The soups at the newly-opened Hengshan Restaurant, Cafe and Bar are a far cry from the thick, salty, MSG-filled offerings that are standard at the ubiquitous Cantonese restaurants found around the city.

Unlike those crowded and clamorous restaurants where diners often feel rushed to wolf down their noodles or shrimp dumplings to spare their seat for those waiting, the Hengshan Restaurant is a perfect place to savor Cantonese flavors with grace and elegance.

Natural daylight streams through the main dining room's floor-to-ceiling windows where a row of simple red paper lanterns, glass wall lamps and polished hardwoods with clean lines create a modern airy feel that compliments the restaurant's fresh take on the traditional cuisine.

The menu is primarily Cantonese dishes made with an authentic flavor because all the chefs were recruited from the southern province of Guangdong, the birthplace of the cuisine.

Among the house specialties, the soups are a must-try for food lovers who want a taste of real Guangdong cuisine in Shanghai.

Sitting in the elegantly decorated dining hall, one can indulge in steaming hot soup that features a bounty of seafood in fish maw, abalone, shark's fin, scallop and sea cucumber, among others.

Take a deep breath as the smell of the soup's white gourds and mushrooms hits your nose like a kind of perfume.

The taste is equally appealing with freshly-sliced abalone, tender pieces of fish and lean chicken in each bite, redolent of the marvelous homemade broth that was simmered over a long period.

The pork soup was also memorable as it featured tasty conch with sliced pears and dried figs that are good for health.

In addition, the restaurant specializes in dim sum. Top picks include the steamed barbecued pork buns, fried cakes with tuna, plump shrimp dumplings, egg tarts, crispy-skin chicken and small glutinous rice balls steamed in bamboo leaves and served with sugar, among others.

But not everything at the Hengshan Restaurant is Chinese. The restaurant includes a Western-style bistro perfect for a romantic candlelight dinner, a group gathering, a relaxing drink, a casual brunch or coffee.

The tossed salads with fresh herbs were another attraction as the homemade sauces are created without chemicals or preservatives. There is also a light menu that helps to keep the calorie count and fat content to a minimum but is still big on taste, something Hengshan Restaurant, Cafe and Bar takes pride in.

What's more, the restaurant introduces a new sandwich periodically to update its menu and keep it fresh.

Hengshan Restaurant
Address: 1415-1417 Huashan Road (near Hu'nan Road)
Hours: 9:30am-2am
Tel: 021-6283-2282
Price: 60 to 100 yuan (US$7.70 to US$12.80) per person on average