Sanyouxing 三酉星 @ Shanghai

With the restriction to import Japanese ingredients and the fear of nuclear contamination among the population, many izakayas in Shanghai have either switched to local produce, close down or move to serve other cuisines. This is one of those that have successfully adopted to the new normal.

The name of this izakaya is cheekily called Sanyouxing 三酉星. The Chinese characters are made up of three separate words, but when combined in pairs formed the word 酒醒 or “recover from drunkedness”. I was attracted to this place because of all the social influencers posting pictures of the food and environment.

It looked like a Japanese izakaya in all manners. There were gyotaku (fish prints) on the ceiling, and the decor still shouted Japanese izakaya. But upon closer examination, there’s nothing Japanese in terms of the cuisine or the decorations.

The menu consisted of mainly Ningbo cuisine with some Shanghainese classic mixed into the fold. Everything was freshly made, like a Singaporean tzechar stand, and the menu depended on what’s available that day.

蜂巢米酒 Honeycomb Rice Wine

There are many types of rice wine from the Jiangzhe area, and most of them are clarified wines. The rice wine they served are the sweet glutinous rice wine from Ningbo, with a very low alcohol content (around 2%), so it was really easy to drink.

This wine was on the photos of every social influencer and of course I had to order and try it. Very smooth and easy to drink, a favourite among the ladies, but I didn’t go beyond my second cup.

熟醉大头沼虾 Drunken Giant Freshwater Prawns

The freshwater prawn used is called 罗氏沼虾 or in Thai kûng k̂āmkrām (กุ้งก้ามกราม), which I see more often in Thai cuisine. It was not out of its depth when given the Shaoxing wine bath. The shrimp was well infused with the sweetness of the wine as well as all the aromatics that were used in the braise. The shrimp had plenty of roe and miso (prawn brain), very delicious.

熟醉大闸蟹 Drunken Crab

They ran out of the raw marinated mud crab, so we settled for the cooked drunken crab. The marinade was the same as the prawn above, so there was nothing surprising on the taste. The crab was really small and not the best pick of the season. And it was not soaked long enough.

家烧丝瓜 Sautéed Loofahs

A very simple and homely sautéed loofahs with air dried ham and garlic. Tasty.

油爆虾 Deep Fried Shrimps

I find the deep fried shrimps a bit too wet. They were crispy no doubt, but just too wet.

炭烤年糕 Grilled Rice Cake

This turned out to be outstanding. It is most likely a remnant of the old menu as there was a yakitori stove behind the bar counter.

黑蒜烧河鳗 Black Garlic River Eels

I have a weakness with braised eels, and Shanghai is one of the best places to have them. Their version used black garlic, which has a slight sour taste that helped to reduce the muddiness of the freshwater eels.

蒜蓉粉丝蒸大竹蛏 Bamboo Clams with Vermicelli and Garlic

And to balance off the choices (I picked too many items for the meal), my partner chose her favourite bamboo clams. Steamed in the traditional way with vermicelli and garlics, nothing to shout about except for the freshness of the clams and the perfect timing of the steaming.

虾油泡饭 Puffed Rice in Prawn Stock

And as a main course, I ordered a rice soup. It turned out to be puffed rice (not my liking), and the prawns stock was rather watery. Not recommended and the only fail for the evening.

火爆双脆 Sautéed Calamari and Bamboo Shoot

This may look like nothing special, but the calamari had egg sacs in them and crunchy when you bite into them. And the winter bamboo shoots were in season too, so the combination was simply delicious when quickly sautéed with salted vegetables. I asked to do a non-spicy version, there was still some peppery taste.

Granted, the food was not fantastic. The atmosphere of the place compensated for everything. The service was very prompt, and I reserved on the food app before coming and still I have to wait around 10 min (it was 8pm on my reservation). If you are looking for a quick bit and drink, this is not the place as the queue was long. But if you are looking for an after-office gathering place, this was the perfect spot.

三酉星·枫·山風与野菜 (上海总店)
上海市静安区北京西路1732号2幢1层
Tel : +86 (021) 52799788

Visited Mar 2024

#上海 #三酉星