Jade Butterfly 蝶翠轩, Shanghai
I was recently told, that local Shanghainese don’t necessarily like their own cuisine, all that much. They, my classmates in particular, have indicated they prefer Cantonese fare. Shanghainese dishes are known to be overly sweet and thick in sauce, not with an abundant amount of flavors. Jade Butterfly tries to emphasize in the delicacies and traditional dishes that Shanghai has to offer.
Typical westerners probably wouldn’t be receptive of the traditional dishes. Therefore places like Shanghai Uncle thrive with tourists and foreigners with sweet dishes and large meat plates. With our class, plus professors and staff, had four tables with practically almost every dish on the menu. Yet, today’s lunch appeared to heavy on the seafood, with shrimp, steamed fish, and sweet roasted fish. The shrimp, shelled, was small in size, but wasn’t all that special. I did like the sweet roasted fish, but there was too many little bones to pick out of my mouth. Then, there was also the famous Shanghai glutinous pork dish, served with cubed pork ham with fat. At first it wasn’t that appealing, but compared to everything else, it was pretty good. The fat wasn’t too squishy, yet more like a gel or like jelly. The pork, at least had some flavor. I was quite disappointed with the baked BBQ pork rolls, which were dry and lacked moistness and flavor. I am a big fan of the baked BBQ pork rolls, often served at Cantonese dimsum restaurants. The various vegetable dishes were adequate, but not exceptional – as was expected. There was a leek or some long leafy green dish, I believe, was blanched with a thick brown sauce that I liked. Anything with a thick brown sauce can be offsetting or appealing. I took a chance and gobbled some … and liked it.
I know some of my caucasian classmates and professors didn’t care too much for the restaurant or the dishes. Since it was close to the campus, it was the idea choice for the staff to pick for lunch. With that, I’d say we would venture again to Jade Butterfly with our class in the future. I was impressed with the restaurant interior decor and exterior – as it seemed to be a renovated gated mansion. But I would be pressed to say that I would come here on my own.
What to Order: Cold Roasted Fish What not to Order:
Rating 1 Pigs Price Range 2 $/¥/NT
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