By Gao Jian (Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2007-03-19 11:04

In days of youth, family outings to theme parks and zoos invariably meant bad food. Sure, kids enjoy the greasy fare and mountains of salty ketchup that costs the same as a five-course dinner downtown, but parents often have to suffer burnt offerings and a similar but not entirely alike assault on the pocketbook.

Undoubtedly, many people have not visited the Shanghai Zoo, let alone its Cantonese restaurant The Lake. Visitors expecting the typically staid fare expected of a tourist-attraction eatery should give this place a long, hard look.

The decor here is nothing outrageously fancy. Almost antiquated, the huge space which seats 530 on the ground floor alone is charming in a soothing sort of way. If it kept the tableware and cutlery in better condition, the premises would still be appealing in its autumn years.

The pond that divides the restaurant in two can be off-putting. The murky water suggests that Darwin's law was in action as a meager pair of fish swam lazily around a solitary turtle. The sight was not enough to put customers off their appetite, however, just an unpleasant distraction.

Whatever doubts the dated interior instilled, the food on offer soon quashed those. The simple favorite of black wood ear, or fungus, was given an unexpected twist by a good-sized injection of wasabi. The cold appetizer is often plain and revered more for its texture, but the mustard pleasantly seared the tongue and flared through the nostrils.

The pan-fried cod was also a lovely dish for its sweet-and-not-so-sour sauce, which permeated the flesh of the seafood perfectly. The other seafood dish, scallops with fried asparagus, saw flame for the right amount of time although it was not served swiftly enough.

That slight aside, the service was impeccable. The Lake has eschewed the traditional hiring of pretty young things and has instead opted to make sure the "competence" box was ticked when it employed veteran staff.

Visitors absolutely have to end their meals with the deep-fried puff pastry with lotus paste and an abalone surprise. Granted, the slice of shellfish is almost minuscule, but the unexpected change in texture elicits tiny squeals of delight.

From Monday, the restaurant is starting a three-month promotion bringing the very finest in the Shanghai culinary scene out of retirement and back into the kitchen for one more cook-off.

"Shanghai has finally overtaken its southern neighbors in terms of dining revenue generated," said Song Jianhua, a former food writer and organizer of the event. "Yet, at the same time, you can say there isn't much of a culinary culture here in the city. All the dishes have retained their flavor but have evolved in one way or another because of outside influences."

Song is hoping that the gathering of the culinary masters will do more towards promoting this culture. "These chefs have reached the pinnacle of their careers on a national level. One of them, Dong Linfa, cooked for Chairman Mao Zedong when he visited the city. Another, Hu Limei, is the top female chef in this country."

Most of these chefs are now working in local restaurants on a consultancy basis. Among them is The Lake's Executive Chef, Jiang Jiefu. The 69-year-old worked the woks at Sunya, the most popular Cantonese restaurant in the city for 49 years, before joining the restaurant to head the team. He particularly looks forward to serving his specialty dishes such as salty poached fish, crispy cucumber rolls and scallops in XO sauce, among others.

Bookings must be made in advance and each table of 10 costs 5,000 yuan (US$646).

The Lake
Address: 2381 Hongqiao Road
Tel: 021-32161177