Eel-gotten wealth
December 11, 2002 | 12:00am
After two trips to Shanghai within a month’s period, I thought I’ve had enough of Shanghainese food, realizing only too well I probably couldn’t survive another round of greasy and sweet cuisine, at least not for a long, long time to come. But, just as I got back from the second trip, Mary Ann and I got an invitation from our long-time friends Ely and Cecile Aurelio (remember Miyako eat-all-you-can tempura back in the ’70s, San Francisco Steak House and Tom Sawyer?) to try this new Chinese restaurant somewhere in Malate. Of course, how could we say no to friends, especially if the invite was made with a promise of a foot spa treat after lunch?
During the five days of our first trip to Shanghai, I made it a point to order the crispy eel at every establishment we visited. By all indications, it was quite a famous Shanghainese dish, probably next only to Lion’s Head (ground pork balls cooked in hot pot) in popularity. I wanted to see how it compares to the way eel is done back home. You see, eel is one of my all-time favorite foods, whether the Japanese unagi or the Chinese, either steamed with tausi or deep-fried with salt and pepper. It is the latter which is what I imagined the crispy eel would be.
But each time, we somehow got the wrong dish (due to communication gap), or at least, something not to my liking. The crispy eel (fresh water variety, smaller than what we have locally) is actually a misnomer. It’s filleted and deep-fried all right, but then it undergoes a second cooking, this time stir-fried and coated with a syrupy deep-red sweet chili sauce (much like sweet and sour pork). What we invariably got was one that was swimming, or rather, drowning in that sauce. It was just too overwhelming. Nakakauyam! And once, we were served a raw and salted dish, prepared Nimpo-style, that took some risk ordering but was well worth the discovery nonetheless.
On our last dinner, where our Chinese guide was present (at long last!), I explained to her how I wanted the eel cooked, relaying the instructions to the chef. Finally, our paths would cross, I told myself. I rubbed my hands together while waiting for it, drooling in anticipation. To my great disappointment, it turned out to be the same syrupy dish. I wanted to fry the cook myself (demoted na!), not to mention our guide. Mary Ann tried to pacify me, saying it was probably the only way they knew how to cook it. When in Shanghai, eat as the Shanghainese do. No eel feelings, she said. And so I went home a bit disappointed over not having had my crispy eel. It was eel-fated from the start.
On our lunch date with the Aurelios, Mary Ann and I arrived a little early at China City, located at the third floor of the Adriatico Square at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Malate. This gave us ample time to check the place out and its surroundings. Right across the street is a Taoist temple, which one could view from the restaurant’s floor-to-ceiling windows, giving a feeling of being right in the heart of Chinatown, but without its attendant congestion, dust, estero stench, and most of all, hard-to-find parking space. The place is rather spacious, well-lighted, and pretty quiet even when the lunch crowd comes in. It is not the usual Chinese restaurant we are used to in Manila.
Ely and Cecile came together with the actual host of our lunch, Maribi Garcia, one of the partners in this new venture. She and her Chinese partners acquired the right to manage this restaurant during the early part of the year. It was previously known as China House, and they renamed it China City (but not to be confused with the 1980s China City in Mile Long, Makati). They have three Chinese chefs: Lam Tin Fai, 43, from Hong Kong; Henry Wang, 30, from Hangzhou (West Lake) near Shanghai; and Simon Zhu, 24, who does the dim sum and desserts, also from Hangzhou.
A few minutes after we sat down, a small dish of dried shredded beancurd with wansuy (cilantro) appeared on our table. Mary Ann looked me in the eye, as if to alert me that something good was about to happen. This has been a too familiar dish for me, having had it many times in Shanghai, and it has become a favorite appetizer (and a healthy one at that) ever since.
As it turns out, China City specializes in Shanghainese cuisine, although it also serves Cantonese dim sum during lunch, and has some 14 vegetarian dishes in its menu. Having left the ordering to our gracious host Maribi, we had no inkling as to what dishes would follow next, or little did I suspect that China City specializes in Shanghainese cuisine. I didn’t know such a restaurant existed in the metropolis, as most serve Cantonese or Hong Kong cuisine, the kind of Chinese food most Pinoys are accustomed to.
Then came the Nanking salted duck, another famous Shanghai dish, usually served as an appetizer (or used as a topping on steamed rice together with Chinese sausages). After that, as if our host had read my mind, I was delightfully surprised when the elusive crispy eel appeared.
Just one look at it and I knew right away it was done right. The thin pieces of eel fillets were dusted lightly with flour, fried to crispy perfection, and thinly coated with a light sweet chili sauce. They were still hot and crispy to the bite as we had them. I could have ended my meal right that moment, having the whole dish for myself. Of course, social etiquette dictates I should leave some for the others and go through the rest of the meal.
What followed next was not the usual lineup of dishes most Filipinos are familiar with: A refreshingly light creamy squash-seafood soup; a platter of very crisp Hong Kong style deep-fried prawns, so crisp one could eat everything from head to skin and all, served with a spiced vinegar dip; curried beef ribs, ever so tender and mildly flavored with three kinds of curries, we were told; another curry dish of fatty crabs, this time it’s Mary Ann’s turn to drool over, crab being her fave; and lastly, the Emperor’s fried rice served in a bowl made of fried mashed taro.
Finally, dessert came in the form of a platter of toffee apple fritters. One dips the hot, chewy caramelized apples in a large bowl of iced water, magically transforming it into a deliciously cold crunchy treat. Again, most of us are familiar with a similar dessert of saging saba (which I find rather heavy and filling), served in most Chinese restaurants. The apple version at China City is a refreshingly light one, as with the rest of its offerings. At long last, I’ve found the authentic Shanghainese cuisine right here in Manila.
After lunch, as promised by the Aurelios, we walked two floors up Adriatico Square to the Regent Foot Spa. In all my years eating out, I’ve always wondered why nobody has come up with the idea of having a restaurant and siesta lounge side by side, more so especially after having a sumptuous Chinese lunch. Well, why not? If the Honkies (local Hong Kong people) have their mahjong tables set up after lunch, I don’t see why not a cot bed or a reclining chair even just for a snooze.
So far, it’s just been my lucky day. Having plenty of time to kill before our next appointment that same evening (and dreading the thought of driving myself), the one-hour foot reflexology was a welcome treat. The air-conditioned rooms come appointed with wide reclining chairs (much like oversized first- class seats on airplanes) for groups of twos, threes, and even a whole barkada of seven. The whole idea is to have quality time with loved ones, taking care of those tired feet, or just simply pampering oneself.
Mary Ann and I came out of the spa fully recharged, ready to face again the concrete jungle that is Metro Manila. It was an afternoon well spent.
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