Chinese Corner: BikTime
What: Traditional Yu cuisine
Where: Pudong International Food Shop, Level 3, 601 Zhangyang Lu. Tel: 5835 2223
Why: Henan flavours and service
One of the advantages of Chinese cuisine is that it is a great way to open the door to a mesmerising new culture. In Pudong, BikTime is determined to create a name for itself as an entry point to the rich heritage of Henan cuisine.
The rustic feel of the restaurant, from its wooden tables and benches to the bird cage lamps, immediately separates it from the Shanghainese eateries around town. Specially-trained waitresses are stereotypically loud and friendly, just like the inhabitants of central China who are famous for their warm hospitality and disregard for formalities. Even their dish names are colloquially charming with name likes ‘My Fish Eats Sheep’ (RMB 79) and ‘Noodles Are Also Sold As a Dish’ (RMB 22) standing out from the glossy menu’s other offerings. Luckily, the prices are very affordable, so you can satisfy your lexical curiosity without doing too much damage to your bank account.
As one of the oldest cuisines in China, the style and flavour of Henan food has seldom changed over its long history. Famous courses like braised chicken with corn cakes (RMB 48) and stewed lamb (RMB 39) are said to be the exact replicas of their predecessors from ancient times. Generous to a fault, BikTime has no concept of portion control with meats served in bulk on giant plates, which makes a meal here better suited to a dinner party than a date.
To get an authentic bite of this cuisine, order the hu la tang (RMB28), roughly translated as spicy paste soup. A rare dish that is hard to find in Shanghai’s other Henan restaurants; the beefy soup is thick and hearty with chunks of tofu bobbing in it – the perfect dish to warm you up this coming winter. While they do have western desserts on the menu, try the sugar-coated purple sweet potato (RMB 29) to finish your meal. Glistening in its syrup, it calms the palate after a meal of piquant flavours. There’s more than enough on the menu to ensure you’ll get a big dollop of Chinese culture when you head to BikTime.
