Ye Shanghai
+613 9663 9898
If you ever require an extreme hit of chilli goodness, then may I suggest a trip to Ye Shanghai for their Gong Bao Ji Ding. If this dish doesn’t set your eyes watering and your sweat glands into overdrive, well then…I’ll eat my words.
Ye Shanghai is elegantly grandoise yet funky. It has high ceilings, exposed bluestone walls, oriental wooden features, lots of imperial red and luscious wallpaper, dark leather banquettes and white tablecloths. The service, well it is rather perfunctory. Front of house are clad in traditional black and whites (with waistcoats!), and their manner is as stuffy as their attire. Which is somewhat at odds with the rather hip interior. But that doesn’t really matter - you are just glad when the waiter anticipates you need another glass of water!
Gong Bao Ji Ding is better known in the West as Kung Pao (pow!) chicken. It does differ somewhat from the traditional Sichuan Gong Bao Ji Ding, which uses Sichuan peppercorns to give that mouth numbing feel. In this case, the rather large handful of small dried red chilli’s does the trick just perfectly - I think it wiped the lining from my mouth almost instantly! Despite that particular effect, it is a wonderfully flavoursome dish. The chicken pieces are braised in shao shing (rice) wine, dry whole chillis, bean paste and red vinegar, and accompanied by carrot slices, spring onion batons and roast peanuts. It is smoky, barbequey and sweet - and as I have mentioned a million times previously, devastatingly hot.
So for $8.80 you too can partake in the Ye Shanghai mouth numbing lunch special. This will get you a soup, steamed rice, your choice of about 8 dish variations, pickles/veg and a fruit/dessert. It arrives neatly on a tray, the main dish kept warm by a tea candle. It is just like a Chinese version of a Japanese bento box. Love that idea.
Written by mellie on
November 2nd, 2006 | Tags: Chinese, restaurants | Category: Uncategorized
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November 14th, 2006 at 11:34 pm
Love reading your food blogs, even have the rest of our lab looking forward to reading your adventures during our lunch breaks!
Kudos for your always entertaining and constructive reviews and for those delish photos that keeping our tummies rumbling!
November 15th, 2006 at 1:09 am
Oh yum-O! Love that lining-of-mouth-burned-off feeling when it comes to chilli (or curry, for that matter). Yet another place I need to venture to during lunch one day.
November 15th, 2006 at 6:17 am
Tough call, I’m not sure that my tastebuds are chilli-hardened enough, and yet you make it sound so good…
November 16th, 2006 at 6:59 am
Hi M’s nemesis! I’m glad that you and your lab buddies enjoy reading about my obsessive compulsive disorder with food
Ahh…tis a labour of love. All that lovely food to be eaten, photographed and blogged. I think some of my friends are getting sick of me whipping out my camera just every time I eat though 
Heya Anna - okay, it’s another lunch date
I shall introduce you to the wonders of Ye Shanghai next week.
G’day Ali-k - Excellent…another Melbourne food blogger! Welcome…and best of luck with your move down to Melbourne. I hope you don’t mind but I’ve added Melbourne Food Tales to my blogroll. Oh…and your lemon meringue cupcakes look absolutely devastating
November 21st, 2006 at 10:07 am
I noticed that Ye Shanghai also has a ‘happy hour’ special where, between 4pm and 6pm (can someone verify?) the meals are all $7.50!!
November 30th, 2006 at 10:01 am
Hey EG - uh huh..there is a $7.50 special between the hours of 3-5pm. Perfect for a late lunch or early dinner
December 11th, 2006 at 9:36 am
I found your blog in February when I, too, was contemplating a career change.
As I sit on the cusp of an apprenticeship, let me ask you: has it been worth it?