In Hangzhou, the first place to make Shunde cuisine is "Yueshun". Yueshun Restaurant, which has been open for a few years, has not made much fanfare, and has won many repeat customers with word-of-mouth alone.
If you want to eat rice porridge, Yueshun is the best choice. Rice porridge comes from Shunde, which is different from traditional hot pot, but uses clear porridge as the base of the porridge, and the porridge base is not seasoned, so the freshness of the ingredients is the key to distinguish the winner from the loser. The boiling of porridge water hot pot follows the principle of "meat first and then vegetarian", with seafood first, then meat, and finally vegetables. The blanching time is not so particular, and a slightly longer time will not affect the quality of the meat. However, what makes it even more intimate is that there will be a dedicated waiter who will take the initiative to help customers cook the food and distribute it to everyone's bowl.
The ingredients of rice porridge are the same as those of Cantonese hot pot, and most of the meat can be shabu-shabu. The most popular seafood are white shellfish, geoduck, fish, and shrimp, all of which add to the flavor of the porridge base. After eating the seafood, you can add meat products such as shrimp sliders and cuttlefish balls, which are cooked enough to be eaten without dipping sauce because the meatballs themselves have already been flavored. Fat beef is also a favorite dish of many diners, with tender meat and rich fat. Beef balls are not recommended, as they are not as juicy as Chaoshan beef balls, and the powder texture is heavier.
The order of cutting is to prevent the taste of the ingredients from affecting each other, and the vegetables are placed at the end to avoid the meat being stained with the "green vegetable flavor". The porridge base before adding green vegetables can be scooped and drunk, and the color is milky white and translucent, fresh and sweet, soft and warm, warm and warm to the stomach. Shunde's rice-free porridge restaurant has extremely simple seasonings, serving only sesame oil, soy sauce and ginger, while Yueshun's sauce table is rich in variety, which is also suitable for public taste.
Yueshun is one of the few restaurants in Hangzhou where you can eat claypot dishes. However, it has mixed reviews and mixed reviews. A good gel pot should be full of ingredients and sauces. However, the raw gel has high requirements for the chef's control of the heat, and the loss of the clay pot is large, so many merchants will first make the ingredients mature until they are seven or eight years old, and then pour them into the clay pot and heat them to the table. The key to judging whether to add halfway has bright spots, one is to look at the appearance of the clay pot, and the other is to look at the adhesion of the ingredients and the clay pot. Most of the heat of Yueshun's claypot dishes has dissipated when served, and the taste has been greatly reduced. The degree of separation between the meat and the bottom of the pot is relatively high, and the clay pot does not feel like it has been fired many times. The aroma of the whole dish is insufficient, the seasoning is light, and it is not satisfying.
Yueshun Restaurant has 3 branches in Hangzhou, and the standard is very stable. The decoration of the environment is simple and generous, decorated with bamboo basket lampshades, calligraphy and paintings, black soft sofas, brown round tables and other items. The private rooms are named after Guangdong place names, such as Qingyuan and Foshan. The service is uneven, some waiters are enthusiastic about cooking porridge, and some have a cold attitude. Private rooms are in demand, so it is recommended to book in advance.
