Shanghai Fun

On their last night in bejing, we had a little shanghainese fare, a treat from beiyi. Xiao Nan Guo is a group which originated from shanghai and moved on to open 2(?) branches in beijing. The theme of red and black added a small touch to the finer dining experience, in which i instantly felt underdressed in my T-shirt and jeans.

I would like to believe as with all franchised outlets (with the exception of starbucks, or ok maybe i am only referring foodwise), they always fall short of the standard set by the mother ship. I have never tasted the original xiao nan guo from shanghai, but i felt that the one in beijing was a tad too oily for my taste buds. Somehow along the way, they have compromised their cooking to suit the preferences of the locals.

Or maybe because the night before, our palates were already pampered (thanks to Uncle Thomas for the lovely treat at da dong), and so the bar was raised higher.

Red and Black

I am really bad with food names, so i have no idea what they ordered. One thing for sure, we had the famous crab xiao long bao which i only just found out i forgot to snap a pic of coz i was too busy snatching for one.


Notice how the food glistens under the light?