NOTE: As part of the ChineseBites media event, all food was free, but all opinions are based on my own experience.

Nu Chinese Bistro is located on the second floor in Richmond’s Cosmo Plaza on McKim Way. It used to be called Nu Shanghainese Bistro, but has since changed names because of new ownership. I was invited by ChineseBites along with 10 other food bloggers to taste their menu. Since we had a large group, we got seated in a private room. The interior of the restaurant is pretty nice.

Xiao Long Bao 南翔小籠包

Right off the bat, we were served the Xiao Long Bao with vinegar sauce on the side. These were decent with the skin not being too thick and there was a good amount of soup.

Sautéed Black Fungus 涼拌木耳

We were then presented with three cold appetizer dishes. At first, I thought the Sautéed Black Fungus was underwhelming since there was nothing but the fungus in the dish. However, we later realized that the black fungus was seasoned with wasabi! Sort of odd, but I sort of enjoyed it after eating a few more spoons.

Traditional Shanghai Smoked Fish 老上海熏魚

Another cold appetizer was the Traditional Shanghai Smoked Fish. This was flavourful and smoked nicely. I personally didn’t really like the dish just because there are bits of thin bones in it, which you can technically eat.

Soy-Braised Kaofu Bran with Assorted Mushrooms 四喜烤麩

The last cold appetizer was the Soy-Braised Kaofu Bran with Assorted Mushrooms, which I quite enjoyed. This is a typical Shanghainese appetizer. The gluten, mushrooms, and black fungus were soaked in a flavourful sauce.

Clay Pot Wonton Chicken Soup 砂鍋竹笙餛飩雞

Next up was the Clay Pot Wonton Chicken Soup, which I really enjoyed. The soup was sweet and flavourful and filled with chicken, wontons, black fungus, and pea shoots. The pea shoots were tender and delicious. The wontons were just average with the skin being a bit too thick.

Special Beef Wrap 撈餅牛肉卷

The Special Beef Wrap was just average. I still enjoy the one at Peaceful Restaurant the best. The dough was a bit too thick and not crispy enough.

BC Dungeness Crab with Fried Shanghai Rice Cake BC肉蟹炒年糕

Next up, the BC Dungeness Crab with Fried Shanghai Rice Cake was a messy but flavourful dish. The dish came with two crabs and was braised in a savoury sauce with green beans. I usually love rice cake, but I thought they overcooked them a bit too much so it was mushy. The crab itself was fresh and filled with meat.

Stone Pot Braised Pork Belly Shanghainese Style 石鍋紅燒肉

As usual at Chinese dinners, there is pork belly. The Stone Pot Braised Pork Belly Shanghainese Style came with knotted bean curd and was quite flavourful. However, I found this to be slightly on the oilier side.

Braised Tofu with Seafood 瓊山海鮮豆腐

The Braised Tofu with Seafood would’ve been great served with rice. The tofu was smooth and silky. A good dish.

Zhenjiang Style Ribs 鎮江骨

One of my favourites of the night was the Zhenjiang Style Ribs. It was sweet but you can also taste the vinegar that was used to flavour it. Meat was tender and fell off the bone.

Fried Green Beans with Minced Pork 幹煸四季豆（攬菜肉鬆）

The Fried Green Beans with Minced Pork was pretty average. I thought it was flavoured enough and they were quite oily.

Sichuan Style Boiled Fish 蜀香水煮魚

Another one of my favourites was the Sichuan Style Boiled Fish. I am not one that can take a lot of spice, but I like to eat spicy food once in a while. I liked how they give you a ladle that has wholes so that you don’t end up scooping the soup onto your plate too. The fish was tender and numbing because of the fish, but the spiciness didn’t last long. It was a good numb!

Xiang Jiang Tea Smoked Duck 湘江樟茶鴨

The Xiang Jiang Tea Smoked Duck comes with little buns. The skin was crispy, but some of the meat is a little dry. It depends which part you get.

Beef Tenderloin and Eggplant with Black Pepper Sauce 黑椒茄子牛柳粒 

Another veggie dish was the Beef Tenderloin and Eggplant with Black Pepper Sauce. Quite flavourful with the meat being tender and eggplant cooked well. Again, it seems that their veggies are slightly too oily for my liking.

Eight Jewel Sweet Rice 八寶飯

To finish our huge meal, we had the Eight Jewel Sweet Rice. This reminded me of the lotus wrapped rice you eat during Mid Autumn Festival, but the sweet kind. The rice is flavoured mostly with red bean paste. Flavour-wise, I thought it was okay, but it didn’t look too attractive.

