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Sheraton's Shanghai Club's menu showcases the cuisines of different Chinese provinces
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I could write an ecstatic poem on the complexity and diversity of Chinese food. I could devote a whole book on its regional specialties, which are as varied as in India. And yet, when most of us think Chinese, we think simply noodles and sweet and sour and the like. More often than not, it is also restricted to the Schezwan province's fiery chilli hot food. Happily, Chinese food is much more and Chola Sheraton's Shanghai Club in Chennai showcases many a province on its menu.The restaurant is aptly named after Shanghai (the bustling city on the banks of the river Huangpu was a congregation of diverse Chinese cultures and foreign nationals, every one of whom left a remarkable stamp on the vibrant Shanghai of today).
And equally vibrant is the so-called Shanghai style cuisine, touched by the taste of Beijing, Yangzhou, Guangdong and Sichuan, Wuxi, Ningbo and Hang Zhou provinces. Shanghai, then, is an ideal "gourmet kingdom". And presiding over Chennai's Shanghai is the talented Chef Wang from China.
You can take your pick: go for a romantic candlelight dinner; book the private dining rooms for a cosy party. I chose to not only get a taste of the super regional cuisines but also chat with the chef. Ever since the restaurant was set up seven years ago, there has always been a Chinese chef at its helm. Originally from Beijing, Chef Wang takes care to incorporate dishes from different provinces. I love the succulent lamb in oyster sauce from the Shandong region, which is brilliantly paired with broccoli. Equally interesting is the stir-fried sliced chicken and Broccoli tossed in Chef's special XO sauce from Shanghai. Tender asparagus tips and sliced mushroom tossed in ginger sauce, a specialty from the Sichuan region, is delightfully spicy. You must try the Chinese grouper with garlic sauce from the Guangdong too.
However, it is the Guangdong's stir fried snow peas and red pepper that I enjoy the most and so I request him to share the recipe with all of us. Now that I am back in Mumbai, I am busy cooking up a taste of Shanghai in my kitchen and you can too. It's simple, swift and tasty.
Ingredients
Snow peas - 100 gm
Sliced garlic - 10 gm
Red bell pepper - 30 gm
Salt - to taste
Pepper - 5 gm
Corn flour slurry - 10 ml
Oil - 10 ml
Vegetable stock - 20 ml
Method
Heat oil in the wok. Add the sliced garlic, snow peas and peppers (together) and stir-fry. Add little stock to it and bring to a boil. Season. Add the slurry (corn flour mixed with water is called slurry) and thicken. Serve hot.
Readers Recommend
* Shanthi from Saidapet (Old Mambalam) can provide accommodation with food to working girls (only two girls) at Rs. 2500 per month. Ph: 98407 37996.
* Deepa Sridhar from West CIT Nagar can supply sambar, rasam and vegetable curry (without rice) to senior citizens in West CIT Nagar for a minimum order of one. Meals will be delivered by 11 a.m. She will supply only to senior citizens because she prepares bland food at home for her family. Ph: 24354762.
* Sadia Arshad from Ritherdon Road, Vepery, is a homemaker-turned-entrepreneur, who has started a catering service called "Sadia's little kitchen". She undertakes orders for starters (lemon chicken, tandoori chicken, chicken lollipops), snacks (burgers, vadas, bondas, cutlets) and desserts (pineapple mousse, chocolate mousse, chocolate cream crunch, orange fluff, Spanish cream) for a minimum of five persons. Home delivery services only in Vepery. Ph: 42662004 and 98413 36002.
* Gayathri Raman would like to recommend Hema in Chitra Avenue (on Choolaimedu High Road, behind Loyola College and the Nungambakkam railway station) for her traditional paruppu podi, idli milagai podi, bisibelabath podi, dhaniya podi, kuzhambu podi and Mysore rasam podi. Her pickle preparations such as aavakkai, ennai naarthangaai, uppu naarthangaai, maagaali and mor milagai are also excellent. Ph: 23744735.
Queries
* Madhu would like to know if someone could supply breakfast, lunch and dinner (veg) to her parents who are heart patients and diabetics. They want the food to be less oily and less spicy. They live in Saligramam. Ph: 94444 15403.
* Salahuddin from Alandur (near the EB office) wants veg or non-veg food for two diabetic persons everyday. Ph: 98404 99193.
* Sudha Senthil (sudha_ayur@yahoo.com) would like to know the contact details of people who run home-catering services (supplying meals or tiffin) in and around T. Nagar.
Queries Answered
* Sreeja and her four colleagues were looking for homemade, south Indian, veg lunch with minimal oil to be delivered to their office in T. Nagar on a daily basis. They can call Sakuntala Caterers from K.K. Nagar, who supplies meals for Rs.25 each (including delivery charges). Ph: 32968547. They can also contact Indira Sekhar from Rangarajapuram, Kodambakkam at 24842561 or Narayan Mohan from Anna Nagar at 64528357 or 92834 92813.
Dial 32511133 or e-mail allmypets@sify.com or mail us at Good Food Line, Metro Plus, The Hindu, Kasturi Buildings, 859/860, Anna Salai, Chennai - 600002.
RASHMI UDAY SINGH
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