Modern Chinese

When you go to a Chinese restaurant (as opposed to a food stall) in Asia, you'll frequently be given a moist handtowel before, and sometimes after, the meal (wash your hands before you eat!). If you've ever flown to Asia, you've probably seen this happen on the airplane. Usually these are loosely rolled, so that they're about the size of a fat eggroll. I've never seen one this tightly compressed -- we weren't actually sure it was a towel until we touched it! This should have been my first clue that there would be an emphasis on presentation at this place.
Appetizer plate

We started off with an amuse bouche of a few small slices of cucumber topped with a red chili pepper garnish. It was lovely -- spicy enough to whet your appetite, but cool and small so as not to burn off your taste buds before the real meal.
Next came the appetizers; from right to left: something tofu-y I forget (oops... need to take better notes!), a slice of pork-stuffed pumpkin, tofu-wrapped chicken spring rolls, and a tuna handroll in a tortilla-chip-like shell. I found the first and third mostly unremarkable, but others in my party liked them, so i wouldn't call them bad, just not my preference. The pumpkin was good (the pork was tender and made for an interesting combination of textures), but it was the handroll taco that really got me. The sashimi was diced up with a tomato and cucumber salsa, and was mmm mmm tasty. I also liked the crispness of the tortilla shell; much more to my liking than the traditional seaweed.
Shark's fin soup

I know, it's a terrible thing to eat. But I like it, and since I'm pretty unapologetic about my omnivorous tendencies, I can only feel so guilty without being a complete hypocrite. If it makes anyone feel any better, I wouldn't order it on my own, but yes, I'm a bad person for enjoying it. Plus this one was topped with bacon! I'm pretty sure I've never had it with bacon before... and bacon makes everything better...
Lobster three ways

Oh, so, so good. Let me just say that this lobster -- in all three preparations -- was moist, meaty, and flavorful, with texture to match taste. And that's really all I want. As for the preparations: the first (right/nearest in the photo) was chopped in with diced celery, carrots, and mushrooms, in a small taco-like shell. It was light and fresh, but not overly exciting; I was ready for the two warm selections. The third (left, closest to the lobster shell) was a thick lobster ball wrapped in a coat of egg and breading. I thought the egg mixture was a bit too heavy and clumpy, so I ended up leaving most of it behind, but the lobster ball was yummy. I saved the middle one for last, because it looked the best: a little lobster cake rolled in oats, sitting on top of a slice of watermelon. This one was indeed my favorite, just a touch of crunch as you sink your teeth into the meat. So good.
Beef shank

More specifically, slow-braised beef shank with mushroom and black truffle. A little on the heavy side, but the beef was very tender -- think of beef stew, where it falls apart in strands -- and I'm a fan of almost anything with mushrooms, so no complaints here.
Fried niangao Shanghai style

Niangao are those white noodly things inside the cellophane package (which was brought to the table tied up like a little bag of gold; the server untied it for us, so I didn't get a picture). They're basically starchy white noodles, same as you'd find in some dimsum dishes (chong fan), only rolled thicker. According to my family, this was actually prepared Singapore style, not Shanghai, but I'm not too clear on what the differences are. In any case, this was basically stir fried noodle with pork, bamboo, and cabbage. I could have done with less corn starch, particularly coming on the heels of all the other food; on its own it might have been delicious, but it was too much for the end of such a big meal. The wonton soup, however, was very good -- not too salty, which I find many to be, and the pork wontons were a good size (small) for inhaling with the soup.
Dessert

This was one smokin' dessert. Oh, come on, I had to say it. When they first brought it out, the dry ice was so thick that you could barely see the plate. It dissipated relatively quickly, but I could hear the capsules fizzing in the cup until the end. A little odd, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the dessert. Clockwise from top right in the photo below: tiramisu, assorted fruits -- strawberry (sitting on what I think was a Japanese pear), kumquat, dragonfruit, kiwifruit, papaya, and canteloupe -- lime sorbet atop a semi-solid jelly, and a bonbon of chilled glutinous rice around red bean paste.

I had only a taste of the tiramisu because it's really not my thing, and I would say that fans of Italian desserts would probably think it was ok, but nothing to write home about. The lime sorbet was my favorite, both sweet and very lime-y, but the red bean ball was surprisingly yummy, good enough to compete with the fresh fruits. As for the fruit, the strawberries weren't prime, but the kiwifruit and dragonfruit were nice and sweet. The kumquat was a new experience for me; I've seen them all over the place -- oranges of all sizes were abundant before Chinese New Year because they're a traditional gift, symbolic of good luck, fortune, etc -- but had never actually eaten one (I was in fact told early on that they weren't edible, but maybe said person was talking about the particular little tree next to which we had been standing). Anyway, they're delightful -- you eat the whole thing, skin and all, and the peel is actually the best part. It's sweeter than the insides, and the zest makes it taste almost carbonated, so the whole effect is a bit like drinking a Sunkist. Tasty; I highly recommend them. I went out and bought some a few days later, but the one at the restaurant was better; I think the season may be winding down on these, alas.