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Xia Fei Society Shanghaiese Cuisine

Xie Fei Society, located in Central just steps away from Lan Kwai Fong, serves refined Shanghainese cuisine. In the late 1940s the city saw a large influx of refugees from Shanghai escaping the civil war, many of them rich merchants and industrialists who brought with them the Shanghainese food culture. Thus, the cuisine became a staple of the city’s preferred dining choices. Over the years, Hong Kong’s Shanghainese food gently shifted towards the local palate, favouring lighter and subtler flavours. This transformation is evident at Xie Fei, where the dishes are prepared under the guidance of Consultant Chef Zhou Yuan Chang using his nouveau cuisine style, incorporating healthy ingredients and traditional Shanghainese methods.

The spacious restaurant’s décor is modern and comfortable, featuring a large public dining area with tables and benches decked in crisp table cloths and several private rooms.

We began our meal with several classic Shanghainese appetisers: Marinated Cucumber in Homemade Sauce ($78), Marinated Pigeon in Chinese Yellow Wine ($148), and Shredded Crispy Eel in Sweet Ginger Sauce & Chinese Yellow Wine ($138) – all of which were refreshingly tasty and traditional. We noted the typical Shanghainese
use of sugar and Chinese plum or yellow wines for seasoning.

Stir-fried Sweet Bean with Ham Cube ($188) was served next – the pea taste pleasantly sweet and the ham cube complementing the flavour well. Another familiar dish – Salted & Fresh Pork Soup with Bamboo Shoot & Tofu Skin in Casserole ($248) followed; soup casserole is a staple of Shanghainese cuisine, with a savoury taste that nicely contrasts with the lighter appetisers.

A trio of main dishes followed: Stir-fried River Shrimp ($238) – another classic dish that looks simple but requires just the right degree of stirfrying to bring out the tender texture of the shrimp; Braised Sea Cucumber with Spring Onion ($358) – a signature delicacy in which the braising softens the sea cucumber texture; and the highly anticipated Braised Abalone with Pork Belly in Brown Sauce ($238 per person) – the large Australian abalone chews easily and succulently in the sauce.

For our last main, we tried something different – Sichuan Stir-fried Diced Chicken with Dried Red Chilli ($238), one of the best-known Sichuan dishes and one of our favourites. The chicken pieces are tender and yummy, with the spicy ma-la flavour adding that extra zest to the meat.

Before desserts we ended our meal with two dim sum dishes: Xia Fei Steamed Shanghai Minced Pork Dumpling or xiao long bao ($60/ 4 pieces), and Turnip Pastry with Conpoy ($54/ 3 pieces). That popular pork dumpling provides just the small carbo rush to complete the meal.

But we do have a sweet tooth for Shanghainese desserts and made room for three: Pan-fried Mini Glutinous Rice with Lotus Paste, Dried Grape, Longan and Lotus Seed ($108), Red Bean Paste Pancake ($58) and Mini Glutinous Rice Balls in Osmanthus Sweet Wine Soup ($42/person).

Xia Fei Society offers quality Shanghainese food in a comfortable setting at reasonable prices. If you are loking for an appetising and enjoyable meal, Xia Fei Society is a worthy choice.

Xia Fei Society Shanghaiese Cuisine

4/F, Century Square, 1-13 D'Aguilar Street, Central; 2522 7611

(Edited on 6 Jun 2018)