New restaurant: Miss Nan

By That's PRD, September 11, 2015

By: Sky Gidge

Miss Nan is not that kind of restaurant. The kind where foreign kitsch plasters walls, extends to the menu and leaves Western palates disappointed while confusing everyone else. (Think noodles doused in Heinz.)a

The kitsch is there – sketches of French chateaus, a hanging film reel, an antler chandelier – but behind the dollhouse-style chairs, the service is tight, with waiters wearing breath guards as they rush food tableside.

Health-conscious diners, worry not. The vegetables and pork come from a single farm in Hunan, but that peace of mind comes at a premium: portion sizes are fair, but too expensive to make Miss Nan a daily stop.

The mild Sichuan-style kung pao shrimp (RMB88) goes well with the spicy Hunan-style Xiaoxiang yellow beef (RMB48). The shrimp is soft, sweet and easy to gobble down, but the beef might be too hot for those not yet initiated into Hunan’s fiery cuisine.

For dessert, choose the Beijing pea flower cake (RMB18), although it’s listed as “sweet pea puree.” Some of the English on the menu doesn’t match the food, so just smile and point at the pictures.

Dessert

Juice and imported beer are great for sipping while listening to the live music played nightly on the restaurant’s modest stage. For something stronger, a stock of 14 European beers (RMB50-80) showcases some brews we’ve never seen in Shenzhen before, including the sweet German Augustus 8 (RMB80). Get a bottle and sit outside for an evening of people watching in the busy CBD.

Miss Nan also sells flowers by the stem (RMB15) or bouquet (around RMB300), good gifts after a date on the cozy second floor.

Lunch sees office workers flood the pastel-colored tables, but consider who you take here – Miss Nan’s somewhat dainty look might please a date, but leave a foreign business partner baffled.

Pastel colored tables.