Yunnanese for my Grill Piece

While I was at Din Tai Fung the day before, I was given a magazine about the happenings in Shanghai.  I was lucky enough to get the edition that had the ballot for the best restaurants in Shanghai.  Obviously, I am going to base the rest of my eating on this magazine. 

One of the first places I wanted to try was Lotus Eatery.  This place is a small family run place serving traditional food from Yunnan province.  

As always, I  got lost on the way there.  When I got in the taxi, the Chinese address was too small.  I panicked.  Luckily, my rendition of the pinyin was accurate enough, that he knew where I wanted to go.  BAM! Mandarin is happening (poorly but none the less)!

Okay, enough bob lob law.  Let's get to the main event.

I tried a new beer- Dali.  It is a beer from Yunnan province.  It tasted like every other beer, light lager, slightly bitter. 



I am drinking so much IPA when I get home

 Of course, I have to eat something.  I chose two of the house specialties: Miao Fish and mother's Mashed Potatoes.

The Miao fish was a whole fish that had been cut in half and fried.  I really like whole fish, but eating it with chopsticks, is a pain the in behind.  It would be easier if I didn't refuse to spit onto my plate, but I just can't.  I find it too rude.  Also, what if I go back to America, and spit some bones on a plate at a restaurant, you know, out of China habit?  People will think I am so gross.

The fish was very spicy.  There were at a minimum three types of dried chilies.  Also, there were scallions, sesame seeds, and peanuts.  The peanuts still had that flaky red skin on them.  Overall, it was a very good dish, but there was a lot of oil left on the plate, but the food didn't taste oily.  Stealth Fat!


He's saying, "Eat me, I am Delicious."



I also got the mashed potatoes, which is a dish Lotus Eatery is renowned for.  I almost didn't get the potatoes, but the server pointed it out to me, and I remembered it was mentioned in a lot of reviews.  

The potaotes were not mashed until silky.  There were still visable chunks of potato, that I found to be a nice contrast to both the soft texture and the spice.  Oil was used as the fat, instead of butter.  There were both fresh and dried chilies mixed in, along with garlic and scallion.  These were really good.  I couldn't stop eating them, even though I knew I would need to walk forever to burn them off.

 



Addictive

 
I really enjoyed my dinner at Lotus Eatery.  It was a little difficult without a lot of Mandarin, but I did get through it.  The menu had English, but the staff spoke hardly any.  However, I do know that my skills are improving, so I think soon, I will be able to eat at a place like this one without trouble.