Shanghai nights

The Shanghai is something of a rarity - a 'Chinatown' kind of restaurant marooned in the backwoods of Dalston. It's a pukka Chinese restaurant with dim sum at lunch time, barbecued meats in the window, an exceedingly long menu and karaoke blaring out of private rooms where Chinese families enjoy celebration dinners.

But the most surprising aspect of the Shanghai is the beautiful front dining area. No.41 Kingsland High Street is a Grade II listed building that dates from 1862. It was built as an eel and pie shop and the 19th-century tiles and mirrors are still in perfect condition (look for the intertwined eels on the mirror frames, the Delftstyle tile pictures of Thames barges and the frieze of stylised fishes running around the cornice).

The penalty is that you will have to sit in oldfashioned and cramped booths, but you can console yourself with the fact that you are some distance from the warren of karaoke rooms to the rear. Every time a door opens to allow a gaggle of Chinese children to run out and claim their lollipop from the patient waiter behind the bar, there's a truly awesome blast of noise. 'Y.M.C.A' karaoked to levels that would have a Health And Safety Officer licking his pencil in anticipation.

The food is sound though. It comes in decent portions and you can confidently order most of your Chinatown favourites --steamed scallops served on the half shell with a choice of garlic or black bean sauce, salt and pepper ribs or minced chicken in lettuce wraps.

Among the endless succession of more staid dishes (crispy aromatic duck with pancakes, lemon chicken, sweet and sour pork) there are some more interesting choices. The seafood section of the menu includes a 1.5lb lobster priced at £23 when available, which is good value. One of the 'house' dishes is very good: it is called Shanghai Devil and is a spicy stir-fry of lamb with 'dried seaweed' (as with the crispy seaweed starters, this is made from a dark cabbage).

The barbecued meats are well done: as well as duck and char sui, the menu lists soya pigeon (order in advance Mon-Fri) and even suckling pig (which also needs ordering, except at the weekend). A whole piglet is £120.

The restaurant also benefits from some specialist dim sum chefs brought in from Hong Kong and they are making a valiant attempt to convert the Dalstonites to the joys of a dumpling lunch. Dim sum is served from noon-5pm, but there is a 'dim sum happy hour' running from 3pm-5pm daily, when dim sum are just £1.60 (rising to £1.80 on Sunday). Service at the Shanghai is friendly and helpful and the waiters deserve some sort of Government recognition for the tactful way they shepherd hordes of Chinese children in and out to the 'advanced sound and vision karaoke party rooms'.

Shanghai
41 Kingsland High Street, E8 2JS