Overall, Nu Chinese Bistro had some hits and misses. Service is also a bit sparse. The ambiance is quite nice to host family dinners though.

NOTE: Today’s post will be a guest post since K attended the ChineseBites media even on behalf of me. As part of the ChineseBites media event, all food was free, but all opinions are based on K’s own experience.

Since I have been quite busy these days, K attended the ChineseBites media event at Shiang Garden on behalf of me. Shiang Garden has been around for quite some time, and their decor is quite fancy with chandeliers hanging off the ceiling. We’ve both attended some weddings here and the food has always been quite on par. For the media event, K was able to try a whooping 13 dishes!

Prawns Salad with Papaya

First up was the Prawns Salad with Papaya, which was a very refreshing appetizer. K is not a big fan of papaya, but she actually quite enjoyed this dish. There is mayo on top of the prawns and it is great for the summer weather.

Sauteed Mixed Seafood

Next up was the Sauteed Mixed Seafood, which featured shrimp, scallops and sea cucumber intestines, which tastes sort of like a clam. All seafood were pretty fresh, although the clam was a bit chewy.

Tremella with Chicken & Crab Meat Soup

The Tremella with Chicken & Crab Meat Soup was quite delicious. Tremella is like a opaque jelly fungi and it was cut up into bits in the soup. It definitely gave the soup some texture. Allen, the general manager said that the soup normally doesn’t come with tobiko, but for presentation purposes this night, they did.

Whole Chicken in Abalone Sauce

The Whole Chicken in Abalone Sauce was presented like a piece of art! Looked like a peacock, and it was literally the whole chicken! The chicken was very moist and tender. The abalone sauce paired well with the chicken to give it more flavour.

XO Sauce

Allen also brought over some XO Sauce to try, which he said is homemade. K said this was really good since it wasn’t too spicy. It had bits of dried shrimp and scallop in the sauce.

Diced Beef Tenderloin in Honey & Pepper

The Diced Beef Tenderloin in Honey & Pepper had an awesome presentation. The beef bites were very tender and flavourful.

Specialty Layer Pork

The Specialty Layer Pork was really fatty but not super oily. K said it was one of the better ones she’s had. The meat was also pretty tender, while the fat just melted in your mouth.

The dish came with a side of steamed buns, which were perfect to pair together. Put some of that fatty meat in between your buns, and you get a delicious snack!

The meat to fat proportion was on point.

Lamb Chop with Honey & Pepper

The Lamb Chop with Honey & Pepper were really good. You don’t normally see lamb dishes at Chinese restaurants, so this was quite unexpected. The meat was very tender and wasn’t too gamey.

Whole Tilapia in En-Ping Style

Next up was the Whole Tilapia in En-Ping Style. There is a vermicelli like noodle underneath which is delicious when soaked in the sauce. The fish was also quite fresh and moist.

Lobster in Salted Egg Yolk

K’s favourite dish of the night was the Lobster in Salted Egg Yolk. You usually see this salted egg yolk batter on crab and shrimp dishes, but at Shiang Garden, they’ve done it to the lobster too! The batter is dry so it stays on the meat. The lobster was also very fresh.

BC Dungeness Crab in White Wine Sauce

The BC Dungeness Crab in White Wine Sauce was also a favourite amongst the bloggers. The meat is covered with egg whites to keep the meat very moist. It’s also heavily flavoured with the white wine sauce which is delicious. Again, very fresh crab!

Steamed Spot Prawns in Garlic

Another beautifully presented dish was the Steamed Spot Prawns in Garlic. These were butterflied, but K felt it was a bit unnecessary as it didn’t make it easier to eat. She felt that the spot prawns were just average and the ones she had weren’t very fresh.

Buddha’s Feast Roll with Cabbage

Basically the only real veggie dish of the night was the Buddha’s Feat Roll with Cabbage. These were cabbage rolls filled with enoki mushroom and julienned carrots. K felt that it was a bit hard to chew when it was all rolled up and ended up deconstructing it to eat.

Baked Durian Pastry and Osmanthus Flower Cake Pudding

To finish dinner off, there were two desserts. First was the Baked Durian Pastry, which K loved. The pastry was very flaky and there was an abundant of durian filling. You could tell it was fresh durian since it was very strong in taste and aroma. Great if you’re a durian lover! The second dessert was the Osmanthus Flower Cake Pudding. The jelly was light and refreshing, but quite typical. Nothing too special.

Overall, Shiang Garden executed the food well and their seafood was quite fresh. You can also count on them for presenting nice dishes for special occasions!