Chiuchow Darling is a Chinese restaurant in Shanghai that serves Chiuchow cuisine (interchangeable with Chaozhou and Teochew) with an emphasis on “cooled” dishes.
It’s the latest from VOS Families (Suzie, Suzie’s Garden, ma-ia-ki, etc), and is a collaboration with Shi Tou Pai (狮头牌), a restaurant brand based in the south that specializes in Chaoshan cuisine.
What is Da Leng?
It’s Chinese name, 打冷 (da leng), roughly translates to “cooled” and refers to the cooking and serving method of dishes, popularized in Chaoshan. Dishes are cooked, then cooled, and served at room temperature, or even cold from the chiller.
Its origins stem from street stalls selling ready-to-eat foods in basket carriers and from fishermen who cooked their catch of the day with seawater, sans other seasoning, to maintain freshness and to preserve the fish. Da leng also applies to marinated meats.
One would argue that it is a method that allows the product’s clean, unadulterated flavors to shine.
There’s a whole menu section dedicated to da leng dishes at Chiuchow Darling. They have the braised variety, an assortment of duck neck, goose web, liver, fish cake, trotter, and offal, and cold seafood. Whole fish is lightly seasoned with salt, steamed, and then served cold, accompanied with a fermented bean sauce to dip.
The Food
Other dishes are Chaoshan-based, ranging from claypot stews to stir-fry.
Wines by the glass from ¥90, bottles from ¥500.
Chiuchow Darling 潮州(打冷)海鲜饭店
Address: 120 Jinxian Lu 进贤路120号
Tel: 52821801
Hours: Mon-Thu & Sun, 11:30am-2pm, 5:30pm-10:30pm; Fri-Sat, 11:30am-2pm, 5pm-11:30pm
