shrimps paste with sesame 芝蔴鴨子 – The
white layer between the sesame “skin” and the meat is shrimp, not duck fat.
· * Mixed vegetable炒咸什 – Shredded
carrot, pickled vegetable, bamboo shoot, and coriander.
Deep-fried fresh scallops 青松鮮貝 – Australian scallops in a special
batter, and pickled green vegetables, are both deep fried.
Braised Japanese abalone in sesame sauce, Julienned braised abalone and cabbage, and Braised abalone soup 麻醬鮑魚 + 鮑魚絲拌白菜 + 鮑魚湯
Steamed snow frog with egg 清蒸蛤什螞 – The English name of this dish is
misleading as it contains no frog meat. “Snow
frog” refers to the Fallopian tubes of a kind of frog from Manchuria that
hibernates under frozen ground, lakes and rivers (thus the name). It is a Chinese delicacy with a reputation
for being beneficial to women’s beauty.
Fried grouper with soy sauce 焌油石班魚 – Fish cooked in very hot oil.
Stir-fried eggplant with soy sauce and minced pork, served
with white rice 小炒茄子 + 米飯
Double boiled “fish lip” thick soup三絲魚唇湯
Dessert (Clockwise from top right):
·
* Baked
fresh milk 宮廷奶方 –
Smooth and fragrant sweet and sour yogurt.
·
* Walnut
kernel 琥珀桃仁
· *
Fried
egg custard 三不粘 –
The ingredients are thoroughly mixed and then whipped over 600 times before it
is cooked. The resultant mass does not
stick to the plate, the spoon or the teeth of the diner, thus the Chinese name
of “Three Not Sticks”.
“Petits Fours” 菓品
From Arufa’s
photographs, I can see that the service at Family Li is similar to that at
high-end Chinese restaurants in Japan. To
those expecting a “family style” Chinese meal with large plates of food serving
at the same time, the individual portion size of each dish looks awfully small. I wrote “looks
small” because I think it is a perception issue for people not used to being
served Chinese food in this fashion. You
may see my point if you consider how much food one gets if a dish at a Chinese banquet
is equally divided among the 10 or 12 people at the table. Anyway, with the large number of dishes on
the menu, even just a few bites per dish should keep most diners well fed yet
not uncomfortably stuffed. Of course for
those with the appetite of a sumo wrestler or a growing boy, it would be a
different story.
Most of the
dishes look deceptively simple. One
often does not realize how much work is necessary to deliver those simple
looking dishes. The restaurant claims
that it does not use artificial coloring and flavor enhancement. Instead it relies on careful sourcing of
quality ingredients, careful blending of seasoning and sauces, painstaking
preparation and perfect cooking. However,
delicate and balanced flavors could be interpreted as bland to diners whose
palate has been conditioned to liberal use of MSG or strong flavored sauces and
spices. So I suppose Reikasai is not to the liking of
everybody. Our friend Arufa has a
refined palate. He says that the dishes
at Reikasai were very good and I
accept his verdict.
An obvious
weakness of Reikasai is its
presentation of food. For a restaurant that
charges as much as a Japanese ryotei or
an haute-cuisine restaurant, putting
a slice of meat or a glob of custard on a plate without appropriate garnishes is
lackluster. Plain white plates, bowls
and cups do not help either. It is an area
that not only Reikasai, but also most
Chinese restaurants, can work on.
Reikasai is expensive. As far as value goes, I cannot say since I
have not eaten there. I would like to
taste the food first hand one day to judge on that myself.
NOTE: For the story of Family Li Imperial Cuisine, visit
this link www.theworlds50best.com/a-chat-with-chinas-only-grand-chef-ivan-li-of-family-li-imperial-cuisine/12385/
