Restaurant group Imperial Treasure’s a pretty reliable brand with a loyal following, and this new venture—which focuses on Shanghainese cuisine has been packed since it opened.
Word of warning, like at most Chinese joints around town, reservations here are more like priority passes (you get bumped to the front of the queue but there’s no guarantee a table’s going to be waiting when you arrive). Still, once you do inveigle yourself a seat, the food’s totally worth it.
We love the wide array of starters including chilled thousand layer pig’s ears ($9), crystal-clear jellied crab terrine ($12)—chock full of fresh crustacean—and sweet sticky smoked ponfret ($12). The main dishes like delicate steamed eel ($14)—featuring a strong hit of rice wine—and some fantastically rich glutinous rice and cream crab ($6 for 100g of crab) seasoned with the classically Shanghainese sugar and soy, also hit the right notes.
And the grub’s consistent too (we’ve been back multiple times since the opening). It’s really difficult to have a bad experience here, unless you’re a stickler for nice ambience. There’s no music for one, and set at steamboat restaurant Coca’s old digs, the open air space is quite warm (the air conditioning escapes into the main mall atrium). Still, there’s an easy fix: Request one of their smartly-outfitted private rooms (a minimum spend of $80 per person is required, but that’s easy to hit here).
Eat this at Imperial Treasure Shanghai Cuisine: Thousand layered pigs’ ears. It’s one of I-S Magazine’s 50 things to eat before you die (2013).
