Eclectic
Unlimited for a while
let 's have dinner first!
This year's global black swan events continue, and I know how great it is to live a little longer.
July 8, 2020, is the 20th birthday of Shanghai Minghao.
In the 20 years of Shanghai's big waves, it is a strong survivor, and has begun to receive the next generation of old guests, "It is very interesting, they often follow their parents to eat when they are young, and when they grow up, although they will go to other places, their feelings here are still different." ”
If Hong Kong people say which restaurant is tall, they say that it is a "rich canteen", which is also a place where reporters stay and are rich in headline gossip, which cannot avoid high profile.
20 years ago, Shanghai Minghao didn't want too many people to know about them, because their customers preferred places that others couldn't see. Obviously, he lives on the side of the road, but the gate is tortuously hidden in the streets, and there is a Rolls-Royce parked at the door all year round, which is used to pick up and drop off VIPs flying around.
01 It's not Shanghai
The hidden rich canteen
In 2000, it was the second year of the expansion of the college entrance examination, and it was also the last year of buying a house in Shanghai Pudong and sending a blue seal account. 20 years later, when we talk about that year, we know what we missed. That year, the skyline of Lujiazui was very lonely, only the Jin Mao Tower and the Oriental Pearl Tower, and there were broken dock tower cranes along the river.
Everything is changing, and everyone is like a fish in the boiling sea, restless with the pulse of the times.
This kind of restlessness and anxiety has not been alleviated with the expansion of enrollment or the rapid development of science and technology, but has intensified.
Thinking back to that year, there was a bit of elegance and streamer like the Jazz Age.
The site of Shanghai Minghao originally belonged to the vicinity of Jing'an Temple, but it could not be approved for a long time. Mr. Wu, the head of the car, drove along Yan'an West Road and saw a pale yellow four-storey mansion at the intersection of Hongmei Road, which was 10,000 square meters, he stopped the car to take a look, and it was fixed in a short time.
Friends advised him: What to do with it, it should not be Shanghai.
Mr. Wu listened and just smiled.
Later, Shanghai Minghao lived for 20 years and became a story that belonged only to Shanghai.
Even today, Gubei is not a bustling city. However, there were a large number of villa areas and high-end residences, and it was also the residence of many rich people and celebrities in Hong Kong and Taiwan at that time. Shanghai Minghao initially focused on abalone wing belly and large seafood, genuine, the seafood pool on the first floor was opened, and it was extremely important to pay attention to the word "raw". After half a year of opening, it began to make a profit, there was no advertising, word of mouth, tuk tuk leisurely, and slowly became a secret rich canteen.
Politicians, celebrities, businessmen and celebrities often come and go. Veteran employees still remember the former North Shaanxi Road branch of Shanghai Minghao, which unexpectedly welcomed Putin the Great in 2006.
"It was a private invitation, so a team of guards came temporarily to clear the scene, and if it was a state banquet, it would be more complicated." I heard that the guests were from the embassy and liked us very much. All the rooms were sealed, three floors inside and three floors outside, we couldn't go in to deliver food, the security guards handed them in, and some people tried poison. ”
In the past 20 years, Shanghai Minghao has maintained a steady and steady state of tuk tuk and unhurried. Its stores have not been opened much, the Hongmei Road store has been open for 20 years, and the North Shaanxi Road store has also been open for 15 years, because the floor was acquired before it closed at the end of last year. Everything is changing rapidly, but it is like a rock in a torrent, which makes its regular customers feel at ease.
02 Where am I?
Aesthetic classics, details in place, open space, white atmosphere
Almost everyone who comes to Shanghai for the first time must sigh: Where am I? Where am I going?
Shanghai Minghao adopts the top hotel design of Paris with a single door and a courtyard, which is magnificent and elegant, and there is a sense of crossing as soon as the elevator door is opened. Aesthetic classics, details in place, open space, blank atmosphere, even after 20 years of viewing, do not feel outdated. The trend is always changing, the wind blows back and forth, but it seems that this does not affect the Shanghai celebrities, it has its own rhythm, and its focus is not limited to Shanghai, nor is it limited to the present.
