New & Noted: Remedy365
What: Deliciously healthy food
Where: 207 Mengzi Lu, near Xietu Lu. Tel: 5386 0291
Why: Just because it’s good for you doesn’t mean it’s bland (and here it means just the opposite)
If you think you are what you eat, Remedy365 has the dishes to cure what ails you. Owned by Eu Yan Sang, a traditional Chinese medicine brand with over 300 outlets around Southeast Asia, and a history of more than 130 years, they are serious about eating well here. Softly opened in June, they’ve spent two months finding the best way to incorporate their parent company’s famous herbs into their Cantonese soup tonics and laying down supply chains with Mahoto Farm for organic produce.
But the honing isn’t done yet. The owner is a friend of Alvin Leung (of Hong Kong’s Bo Innovation and Bo London), and the Michelin-starred chef is helping them polish the menu. No offense to the talented Mr Leung, but we hope he doesn’t change too much; the menu already has some real winners on it, like the “bloody” Caesar (RMB 45).
The sanguine name refers to scarlet goji berries blended into thick dressing for an extra oomph of superfruit. But besides a delicious undertone of sweetness on the blushing salad, this salad is a standard Caesar, just better as it's practically bursting with freshness. Lightly dressed crisp romaine crunches in time with croutons and bacon while slivers of Parmesan and cherry tomatoes, roasted until almostdried, pack umami punch.
Remedy365’s gazpacho (RMB 35) also rises to the head of its class. The cool tomato soup is creamy and subtle, almost an afterthought that comes back to hit you over the head as you realise its understated beauty. However, Shanghai cold noodles (RMB 48) took that same subtly too far and came out downright bland, despite a generous heap of julienned chicken and jinhua ham atop the sesame paste.
Tataki tuna salad (RMB 80) got to the point much faster, with its seared maguro tuna ensconced in a crust of spicy Cajun tuna that is Superman strong, but somehow never heavy-handed. Add to that edamame, artichokes and cherry tomatoes on bibb lettuce, and you’ve got so much more than a starter.
The salmon was the icing on the cake for me. I’ll admit it: cooked salmon ranks among my least favourite dinners. But at the insistence of the manager (and the desire of my dining partner), we ordered the crispy roasted salmon (RMB 148), and, voila, consider me converted. Crispy golden skin covered a luscious, velvet strip of pink fish that melted into its red miso glaze below. The owner said it was cooked with an old Native American technique, but refused to specify. We find it hard to believe that they could manage such nuance with primitive tools, but we were too distracted with digging in to push for a better answer.
We finished the meal with almond panna cotta (RMB 30) in a floral puddle of osmanthus syrup. Topped with flashfrozen raspberries and fresh blueberries, the refreshing dish was just sweet enough to make it one of the best (and healthiest) summer desserts we’ve had this year. We’ll be back for more, and we’ve got high hopes for Chef Leung.
