Wednesday 3 August 2011

china iv: new age veggie - super brand mall [ 新素代餐厅 ] Shanghai

at sunset


Across the river in Pudong, the very picturesque tall buildings of Shanghai can be found: the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Shanghai World Financial Centre, and the Jinmao Tower. Towards the end of our stay we ventured across to this side of the river, hoping to get a closer look at the Oriental Pearl Tower, and an opportunity to go high up in the sky. We did manage to find ourselves 91 stories high, in a bar at the Park Hyatt (which doesn't even start until the 87th floor). However before we got that far, we found New Age Veggie, located at the Super Brand Mall in Pudong.

exactly what i wanted


There was a lot to pick from at New Age Veggie, and I wanted to eat all of it. It was hard to decide, but in the end we went with the pulled noodles and pork in soup; seafood curry with vegetables; saffron chicken rice; and salted chicken things (not its real name).

Probably my favourite of these dishes was the pulled noodles with pork. The broth had this lovely flavour and the noodles were excellent, just perfectly cooked. I actually ended up eating most of this, both because it was super delicious and because it was a bit too spicy for C. New Age Veggie is very Sichuan influenced, so a lot of the dishes have quite a beautiful chilli bite to them. I think that this noodle dish was an excellent example of it.

the spread at new age veggie salted chicken things


The seafood curry with vegetables was a perfectly serviceable and not too rich curry, complete with tofu cut and coloured to look like one side of a king prawn (awesome); the saffron rice was very understated but a perfect aid to mopping up the curry. Finally towards the end the salted chicken came out. Not only is it battered mock-chicken, but also capsicum. This was, as advertised, quite salty, and not really my thing, but C enjoyed them.

After we had paid the bill and were leaving, we dallied by the sweets counter. There had been a little menu sitting on our table during dinner, and C had perused it, interested. But New Age Veggie does use dairy, so we were unsure. Still, we hovered, and one of the wait staff came across to us. When I asked, she pointed to the black forrest cake. She was adamant that it was free of all dairy, so on that advice, we took it back to the hotel with us.

black forrest cake at new age veggie


Certainly it didn't make me sick, and my body reacts quite dramatically in the presence of dairy (as it proved three days later after a coffee at Starbucks in Hong Kong), and it didn't after eating this moist and creamy cake, so I am calling it definitely vegan despite appearances and wishing I could have another. This cake was lovely, though it was apparently the only vegan sweet in the window.

All in all, a most excellent experience at New Age Veggie. After I absconded to HK, C went back for lunch without me and reported that the pancakes with pork was good, and like everything else we'd eaten there it was kind of spicy.

The menu is in Chinese with English subtitles, and has several pictures. The staff don't speak English at all. No egg, but some items have dairy so you have to ask.

Accepts credit cards, accessible via lift in the mall, wide apart tables and an area just inside the door with no steps. You can call for service via a remote that sits on the table (it has buttons for water, order, and cheque).

New Age Veggie - Super Brand Mall
5F - 20A/B
Super Brand Mall
168 Lujiazui Xi Lu
Pudong
Shanghai

Take Metro Line Two to Liujiazui Station ( 陆家嘴站)

新素代餐厅- 正大店
上海
浦东
陆家嘴西路168号
正大广场
5楼20A/B

No comments: