Killing franchise monsters one dish at a time

With franchise monsters like Crystal Jade and Din Tai Fung numbing our palates away from gastronomic adventures and weaning us off truly good food, it is nice to see an independent setup working to bring true authenticity back to pique our taste buds.

Ye Shanghai surprises by serving up a wide range of Shanghai, Beijing fare and occasionally crossing to Hong Kong territories with a few bamboo baskets of dim sum, all from the confines of a little kitchen in an already tiny shop front.

Shanghai style fried fish
On the outset, this looked like a very simple plate of deep fried fish until I sank my teeth into it. Fried till crispy on the outside, the flesh of the fish is fluffy, moist and light inside. There was also a pleasant tinge of sweetness that went very well together.

Drunken Chicken
I personally liked Ye Shanghai's offering thanks to the strong wine flavour that permeates the meat. It is a lot more potent compared to Din Tai Fung's limp counterpart that I tend to mistaken as plain steamed chicken.

Fried Rice with Crab Roe
While I could hardly taste the crab roe, Ye Shanghai serves up a mean fried rice that is comparable to Crystal Jade and Din Tai Fung's.

Mango Mochi
With bits of fresh mangoes and light fluffy unsweetened cream in a thin translucent chewy dough skin, Ye Shanghai's mango mochi is provided a Midas' touch to an already satisfying and good valued meal. The natural sweetness from the mangoes was just right without leaving that heavy feeling that you usually get from too much sugar.