Every year as soon as the weather is warm, I begin to crave crayfish, from the earliest Shouning Road street to the later Wang Baohe Hotel, but in the past two years, I have eaten a lot less, nothing more than many chain stores have become prefabricated dishes, with ready-made frozen shrimp processed into various flavors, no longer interested.
But there is an exception, two years ago I stumbled upon the love of lobster, the boss's hometown of northern Jiangsu, contracted a shrimp pond, farmed crayfish live every day to Shanghai, now burned, the only disadvantage of their home is that the location is too partial, open in the distant Jinqiao.
Thinking that there are many people who can eat more flavors, I casually asked my rice partner: Are crayfish interested? They are usually friends who eat Jingxuan and Jingxihui, but I didn't expect that when I heard it, they all came excitedly, one is an old Jing'an person, who has never been to Pudong so far, and when I meet him, I ask what kind of alluvial plain is here? The other was still in Shenzhen that day, and the plane landed at half past five and rushed from Hongqiao Airport, across most of Shanghai, just in time for dinner.
I haven't been here for a long time, I didn't expect the business in the store to be surprisingly hot, the proprietress also expanded the territory, rented the chess and card room on the second floor next door, the decoration is more refreshing, and the private room has been added, as if it has become a big hotel.
So I started the first crayfish meal of the year so happily, the drunken crayfish came first, and the store pickled it with rice wine and plums, a sweet Mimi opening.
Chilled lobster king is specially taken care of the store left, it is said that six or seven hundred pounds of shrimp can pick out a catty, not necessarily every day, as soon as it comes out to sell out, each is a female shrimp, the tongs are small, the head is oversized, majestic.
The king shrimp is heavy in his hand, peel off the brain shell and suck the brain pulp first, and then eat the body, elastic and strong, and the mustard soy sauce next to it does not need to be dipped in it, and the original taste of shrimp is pure.
Crayfish with garlic is the classic taste in the store, garlic is slowly stirred in rapeseed oil, sweet and soft, not pungent at all, unique aroma, a large amount of cooked garlic is sprinkled on the shrimp, and the garlic flavor sticky on the surface of the shell is very delicious when eating meat.
Thirteen spice flavor is my favorite, in the early years, I also made a special trip to Xuyi to eat, here is more in line with the taste of Shanghainese, the taste of Chinese herbal medicine is not heavy, spicy and slightly sweet, cloudy sauce with unpredictable spice particles, wrapped in lettuce and rice cakes are also delicious.
Transition a few side dishes between crayfish, cold salad and dried fragrant looks ordinary, but especially the sesame oil from the hometown of northern Jiangsu is used, and there is a simple fragrance when mixed up, and it is almost instantaneous.
The restaurant also serves barbecue, oysters and lamb skewers are also good, and the oysters in the north are huge, which is an interesting contrast to crayfish.
I didn't expect there to be a duck head, first marinated into the flavor, and then put it in a dry pot to burn, the outside is charred and the inside is tender, and all kinds of small head soft tissues are pulled out from the braincase, I regret not bringing a bottle of wine to accompany the dish.
This year's new flavor, also tasted with interest, Guijie crayfish seems to imitate the taste of Beijing crayfish resort, put a lot of red peppers, I haven't been to Guijie for many years to eat, I don't know if it's authentic, but spicy and spicy is always right.
There is also a secret system named Internet celebrity, the proprietress laughed and said that the name was taken blindly, and a salty and sweet sauce was mixed with a thick sauce, with peppercorns, onions, and sesame seeds, which is a pleasing taste, and the surprise also caught a small twist flower, which tastes so cute.
In retrospect, this was almost the most relaxing night I had in recent times, not Fine Dining, nor Food and Wine Pairing, my mind didn't have to remember the ingredients, cooking, and taste, just peeling the shrimp by hand, there was a pure happiness that I hadn't seen for a long time.
After all, after eating this meal, they have to go to the rest of the world, some go to Tokyo to eat Asia's best restaurant, some go to Ireland to explore whiskey, and some fly to Milan to drive Dolomites...... Perhaps, when we reach the peak of perfect food and wine, we can make another appointment for a crayfish meal and talk about our experiences.