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Pure originals

By Yang Yijun (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-17 13:17

Above: Braised fish head with gastrodia tuber and fish lips. Top: Seasonal yellow morels are lovingly braised. Provided to China Daily

As autumn prepares us for the chill and cold, Huaiyang cuisine-a frequent choice for state banquets-is the ideal choice for the discerning gourmet, says Yang Yijun.

Eating out in Shanghai is taking a taste tour through China, where you can sample almost all the regional cuisines ranging from hot and spicy Sichuan to carefully prepared Cantonese slow-cooked tonic soups.

But there is still one major style that seems rare among the city's restaurants. Traditional Huaiyang food, which originates from the cities of Yangzhou, Zhenjiang and Huai'an in Jiangsu province, is among the four most influential regional cuisines in China, together with the Cantonese, Sichuan and Shandong schools.

Because of its strict adherence to the original taste of quality ingredients, its delicacy and skillful presentation, Huaiyang cuisine has been a favorite choice for state banquets.

Now, there is one more dining venue to enjoy Huaiyang dishes in Shanghai. The familiar Jade Garden restaurant is now joined by its sister brand, the Jade Mansion, which will present authentic Huaiyang cuisine right in the city's new landmark - Shanghai IFC in Lujiazui area.

The restaurant is just like a private club, where partitions and screens around most tables allow diners the privacy to enjoy a meal undisturbed. And before dinner, the cigar bar at the entrance adds another touch of luxury.

True to its roots, Huaiyang cuisine at Jade Mansion has no lack of precious ingredients, including wild ginseng, bird's nest and the amazing caterpillar fungus known as cordyceps.

The best times to pamper yourself with the nutritious and subtly prepared dishes are in autumn and winter, which the Chinese believe is the best time to nourish the body with tonic foods.

Unlike most Chinese restaurants which use meat for stock, Jade Mansion uses seafood and fish for the stock used in its dishes.

Besides tasting good, this means there is a lot less fat and cholesterol in the meal.

While Hunan restaurants smother their fish heads in a searing concoction of pickled chilies, the braised fish head at the Jade Mansion is both a thing of beauty and good taste. Cooked with tianma (gastrodia tuber) and gelatinous fish lips, this is a dish where the star ingredient swims in a milky white fish broth surrounded by bits of pink ham and green vegetables.

But the real surprise comes when you dip your chopsticks into the bowl: The fish head is actually deboned, but its shape is artfully preserved with not a single bone left to distract the diner from the pleasure of the dish.

This is the essence of Huaiyang cuisine - where infinitely patient preparation in the kitchen translates to gastronomic delight at table.

Tianma, the gastrodia tuber, is a herbal root widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. It is known to calm the liver and relieve headache and hypertension.

Another specialty of Jade Mansion is the seasonal yellow morels or Morchella esculenta.

This precious mushroom is so intensely flavored that it rivals the taste of meat and fish, especially when it is lovingly cooked by Huaiyang chefs, who stew it with fresh shrimp meat, pork and broccoli.

In the best spirit of Huaiyang cuisine, the chefs coax maximum flavors out of top quality ingredients and no monosodium glutamate or other flavor enhancers are ever used in the classic dishes.

Of course, quality comes at a price, and you can expect to pay a little more than 400 yuan per person for a good dinner at Jade Mansion.