Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Taste of Shanghai - Ashfield

I first went to Taste of Shanghai during the first 2 weeks it was opened. I thought the food was ok, but still preferred Shanghai Nights. Since then, we haven't been back. But we have noticed that they get more and more packed every time we walk past, and seeing all the different reviews on the net, I thought we should go back for another visit.

We arrived early, around 11:30am and all the tables were already full. Luckily, we only had to wait about 15mins to get a table. Their menu is quite extensive and offer a lot more main meals than the other Shanghainese restaurants around Ashfield. But being lunch time, we wanted more dumplings and noodles than a whole fish etc.

Pan fried pork buns

My must have at any Shanghainese restaurant is their Pan fried pork buns. Soft and fluffy on top, crispy crunchy bottom and a juicy, soupy filling. The Taste of Shanghai version isn't bad. Its crispy and fluffy and juicy and soupy. BUT, I find the juice/soup a bit too rich for my liking. Most places have a lovely clear, sweet, golden pork broth in the buns. Their version is actually a deep brown cloudy broth, as if they've put too much soya sauce and other seasoning in it. I also found it much fattier than the other places. Apparently the owners also own the butcher shop across the road with the same Chinese name, so we suspect they might also be using different cuts of meat from other places.

Steamed pork buns

The steamed pork buns suffered the same fate as the pan fried version. Too fatty and just not delicate enough in flavour. They were however, made really well.

Dried scallop fried rice

I loved the fact that its served in a wooden bucket like thing. The fried rice was quite tasty with a small mound of fried dried scallops on top. However, I found the rice really REALLY oily. When we got to the bottom, there was a pool of oil. Easily 2-3 tablespoon full, swimming in the bottom. I actually felt really greased up and ill after eating all of it.

Overall, the food is nice, but I find the food too oily for my liking and will probably be sticking to my other favourites for noodles, rice and dumplings. With that said, I do like the look of all the main meals that were served around us and will probably be coming back to try those dishes out.

Taste of Shanghai
264 Liverpool Road
Ashfield, NSW, 2131
Ph: (02) 9798 2877


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3 comments:

SK said...

Great looking pan fried pork buns!

SoRMuiJAi said...

It was cooked really well! Its just a shame I didn't like the filling that much.

SK said...

That's a shame the filling let down the dish.