/ Reviews / Sichuan
Homage to the Drunken Poet
by Monica Liau
on Friday, August 20, 2010 12:00 AM
The House of Li Bai, located on the third floor of the new XY-One complex, aims to please its clientele. Currently in its soft opening, the menu features a smattering of Sichuanese, Shanghainese and "expat-friendly" Chinese food. However, the heaviest and best influences come from the Guangdong items, thanks to Head Chef Ken Liang. General Manager Spencer Zhang says that Liang, who hales from the famous and well-respected XiaoNanGuo restaurant, is looking to break out a little from the traditional cuisine and bring Shanghai something fun.
The menu is not set in stone but on sheaves of paper, featuring several pages for diners to sift through. The current voluminous list of choices rings alarm bells and whispers of a management trying too hard to have something for everyone. For those of blander and less adventurous tastes, the zesty beef fried rice (RMB28) comes out sizzling on a hot plate. The ingredients are good and have lots of pepper; overall, though, the rice is cooked to be a bit too oily and doesn't pick up a crispy crust like traditional Guangdong stone-pot rice. Also well cooked but nothing new, the mixed fruit sweet and sour chicken (RMB32) is a crimson platter with adequate pucker factor.
There are questions looming over whether this establishment can deliver anything original, instead of the typical standards that are exciting only to a tourist. However, Liang's cold dish of AhGong XiaJiu vegetables (RMB22) is a subtle and dark combination of chive and mushrooms, marinated in a soy and peanut sauce. The combination created is an addictive palate cleanser and appetite stimulant. Full of flavorful fungi, the stir-fried dish of exotic wild grown mushrooms (RMB38) boasts several versions of that highly prized and spore-full fruit of the earth.
The most exquisite part of an evening meal here, hands down, is the mountain yam, corn and short rib soup (RMB18 for a small bowl). Obviously, Liang has a traditional Cantonese love of soup, and it shows in the deep broth, the tender meat and the sweet corn.
House of Li Bai is a good place to bring together a big group of eaters with diverse tastes for a Chinese meal. The view is quite pretty, the interior is nice and you can toddle up to the rooftop for a whiskey after dinner.
The Bottom Line: Don't just stick with the familiar - Liang's got talent and wants to show it off.
