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cityweekend

Better Than the Fu Manchu

Fair warning: This restaurant requires a minimum spending of YY300 per head. As we were led down the grand halls of the refurbished villa, we entered our private dining room decked out in pieces gathered from the past--old wooden doors, old tiles, cherry wood chairs--thoughtfully placed to add that traditional Shanghai flair. Our appetizer of a lao Shanghai combination dish of marinated pork, duck and dried scallop in soy sauce (YY68 for half portion) was a tad on the salty side, but the duck was tender and delicious. The menu included mostly traditional Shanghainese dishes, but with that said, the highlight of the evening came in the form of the deep fried prawn with wasabi mayonnaise (YY158)--the large prawns came perfectly fried, the wasabi provided just the right punch. The braised pork rib with sweet and sour sauce (YY58) was tangy and the deep fried boneless duck with taro (YY68) melted in our mouths. While not for everyone, we topped off our already impressive meal with a decadent braised shark's fin with fish maw (YY220 per person), which was full in flavor and generous in its delicacy. Wrapping it all up were flaky turnip pastries (YY20) and a date pancake (YY28) that was just sweet enough and not at all oily. Service was thoughtful and considerate throughout the evening which made for a lasting impression. As the piano-playing talents of a lovely elderly man serenaded us out the door, we couldn't help but think back to our own meal and wonder about the ones that were enjoyed in this same villa, years past. --E. Tse