Shanghainese fare and some deliciously matching wines!

23 Oct 2010: Last night we tried a new Shanghainese restaurant in Causeway Bay called "Zhi Wei House".  The chef apparently used to cook at the Shanghai Fraternity Club. The food was very tasty in a traditional style, as the restaurant name suggested.  We started with 3 small starter dishes: smoked egg, crispy eel and chopped spinach and tofu skin.  For main dishes, we had stir fried prawns Shanghainese style, hairy crab roe with glass noodles, smoked chicken, sweet and sour Mandarin fish with pine nuts, braised pork with gluten, Shanghainese ham sandwich (served with fluffy plain flour roll and crispy tofu cracker), chilli pepper and eggplant, and stir fried green veggie. We then finished the meal with the traditional red bean pancake and the pan-fried eight-treasure rice, a favourite of mine! 

I thought all the dishes were well presented, perfectly flavoured and cooked.  I highly recommend the ham sandwich, the chilli pepper and eggplant stirfry and the eight treasure rice!  What I also appreciated was the very friendly and personal service, despite the impression that they were a little understaffed, by normal restaurant standard.  We did not feel pressured to leave, even when we had settled the bill and we were the last table hanging around at close to midnight.  We opened a few bottles this evening and it was perhaps helpful that we presented a small glass to the manager to try (I was told that she enjoyed a sip or two!)!  I also quite liked the decor of the dining room, lighting not too bright, and quite simply designed but in a tasteful way.  So I definitely will be returning.....now that I have discovered how well Shanghainese food married with certain wine styles!

For the wines of the evening, we started with a 2004 Pierre Gimonnet Fleuron, which as I had described in previous blog, an elegant champagne with racy acidity and a fine mousse, with beautifully integrated aromas of citrus, mineral, pineapple and toast.....some pear and nutty character emerged after the wine opened up in the glass.  A youthful wine, with further improvement to be expected in the bottle over the next 5+ years.  17.5/20

For white, we had the 1998 Pavillon Blanc du Chateau Margaux, which was simply marvellous and went so well with the smoked egg.  The Pavillon Blanc is a beautifully aged 100% Sauvignon Blanc, showing lovely nutty, honey, lanolin, lemon peel, white chocolate and smokey notes.  Balanced, integrated and just showing a light richness, which enhanced the texture and character of the wine.  This wine also went very well with the hairy crab roe and glass noodle dish.  18/20

We first had a pair of Volnays by Marquis d'Angerville.  2003 Volnay Champans and 2006 Volnay Fremiet.  The 2003 Volnay Champans revealed a deep ruby colour, a medium body, velvety texture and a chewy mouthfeel.  The ripe fruit concentration in this hot vintage was very apparent on the nose and palate, showing lovely blackberry, dried fruit, spicy clove and liquorice notes.   Intense and rich in style.  Drinking perfectly now and over the next  8+ years. 16/20  The 2006 Volnay Fremiet showed a very different style: elegant, classic, more restrained.  It showed lovely red cherry, earthy, wet leaves and spicy character.  Tannin not fully integrated, but already much mellowed.  Drinking well now and over the next 5+ years.  16.5/20

The 2002 Faiveley Gevrey Chambertin Premier Cru was not quite ready yet, still showing a lot of muscle and unyielding tannin.  Probably would require another 3 - 4 years of ageing in bottle before the elements become more integrated.

The highlight of the evening was the 1995 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 890, which was tasted side by side the 1997 Gran Reserva 904 by the same producer.  The 1995 Gran Reserva was well-crafted, complex, expressive and memorable.  A bit of time in the glass, it developed a very attractive bouquet of floral (roses and violets), vanilla, tobacco, coffee, cedar and liquorice layered on top of the plentiful primary red fruit character.  Well-integrated oak and acidity from the extended ageing process of Gran Reserva. Silky texture and lingering finish.  1995 was one of the two vintages declared "excelente" by the Rioja Consejo Regulador in the 1990s.  Drinking well now and will continue to evolve over next 10 - 15 years. 17.5/20

By comparison, the 1997 Gran Reserva 904 showed more youthful character with plenty of sweet red fruit, herbal, vanilla and incense. Well-balanced and structured, but lacked the finesse, complexity, expressiveness and flavour persistence of the Gran Reserva 890.  15.5/20

The Gran Reserva 890 went as well with the braised pork dishes as with the eight treasure rice!  Yummy!

I think this restaurant definitely deserves a second visit and I shall be trying other wines to match with the food, Gewurztraminer and Riesling being a couple of suggestions........and why not sherry??