Nanjing Impressions, or 南京大排档 in Chinese, is located in a modern shopping mall in Guangzhou's busy and up-class Tiyu Xi Lu (体育西路), the country's most busy metro interchange. The mall is ultra modern, but once you step into Nanjing Impressions, it feels like you have been transported back in time to the era of end of Qing Dynasty, and the beginning of Republic of China.
The interior design is of the Qin-huai (秦淮) style, after Nanjing's famous Qin-huai River, a go-to place for night entertainment in the early 1900s. Records of Qin-opera, a form of opera popular in Zhejiang Province and Jiangsu Province, is being played as the background music.
Braised Duck, CNY29.00
Nanjing is famous for its Xiaochi, small bites. The concept is like the Spanish tapas, snacks for you to have wide selections of food to enhance your taste buds but not too heavy for the stomach, and perfect as companions for the rice wine.
The first one that came was braised duck. It is a cold dish. The duck drumstick is first braised till tender, then chilled to retain all that collagen. It is actually crunchy, with a hint of Huadiao, a popular Chinese rice wine.
Lion's Head, CNY 28.00
Next was stewed Lion's Head. Lion's Head? Are you sure? Don't worry, it is not the real Lion, nor its head. Lion's Head is just a name for the dish. It is actually stewed meat ball, a really big meat ball. The chef mixes minced pork, fresh mushroom and some other ingredients together and makes it into a giant meat ball. Then this meat ball is slowly stewed to cooked. The meat is very tender. It breaks into small pieces easily in your mouth. It is a dish that is very suitable for people who have problems with their teeth, and senior citizens.
家传云斗煮干丝, CNY28.00
The next dish is a bit hard to translate the name into English, but it is their signature dish. Looking at the picture, you might think that it is vermicelli or noodles in that pot of soup. No, you are wrong. It is actually tofu skin sliced into small slices to make it look like vermicelli. And then it is served with a very thick stock. The tofu skin is excellent, I must say. Unlike noodle's softness, or vermicelli's smoothness, the tofu skin offers its unique texture. It is crunchy, yet the texture is more rough. It gives sparks upon your tongue. However, I didn't like the stock, way too salty for my liking.
We ordered some other dishes, but I am not able to cover them all here. Overall, it was a very pleasant experience. Good food, accompanied by that feel of transporting back in time.
Don't get upset if you think Nanjing Impressions is only available in China, it actually has a branch right in the busy Orchard Road in Singapore. I have not given it a try yet, but hopefully I will do that soon.
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