Adventures in Shanghai - Part 3
Walking around Shanghai one evening we came across a place that was grilling lamb kebabs over a charcoal fire. We looked up at the shop frontage to see the shop name appearing in Arabic script next to the picture of a mosque. The music that wafted towards us along with the smoke was definitely Arabic although the workers looked just like extremely fair Chinese. Following some research, I realised that there is actually quite a rich Islamic heritage within Chinese history.
Towards the evening, long queues snaked across the street waiting for the lamb kebabs to come off the grill. Not wanting to wait, we just picked up some interesting-looking bread. The dough is mixed with pieces of lamb (chewy for the most part) and fat and baked into a fragrant flat loaf with a crusty exterior.
Next to the bread is an egg custard tart from Lilian Bakery, a franchise that has several branches scattered around the city. A connoiseur of egg custard tarts, A has decided that this is best one we have had so far and I am inclined to agree. The custard, which is wobbly and just eggy enough to lure me but not put A. off, is held together by a flaky pastry shell. Utterly divine!
Somewhere between a roti and a naan, this sesame seed-coated bread is fried in a large flat pan which gives it a crispy shell. We had a great version the first time then had a lot of trouble finding elsewhere. The second one turned out to be too soft and mushy to be enjoyable.
This is a Chinese delicatessen! Every second shop in Shanghai seemed to sell a variety of preserved and dried foods, biscuits and sweets, as well as herbal ingredients. Most of the preserved meat were vacuum packed in foil wrappers, making it difficult for non-Chinese reading people like us to determine what each contained - feet, chicken wings or tongue, just to name a few. This shop made it somewhat easier although I can’t imagine buying that porcine face mask. It reminds me rather creepily of Hannibal - eeeuughhh.
Adventures in Shanghai - Part 1
Adventures in Shanghai - Part 2
Images of Shanghai
April 13th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
That pig’s face is hilarious. I want one!
April 18th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
That pigs face gives me the willys eeeeeek!
April 19th, 2007 at 2:17 am
Well, that “egg custard tarts” it’s a portuguese cake!!!! Did chineses steal our recipe??? (disclaimer: I’m Portuguese!)
April 19th, 2007 at 8:52 am
Ed: Maybe I could have smuggled one past customs
Amelita: Me too! I grossed myself out thinking about the Hannibal movie.
Monica: Whenever I travel, I’m struck by how much overlap there is in the types of food that we all eat. In China, you can see pastries that look just like the baklava they make in the Middle East.
May 23rd, 2007 at 10:44 pm
Lilian Egg tart is my favorite!!
It is from Macau.
Their advertisement is ‘Lilian egg tart is PROBABALY the best egg tart in Shanghai’..hehe
May 23rd, 2007 at 10:47 pm
Lilian egg tart is my favorite!!
It is from Macau.
Its advertisement is:’Lilian egg tart is PROBABLY the best egg tart in Shanghai’..hehe
June 12th, 2007 at 11:38 am
There is a divine restaurant that sells the lamb on charcoal with the Arabic influence. Beware for it is VERY addictive! They also make their noodles by hand and i tell you this makes such a difference in taste, texture and the whole noodle eating experience! They make all other noodles seem,well…not so great. They also make their own dumplings with their handmade dumpling wrappers…again will put others to shame. They also have THE BEST pig ear salad (sliced so thinly)
My recommendations:
Handmade fried noodles with lamb
Lamb skewers cooked on charcoal
Pork fried dumplings
Pig ear salad
and the only tofu dish on the menu.
1+1 Dumpling Noodles,
84 Hopkins St. Footscray.
Open 7 days 11.am-10.pm.
Ph: 96878988
Price: All under $20.
June 12th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
I was looking for somewhere cheap to eat tonight and might just try 1+1
June 14th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
[…] where I hadn’t been before. Ping from an RSS feed on a comment thread at Cin’s A Few of My Favourite Things comes through from Marina: “There is a divine restaurant that sells the lamb on charcoal […]