Dining in Shanghai
Asian Flavours Rule
Dinner out – such a good idea and even more enjoyable when you are with friends who want to try new places and flavours. We decided to head on over to Shanghai, wishfully thinking that we could really have flown to China; we actually went to Porto Cupecoy – there we enjoyed a great evening bursting with flavours.
Porto Cupecoy has easy parking. After a short, pleasant walk from the car, across the square to the restaurant, being seated took no time at all. The restaurant is still laid out as it was with the previous establishment, but the décor has changed with large, red Chinese lanterns and fans adorning the walls. The warm ambiance creates a special atmosphere in which to dine.
The menu is fairly large and as it was Valentine’s weekend, there were some specials to consider. Our order of beer and wine by the glass arrived as we were still perusing the menu. Eventually, we decided to go with a number of starters. We all agreed that a variety of starters goes down well, unless there is one main course we know and are really looking forward to; shared starters is the way we do it.
The restaurant menu offers Asian cuisine so the dishes range through Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Indian, but there is a section that serves wonderful sounding French cuisine dishes. There is something for everyone in Shanghai!
We started with Scallion Pancakes. The crispy morsels were good and paired well with an eggplant puree called “squashed green chilli pepper & eggplant” on the menu. It was quite delicious.
Following that, we shared a soup. The menu said “pork wonton soup” and we thought it strange that it was filled with a lot of Udon noodles, then we checked the menu and it was listed under Noodle Soups! The soup was light and refreshing and made an excellent mid-course dish along with fried coconut shrimp & slaw.
We then enjoyed the green curry with seafood, this was flavoursome and slightly spicy; perfect, if a little soupy. Having just had a delightful soup, I was looking forward to a more solid, tender meal. Next time I eat at Shanghai, I will definitely order the red curry duck with lychees. This dish looked and smelled fabulous.
Our other main was flavoursome pork strips beautifully presented; both these dishes were served with a choice of brown or white rice.
We may have enjoyed dessert, but having chosen filling starters, we simply did not have room – next time we will have dessert. However, we did end the meal on a sweet note as we were offered the house shot. One was very, very more-ish – it was a hibiscus-based shot; the other one was a warm, syrupy passion fruit based shot – both were simply delicious.
There is a large fully stocked bar in Shanghai, there are appealing sounding Asian cocktail specialties; there are also Asian teas and a great wine list. There is seating inside and undercover on the square. Service is quick – and the waiter who served us was very accommodating. All in all, it was a very pleasant evening; one does not need to fly halfway around the world to enjoy Asian flavours.
Info:
Shanghai Brasserie
Porto Cupecoy
Phone: 546-4949
Hours: Dinner 6:00-11:00pm / 7 days a week
Cuisine: Asian/French
Good: Parking, service, good value
Price range: $$
Children’s menu: Available
Vegetarian dishes: Available
Ratings:
Staff friendliness ****
Service speed ****
Restaurant cleanliness ****
Food quality ****
Value for money ****
Ambience ****
