The idea for the Sichuan Huayuan Restaurant came to MBA-educated owner, Zeng Minghua, during a past internship. The restaurant provides diners with a European ambiance with some Chinese touches
As a fancier of Sichuan cuisine - although she herself is not a Sichuanese - she decided to open a restaurant to serve her favorite dishes in Xujiahui.
The internal decor of the establishment has been designed in western style.
"Sichuan restaurants always give the impression of being noisy, crowded and vulgar. I hoped to change the stereotype and to introduce new-style Sichuan dishes to the locals," Zeng said.
The only loud thing about this place may be its logo "Fu", meaning good fortune, which is displayed in a large picture of 100 Chinese characters hanging on the wall.
Although Sichuan cuisine has enjoyed a popular reputation all over China, it lacks exquisite dishes. Peppery has almost become the adjective of the region's culinary art.
In fact, only 20 percent of Sichuan cuisine is spicy. Most people are unaware of this fact.
The first dish we were served was very impressive.
I was puzzled about how to eat the long and large segment of pig's bone positioned in the middle of the plate in front of me with a straw stretching into it.
A waitress told me to just suck the marrow from the bone.
The marrow - savory, silky and bland - is believed to contain enriched calcium, which is also good for women's skin and for men's energy in folk customs.
The tendon on the bone was delicious and chewy, having been stewed in a tasty sauce.
The restaurant gives every customer plastic gloves to gnaw the bone.
Chef Liao, who came from a famous restaurant in Sichuan, has a signature dish called yuan long nuo mi gu - ribs covered by glutinous rice steamed in a round bamboo steamer.
A piece of lotus leaf placed at the bottom of the container adds a light fragrance to the sticky rice, while the diced ribs, which had been stewed with soybean oil, were delicate and spicy.
Tile jar soup is another specialty. The most expensive soup is priced at 360 yuan (US$43), which, as the chef indicated, includes very precious ingredients, such as penis of cow, deer and sheep and other herbs, that is believed to improve men's sexual prowess.
The chef swore that he did not add gourmet powder to the soup when we asked how he maintained such tasty flavors after stewing the dish on a fire for at least four hours.
Classic Sichuan food can be found in the restaurant with dishes such as shui zhu yu pian - sliced fish steamed in peppery sauce.
The table of sumptuous dishes was nice, but it didn't leave me with a lasting impression, although the decorations and view of the nearby area were satisfying.
A gourmet who accompanied me said the key to the restaurant's success lay in its ability to maintain high cooking and service standards and combine Sichuan culinary arts with local cuisine to win over more Shanghai customers.
(Shanghai Star January 4, 2002)
