Throw back to Old Shanghai, when its the Paris of the Orient!
During the 1920's 30's Shanghai was the place to be in Asia! Very much the centre for commerce and finance, it is also the Capital of anything in Vogue, where new fads and fashions are embraced in this ancient country called China.
Food is a way to express the way people live and the way people "want" to live! Hence the invention of Chinese Influenced Western Cooking.
Very much like the Yoshoku Cooking in Japan started in the Meiji Period. In China, it is mostly influenced by the influx of White Russians refugees during and after the Revolution. They bring not only their own culture but also their cuisine, some of the more wealthy "refugees" would still hire maids and cooks after their escape, as they still wish to maintain their ways of living before the revolution in Russia. These Cooks later became fully versed in the Russian Cuisine and soon they put in their own signature to make it their own.
At Sunning, their influence of the West came from France, Russia and other European cooking methods. They also pride themselves in baking their own bread fresh everyday.
Lunch that day was with my family in Hong Kong, we all grew up having this type of western dishes, and its a way of getting back to our childhood times.
My Rack of Lamb was done perfectly, very tender and juicy, the doneness perfect, the sauce was a bit on the sweet side tho.
The Chicken Caesar unlike anything we see in N. America, it is their own interpretation, chicken breast was poached not grilled, thus its more tender and moist, being a Caesar Salad it's size is not doing justice to the dish. Yes, I understand it is a starter and not a meal size, so if you are on a diet, this will be a very good dish to have!
Service is old school, very attentive and warm, all the servers are over 50 and they all seemed to have been there forever!
Sunning is still is and hopefully will still be there for a long time, as new generations will learn the history of their grandparents here of how food is being served in the old days of Shanghai and Hong Kong! read more