CITY GUIDE >Food Reviews
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CITY GUIDE >Food Reviews
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For a noble experience
By Christina Traugott (bestfoodinchina.net)
Updated: 2008-11-12 09:59
 Surrounded by the brightly lit skyscrapers that mark Lujiazui's ever-evolving skyline, Noble House's Pudong branch provides visitors with a chance to dine in a classically Shanghainese space more commonly found in restaurants across the river in Puxi. Built in 1885, the building's nostalgic architecture combines elements of Shanghai Shikumens and European villas. The lobby is full of fresh flowers and tasteful, classic décor. Outside, delicate bamboo trees lining the parking lot provide an aesthetic barrier to the hectic city streets lying just outside its gates. Plenty of shiny black cars in the lot reinforce the restaurant’s impression of exclusivity. In terms of food, Noble House consistently offers some of the most delicate and delicious Shanghainese and Cantonese cuisine this city has to offer. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that a chain of restaurants started by two former wholesale seafood distributors excels in serving superior quality and abundantly fresh seafood. For starters, the restaurant's signature “Superior braised shark's fin soup with crab meat and roe” is chock full of succulent crab pieces in a distinctively flavorful, perfectly creamy broth. Shark's fin soup is considered a status dish, used to show the host's generosity and wealth and thus an integral part of fancy Chinese meals from business dinners to wedding banquets. The fin is believed to be highly nutritious and beautifying, possibly anti-carcinogenic, and a natural supplement to improve virility. Thus, beyond tasting delicious, Noble's soup is supposed to fill a unique role, and that it does. The soup is presented beautifully in individual bowls sitting in elegant stands atop mini burners so the soup maintains a perfect temperature for each sip and diners may elegantly enjoy their soup without bending down too far. For main dishes, you can rely on the chefs at Noble to use only the freshest and cleanest ingredients. In particular, the restaurant prides itself on its crab processing, investing in treatments to ensure that their crabs meet both US and EU standards for food sanitation. Catering to the health conscious market, chefs use olive oil instead of lard and abstain from using the all-too-often omnipresent monosodium glutamate (MSG). Besides the various crab dishes, consider the “Superior baked cod fish” for a meal sure to please guests of most cultural backgrounds. Lightly glazed and cooked to perfection, the cod is served atop a flaky pastry, resulting in a savory and sweet combination. The quality of the fish is obvious; it's firm yet flaky and not in the least bit fishy tasting. Another staple should be the lightly stir-fried bean leaf top vegetable. The crisp leaves provide a delectable complement to the wide variety of seafood dishes on the menu. For the more adventurous, Noble House also offers a full range of Chinese delicacies from abalone to bird’s nest, braised sea cucumber and pan-fried goose liver. The prices at Noble House are certainly not cheap, but the quality is rarely matched. Dishes are consistently elegant in presentation and excellent in taste. Reserve one of the 13 private dining rooms for a business meal or large group gathering and expect to be impressed and to impress. Noble House
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