Shanghai 1930 Restaurant

Contributor

Citysearch

The Scene
A heavy metal door opens to a red-carpeted staircase that descends to a hip underground supper club. Downtowners nurse cocktails at the back-lit blue-paneled bar in the lounge as a crooner works his way through "Days of Wine and Roses." In the main room, a floral spray flanked by large tea urns provides a lush centerpiece for chopstick-wielding diners cared for by eager-beaver servers.

The Food
The dishes aren't cheap, but the kitchen's attention to detail makes the sticker shock bearable. Yangtze River lite fry is slices of rock cod wrapped in tentacles of seaweed; it's then deep-fried. Accompanying black vinegar, aromatic Sichuan pepper-salt and ginger aioli make for a trio of ideal dipping sauces. Braised pork belly glows neon-red, its supple richness balanced by sauteed spinach. Even vegetables get the royal treatment: Buddha's Golden Picnic Basket houses impeccably stir-fried broccoli, eggplant, and lotus root in a shredded taro bowl.