日韩精品久久一区二区三区_亚洲色图p_亚洲综合在线最大成人_国产中出在线观看_日韩免费_亚洲综合在线一区

Food with good karma

Updated: 2013-07-07 08:35

By Pauline D. Loh(China Daily)

  Print Mail Large Medium  Small

 Food with good karma

Savory platter with the "salmon", which is the only noticeable attempt by Jen Dow to mimic meat. Photos by Cang Lide / China Daily

Just across the old sin palace of the Paramount nightclub, and leaning against the side of the Jing'an Temple is a quiet vegetarian haven. Pauline D. Loh samples a meatless spread of green delights.

Shanghai in summer is humid and hot. Halfway through a tour of the city's historic but elegant Jing'an district, we felt the need to get out of the searing sun and find a refuge where we can sit and chill, preferably with a cup of tea.

The options were many, but our eyes are drawn to the muted wood facade of Jen Dow Vegetarian restaurant. Upon investigation, it turned out that there were several restaurants in the building, all under the Jen Dow banner.

Downstairs, there was a queue at the fast food outlet, and no seats to be had. The second floor is a "western" vegetarian restaurant but as the lift door opened, we saw a bistro setting and no diners, so we continued up.

Third floor is where the vegetarian buffet is served. We thought that was unique enough and it sounded absolutely interesting.

The ambience was cool, and our request for ice with our tea was smilingly met - always a good sign in China where ice is still a rare commodity at neighborhood restaurants.

But of course, Jing'an is not your usual neighborhood. It has the temple, it has the old residences of two famous Shanghai women - author Eileen Chang and actress Ruan Lingyu, and even late chairman Mao Zedong stayed around the corner while first mooting his plans for revolution.

It's also seen some saucy action in the past, and Shanghai gangs, their lovely molls and elegant songstresses in qipao were all regulars at the Paramount nightclub just across the road from Jen Dow.

Jen Dow Vegetarian is originally from Taiwan, according to the signboards, and it does explain the fondness for green tea or matcha in its desserts.

Did I start with desserts first? Well, it was hot, and the little sundae glass was filled with well-chilled green tea mousse buried underneath Nata de coco cubes and a generous topping of candied red beans. Very satisfying. And cool, and that's the beauty of eating buffet-style.

Nearest our table was the savory snacks bar, with a steamer next to it filled with stacks of chawanmushi and truffle tea in pots. The cup custards were delicious, scented with mushrooms and studded with gingko nuts. Didn't miss the meat at all.

Truffle tea is a new one, although with Chinese truffles now widely available, it was not a surprising item on the menu. The tea was light, with a couple of slices of truffles floating in the pot and served as a nice appetizer.

The soup counter offered cream of mushroom soup and Russian borsch, both pretty well flavored considering the mandatory absence of meat.

The spouse decided to have three bowls of borsch, but it was the hot buffet that impressed me with its colorful skewers of vegetables and tofu for hotpot, and a seemingly endless row of stir-fried vegetables including white asparagus, bamboo shoots, burdock, and all sorts of melon.

A Taiwan favorite, the silky gourd, took pride of place at this counter, simply stir-fried and still retaining its refreshing green sheen.

All the dishes were well presented with nothing of the pile-up in warmer dishes that characterizes most Chinese buffets. Jen Dow's buffet chefs take pride in their creations, and they show them off nicely on the buffet line, carefully garnished.

Husband came back with a selection of "cold meats" and I was very amused to see what, at first glance, looked like slices of salmon toro. On closer examination and at first taste, these prettily streaked slices were unmistakably konnyaku, the vegetable gelatin distilled from a root vegetable.

I must add that the "salmon" was the only noticeable attempt by Jen Dow to mimic meat, another fault of a lot of vegetarian restaurants.

Instead of stocking up on "mock" duck, fish or chicken made from gluten and other unmentionable additives, Jen Dow has the good karma to present vegetables as they are - powerfully adaptable ingredients that make some delicious dishes, with no need for artifice.

There was really too much to eat, and by the time the buffet ended, we were sort of staggering again, but happily so. We had gotten ourselves a good meal, a good respite and were recharged and energized to explore more of Jing'an.

And because we ate vegetarian, we were also feeling pretty virtuous. For a while, at least.

Contact the writer at [email protected].

Food with good karma

(China Daily 07/07/2013 page14)

主站蜘蛛池模板: 日本啊v在线观看 | 精品国内视频 | 久色乳综合思思在线视频 | av免费不卡国产观看 | 182tv在线观看国产路线一 | 黄色免费av | 爱爱综合网 | 亚洲日本中文字幕天天更新 | 国产精品自线在线播放 | 国产成人影院 | 欧美日韩一区二区视频在线观看 | 亚洲国产精品成人 | 免费网站看av片 | 日本一区二区三区免费观看 | 久久精品国产久精国产 | jiucao在线观看精品 | 999精品视频 | 欧美色综合网 | 波多久久夜色精品国产 | 小明永久2015www永久免费观看 | 91免费在线 | 排球少年第五季樱花动漫免费观看 | 一级特色黄大片 | 夜本色 | 狼伊千合综网中文 | 污污美女 | 亚洲午夜精品一区二区三区他趣 | 9999网站 | 九色传媒 | 欧美性a视频 | 爽妇网国产精品 | 99久久精品国产一区二区三区 | 午夜爽爽性刺激一区二区视频 | 国产精品99久久久久久www | 小明台湾www永久视频 | 99热这里有免费国内精品 | 日韩亚洲一区中文字幕在线 | 精品无人区乱码一区二区三区手机 | 欧美青青| 一区二区久久 | 成年网站在线播放 |