Wisca Restaurant sizzles as mercury drops
Print Edition
If you’re searching for some old-fashioned Cantonese comfort food this winter, look no further than Wisca Restaurant.
From its humble beginnings as a food stall in Guangzhou Province over two decades ago, Wisca now operates locations across the country, including two in Shanghai.
One of the restaurant’s most popular winter dishes is wild eel, ginger and garlic served in a sizzling hot clay pot and flavored with Shaoxing wine. After all the ingredients are placed in the pot, the chef sends it straight to the diner, who can savor its original flavors as it slowly cooks.
“Traditional Cantonese cuisine is distinguished by its rigorous choice of ingredients and the craftsmanship that goes into its preparation,” said Lu Yongcai, a chef at Wisca with over 25 years of cooking experience. “We use wild eel from Guangzhou Province because it has the best flavor. The eel must also be around 14 centimeters long and as thick as a finger.”
One tip is to ask for the eel with bones. The bones and the finely textured eel meat will melt in your mouth, leaving behind a rich aftertaste.
This hearty dish will set you back 99 yuan (US$15).
Other clay-pot ingredient choices include chicken, ribs, seafood, meat, vegetables, rice and even fruit. The abalone pot, preserved sausage with rice pot and the papaya pot are particularly popular.
Wisca also offers a full range of pipping hot, slow simmered soups that are perfect for warding off the winter chills. Chef Lu recommends the black-bone chicken with coconut, Chinese yam and wolfberry soup. This flavorful dish costs only 29 yuan per person, but guests are required to order in advance.
Other picks include pork soup with lily roots, chicken soup with abalone and duck soup with sea horse.
Seafood fans will also want to taste the mantis shrimp fried with garlic and pepper, a dish made with prawns imported from Thailand.
The iced sea snail is a Cantonese specialty. Every fresh snail weighs at least 200 grams before being boiled and then cooled in ice.
Other menu highlights include baked oyster pancakes with fresh octopus, shrimp and clams; roasted sea grouper and poon choi (a traditional Cantonese New Year food featuring braised seafood and vegetables).
Last but not least there’s dessert. Wisca’s specially made ginger ice cream with fried and crispy peanuts can make a satisfying conclusion to any meal.
Opening hours: 11am-10:30pm, 11am-4pm for afternoon tea
Average price: 150 yuan (Free parking for three hours)
Lujiazui Branch
Address: 4/F, 161 Lujiazui Rd E.
Tel: 5879-3088
Jing’an Branch
Address: 3-4/F, 396 Yan’an Rd W.
Tel: 6261-4333
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