At present, There are only 11 private rooms in Shanghai Minghao, all of which are suites, and the dining area, rest area and service area are independent. Brilliant crystal lamps, Lingnan-style carved screens, Guangzhou woven gold colored porcelain, and display cabinets filled with auction-level silverware tableware and Ming and Qing antiques, full of the romantic French style of the Louis XIV era, flashing the streamers of the prosperous scenery of the Ming and Qing dynasties, it is worth watching back and forth.
On the top floor, there is only one largest private room, called "Deer Pavilion", which can accommodate up to 7 tables. I like this lounge area the most, when sitting, there will be bamboo shadows cast on the marble table in front of me, swaying, as if behind the ears. Looking more closely, the bamboo shadow comes from the small bamboo forest of the open-air garden on the top floor - yes, the top floor also has its own open-air garden with a 270-degree view.
Although it focuses on abalone wing belly and raw seafood, but say it is Cantonese cuisine?
Not really. The floor has long known that jiangnan people's taste is soft and sticky, not the crispness of Guangzhou people. Nowadays, all the people who come to eat are Shanghainese, and half of the vernacular speakers can't be found.
But say it's a benmaker?
Not to mention, it has nothing to do with the thick oil and red sauce, and the stove in the back kitchen is stewed with various broth seasonings every day, which is light but not light, thick but not stagnant.
In 2016, Shanghai Minghao, together with the City God Temple and Xinghualou, a long-established brand in Shanghai, got the Shanghai famous brand logo.
"The 'self' thing is invisible, bumping into something else, bouncing back, will understand 'self'." So, colliding with something very strong, something terrible, something of a very high standard, and then knowing what 'self' is, this is the self. ”
—— Yohji Yamamoto
After 20 years of growing in this water and soil, Shanghai Minghao wants to understand: We are new Shanghainese, born in the new era, serving the people of Shanghai for 20 years, can we not do new Shanghai cuisine?
Yes, this is Shanghai.
An international metropolis with a wide range of rivers and rivers, all kinds of undercurrents are stirring into waves here. Whether it is Cantonese cuisine with raw seafood, french cuisine with deep roots or modern cuisine full of technology, they are constantly breathing new life into Shanghai cuisine, and the catering system using chopsticks and knives and forks converges here.
As early as the Republic of China period, the eater Tang Lusun said: "Food is in Shanghai".
03 Time is creation
Eclectic and timeless
Almost every dish of Shanghai Minghao has its origin and exquisiteness. The thick recipe describes the mental journey of Shanghai's famous heroes in the past 20 years, its comings and goings and its willingness.
Frozen foie gras combines the clarity of Gangnam bad brine with the richness of French foie gras
Frozen foie gras, created at the beginning of the store, combines the clarity of Gangnam bad brine with the richness of French foie gras, and still exudes an irresistible charm today. The crispy fried heart soft foie gras created at the same time has been loved by people for 20 years.
Crispy fried heart soft foie gras
Pan-fried Foie Gras (created in 2000)
Classic French food, the fire grasp requirements are extremely high, in order to be crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.
Simmered sydney in red wine adds a complex taste and blends with French foie gras in a rich layer.
Created in 2005, Snow Shadow Caviar is still a prelude to the feast, and this year's newly created lychee sea urchin exudes the sweetness of summer.
Caviar Caviar (created in 2005)
This dish is based on "sai crab" and sets off the saltiness of caviar.
A spoonful of egg white foam, decorated with a star-dotted crisp lobster brain Titian, looks like gold leaf at first glance, and looks like osmanthus flowers.
The finale, garlic and vanilla king crab, is the result of 2003, and the flexible use and adaptation of herbs, sauces and ingredients from all over the world is easy to use, as if opening up the two veins of the Chinese and Western regions.
Garlic vanilla gel king crab
Ze King Crab with Herb & Garlic（2003年创制）
The rich aroma of minced garlic and thyme, with the sound of the gelling, is both Cantonese and French. The crab meat tastes fresh and sweet and easy to fall off, which is visible in its freshness and vitality.
In the summer, you can also eat one crab or two, crab legs can be eaten, and the crab body can be fried with osmanthus flowers, inspired by the classic Cantonese dish fried osmanthus wings - the so-called osmanthus refers to eggs after being fried loosely, and the stars fall in the dish, like autumn osmanthus flowers.
