House Sweet
Import/export lawyer Lu Dong from Shang-hai started a new life in South
Africa to pursue her hobby of cooking. She brought her extensive knowledge
of Shanghai cuisine, which uses less frying and less starch, and is regarded
as one of the healthiest in China.
As in most Chinese restaurants, a great way to sample the food spectrum
is to choose one of the set menus. There are four, comprising a soup,
spring rolls, two main courses served with either fried rice with egg,
or fried noodles with vegetables, and a choice of dessert. If you decide
on the set option, as we did, I guarantee you'll not leave hungry.
The mixed seafood soup, served in a big bowl, was delicately flavoured,
with the full complement of seafood and noodles. Golden-brown prawn spring
rolls were crisped to perfection with a very fresh-tasting vegetable filling,
but with no vestige of the promised prawns.
The side dish of fried noodles with fresh vegetables was coated in a
light and tasty sauce. Plump prawns with stir-fried mushrooms looked inviting
and combined well with the noodle dish. Commercial black bean sauce, lifted
with homemade chilli sauce, powered up the Cantonese calamari.
Should your appetite not extend to a set menu, you'll find most familiar
Chinese dishes on the ˆ la carte: beef, pork, chicken, fish and prawns
in their many variations with chilli, oyster or satay sauce, sweet and
sour, bamboo shoots or cashew nuts.
Dessert is not what Chinese food is all about, but the choice of either
deep-fried banana or a bowtie, with ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate
sauce, panders to Western tastes.
To round off the meal, do as the Chinese do. Unsweetened Chinese tea
is surprisingly refreshing.
The brief wine list is predictably Distell-led. (Think Nederburg and
Zonnebloem.) If you're a wine lover looking for variety, BYO is the better
bet. Or you could sample heady Chinese Rice wine (R50 a bottle). A full
licence takes care of any other alcoholic requirements, often preferred
by Chinese diners.
If you like a touch of China in your home, eye the Chinese lanterns decorating
the upstairs venue. A huge consignment of these lanterns is brought in
for New Year, but the number slowly diminishes as they're sold off to
guests.
After lunching at House Sweet, take a digestive stroll around Heritage
Market's rose gardens and tempting little shops.
Average three-course meal R85. Set menus from R109 (for two) to R269 (for four).
By Mechthild Yorke-Mitchell
Address: SHOP 22, HERITAGE MARKET, OLD MAIN ROAD, HILLCREST. LUNCH & DINNER TUES-SUN. TEL 031 765 5114. BYO R10.00. NO SMOKING. GUARDED PARKING IN OPEN PARKING LOT.
Food: 3
Wine list0.5
Ambience: 2
Service: 3
Value: 3.5
