Dark wood, clever lighting and beautiful waitresses beckon diners into the newly opened Le Sheng, Laris’ recent venture into unknown Chinese territory. With Shanghainese chef Fang Chao behind the wheel, this new enterprise is, according to marketing material, using their concept of modern Shanghainese food and styling to attract the local Chinese market. So will they be drawn to the Aussie’s table? To put it to the test, we dined with Shanghai-native How Xu, marketing executive at Messe Muchen International and life-long consumer of Benbang Cai.
Starting with the cold dishes, we sampled the Le Sheng radish (RMB26), which went over well with its sweet, crisp and garlic-sharp bite, less syrupy than a regular rendition. “Nothing like what I eat at home, but I like it,” said How. Drunken yellow croaker (RMB38) was tender, but full of sharp bones and he wrinkled his nose at the strong fishy smell. Kaofu with golden needle mushrooms, wood ear and peanuts (RMB28) was dark, sweet and spongy, just as it should be, as we were informed.
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Hot and sour soup (RMB28/bowl) prompted more of a debate. Incongruously appearing in the middle of the meal, the dish lacked authenticity but gained points for flavor. According to How, traditional hot and sour soup is supposed to be thick with cornstarch. Le Sheng's version is more refined and soupy. “I’m not wild about cornstarch anyway,” How shrugged. But the kitchen’s take on rich, fragrant Lion’s head (boiled pork meatball) with crab meat (RMB48/piece), was greasy and soft, too high in fat to take on the correct texture. Six red Wuxi pork ribs (RMB88) came soft and tender, topped with a shower of corn, tomato and pine nuts and basted, How detected, with a hint of fermented tofu (furu) which lent a slightly smoky back note.
Nothing on the menu, however, animated How more than a simple dish of crispy rice cakes (RMB18) which, he admitted, made him nostalgic. When they arrived, in perfect squares and studded with dried seaweed, he laughed. “When I was a kid, this was, like, the cheapest thing you could eat… I’d fill them with sugar and have them for breakfast. This here is like gaige (reformed) rice cakes.”
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Pleasant as it was, How voiced his doubt that this would be the type of place younger Shanghainese clientele would come to spend their money. “Honestly, we’re not that interested in eating traditional food anymore,” he told us. “The only people who go out and spend a lot of money on Benbang Cai are ayis and old people.” While Le Sheng works to balance flavors and cut back on oil, How thinks his generation is starting to fall out with the heavy, sugary, oily Shanghainese cuisine, gravitating more towards the clean, light Cantonese flavors or fashionable Sichuanese. Le Sheng might be targeting young professionals like him but, with its flashy cocktails, lux atmosphere and (almost) traditional dishes, the venue might still be best positioned to target his original market… foreigners.
See listing here.