Crab body osmanthus flower fried lychee fungus (old dishes newly made)
Abalone wing belly is a famous dish in Shanghai, and the store has a variety of high-specification dry goods, including tens of thousands of two-headed abalone and expensive turtle maw. Minghao simmered ginseng belongs to the must-order series, according to local conditions, combining the taste of Lu cai onion roasted sea cucumber and the fragrance of Shanghai shrimp large black ginseng, sprinkled with freshly fried shrimp, very popular.
Minghao simmered ginseng
Braised Sea Cucumber with Sauce (created 2004)
This is the signature dish of Shanghai Famous Hao, which combines the aroma of Grilled Sea Cucumber with Lu Cai onion and the flavor of Shanghai Shrimp Large Black Ginseng. The whole body seems to be clean and there is no excess sauce, but the entrance is fresh and fragrant. There are shallots, but not shallots. Then hot-fried shrimp on the spot, sprinkled on the sea cucumber, the aroma is overflowing.
Created in 2011, the famous yellow robe and ginseng use the salted egg yolk element that will be popular on the beach in a few years, which is amazing.
Minghao Yellow Robe Plus Ginseng (created in 2011)
Such a crisp and fragrant Kanto ginseng has never been seen anywhere else, and everyone who has seen the world shouts at a glance: sea cucumber tempura! But it's different, salted egg yolk fried clothes are simply four or five years ahead of the trend.
During the epidemic in 2020, Shanghai Minghao practiced his internal skills during the retreat period, which was a period of high yield for dish creation. Original dishes with high creativity and content, such as shrimp paste and shrimp brain Japanese wild vegetable noodles, chicken soup for the soul, and steamed East Star Spot with XO soy sauce, were born with the taste of lobster soup.
Japanese vegetables of Amami crab
Noodles with Crab (created in 2020)
Every time I eat a Shanghai celebrity, I will save my stomach for the end - for this bowl of noodles. Before the middle of June, Shanghai Minghao provided shrimp soup shrimp brain Japanese wild vegetable noodles, thick enough to suspect the bottom of French lobster soup, poured with fried shrimp and shrimp brain, fresh eyebrows. In July, the shrimp is in season, and the Amami crab Japanese wild vegetable noodles are in season, or it is necessary to grasp it, and the girl's crab will become a women's cream crab.
This super research and development ability makes Shanghai Minghao show a kind of vitality that has been renewed day by day.
Chicken soup for the soul
Stewed Chicken Soup with Fish Maw (created in 2020)
This soup has been voted the best in the competition more than once. Inspired by Zhang Daqian's beloved Sichuan famous dish liver cream soup. A cup of soup is solidified with half a chicken stewed with extra strong chicken juice, embedded in the simmered flower glue, the entrance is smooth and delicate, fragrant into the internal organs.
Shanghai's famous and famous customers also know that they can order in advance the rare off-menu antique dishes such as the legendary Cantonese cuisine Jiang Taishi's chicken goat and money crab box.
Last year, I was grateful to eat a simplified version of Yu Yu Tian Chicken Leg, a hard-to-find private dish in Macau. As everyone knows, as long as you dare to mention it, we can still chew Jiang Taishi's recipe several times.
And even compared with the same positioning restaurants on the market, the price of Shanghai Minghao is definitely worth the money. A bowl of shrimp shrimp brain wild vegetable noodles is only 39 yuan, not to see a small ticket, I can't believe it at all. Every detail is in place, and there is a kitchenette on each floor, so that every dish can be served at the best heat.
Off menu antique dishes: chicken scum and money crab box
Shanghai famous cooking, you know its nature, and know its reason, clear past, understand the coming and going, the rear know its changes. It knows the years, sees far, and has a kind of wisdom that is not in a hurry.
Eclectic and timeless.
Deep foundation, diligent thinking, wide knowledge, and interesting changes.
Looking forward to its next 20 years.
Shanghai Minghao (Hongmei Store)
3883 Hongmei Road, Changning District, Shanghai (Junction of Yan'an West Road)
Phone:021-626255555
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