Ala Shanghai

Market Village in Markham has been a place that I had not been in quite some time.  Much has changed and many stores and restaurants have changed hands in the past year.  When we strolled upstairs for the first time in ages, we noticed that there was a new restaurant in the corner of the mall.  Ala Shanghai had just opened up maybe for about a year now however it was the first time we had ventured into this restaurant.

We explored their menu and saw that there were a mixture of Asian fusion foods that dotted their entire menu.  A couple of dishes appeared appealing and looked delicious so we decided to get a little bit of everything and give it a try.  We decided to share about 5 dishes altogether and try a little bit of everything on their menu.

First up was the Drunken Chicken ($5.99)  Presentation wise it certainly did not look like much.  The chicken had plenty of skin and the appeared to have just been slopped on top of some sort of wine soya sauce.  The chicken was cold however when I took my first bite into this chicken, I found it to be quite the pleasant surprise.  The skin was very smooth and the chicken appeared to be well immersed and marinated in a sweet wine and soya sauce.  It made the chicken sweet tasting and very juicy.  I actually loved this dish and the wine was not so overwhelming that it made the chicken bitter. 

Drucken Chicken

Next to arrive were the Pork and Crab Dumplings. ($11.00)  Four dumplings arrived in a wooden carton and were steaming hot.  I could tell there was a small amount of juice inside each dumpling.  When one bit into it, one could tell that there was a good mixture of pork and crab in each bite.  The dumpling was not oily and tasted perfect.  The pork/crab combo was well seasoned and every bite was equally good.  The only thing that could be disappointing was the price to product ratio as 4 of these dumplings cost ($11).  It might be expensive but if you get a chance to try, one should go for it. 

Crab Pork Dumpling

The Fried Bread with Condensed Milk ($4.25) was made to perfection as well.  The bun on the outside was nice and toasty and the inside of the bread was very hot with steam pouring out of the inside of the bun.  This is quite a famous dish amongst Chinese Shanghai restaurants and these guys perfected it.  Absolutely no complaints at all to this dish.

Fried Bread

The Meat and Duck Egg Congee ($4.99) was also made to perfection.  There did not seem to any added ingredients to this congee as the duck egg and meat provided all the flavor needed for this congee.  If one is just looking for a simple congee to eat, this would be perfect for you. 

Meat and Egg Congee

Last to arrive was the Braised Beef Noodles ($7.99) and this was very tasty.  The beef soup base was a bit on the salty side but provided the right compliment to the beef that already present in the noodles.  The noodles themselves were all nice and thick and sprinkled with a couple of green vegetables, this bowl of noodles was well worth the price.  The braised beef were in between lean and fatty but tasted very good nonetheless.

Braised Beef Noodles

Overall, I was actually quite impress with all the food that we had ordered that afternoon.  Every dish was spot on.  I have to admit that looks could be quite deceiving as when all the food was placed on our table, it certainly didn't look that delicious but that certainly was where it ended.  None of the foods we ordered were greasy and other than a slightly more aggressive tasting soup base, everything seemed to be right on the dot.  I certainly would come back and give some of their other foods a try.  I was very surprised with their excellence in their food.  Overall I would give it a 4.25 out of 5.

Ala Shanghai
4800 Steeles Ave East Level 2 Unit F51
Markham, Ontario

905-513-7990