New Shanghai dishes up a crowd-pleasing menu of classics catering more comfortably to the Australian palette. Consider it the polished and slightly pricier version of its OG homie, Shanghai Night.
Time to introduce a local breakfast and snack icon which you can find at New Shanghai: sung-ji-bo, or pan-fried pork bun. Visually, it’s the one that twists up in the middle, rather than in the dumpling shape. The secret to these bodacious buns lies in the special pan-frying technique that firms up the bottom and leaves the rest of the bun soft and springy. It’s hard to stop once you’ve bitten into the alternately crisp and doughy casing filled with famously savoury pork (famously savoury meaning the typical mouthwatering Shang marinade of ginger, light soy sauce, rice wine, spring onion, szechuan pepper.)
When you're done, pop next door to the New Shanghai Workshop, the Chinese deli that is a unique feature of the Ashfield New Shanghai, to pick up some yu-bing, or Shanghainese-style mooncakes. Mooncakes are especially popular during the Mid-autumn Festival in October, and the Shanghai region is known for its pork paste version. At the Workshop, you'll find them wrapped in layers of flaky pastry, with a red seal on top. Why not try a sauerkraut mooncake for a bit of bite? Relish the equilibrium of soft, tangy fibrous cabbage enfolded by crumbly, greasy pastry.